a charlotte of our own

just outside the door from where i sit and type, a beautiful orb weaver spider has laid an egg sac.  she is so beautiful that i just had to call for the kids and show them.  they decided that she was just like charlotte in "charlotte's web," so we have dubbed her "charlotte" in honor of the character.  here she is, watching over her unhatched babies between the rungs of our side porch:

here is a bit closer on her underside...

and a bit closer on the egg sac...

and here she is from the front.  how lovely to find such a treasure!  we'll keep an eye on her and her babies... maybe we'll have a real learning experience if we see them hatch!

gratuitous pet shots

the days grow shorter, and the weather grows cooler.  it's only supposed to be 81 degrees today!  fall is upon us, and the kids have already started dragging out the halloween decorations.  a little premature i admit, but we do love halloween at our house.  the more time to enjoy the holiday, the better.  they've already chosen their costumes... h will be a magi from magiquest... the interactive game he played this spring in myrtle beach and this summer at great wolf lodge.  s will be laura ingalls from the little house books.  she just loves the stories of pioneer days, mainly because they tell so many animal tales.  she has her little sunbonnet all ready to go.

homeschooling is going well enough that h says he never wants to go back to "regular" school.  we'll see about that.  you can follow our exploits in so far as i am able to post about them on my other blog.

here's jane and tibby for your viewing pleasure.  thanks for dropping by!

vacation deal!

i just discovered an excellent vacation deal!  hotels in hilton head 75% off... THIS WEEKEND ONLY!!!!

OMG!  it would be SO GREAT to be there amidst tropical storm hanna's wrath!  let's all meet there for a joint vaca, ok?

too good to pass up!

c'mon!