Kerry Beck

I told you I would tell you about Surprise #2 today and I’m trying to finish before the afternoon. Steve & I decided to go do something fun with our family on Saturday afternoons. We often have families for lunch after church on Sunday, so Saturday seemed like a good time. No housework, No computer work, No busywork on Saturday afternoons—yippee! We are headed to Moscow Mountain this afternoon for a drive and hike. We may even find a small town with a cool cafe for supper!

On to the news….

Yesterday I told you about my first Surprise - My Leaked Chapter from Raising Leaders, Not Followers. If you haven’t gotten your copy of this chapter, go get it right now.
Leadership Education Homeschool Curriculum

Once you read it, please leave a post on my blog and tell me what you think of this chapter.

You can do me a great favor spreading the news to the homeschooling community by telling your friends and homeschool associations about the release of my new book, Raising Leaders, on Tuesday, August 28th.
Tell them they can get my free report, free Start School Right workshop and Leaked Chapter at
Christian Leadership for Teens & Kids

Thanks in advance for helping me share with others the important information about conveyor belt education, leadership education and practical ways to give your children a superior education.

To read Surprise #2, go to the next post:

Actually there are 2 surprises listed below -
Don’t skip the end of the post

Blessings,
Kerry Beck
….who can’t wait to tell you about her new book - a must for any parent!

Penguins at Port Angeles

Port Angeles Pier at Dusk

Riding Late Night Ferry to Victoria

Searching for crabs Saturday morning

Ashley holds beautiful butterfly

We spent most of our time at the Butterfly Center trying to get a picture of this iridescent butterfly. When it lands, it usually closes its wings.

Chinese lanterns at Dragon Boat Festival - Inner Harbor

Empress Hotel

Parliament House for British Columbia

Totem Poles - Downtown Victoria

View from our hotel room

I told all about our trip on 8-20-07 post!

Hunter & Gentry get Brandon Morrow to sign their baseballs after getting JJ Putz’ signature. Both were closing pitchers for the 2 previous games against the White Sox. We also got to see Morrow close at our game. All winning games!

Waiting for the game

Enjoying the Mariners win…on to the title!

My middle daughter was drinking water with her breakfast this morning, so I asked her if she drank water at camp for breakfast. After telling me they made the campers drink water before each meal, she remarked that she took her water bottle to Woodworking every day.

Steve was snickering in the other room. He said it sounds funny to think my 17 year old daughter was the shop teacher at camp…oh no!

“Hey, we made it fun. We had water fights all the time”

Steve says he can’t imagine her using a saw.

“I never used the saw. I just held the boards for the guy that ran the shop. I taught all the campers how to hammer. I don’t do anything with the machines”

Steve found all this amusing, especially since he is a carpenter by trade. We had a good laugh about it.

And… Joshua, Judges, I Kings

I just received a shipment with some new ones I look forward to reading!

We made it to Victoria, British Columbia late Thursday night after a fun ferry ride from Port Angeles, Washington. We discussed the adventures we wanted to have over the next few years. Hunter is convinced he wants a boat and wakeboard. Steve talked to Hunter about taking a hunting trip on horseback. I suggested taking the girls to New York City for a few days - shopping and a show! I guess the difference between girls and boys makes the world go round

After a good night’s rest, we left for a day of beaches and nature. We drove to Sidney by the Sea to look for seals and the glass beach. The glass beach was a let-down, but the kids catching crabs nearby was a big hit. These crabs were about 1-2 inches big and scurried quickly when you moved the rock they were living under. After a quick jaunt through the shops and an old bookstore (since 1947), we left for the Butterfly Center.

What a fascinating place. We found caterpillars, chrysallis and multitudes of butterflies. We kept chasing the blue one to take a picture and discovered it was the hardest one to photograph. When it lands, it immediately closes its wings so all you see is the brown underneath side. The top side is a gorgeous irridescent blue.

The largest one was an ??Angel Moth, about 12 inches across. The tips of its wings look like snake eyes. This moth lives 4-5 days, long enough to mate and lay eggs. It doesn’t eat as an adult; it has not mouth. The caterpillar is solid white, about 4 inches long, and eats tremendously.

Next we drove up the beautiful coast, looking for harbor seals or sea lions. No luck! We did have fun with a rock throwing contest. No one hit the pylons in the water, but there were many rocks that landed within a foot.

We visited a few wineries, but none of them had the flavor we enjoy. One of them was interesting with blackberry and raspberry wines.

The scenery in the area is outstanding. Mountains, large trees and water…what more could you ask for, except a little warmer weather in the summer!

We took a break at the hotel before heading out for dinner. Off we went to Oak Bay, hoping to find some seals. We stopped at the marina to walk among the boats. We were told the seals will hang out there, hoping to find a fish lying on the pier. Actually, the marina sells fish pieces so you can feed the local harbor seals. Steve immediately returned up to the marina for some fish. All of them fed the seal. He would swim over for a bite and swim away. The kids kept saying he looks like a dog that swims well.

We returned to Oak Bay street to eat a bite. This is the most traditional British area in the Victoria area. The Blethering Place is a tea room that serves dinner. Since high tea would be a waste of money, with no one eating the sandwices and desserts, we enjoyed the atmosphere with British food. You could choose from kidney pie and bangers. Unfortunately the nightly entertainment wasn’t there this Friday night.

Driving back to our hotel was fantastic as we drove along Beach Drive. Gorgeous homes and sunset provided the backdrop for our drive. Once we got back to the hotel, we walked around the marina outside our hotel. We hoped for more seals, but only found cool boats.

The past few days have been so relaxing…even though we’ve had out-of-town company. Steve & I went swing dancing with our oldest daughter on Monday night. It’s been a long time since we’ve been dancing. We had a BLAST…Ashley did, too!

Last night, we enjoyed beautiful weather and a cool breeze at our downtown street party.

I even “tried” going through one of those obstacle courses, like a bouncy castle. It was pretty hilarious because I couldn’t get over the 2nd obstacle - a 4 foot wall. My 5 year old opponent beat me - LOL!

When I told her I just couldn’t get over the wall she replied, “Mrs. Beck, you just use your arms to go up the rope and put your feet on those little pegs.” To which, I told her, “Those little pegs just don’t have enough air in them to hold me up.” Thank goodness there are no pics of me stuck at the “short” wall, as my mom-friends laughed hilariously on the sidewalk!

On to “serious” business..right???

Recently, I posted an article that was on my heart. Do you ever wonder what your children will grow up to become? Will they lead those around them? Will they follow someone else? I shared my thoughts and some helpful suggestions to encourage your children to become what God wants them to be and implement in any approach to homeschooling.

Scroll down to Example of Leadership Plan

If you want to share this article with your friends as you get ready for a new school year, PLEASE DO! There are directions of how to share it with friends, email groups or websites at the bottom of the article.

I hope you have a wonderful week…and stay away from “blow-up” obstacle courses if you are racing 5 year olds

Blessings,
Kerry

ps. Don’t forget to tell your friends some of our suggestions to raise your children to think for themselves. They are just below on the July 27, 2007 post.

pps. Be sure to write a post and tell me what you think!