A Perfect Weekend

I have been sitting here staring at the screen trying to decide how to begin this post. Last week was a tough week for us. Some issues arose that left us feeling like we needed rest and relaxation more than ever. The Lord knew what our family needed this weekend more than anything, and He provided accordingly. We have had the most blissful, fun-filled weekend together. It is as if God looked down upon us and knew we needed this blessing. Of course that's what He did! I went to bed smiling last night, and tonight, I shall do the same.

Two things were going on this weekend. Coshocton's Canal Days Festival was on the courthouse square (can someone explain to me why this doesn't happen in Roscoe anymore?), and Roscoe Village was having Coshocton Appreciation Days and allowing all county residents free admission to their tour. Yep. Free events. You know we were there!

We started our Saturday with a phone call from my parents asking us to meet them for breakfast. That was a nice way to begin our day! I'm so glad that living here allows for more opportunities like that.  Living in my hometown rocks. Seriously. It. Rocks.

We headed to Roscoe Village, a restored canal town, and got our free tickets for the Living History tour. I seriously had no idea what was inside the visitor's center since I think, as a teenager, I didn't really appreciate it as much as I do now. Fellow Coshoctonians who have moved away and only visit, check it out. My kids very much enjoyed the hands-on crafts, dress-up clothes and toys as well as the exhibit hall downstairs. Ava made a quilt square, Lukas painted a wooden top and both kids got to dip candles (all complimentary for Coshocton residents for the weekend only).

The only downside to our adventure was that we didn't realize how much time we needed in order to do the entire tour and see the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum. We only planned to stay until 4 because the Canal Days parade began at 5, so we decided to get through as much as we could without rushing and to return Sunday afternoon instead of worrying about getting it all done at once.

The tour was well done. The kids got to see a blacksmith making hot dog roasters and a weaver making rag rugs for special orders (I had no idea they made such things on order in Roscoe!!!). They also learned about 19th century printing, medicine, broom making, schooling and, of course, the canal itself. 

As I mentioned, Canal Days was also this weekend. We didn't go to most of the festival during the day, but we headed to the parade in the evening. It was fantastic. They really stepped things up for the bicentennial celebration. The floats were well done. The parade lasted over an hour. We very much enjoyed it!

After running home for a quick dinner, we returned to the courthouse square in time to hear the Texas Tenors perform. They were apparently on America's Got Talent, but we've never really watched that show, so we weren't familiar with them. I expected a mediocre concert. I mean, it was free to attend, so I didn't want to get my hopes up too much.

Their first number was an old country-western song. It wasn't bad, but it didn't really impress me either. Their second number? O Sole O Mio. Done perfectly. PERFECTLY. My jaw dropped. My eyes bugged out. I was stunned. Eric laughed at me. It was AMAZING. They did an incredible rendition of Danny Boy with inspirational lyrics included, and my sweet little girl asked her daddy to dance with her during it. Watching my husband dance with our little girl in the twilight on the court square will be forever remembered as one of my favorite moments ever.  Adding to the effect was her southern belle gown that was bouncing back and forth as she danced. It was...unforgettable.

The Texas Tenors also did an arrangement of You Raise Me Up similar to the Selah arrangement but with pipes not unlike Josh Groban's. Wow. Sitting under the stars, listening to the cicadas singing along with great music, enjoying small town life, running into old friends...it was a perfect evening. PERFECT. Blessings from Jesus were everywhere.

After what could not be described as anything less than a difficult and challenging week, this weekend would have to be described as blessed, peaceful, joy-filled and beautiful. I could probably come up with a few more adjectives, but you might stop reading while you rolled your eyes.

I am loving living here. I was never one of those people who wanted to get out of my home town. I loved living here. I loved having roots that ran the depth of several generations. I always loved coming back and visiting. Now? I just love living here. I enjoy the slower pace of life. I enjoy being closer to my parents and running into uncles and cousins at at the grocery store. God is amazing, isn't He? Who knew that bringing me home could be one of my life's greatest blessings?

Civil War Encampment

I believe I have mentioned once or twice that Lukas asked to study the Civil War for school. I have to tell you, he couldn't have asked to study anything more appropriate at this point. The timing is perfect with the county where we live coordinating our bicentennial celebration with Civil War events and activities since it is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War's commencement. We attended our second Civil War event yesterday, and it was incredible. I have always wanted to go to a Civil War encampment, and I knew they held one here in Coshocton for the past few years (maybe longer. I don't really know), but this year, we made it a priority to go since Lukas was asking to learn about it. I am so glad that we did!

