NC State Fair 2009

We finally made it to the NC State Fair. We have lived here for 6 years and had never gone. This year Mimi treated us and it was awesome! Thanks Mimi!

Some Southern Fair Food....


C2 entered his Lego Schoolhouse into the Lego Competition. He didn't win, but it was fun!

Everyone enjoying a treat!

That would be a deep fried Reeses.

Rides!

A really fun time!

Invention Convention

Our homeschool Tapestry of Grace Coop held an Invention Convention as our Unit 1 Celebration. The boys had learned all about the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and some great inventors and now it was time for them to create some inventions of their own. They did a wonderful job!

We'll start with C2. His invention was called the Remote Tracker. He was tired of us always loosing the remote, so together with his dad, he came up with this invention. He actually used a remote control car to create it!

C1, being the lover of all things sweet decided to create Clementine Soda. He did a great job, it was actually quite good.

He took the ingredients you see below and blended them in my Vita-Mix blender.

The original idea was to then make that mixture into tablets that you could dissolve in seltzer water for the soda. You can see him here trying to put them into a mold. We then put the mold into my food dehydrator to create a capsule, but it didn't work. They completely dried out. So he just poured the mixture into some seltzer instead.

Lastly we have L. He decided to do a report on an inventor. He chose Thomas Jefferson! His presentation was excellent.

It was a wonderful day! We are very proud of the boys for all of their hard work!

Gem Mining

For our second unit in history we will be studying Westward Expansion and the Gold Rush. It seemed fitting to start the trip off with gem mining.

We went to The Emerald Hollow Mine.

From their site:

It is the only emerald mine in the United States open to the public for prospecting. Nestled snugly in the foothills of the beautiful Brushy Mountains, this North Carolina Emerald mine is located in the small town of Hiddenite, North Carolina. This locality is recognized as one of the most unique and interesting geological locations on the North American continent.

We really enjoyed our time there. Check out some pictures from our adventure!

The trip was broken into four different parts. The first one was surface collecting. Here is a picture of L trying to find some gems and then J sharing his finds.


The next part of the trip was sluicing. Here is C1 listening to the directions and below that you can see C2 actually looking for gems. We dumped out a bucket of dirt onto a screen and then with a bristle brush and water brushed the dirt away to find gems. There were some really neat finds.



Next we went to the creek to find gems in there. The water was very cold and we didn't have boots. They still managed to find lots of gems.

Lastly, we had an Earth Science lesson on some of the rocks and minerals there.

Here is a sample of what the boys found. I wish you were able to see how beautiful these gems are. The picture doesn't really do them justice.

We had a wonderful time and would highly recommend this trip. It was a great way to begin our next unit.

Monticello

The first day of our trip we met Big C's Dad and family at Carter's Mountain Apple Orchard. This was the first time we've been apple picking since we lived in NY. There just aren't any orchards close to us. It is one of the things we miss most about fall in NY. We had a lot of fun picking apples, but it didn't feel like fall. It was in the 80's and very warm. Here are some pictures!

Then it was off to the hotel for some swimming and cable TV before hitting the sack. The next day we made it to Monticello. When I say we loved our visit to Monticello, that is an understatement! We had such an amazing time. It is one of the most beautiful places that we have visited. Seeing the history come alive in the boys eyes was the highlight of the trip for me.


Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures in the house because that was our favorite part. When the tour guide showed us some maps and elk horns that were brought back by Lewis and Clark, C1's jaw dropped. He was so excited!

The little building was located in the middle of the garden's and Thomas Jefferson would go there just to read looking over the mountains.

The gardens were AMAZING!

They have a discovery room there for kids with replica's of the many things that Thomas Jefferson invented.

In the afternoon we went on a plantation tour. C2 and I were fascinated by that, but I guess J wasn't that interested!

At the conclusion of the trip we went to the gift shop of course. When the boys purchased their trinkets they were given $2 as change. They were very excited about that as you can see!

Thomas Jefferson was an amazing man on so many levels. I can't begin to go into all that he did and all that he loved here, but if you ever get a chance to go to Monticello or read up on his life and his passions, DO IT!

My New Kitchen Gadget!

I love kitchen gadgets, especially ones that allow me to make cool things for my boys! I have a great friend who is a Pampered Chef consultant and I recently order the cut and seal. I ordered it because everytime my kids pass the freezer section at the grocery store they beg for one of those Smucker Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, you know the ones I mean, they are like $6.50 a box!!! I always say NO! for two reasons, 1 - they are too expensive and 2 - the list of ingredients is about two inches long.

Sooooooo....I buy this gadget and get to work.

First I made a round loaf of 100% whole wheat bread and began to slice it into layers.. (I didn't think to take pictures until after I already started cutting).

Next I placed a tablespoon each of peanut butter and jelly in the what I thought would be the center of each sandwich.

Then I used the cut and seal to cut the circle shape and seal each sandwich. Finally, I placed them in a freezer bag.

This weekend we did some traveling, (more about that in my next post) and in the morning I took out four sandwiches and by lunch they were thawed and my boys devoured them! They were a hit!

Happy Kids and Happy Mama!