Field Trip--Dairy Museum and Castle Park

We currently have our home school scheduled into four days a week. We usually work Monday through Thursday, with Friday being either "Fun Friday" or "Field Trip Friday" depending on what we have planned. The beauty of homeschooling is that we can be flexible. This week, for example, we planned a big field trip with friends. It fell on a Tuesday, so we just rearranged the school work to suit us. Love it! :)Last week's field trip was a dual--Field trip/Fun Friday. We have been studying early American pioneers and also reading the Little House series and both had been focusing on dairy cows that week. One of our school activities was even making butter...so fun! Anyway, I remembered that a small town up the road from us has a dairy museum and I thought it would perfectly complement our studies. This small town also has the coolest park around (at least according to my kids), but since it's an hour away we don't go often.

We had a great time! Since it was a weekday, we had the entire museum to ourselves. The lady running the desk started a short film for us (about the importance of cows and how they are milked) and then left us to explore on our own. The kids enjoyed the displays and especially liked the dairy trivia game.

Outside the museum is a little culvert full of water. My little nature detective Henry found a duck's nest with some egg shells in it. He was pretty excited and tried to entice the ducks to come back to their nest, but they weren't interested. ;)
Adventure-man Jonah reached into a hole and came out with this carcass of some kind of creature. There are certainly some parts of living in East Texas that I am still not used to yet! I don't even know to what animal that belonged!
Bridget's favorite part of the morning was feeding the ducks. She used to get a piece of bread and throw the whole thing out. This time she was so consumed by tearing it up into teeny, tiny little pieces that her one piece lasted longer than the boys' two pieces did!
We had to snap a group shot before we left, since they had put up such an adorable fall display. :) I just LOVE the self-timer feature on my camera. It makes me happy.
After the Dairy Museum, we headed to the castle park. Oddly enough, I didn't take a single picture there. It was a beautiful, sunny, fall day...we had a picnic lunch and played for hours. There were a few parents and toddlers walking around and a couple of older adults walking the paths around the park, but we mostly had that place to ourselves too.

After we had spent the afternoon at the park, we headed to Sonic for mini-sundaes. Actually, Jonah and Bridget had mini-sundaes, but Henry enjoyed a plain vanilla cone. On the way home, the kids all fell asleep and I got to relax to some of my favorite music.

It was an absolutely perfect day!

Wow!

Loose Tooth

Henry lost one of his front teeth a few months ago and now his other top front tooth is very loose. He pulled on it a few weeks ago but at the sight (or taste?) of blood, he gave up on it. Now it's precariously hanging in there and he can twist it sideways and let it sit all wonky in his mouth. I'm thinking we're going to lose a tooth today! :)

Update at 2:20...He lost it! The tooth held up through lunch, then came out when he was eating a cookie later on. :) Henry is so excited! And I just love his new smile. Simply adorable!

Wordless Wednesday

Sleepy Henry

A while back Henry was working on school at the dining room table while I worked on some things in the kitchen. He came in to tell me he was done with what he had been working on and asked what he should do next. I suggested he go finish his Math, knowing that he had left some of it to do later. He replied, "Really?" I told him yes, wondering why he would question it.

Quite some time later I realized I hadn't heard from Henry in a while (and he should have been done fairly quickly with his assignment). Checking first in the dining room, I realized Henry was missing. I looked outside where Jonah and Bridget were playing, thinking that he had joined them. They said they hadn't seen him. When I walked back in the house, I saw this:

Later I had to wake him up as he was still napping at 4:00 that afternoon. I asked Henry if he had been pretty tired and he said no. When I asked him why he had decided to take a nap, he told me, "Because you told me to." I denied telling him to nap.

Henry said, "Yes you did! When I asked what I should work on next for school you said, 'why don't you go finish up your nap?'"

Florida Vacation Part 2--favorite pictures!

Mary Beth felt the need to clean the outside of the door to the public restroom.

I felt the need to take a picture of her doing just that.

My father in law is a goofy guy. Here he is announcing that he's ready to go for his morning walk.

We took the kids bowling for their first time ever. Henry loved every minute of it.

Jonah enjoyed bowling too; but then again, he enjoys everything.
My sweeties on the beach. I try to take this same picture every year. There is something about it that I just LOVE.

Sam and the kids resting at the airplane museum. I have the best family ever!

I am totally and indescribably blessed to be this awesome man's wife.

Cousin love.
Somehow I missed getting Henry in this picture, but this shot shows how well they all get along.

Matthew and Bridget had so much fun on this roller. It's some kind of miracle that neither one of them got hurt on it.

The whole crew.
These are the fun people who are crazy enough to vacation with us! :)

We are so grateful to have had a chance to go to Florida once again with our very favorite people. The Lord is so good to us...to HIM be the glory!!!