If you are not a lover of history, this is the way to learn about the Civil War. I am a lover of history, so I ate it up, of course, but I can't imagine a better way to make history come to life than to go to an event such as this one. The people who participate are experts on the Civil War, and they are anxious and willing to share their knowledge with you. The kids were able to learn so much yesterday, and I had a great time learning a few things too.

At the beginning of our day at the camp, we stopped by the blacksmith. Neither of our kids had ever been to a blacksmith's shop, and none of us had ever seen a portable blacksmith! Ava was completely enthralled. We sat and watched and asked questions for 10 or 15 minutes, and then Ava asked to go back again, so I sat with her for another 10 minutes while Eric and Lukas went off to something else. 

After that, we weaved in and out of a few tents learning about the lives of soldiers and what they did all day each day(Euchre, anyone?). The kids got to lift a musket and learned that the bayonet was actually used rarely as a weapon. As one soldier told us, "Once it got stuck in someone, it was just stuck, and so was your musket." Good point. The bayonet did have lots of other uses, however, such as this one:

At 11, we knew there was going to be a ladies tea. My understanding was that we would be able to observe the ladies who were in Civil War period dress taking tea. Ava and I were quite surprised to discover that we were actually invited to participate! My girl loves tea parties, and this was like the ultimate tea party with fancy tea sandwiches, tea cookies, scones with Devonshire cream and, of course, tea. If I had known in advance that we could attend, she would have been dolled up in her southern belle gown. The Bicentennial Committee sponsored the tea, and they did an amazing job!

In the afternoon, we picnicked by the battle field (Not that Ava and I needed much to eat) and then watched the battle. One of the encampment participants explained how things usually went during a typical battle, which was interesting. The kids thought the cannons smelled awful, but they were pretty fascinated by the whole thing. The only downside? The Confederates won!

We meandered through the rest of the camp, saw a leg being amputated, learned about Civil War era toys and games, talked to some ladies about artillery and one particular cannon and headed out for the day. We were there for five hours. Next year, we just might have to attend the Civil War ball if they do it again. Wouldn't that be a blast? Maybe you don't think so, but, as I told my best friend via text, I'm a history nerd. I love it. 

As we were driving down the hill from the encampment, the kids immediately began discussing their plans to play Civil War when we got home. Lukas donned a ball cap that he thought most resembled the shape of a Civil War soldier's hat, and Ava wore her southern belle costume. Lukas grabbed a toy pistol as well. They were all set and even got their cousins to play along. I think we will be able to recover from this past year of history not going so well. If they're playing Civil War, I guess the history bug might have bitten them a little. Here's hoping!

Ohio Chautauqua

Last week was a very busy week, and I didn't have a chance to blog about Ohio Chautauqua. I was so impressed with this company of actors/historians who performed under a tent at our county fairgrounds. It was their last week of performances for the summer, which is sad for you. I would much rather be blogging about something you have a chance to attend since it was so amazing. If you are a reader who lives in Ohio and hear of them performing in your area next summer, I promise you that it is worth it for you to attend. Plus, you can't lose since they don't charge anything to attend!

The basic concept is to entertain the masses in what would have been a traditional way 100 years ago. Communities would gather under the tent to hear the traveling entertainers perform. The theme for this year's Ohio Chautauqua performances was the Civil War since it is the 150th anniversary of it's commencement. Since Lukas wants to learn about the Civil War, what better way is there to begin our study?

We were not able to attend every night. In fact, we only got to attend one evening, and then Lukas and I attended a presentation at the library that was geared toward kids grades 4 and up. Harriet Tubman was on tap the night that we were at the fairgrounds, and she was amazing. I mean...A.MAZ.ING. She entered the stage in character. She involved the audience. She spoke and sang perfectly in the dialect that Harriet may have used. She was captivating, a very good actress. I was stunned when she eventually came out of character to field questions about Harriet's life and her vocal inflection, accent and dialect completely changed. She had her character mastered! We learned so much from her.

