Living History Exhibition

This morning, I brought Zac to work so I could keep the car and take the kids to Canton on a homeschool field trip at the Madison county jail. It was fairly interesting. Our first station was about different types of plows and tractors over the years. Slightly boring, but not too bad. Jac and Leah lost interest almost immediately. The second stop was a dairy cow with two calves. Elias was over the moon (pun intended) to see the "ows" up close, but grabbed on to me every time they mooed.

Our third stop was to listen to an Andrew Jackson impersonator. He had a pretty neat revolver and showed how to load the gun powder. He was impressed with Jac's knowledge of how to start a fire with flint and steel, thanks to his hours of Minecraft game time. Next, we looked at some Choctaw jewelry and handmade clothing, learned about the history of lacrosse, and browsed some pretty awesome-looking handmade brooms carved from cactus roots.

We stopped by a blacksmith station and he turned a horseshoe into a heart. I think the kids were most impressed by how hot the furnace had to be.

The kiddos were able to participate in manual corn shucking, as well as grinding kernels into flour.  Apparently, it takes 30 minutes to grind one cup of corn flour and a few hours to get a pound. We also learned about smocking, quilting, and watched a woman spin wool into yarn (and now I want to buy my own spinning wheel and a few sheep).

Our last booth was about bees and honey and while we were listening to the beekeeper talk about safety, he was stung right on the lip by a yellow jacket. It was crazy. We ended up eating lunch in the car because Leah was terrified of being stung if we sat outside.

I managed to get us home in time to lay Elias down for a quick nap, then we picked Zac up and went to get frozen yogurt.

September Stuff

Thanks to Hurricane Irma, the weather has been super autumn-y and wonderful, though I am totally feeling the stress and worry all those affected people are going through.

My big kids started school! Officially a 6th and 3rd grader. I'm slowly introducing Elias to preschool, but won't be starting to teach him until next year. He knows a few colors and shapes, though.

Sunday, we skipped church and went to the park near the house. The age-appropriate areas of Big Kid park and Little Kid park aren't too far away from each other. I sent Zac off with the big kids while Elias and I played on the swings. Off topic: I think it's creepy for grandpas to flirt with young moms at the playground in front of their grandchildren. After playing, we stopped by Bops for some frozen treats (and a cookie for Elias because him screaming "A GOOKIE!!!" over and over again is a treat in itself).

Monday, Zac was off for Labor Day, so we hung around at home. I pulled out most of my Halloween decor, though I haven't started decorating yet. This is the only time of year where I'm not considered crazy for having orange leaves and pumpkins scattered around the house (even at Christmas). Halloween stuff, however, is temporary.

Tuesday, I brought Zac to work and left the big kids with him so I could take Elias to the clinic. His left lymph node in his neck was super swollen for no reason. After some tests, all was clear. According to Dr. Y, he was just having a delayed reaction to his rash last week. White blood cell count was normal, so no signs of infection. We left in time to catch Zac's lunch break. I picked up my big kids, dropped Zac off, and we headed to a playground in Madison to meet up with the homeschool group. All was going well, in spite of the atrocious heat, until Leah made a decision to run up a slide and bust her lip open. Blood everywhere, abundant screaming, and we called it a day. I told Elizabeth (the homeschool "leader") we would try again next time. Oh well. Leah is fine, now. I think sweat was making the wound much more worse than it was. All teeth are in tact, no stitches, and no worries.

Tonight is the first Wednesday of the month, so the children's church group meets somewhere to socialize. We picked Sonic's this time, but I'm thinking Chik-Fil-A next time. Sonic's has too much sand. The kids love it, but I hate finding it in the car, the washing machine, the bath tub, the carpet, my bed, in the fridge (right?), and everywhere else. I decided I didn't want to live at the beach for the very same reason.

Lazy

Very lazy day. Did some grocery shopping and snuggled the Bun. He turned his brightness all the way up to Ludicrous.