Strawberry Jam Equals Math Class

Yesterday morning we went strawberry picking. We have learned that all five Smith girls plus Mom and Dad can pick $22 worth of strawberries in under 15 minutes! We brought them home and Samantha, Rachel and I made two batches of freezer jam with the kit that Samantha had received for her birthday last September. Samantha's favorite part was the smooshing part, of course. That kid likes anything that involves violence in some form.

Sam and I did 8 million errands yesterday. Everything from delivering cremation containers to picking up children (Samara J. and Grace and Diana R.). We also had stops at the tire store, bank, and post office. So much for the full tank of gas I had on Friday...

Tomorrow, Samantha goes to camp. I have yet to even start packing her bag. But, at least I am not alone in my procrastination, as Phyliss has admitted that she has yet to pack either Grace or Diana's things either! I can see the counselors now: "Ya know, those Lebanon kids! No clothes, no toothbrush. I mean not even a pair of socks!"

I have my first official Goat Judge job this Saturday! I am excited, but terribly afraid I will make some huge mistake. Abby is helping me to study the scorecard. Not only does this help me but, it also gets her ready for her first year as a Senior Showman.

Rachel and Samantha are enjoying "homeschool". They look forward to getting out their "planners" and doing their school work. They love that things like making jam mean learning math (that two, 1/2 cup measures, equals 1 whole cup). I know Rachel is really hoping we will change our minds and keep her home in September, so she is working really hard at impressing us with her desire to do school.

Sam and I are having second (third? fourth? fifth?) thoughts about sending her to school in the fall. At the moment we are working on her issues with our own funds and insurance and we seem to be getting it done faster than the school can. (Behavioral optometrist appointment for this Thursday; Speech and language therapy starts July 7th) Sam is a little frustrated as he sees what we pay in taxes and how much the town spends per kid for education. His rationale: we have three kids that aren't using those tax dollars, so Rachel should be getting 3 X the efforts. I wish it really worked that way...