Saturday's presentation at the library was about Civil War soldiers. Lukas enjoyed it, and so did I. The most obscure thing that I learned is that tea can be pressed into gigantic bricks and then cut with a saw into tiny, soap-sized blocks which the soldiers used to make tea as they traveled. You can still buy tea like this in modern times, and I had no idea. Did you? I am an avid tea drinker, and I find myself wondering if it could possibly taste good, but I think it would be fun to try! Below is a photo of the gentleman who did the presentation, though he wasn't in character at the library.

Ohio Chautauqua was an awesome way to kick off our Civil War study. Next month, there is a Civil War encampment in the area that I am hoping we are able to attend. I'm super excited to study this era of history with our kids. It is one of the most intriguing eras of American history and, by far, my favorite to study and read about!

Weekly Wrap-Up: Zoo Field Trip!!!!

It has been a good week here. Lots of packing has been accomplished. I'm already sick of having STUFF everywhere, but this too shall pass. It will surely provide motivation to get everything unpacked once we are moved! I want to give a shout-out to my fantastic, amazing, helpful mother-in-law for helping to pack my kitchen this week (I sat aside the things we'll need for the next couple weeks). She's coming back to help again soon too, and I couldn't be more grateful.

School is pretty much routine right now. I'm doing very little direct instruction outside of math and reading(no history or science right now). The kids are plugging away at their independent work beautifully. We're finishing our read-aloud soon. The weather has been great, so the kids have spent lots of times outdoors, which is so much more important sometimes. Next week will probably be very similar, and then I'll disappear from the weekly wrap-up for a week since April 1st is moving day.

Around the house this week, I managed to squeeze in making a double batch of laundry detergent. That should last us a couple months. I'm using citrus castile in my detergent right now. It smells amazing! I highly recommend it. It's super easy to make. I know I've posted this several times, but, just in case someone new wanders by my blog, here's the LINK TO THE RECIPE.

I started watching the weather early last week since we were getting a nice day here and there. I figured it was time for a zoo trip! Yesterday was the day! It was 68 and sunny. We arranged to meet my friend, Rayna, and her three kiddos and spent 5 hours traipsing around the zoo. The kids had a blast just playing together and enjoying the sunshine and animals (though we picked the wrong region to explore this time of year and didn't see as many animals as usual). Rayna and I had lots of time to chat. It was a perfect day! 

We don't usually stay at the zoo for 5 hours. Since we have a membership, we usually go for 3 hours or so, see what we can see, and head back home. It's more like a trip to the park for us. We love the zoo. I love it as much as the kids. After 5 hours, we were all a little tired (or a lot tired). Lukas wanted to know how far I thought we walked. Actually, he asked "how many miles" did we walk? Interesting to note, I once knew exactly which path was a mile and walked it purposefully twice a day during my college days working at the zoo. The paths are a little different now, but, with adjustments for the added loop in the Congo, I'm guessing we made it a mile and a half yesterday. The kids were troopers (especially the littlest ones).

I didn't take my camera for this zoo trip, but Lukas took his. Here are a few shots that he took.

Last night we were blessed to meet our friends, the Schraders, for dinner at Red Robin. We are super excited for them to move to this area soon. Their kids are lovely, and we had a fantastic time over dinner. It is unfortunate that we're officially moving away from Columbus, but we'll still be close enough to hang out and visit. We're glad for that!

Since we were in that part of the city, we stopped by Trader Joe's for some castile bar soap for the bathroom. It's the only soap that doesn't cause Ava's hands to peel. We then stopped by our friends, the Cunninghams, to pick up all of their recently unpacked boxes. We got a LOT of great boxes that are ready to be re-assembled and packed this weekend! We also ended up visiting with them for probably an hour and a half, which was a blessing as well!

Obviously, we had a busy, blessed week. I'm tired and not really looking forward to a busy Saturday, but I'm super excited for the possibility of a seriously productive packing day! I have spent the last four Saturdays feeling under the weather, and, even though I'm still stuffy and sneezing a little, I'm planning to knock some things out of the water tomorrow! Watch out kid bedrooms...the mama tornado is on the way!

That's a wrap on this week's happenings. For more creative ideas, words of wisdom and general info about the ins and outs of homeschooling, visit Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

25 Days of Christmas Days 1-3

My intention was to post short little blurbs each day about our 25 Days of Christmas activities, but you can see that this has not happened. This has been a busy, busy week, but everything we've been doing has been fun, so we'll take it!

