More on Homeschooling, On a Roll, and Burrito Bowls

Looking back on our year, I think we're in pretty good shape, if only for the fact that we're monitoring ourselves early than last year, where we totally blew it and just squeaked by with the extensive assistance of the state offices. Much thanks for all of them for their patience and help. Hopefully we've learned something. The biggest issue for us is still history and social studies. How the heck do you teach it so it's interesting? Maybe the point is, at this stage in their lives, it just isn't. All things considered, we are doing fine, and will begin the process of reviewing our year and answering the to the state, who for the record have been very helpful and patient with us. Did I already mention that?

Spaced out on homeschool art class yesterday, didn't even know it was going on and thus missed out. Bummer.

That is not to say that we haven't been having fun, however, even though we haven't skied for three whole days, maybe four. As I've probably mentioned for a million times, we skied for six days straight last week, so it's almost as it if it's become our regular routine. With the recent storm, we can't wait to get back out there, but the Quechee Hill is back to it's weekend schedule, so mid-week skiing is a bit of a challenge. Our goal, however, is to give the Dartmouth Hill a try again, and hopefully it will work out. Looking to Wednesday for that, if all things work out.

Last night had the killer pseudo-vegetarian meals, our favorite Boloco inspired burrito bowls. We put a little chicken in the kid's bowls to make it more interesting for them, but I think they could go vegan, because it's all about the beans and the salsa. Maybe not as good as Boloco burritos, but close. The key I've found is the juiciness, from the salsa and the fillings. When it's drippy and wet, somehow it just tastes better. Funny how that works.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Good Vibes at Boloco

Not that we need another reason to love Boloco, but besides the killer burritos, we've been getting good vibes from the people who work there. It strikes me everytime we eat there that they've hit on a good formula-besides embracing the eco-friendly, health conscious approach to food (i.e., all natural and minimally processed, with compostable corn cups-you cant' beat that), the food is tasty, reasonably priced, served up promptly and in a hip, clean, and family friendly environment. It reminds me of the Panera model.

In a way, they may very well suffer a little from their success, only in the sense that the place gets packed and can draw a crowd of people looking for wireless internet and clean bathrooms, but they're tolerant of it all. I've noticed that besides groups of hungry college students, the two groups that gravitate to there are high school students looking for a place to hang out, and their biggest nightmare-families with young kids, of which we are one, though I like to think (delude?) that we clean up after ourselves.

Unfortunately, some of these families leave the place a mess, and I've seen that sometimes, not always, the families that seem to have the most affluence leave their tables in the worst shape, and I feel bad for the people who work there and have to clean up. Despite all that, they're patient and friendly, and never complain when people glare down at them while they're making the food, which can't be easy.

We go in about once a week, and everyone looks forward to it. My ideal day goes something like this-do a couple hours of skiing (preferably with the kids) in the AM, followed by lunch at home, then off to the library and the Coop, then dinner at Boloco. By the time we sit down to eat, we're all pretty excited to dig into our burritos, and it's one of the warm fuzzy feelings in life when you get that first taste of your classic w/carnitas or the summer w/tofu. We connected with one of the guys who works there, and I regret not getting his name, but there's always next week.

Good food, good vibes in warm and friendly atmosphere, you can't beat that. Just try to get there before the 6:00 PM rush, and you'll be just fine.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.