Aside from our hiking adventure, I haven’t posted on this blog for quite a while, which usually means things have been stressful. We are still loving it here in Texas but Nathan began having a lot of problems in school so long story short, we are now homeschooling him for the remainder of the school year. Since the decision to withdraw him, we have seen a dramatic turn-around in his behavior for the better. I have been researching homeschooling for a few years now in anticipation that we would one day need to make this decision and my only regret is that we didn’t do it sooner. I am loving it and Nathan seems to be very happy with it too. I think the curriculum we chose is perfect for him and we are doing very well with it. The next step is to find outside classes for him and opportunities to play with other kids his age. I have a couple of class ideas lined up and the good thing about Austin is that there is a huge homeschool community out here with lots of camps and classes available. We are on the waiting list for several of them because apparently you need to sign up as soon as they become available since there is such a high demand for them. When next year rolls around, we will reassess whether we want to try enrolling him again or continue homeschooling for another year.

I can equate homeschooling to being on a stair master all day long. That may sound terrible but it just means that it takes being on top of things without the ability to mentally check out for a break at any point during the day. So while this may all sound very stressful, in reality the stress level of the whole house (Nathan and I especially) has decreased dramatically since we’ve made the decision. I won’t go into all the amazing benefits I believe homeschooling offers (especially for kids on the autism spectrum), but for us this has definitely been the best decision we’ve made.
So that’s the latest with us! It’s a new and exciting chapter!

Who knew that hiking in the back yard could be so full of adventure mixed with a little bit of drama?

We live backed up to the woods/brush among the hills. David has started taking Nathan on long hikes in an effort to wear him out a bit during the afternoons. The hikes last for a little over an hour and include trampling through brush, crossing streams, and making your way through briars, fallen trees, and some occasionally easy path to follow. This morning Nathan wanted the whole family to come along much to my, William and Colin’s dismay. I tried to explain that we were going to cook breakfast while he was gone but he insisted that he was going to hunt some sort of animal and bring breakfast back for me to cook when he got home. The enthusiasm was so great that we couldn’t resist and got all bundled up (it was in the upper 30’s) and began our adventure.

We walked along invigorated by the cold and excitement of what was to come. After making our way along the back of the building we set off into the woods, Nathan carrying a massive stick to hunt with that kept nearly missing our heads every time he passed by. Everything was easy enough until we got deep into the brush and started getting tangled in thorns and tripping over sticks and logs. David was carrying Colin and William was complaining because we weren’t going the way he wanted to go. Before you know it, Nathan started complaining about I don’t know what and both the boys insisted that we go in different directions. Eventually we made up our minds and set off once again. Nathan then began getting mad about something else (again, I have no idea what) and poked David with the stick, which David then grabbed and threw far into the woods since Nathan wasn’t changing his attitude. This seemed to sober Nathan up a bit and we trudged on once again.

After we made it through the thick of the woods and brush, Nathan declared he had to poop and couldn’t hold it until we got home. David had to carry Nathan into the woods once again so he could do his business. When they came back out Nathan looked very pleased and declared that David was a wonderful toilet… and then stated he wasn’t finished yet. So David took him back into the woods and as soon as we were about to set off again, Nathan again declared he wasn’t finished yet. So back into the woods they went until we were all able to get started again.

We discovered deer tracks, ringtail tracks, and a track that Nathan was convinced was a bear that probably killed the deer he was planning to bring back for breakfast. Then William walked through a puddle of water and got his shoes soaking wet. It went downhill from that point on. David was still carrying Colin and now William was convinced that he just couldn’t walk another step unless David was carrying him too. We convinced him to toughen up like a survivor man but that only worked for so long. Eventually, when we made it to walkable trail, David ended up looking like this…

Finally, over 2 hours later, we arrived back home. As much as I love going on adventures through the wilderness, I think I will pass on this one the next time, unless Nathan wants to go alone, which I hear is a far easier experience than bringing the entire family along. I truly wonder if other families have this much chaos when going on a simple walk. My best guess would be, no, they don’t.