The 25 Days of Christmas is something we started celebrating when we first moved to Pennsylvania in 2004. We had barely lived there for two months when December rolled around. We were very used to being blessed with the busyness of church activities and ministry and time with friends during the holiday season, but having recently moved and having barely even settled on a new church home, we didn't have anything on our calendar for the month of December other than Christmas Eve service. I was feeling down that year because I didn't really want to move to PA and missed all my dear friends back in Corning, NY so, so much, so I needed something to fill my time.

Because of this, I created this plan of making each day of December special, leading up to our family celebration on Christmas Day. We did crafts, watched Christmas cartoon specials, baked Christmas treats, made cards and visited local Christmas light displays. This was so much fun that we have made it an annual tradition even though we actually do maintain a much busier calendar that is filled with church activities, ministry and time with friends and family again. The Lord has blessed us for sure, and I've had to get more creative as the years pass both because the kids are getting older and because, sometimes, things like "Dress Rehearsal" just have to be the big deal on the day they occur rather than adding an extra craft or activity.

I have found that doing this each year is a catalyst for so many blessings, but the most important is that it forces us to remember what is important during this Christmas season. We slow down and celebrate the birth of our Savior rather than getting caught up in the busyness and commercialization of the season. The kids look forward to this special family time every year. Whether or not you are into the idea of crafting and planning activities for each day, slow down and enjoy the season. Say no to a few things and make sure that the things to which you choose to say yes are truly important and meet the needs of your family's purpose. Remember that the people God designed you to spend the most time with are the people in your immediate family, and make them the most important people with whom you  make memories this month.

Now I'll get off my little soap box. We're three days into our 25 Days celebration. Here are some pics and brief explanations of what we've done so far.

On Day 1 we read The Legend of the Candy Cane and added strawberry flavored candy canes to the Christmas tree. This book has a beautiful explanation of all that the candy cane represents. We read it every year! I think Eric and I love is as much as the kids do! It really makes Jesus the focus of the season.

We usually make these on Day 1, but this craft fit into our Day 2 schedule better this year. The top chain is Ava's, and the bottom chain is Lukas'. They'll remove one link each day until Christmas. I do ask the kids to choose traditional Christmas colors, but they can create a pattern or just do the colors in a random order. Both children chose to create their own patterns this year.

On Day 3, we visited the Ohio Statehouse, which was decorated on the inside in Victorian era Christmas decor. This doubled as a school field trip and helped to fulfill our Ohio History requirement.

Dance with The Nutcracker

I have had the loveliest afternoon and evening with my sweet Ava. A few weeks ago, I got an advertisement in the mail from BalletMet about the upcoming season's performances of The Nutcracker. Eric and I were able to see it a few years ago, and we loved it, and I have enjoyed playing arrangements of Tchaikovsky's most beloved ballet since I was able to move my fingers that quickly (somewhere in mid-high school). I could listen to Tchaikovsky every day, all day long. Sharing him with my daughter was a blast! 

On a side note, I discovered in the past two weeks that both my children can sing themes from The Nutcracker when asked! Lukas saw a billboard and started singing it, and Ava did the same thing a few days later. I can't tell you how happy that made me.

Dancing with the Nutcracker was a sweet event for young dancers to attend. My friend, J'Nessa, and her little girl, Triniti, who is Ava's dearest friend, went with us. There were tons of people there, which neither of us expected, but it was worth it to see how much fun the girls had.  

BalletMet had some of their teachers telling the story of the ballet beginning with the party at which Clara is given the Nutcracker. As they progressed through the story, they would introduce some of the characters from the ballet and then the children would have an opportunity to dance with them. The girls were a little timid at first, but, as the story unfolded, they really started to get into it more and more. 

When the Arabian dancers were introduced and did their number from the ballet, the girls were thrilled, but their favorite moment by far was watching the Sugar Plum Fairy dance. She was beautiful and graceful, and, when they introduced her by her real name, we discovered that she is from New York. Ava thought it was pretty funny to tell Eric that the Sugar Plum Fairy is from New York. For those of you who don't know, Ava is technically "from" New York even though we moved from there when she was 8 months old.

