A Whale (shark) of a Good Time!

Yesterday, we went to the Georgia Aquarium with some friends. I included many pictures on this post for those of you who have not had the opportunity to visit. I did not take any pictures of the beluga whales for some reason. I have so many pictures of them from previous trips that I thought I would just sit and watch them without worrying about getting the perfect shots.

Nutmeg and I are tired from our trip, and I just want to stitch while she reads a Nancy Drew. Buttercup is pretending to be a water droplet which, for some reason means she has to be in constant motion. It also means she must constantly jabber. I put a stop to her flicking water all over the house as she whirls and twirls by!

Here and There. This and That

The girls had their first music class last week. Buttercup was extremely excited to be back. One of the many things I love about this program is the ensemble activities. They play rhythm and coordination games, getting opportunities to try all the crazy-looking instruments around the room.

Friday, we had Museum Day. We went to my favorite museum. It is cool and quiet and has wonderful collections of antiquities. The girls brought their sketching supplies and sketched happily, only interrupted by museum workers who stuck their heads around corners saying, "Did you just take a picture with flash?" No, I did not. I am not an idiot. Jerry adjusted the camera to take this picture.

Last week, we studied prehistoric art. We also explored the meaining of the term "prehistoric." We made cave paintings to hang in the school room. Nutmeg was less than excited about the mucky colors we mixed up. It is safe to say that Nutmeg is not an "earth tone" kind of girl! She made two paintings, one just had to include a "princess."

I have completed a few small autumn cross stitches in the past few days. I need to get a few tiny buttons to attach before I can finish them as pinkeeps.

My Grandparents' House

Today, we went to my grandparents' house after church. Here are a few pictures. I may post more later. I included a picture of what I wear to go exploring for Native American artifacts!

Brasstown Bald

This is the highest point in Georgia. The climate at the top is supposed to be the same as Massachusetts. The view is beautiful. You hike up a steep 6/10 mi. The view at the top was worth it!

After our trip to Old Cars Days...we had hummus sandwiches by the river. We had been listening to The Wind and The Willows all morning in the car, and then found this perfect place for Ratty and Moley.

Here are the girls playing Pooh Sticks. It turned out to be quite the Brit Lit day!

Well, for weeks I have been so excited about a fairly local barracks built in 1793. That roughly matches up to our history studies. And it is Georgia history which I always try to emphasize. Well, The barracks has been used as a private residence until fairly recently. So it was more about life in the country in the sixties than anything. Of course there were The Old Car People. Perhaps some of you like Old Cars. I just cannot understand why they show up everywhere! Jerry was a bit bitter when he saw them; I had been talking up the age and orginal use of the building for weeks. When he saw the Old Cars, he slipped a bit and said, "No matter what the occasion, they always bring their old dxxx cars." The Chipmunk calmly replied, "No, Daddy, some of them brought their old dxxx trucks." Well...

The Civil War re-enactors where there. Odd since we have never had a civil war in this country- you know two or more factions fighting for control of the central government. We did have the Late Unpleasantness of 1861, when the USA invaded the CSA....maybe that is what they meant ;) Anyway... there was another group there that goes to the same events as the military re-enactors and shows a civilian side. That was really interesting. In fact, I entertained serious thoughts of joining. It would be alot of fun for the whole family and it would match up to our history next year. We'll see. I suppose it costs TIME though.

Wetlands

Today we went to a state park to vist the wetland exhibit. We are planning a poster on pond succession as a follow-up. There was something going on there today; the NRA was there and lots of people eating hot dogs. I never quite figured it out. Most of the crowd was content to stay with the guns and hotdogs instead of the 1.2 mi hike to the wetlands (which was itself about a 1-mile loop). There was a very informative brochure to read at points of interest. The trip went a lot better once we let Nutmeg "be in charge" of the brochure.

Falcon

Romeo the corn snake

Boys with guns sitting in the back of a pickup, "guarding" a bear.

Mountain Laurel