Well, it was a true roller coaster leading up to the
Cincinnati Homeschool Convention. Finance issues, scheduling conflicts, etc. were running rampant. :) At first there were four of us planning to go together, then none, then just me... but we finally ended up with three of us making the trip. Donna, Missy and I had a marvelous time and we were SO glad that things worked out so we could go.
We arrived in Cincinnati in decent time and got checked in to our room by Leonard, our new buddy, who had quite the chuckle calling me 'Marvin' and noting that 'Marvin' would be rooming with two ladies. Ahhh.... Leonard. :) When we got to our room we realized it wasn't the room we had reserved (a suite). There were no suites available that night, but dear Leonard promised to take care of it for us in the morning. Sure enough, the next morning we got a phone call that our suite was being cleaned and would be ready soon. Nice!! Thanks Leonard!
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| Donna checking out the suite where she will be spending most of her time! :) |
Thursday around noon Missy and I caught the trolley (wow! what a GREAT thing the
trolley system is... it was a life-saver while we were in Cincy) and immediately found ourselves in the midst of a LOT of very excited Cincinnati Reds fans. Ah yes... opening game day of the season! :) We laughed when the trolley stopped at the Red's stadium and every. single. person. got off the trolley, except for the two of us. :) The driver was very kind and got us a little closer to downtown then dropped us off as well. (streets around downtown were all closed down for opening day parade and festivities.) We were still fish going upstream, though, for the sidewalks were crowded with lots of folks wearing red all going the opposite direction of us. Finally, after a few blocks Missy and I both laughed out loud when we, at the exact same time, said 'there's a homeschool family'. :) Yes, the difference between the two groups was pretty obvious, and quite humorous, actually. We knew we must be getting closer to the conference! :)
Although I go in order to attend the homeschool convention, one of the true highlights for me is seeing dear friends and having the time to spend together. We first met up with Amy and her friend, Diana, on Thursday for lunch. We ended up running into each other at the food court at Fountain Square... at the exact same spot that we ate last year! :) Amy and Diana joined me and Missy and we all enjoyed the Japanese Chicken Teriyaki (YUM!) along with lots of laughs. :)
After lunch we headed over to the Duke Energy Center to meet up with
Lee, Matt and Stephanie. We were able to snag a couple of tables and spend an hour or so sitting around visiting and drinking coffee at the Starbucks. A lovely way to start the convention.
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| Missy keeps hiding from the camera! |
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| Matt, Lee, Missy, Stephanie, Amy, Laura |
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| Diana, Lee, Laura, Amy, Stephanie |
The convention offically began at 3:00 pm Thursday and the first workshop I attended was
Dr. Carol Reynolds talking about American music as it relates to our history, culture, arts and politics. I had been especially looking forward to attending her workshop because we have thoroughly enjoyed her
Discovering Music curriculum this year. She is fascinating and I pre-ordered her most recent curriculum. :) I also attended a workshop with
Tom Clark of Video Text Math. His talk wasn't actually about his math product, but was about trouble spots in math. His talk was quite interesting and caused me to think about math (and the way we present it) in new ways. He talks about the 'language of math' and points out that much of the 'vocabulary' of math is confusing at best and counter-intuitive at worst. Interesting guy to be sure. I made a quick run through the exhibit hall and then Missy and I caught the trolley back to the hotel. Donna enjoyed her afternoon hanging out in the new suite , taking a walk to a nearby grocery store, eating hummus & carrots, and working out. She may be on to something.... :)
Friday morning Missy and I caught the trolley and got off at Fountain Square just as the Budweiser Clydesdales were unloading to hitch up an 8 horse hitch there at the plaza. We stayed and watched them harness all 8 horses. I knew Marvin and the boys would be so proud of me. :)
We then headed into the food court to get our Japanese Teriyaki :) and meet up with Amy and Diana for lunch. At the convention I attended a couple workshops, spent more time in the exhibit hall and then met up with Missy, Amy and Diana for the 5:30
Tim Hawkins concert.
Tim was hilarious, as always, but I was disappointed with the way the conference handled the crowds and the details of the concert. Unfortunately, the seating, sound system, lighting and crowd control were pretty bad this year - much different than the very same concert last year. The good news is that they apparently corrected many of the mistakes by the 8:30 concert when Stephanie attended.
Friday night we spent time with Lee and Matt at their booth, then grabbed a $13 hamburger and fries in the convention food court. :( It was tasty, but seriously... $13! :)
Missy and I headed out to catch our beloved trolley around 8:30 Friday night and discovered to our dismay that downtown Cincinnati was under a deluge of rain and wind. We made a run for our trolley stop (2 blocks away) and were completely soaked to the bone after just a few steps. Of course, that was the only time the whole trip that we had to wait the entire 15 minutes for the trolley to arrive. We sure were glad when it came!
Saturday morning I was thrilled to have a visit at the hotel from my dear friend, Katharine. She lives in the area now, but not too many years ago she (and her sister, Miriam) were our babysitters extraordinaire for the boys. We haven't had a chance to see her since she graduated from Truman and left Kirksville. She is now happily married and mom to two sweet little boys. It was absolutely lovely to catch up with her.
Donna went with us for lunch at the food court on Saturday and we again met up with Amy and Diana. Then I spent the last few hours exploring the exhibit hall and making the few purchases I had on my list.
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| Laura, Donna, Missy |
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| Amy |
One of the cutest things I have EVER seen, though, was when Missy brought Matt (Mr. HomeScholar) a gift of a bag of Cinnamon Glazed Almonds. Let me just say that Matt and Lee worked their tails off during this convention and by Saturday afternoon they were exhausted. (and rightly so!) When Missy handed Matt those almonds he just clutched them in his hand like she had given him the best. gift. ever. TOO cute! Honestly, Matt and Lee are such wonderful folks and just about the cutest couple in the universe. :)
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| clutching the almonds.... :) |
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| Missy, Laura, Stephanie |
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| Cindy, Caitlin, Lee, Stephanie |
Sunday morning we met up with Stephanie along with her Mom and daughter for breakfast at the Big Boy restaurant that was just next to our hotel. That was a great send off, for sure! One thing I enjoyed so much about this year was the amount of time we were able to spend with friends. Very nice, indeed.
I need to have Donna and Missy share their thoughts/memories of the trip on a future post. If I can get them to do that, I will post it. I would love to hear their renditions of the trip! :)