We made some great memories yesterday. After J'Nessa dropped us at home, we found a creative way to get into our house (someone didn't think to grab the keys since she wasn't driving...uh-hem). Ava did some crafting, and I took a short nap before we went to dinner together. Eric and Lukas were gone for the evening at an event for church, so Ava and I had dinner together at Olive Garden, a big splurge for us. I have to tell you, doting on just one child for an afternoon and evening is a sweet treat for me. I love spending time with them together, but getting to enjoy just one of them for a little while with no interruptions is a gift. I cherish it. We had so much fun together sharing a meal (I love that she prefers to share). She is a joy to be with. I love that girl.

Take time to check out the photos I posted if you're my Facebook friend. If not, here are a few for you to enjoy in the meantime!

Ash Cave

This post is probably out of order. I need to blog about it so I have something to look back and read when I finally get around to scrapbooking about it. I am hopelessly behind, but I love scrapbooking, so I do my best and have fun. I'll have plenty of time to scrapbook during my grandma years (or so I hope).

So Ash Cave...WOW! I've seen pictures that others have posted of Old Man's Cave, and we fully intend to take that hike, but I wanted to do it with Lukas. He wasn't with us, so we ended up at the Ash Cave trail instead thinking that not as many people talked about it, so it must not be as big of a deal. WRONG! It was gorgeous! I felt slightly guilty that Lukas wasn't experiencing it with us, but I guess that will probably happen more and more often as the kids get older. 

The hike to the cave was actually super easy. It's mostly paved unless you decide to climb to the top (we did). If you aren't into hiking, you could still easily do this hike without the climb and enjoy the beauty of the cave. It's totally worth it! 

Ava really enjoyed exploring the cave. She loves being outdoors (just like her mama), and hiking and exploring the woods was a blast with her. She climbed and checked out every nook and cranny and even squeezed into a few places where no adult could. She loved being the center of attention for the day since her brother was spending the day with a friend at a birthday party. 

It was a glorious day. Perfect weather. My back didn't kill me. Yay! Good times. 

Here are a few pics for you to enjoy!

Polar Bears and Apples and Pumpkins, Oh my!

We had a busy end to our week, but it was a blessing. I am once again grateful for our zoo membership which my mother-in-law generously provides for us each year. We get so much use from it. 

On Thursday, I headed to the zoo for the afternoon with the kids and my dear friend, J'Nessa and her kids. It was a beautiful fall day for the zoo. The animals were active and fun to watch, though we didn't see even a quarter of the zoo on this trip. That's another blessing the membership provides. We go for as long as we want without worrying about seeing everything all in one trip. This time, we took our time seeing North America and the Polar Region. 

The kids had a great time with their friends all afternoon, though my children had a brief issue with making bad choices (this could be for another blog post). Don't you hate it when you think your kids are too old to behave in a certain way, and then they do it, and they decide to do it in public when you're with a friend? And why is it that no one else's kids ever do such a thing? Lest you think that my children are perfect since I'm always raving about them on my blog, I'll just leave it at this. They're not, and I was not pleased. It kind of rained on my zoo parade, but we had a lot of fun prior to that incident. Is it creative parenting or emotionally scarring to make your children walk through the zoo arm in arm because they can't seem to get along?

Back to the positive points...One of the polar bears was actually in the water, and we got to watch her swimming from underneath in the tunnel where I got several amazing photos!!! I am so hoping the bears are just as cooperative when we go to the zoo with my sister and family in a couple weeks!

Yesterday was also an ideal day. Eric didn't have to work (maybe at this point, I should say he didn't GET to work since he would REALLY like to have a full-time job), so we headed to Lynd's Fruit Farm in Pataskala. In an effort to save money, I decided I wanted to make my own applesauce this fall. I've wanted to make applesauce for a couple years, but it hasn't worked out thus far. This summer and fall, I've been trying to preserve as much fresh produce as we can afford in order to both provide better nutrition for our family and to save a buck. I'm all about frugality!

What I learned yesterday is that picking apples is super easy, and, with four people picking, you can have about 50 pounds of apples picked in about 10 minutes. Seriously. I thought we were going to be there for at least an hour or two. I'm not complaining, mind you. I guess I was remembering all those apples I picked from our very tall apple trees swarming with bees when I was a kid (and then peeled them so that Mom could can applesauce). That wasn't fun, but this was. 

