Load of pictures....and MORE of my crazy ideas.

I've been a little more than absent on here lately. I don't really have a reason.

Here are some pictures to make up for it:

When did my baby get big enough to sit in that high chair? I don't know how many times I will say this, but KIDS GROW TOO FAST.

Also- how did I happen to get THE cutest baby in the world?

I have been thinking a lot lately about the fact that soon enough, this little girl is gonna watch every tiny thing I do-and want to do it too. There are so many thing I do that I don't want to pass on to her. One of them is how often I use the Internet and computer. I really don't believe that this sort of technology will help kids in any way shape or form. I think it easy easy to use, and easy to learn-so they can learn it later in life. I need to get away from it, so that I can focus more on the natural things around us, and use them to teach her.

Phones too- Hazel isn't going to be one of those five-year-olds with a cell phone.

And I am going to home school her. NO, her social life wont suffer. I think that my education was extremely overshadowed by my Oh-So-Important Social Life. The things kids are exposed to in school, and the quality of the schools themselves have only gone down hill since I was in school. Standardized testing in Kindergarten, let alone the first-sixth grade is heinous- and I think that the one-size fits all method of teaching in school is equally outrageous. In fact, I think that school is made boring, and if you want a kind to learn the best thing to do is keep them interested.

A healthy social life is not fostered in a school. There are many more productive social settings, that don't distract from learning, or the things that are most important. If she has plenty of time to find herself- unhindered by the overwhelming peer and media influences found in elementary, and junior High. then by the time she is subjected to them she will already know WHO she is, and what she stands for. She will be able to observe those things, and form her very own opinions about them. Not my opinion. Not the cheerleader's opinion. Her very own, unfaltering, confident opinions. That is what I hope for her.

We want to give her the BEST role models a kid could have. A firefighting grandpa who is always there to serve. A do-it-all grandma who doesn't let her gender hold her back from fixing cars, building houses, and climbing mountains. Strong women who work hard, and play hard, and know what is important. People with real skills- knitting, to make your own clothes. Gardening, to grown your own food. We want her to learn far more that Math, English, Science, and History. We want her to learn carpentry, music, beekeeping, photography. We want her to learn that life and learning can be fun and exciting. Instead of reading about Native American rituals and traditions in books, we can GO and EXPERIENCE them in real life. We want to give her real life tools to do real life things, instead of sending her through school and telling her she can "do ANYTHING" only to have her graduate and realize she has no real skills. That getting an A on a math test probably wont get you a career that you love. (unless of course you love teaching kids to pass math tests)

I know I think a lot of things- and I feel very strongly about them. We are doing things differently here in the Everett household-and different is okay.