We picked Fuji apples as that is all that was being picked this week. If you go to Lynd's and you decide to fill your bags of apples to the brim, don't bother getting creative and try carrying them between two people so that you can get more apples in the bags. The orchard does not view this as frugality. They will suggest that you fill another bag when they see your apples spilled all over your trunk and ask you to pay more for the bounty of apples which you have picked. We didn't realize that we weren't supposed to try to get as many apples into the bag as possible. Next year, we'll take a less thrifty approach if we return to Lynd's and just fill them as much as we are apparently supposed to.

After we were done with the apples, we headed to the pumpkin patch also owned by Lynd's. I don't know if they were just very, very picked-over or if we're spoiled by the pumpkins that we usually get at Renick's or if this was just a bad year for pumpkins. Whatever it was, we had a super hard time finding good pumpkins. We ended up finding what we needed and spending MUCH less than we usually spend at Renick's (again, yay for frugality!), so I won't complain about spending 45 minutes trying to find pumpkins that weren't either rotted or cracked.

We made some great family memories yesterday. I love our annual pumpkin patch trip, and this one was made even better by the apple picking. We may be eating nothing but apples and pumpkin this week as I spent a good portion of my grocery budget for this little adventure, but it's all worth it in the end to make good memories, right? Haha! I'm kidding, of course. We are eating apples in many ways...apple pancakes, apple crisp tomorrow and Ava is asking to eat apples ALL DAY LONG! She likes apples, but I think she is just completely excited that she's eating apples that she actually picked. I promise we'll be eating other things as well (baked apples? apple cobbler? apple pie?....heehee).

I hope that you're making memories with your family this fall. It's a great time of year for memory making and traditions! Pick some apples, pumpkins, pears or whatever floats your boat! Try something new. Make applesauce or pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin. Your kids will love helping to create culinary masterpieces with the produce they helped pick! It's another memory making opportunity. Tomorrow? I'm certain Ava will join me in the kitchen where we will make a warm, bubbly apple crisp for the kick-off of our next family memory maker....our celebration of Sukkoth, which I'm sure you'll be able to read about later. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog! You are much appreciated!

A Fair Journey

The first crisp leaves crunch under your feet. Bright lights flash everywhere you look. Children dressed in cowboy boots, black pants and white button down shirts dash around from barn to barn dragging goats, sheep, horses, cows.... 

Something is spinning and whirring and bouncing everywhere you look. 

A band plays. There is screaming. Singing. Shouting. "Every kid is a winner!" 

Cheap prizes which every child thinks they must have are hanging everywhere. Gold fish. Bunnies. Stuffed animals filled with styrofoam pellets.

The smell of hay. Leaves. Animals. DiRusso's Italian sausages. Gyros. Onion rings. Candy apples. Taffy. Elephant toes. Funnel cake. Cotton candy. Pizza. Corn dogs. Fresh mud. It all wafts together in glorious unity.

High school students wear neon shoes, skinny jeans and varsity jackets while dashing up and down the midway. A boy holds a special girl's hand for the first time. They steal a kiss behind the Ferris wheel.

Tractors work so hard  that you can hear them above the noise of the spinning rides. Horses gallop around the track whilst someone details their every move. A rodeo. A concert. Politicians. 4-H. FFA. Schools. Crafts. Crops. The best of everything is everywhere.

Drizzle. Rain. Cold. Every year.

Smiles. Laughter.

Friends meet like they have in this place for decades. Old friends return to reconnect in this youthful place,  virtually unchanged through the decades. Time hasn't changed this place. Everything is in the same place as if time has stood still.

The same sights.

The same sounds. 

The same smells.

The same faces.

And that's why I love it.

Slate Run Living Historical Farm

I am home this morning hoping that the muscles in my back which are preventing me from standing straight this morning loosen up over the next hour or so and allow me to sing with the choir during our second service. It took much convincing from my husband to get me to stay home from first service (especially since I had already dragged myself out of bed and taken a shower), but I think it's probably the best choice. I mean, if I can't stand up straight, how do I expect myself to stand for 30 minutes during worship?

I have far too much going on right now to deal with my back going out. The good news is that I have a little extra time to blog this morning, so I'm going to take it! The kids and I are enjoying a relaxing, stress-free morning. They're playing with legos, Lukas turned the River on the radio, and I'm blogging while sipping my morning cup of tea and munching on a scone. It would be a perfect start to the day if I wasn't supposed to be at church right now.

So let's get to the title of this blog, right? We decided over the past year and a half that we really didn't want to continue to be actively involved in our homeschooling co-op. Weekly meetings, planning and teaching classes just got to be too much even though we enjoy all those things. They're all good things, but, after praying about it, we decided that it would be better for our family to try something else for a while. I prayed for a year and a half for the Lord to show us another option for our family which would take less time and commitment or to simply release us from feeling like we should continue in our co-op. Just as we were ready to quit attending our co-op whether or not we found another option, Home on the Rock, the organization of which we are members and which governs several co-op groups in central Ohio, started a new GEM, which stands for "Giving Encouragement and Motivation," group that sounded ideal. They're planning field trips, special events, outreach and crafts once each month as well as a monthly Mom's night (which, thus far, I have not been able to attend). Field trips are one of our favorite things to do, so I immediately contacted the ladies who were starting this group and got involved. The best part is that there is really no commitment, and, when you are committed to so many things, this is a good thing. We just RSVP for the events we wish to attend and skip the ones which aren't interesting to us (or if we simply can't attend). I love this approach!

We had our first field trip with our new GEM on Thursday. We went to Slate Run Metro Park to the Living Historical Farm (um...I'm sure you read the title and guessed). We've been wanting to make it to the farm for a few years, and it always seems to rain every time we plan it. This time, it also rained, but it stopped just in time for our tour!

I was impressed with the tour. The farm has no electricity or running water, just like it was in 1880. They grow their own food, and, from what I understand, they fully support the animals which are on the farm with what they grow. For those of you who are local, I'll detail the tour for you. I hope that you'll go. I think your kids will love it, and you don't need a group to visit the farm. Go as a family, just make sure you go on a day that they're actually open. Check for details on the metroparks website.

Our tour began on the steps of the farmhouse, and then we went into the parlor where there is a 160 year old piano!!!! I neglected to get a photo of it, so I just might have to go back just for that! In the parlor, the children sat on the floor just as they would have in 1880 to show respect for the adults. They learned about the way in which families would spend rare days of leisure in 1880. We also visited the sitting room where we learned about games and chores which children would have done, and then we visited the kitchen and learned a little about cooking, cleaning and more about chores. Then, the kids were put to work. Every child who was big enough carried wood from the wood shed to the house. Even the littlest guy, who honestly can't be much more than a year old, carried a piece.

The next part of the tour headed to the summer kitchen, which was behind the house. They gave an extensive explanation of food preservation including canning, smoking meat and drying foods. The kids asked lots of questions. This part of the tour was probably the only time that I noticed the younger kids getting antsy. We were in the summer kitchen for a very long time, and, while I found it to be interesting, after about 15 minutes, the kids were checking-out. Still, they learned a lot, and not everything has to be 100% engaging, right?

We visited the smokehouse and root cellar before heading to the barn to visit and learn about the animals. The kids met the horses, saw them pull the hay wagon and got to pet them. They got to see how the sheep are moved from their meadow to the barn. They knew exactly where to go, which the kids thought was pretty cool! 3 sheep escaped, which they thought was funny, of course. They also got to feed the pigs, visit the turkeys, feed the cows and explore the barn. There were chickens as well, and I'm sure I'm forgetting something. The farmer was humorous to me. You could tell he really enjoys his job in spite of the hard work it must be to care for a farm without any modern conveniences.

What I really enjoyed was that nothing was rushed. The tour is relaxed, and the kids have plenty of time to ask questions. When we were done, the farmer allowed the kids to explore for as long as they wished. It was an ideal experience for them.

If you live in central Ohio, this field trip is worth your time. It's free, and you can plan your day so that you can have a picnic, play at one of the playgrounds and even do some hiking while you're there if you want. I really believe that you'll love it if you go! Even if you have to travel to get there (it's about 25 minutes from our house), it's worth it.

The Polar Frontier

We took a rather spontaneous trip to the Columbus Zoo today. We were there less than three hours, but that is the benefit of having a membership(thanks to Pat and Bob, my in-laws, for providing it for us!). If we decide we want to go for just a little while, we can. 

Today was probably our shortest zoo trip ever, but it was more than worth it. We finally got to see the new Polar Frontier exhibit. It opened late spring, and, once the weather gets hot, we usually avoid the zoo, so we hadn't been able to explore the new exhibit before now. The animals don't like to be in the heat any more than we do, which makes the zoo not quite as fun. Today, we went late in the day hoping that the heat of the day was past enough to encourage the animals to be more active. Somewhere around 5:30, they seemed to start coming alive.

The Polar Frontier is pretty cool. We've been waiting for what seemed like forever for it to open. They moved our favorite bears, the brother brown bears, to a new, much larger habitat in the polar region. They were entertaining, as usual. The polar bears were laying around for the most part, but it was still cool to see them. I think we'll enjoy them more this fall when the weather is more tolerable for them. The arctic foxes were adorable. They were chasing each other and playing. We briefly went into the tunnel under the polar bears. It was kind of cool to look up and see trout swimming over our heads, though I wasn't very interested in staying under there for long. Inside the exhibit there was so much fun, educational stuff to see. We'll explore that further on another trip since our time was rather limited on this zoo adventure. They designed this new exhibit so well, as they always do. The Columbus Zoo never ceases to impress me.

We left the polar region about five minutes before the zoo closed, but we took our time. Having worked in the zoo back in college, I know they allow you to meander through for an hour after closing, but they won't tell you that at the gate. Heehee! We made it to the gate by 7:30, half an hour past closing, but we enjoyed a few animals on the way through. The wolverines were out, which seems to be rare. The otters were back in their habitat, which was a thrill since they had three sweet otter pups! The otters smell so awful that I actually gagged several times, but they're still one of my favorite spots in the zoo. They're completely adorable.

Our family loves our zoo. We enjoy any zoo, of course, but our zoo is definitely the best we've ever seen. We're so spoiled, and we love it. If they keep adding new exhibits like this (which I hope they do. We need some hippos. I hear an African savanna is in the plans, and I hope it's true!), they're going to have to start offering 2 day tickets. If you're in Ohio, go to the Columbus Zoo. See everything I mentioned. Visit the manatees. The gorilla house is awesome. The reptile house is pretty cool (though I could avoid it altogether and not be disappointed). There are lorakeets to feed, okapi to arouse curiosity, giant tortoises, lion cubs, tigers...gosh. There's so much. It really is tough to squeeze it all into one day. It's so worth it to give it a try. Even if you miss something, you'll never be disappointed.

The Chocolate Factory

Today was our first field trip with our homeschool group.  We've been on a few family outings that would qualify as field trips, but we actually went with a group of 25 people from our homeschool group.  We went to the Anthony-Thomas Chocolate Factory here in Columbus.

Fortunately, it was an indoor field trip because it poured outside most of the afternoon and into the evening.  I don't know what is with the rain this year, but we have definitely had enough of it in central Ohio.  I am secretly hoping that it keeps up after the temperatures drop.  Yes, the truth comes out, I have a love of snow (I know that some of you are thinking that it's only me and Paul Piraino, but there are other snow lovers out there too).

Back to the field trip...

Unfortunately, Lukas' prediction that there would be Oompa Loompas and chocolate fountains was incorrect (he has seen the classic Willy Wonka, but not the new one).  Fortunately, there was lots of chocolate.  Lukas was delighted to see how buckeyes were made.  Apparently, they can't produce enough of these scrumptious goodies during this especially great, winning season that OSU is having (and yes, Cassie, I added this little detail just for you).  People have been calling from California asking for shipments of buckeyes to eat during the games!

Let me add that the buckeye is a poisonous nut (This one is for you Margie).  It grows on a tree that is very common in Ohio and elsewhere.  So there you have the Ohio State Buckeyes and the scrumptious little candies that share the buckeye name, and they have nothing to do with deer.

Anthony-Thomas wouldn't allow us to take any photographs inside their building, which is understandable.  Since you all know that I am a photo taking freak, you know that I had to find a way to get at least one picture to chronicle our first group field trip.  This photo of Lukas was too good not to share, so click on the link below and enjoy a little postcard of photos.  I promise there aren't as many as there usually are.  

http://tinyurl.com/vangg