Alpaca Farm Day

We are studying Moses's "escape" to Midian and learning about how he became a shepherd. The unit that goes along with this story is about sheep & mammals.

I have to share this "God thing" with you. One of the suggested field trips was to visit a sheep farm. Now, this sounded like fun to me - but I had no idea how one goes about finding a sheep farm that would love to have a 6 and 3 yr old on their farm asking questions. And touching everything!

This past week, I emailed a friend from the Weaver list who has a"regular" farm and asked her - how would I find a sheep farm close to me? She contacted a friend of hers who is active in a spinner and weaver group - and guess what? This past weekend was Alpaca Farm Days! This is one weekend where alpaca farms all over the state open their ranches to whoever wants to come check it out.

So went went on a field trip to Lone Eagle Alapaca Farm. It was perfect! And wasn't it nice of God to start planning this awesome field trip for us WAY ahead of time? *wink*

I took Punkin and a friend of hers - let's call her Singer (she loves to sing and she's very gifted at it), and of course SnugBug. It was fascinating! There were several farms represented at this farm, so there were lots of alpacas. There was a baby cria (I learned a new word!) who had just been born the night before - she was adorable! She was in a stall in the barn, and the kids "ooo-ed" over her, and the mommy got between them and the baby and laid her ears back - she was being very protective and such a good mommy.

Can you believe I forgot my camera???? Grrr. :)

We learned about how they use alpaca fiber - it is softer and does not have lanolin as sheep's wool does, so it is naturally hypoallergenic. One lady had her "carder" there that they use to make all the fibers go in the same direction. She also had a spinning wheel and showed the kids how she made yarn from the fibers. Punkin and Singer soaked it up.

There were brownies there and that was SnugBug's favorite part. :)

I met a nice couple who has homeschoolers to their farm regularly and shows them all the steps from the animal to the sweater. She was so nice and taught me so much.

I may just have to have an alpaca farm someday. WeaverDad is vetoing that idea, but ..... man, were they cute! And everyone was so nice and friendly. We had a great day.

Look Ma! No Training Wheels!

Punkin is riding a 2-wheeler! She still has a little trouble getting started, but she was riding around like a pro in a short afternoon.

Here she and WeaverDad are taking off the training wheels:

Getting on:

Dad barely hanging on:

Letting go! She did it!

Proud SnugBug on his wheels:

Books! Books! Books!

I grabbed this from dcrmom at Musing of a Housewife.

What are you reading right now? Parenting with Love & Logic, Secrets of Great Rainmakers, First Light, Get It Together: Organize your records so your family won't have to, The Practice of the Presence of God.

Do you have any idea what you’ll read when you’re done with that? It's actually rare these days that I finish a book - I just start a new one. But next I'm planning to read Flies on the Butter for my next book club meeting.

What magazines do you have in your bathroom right now? Lots. I actually have a magazine rack in my bathroom (sorry dcrmom for grossing you out! he he ) Threads, Colorado parent, Lands End catalog, Family Circle, Family Fun

What’s the worst thing you were ever forced to read? I don't remember the bad ones.

What’s the one book you always recommend to just about everyone? Lately, I would highly recommend Loving God with all your mind by Elizabeth George. Life. changing. book. Everyone should read it. :)

Admit it, the librarians at your library know you on a first name basis, don’t they? Yes, they do. And I know theirs - Hi Penrose and Sara and Joanne! Now, let me also share that I use the bookmobile which is a much smaller crowd. I reserve my books online and they bring them to me. I honestly, sincerely do not know how anyone homeschooled without this advantage. I also frequently have out very close to their 99 book limit - so you know they dread seeing me come!

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don’t like it at all? I loved the classic book Rebecca, which was required reading in high school. Seems like I was the only one.

Do you read books while you do other things? I'm not sure I can answer this with a straight face given one of my previous answers. Honestly, I used to - but not so much anymore. I can do 2 things at once, but add the interrupting children and I just can't do 3.

When you were little, did other children tease you about your reading habits? Yes. I read all the time.

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down? Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I read the whole thing in one night. I was pitiful the next day, but it was a great book.

If you're reading, consider yourself tagged. And let me know if you play along!

Tiny Talk

I only have one thing this week, and I think it's fun-ny! Of course, I have this feeling it is one of those "maybe you had to actually be there" moments, but I'm going to try.

My sweet hubby brought home our fall treats this week. Do you have those? Those things you only like at certain times of the year? Such as huge chocolate slabs only in the shape of an Easter Bunny? - well, that's a bad example because we all know that chocolate is good any time of the year.

However, I only like candy corn from September to November. But during these 3 months of the year, I LOVE it. (Hello to those few pounds I finally lost. :) )

And my hubby loves ButterFingers. Now those may be good all year round too - I'm not quite sure, since I don't care for them ANY time of the year. But they do seem to make an appearance at our house alongside my candy corn.

Only, now you can get what is essentially only the inside of a ButterFinger. And my kids think they are YUMMY! Delish! Can't get enough!

Only they can't remember what they are called, so they ask for the ButterTHUMBS candy.

And despite the fact that I understand that story wasn't worth nearly so many words, it makes me laugh out loud every time.

For more, and likely better, tiny talk moments, visit Mary at Not Before 7.

More missing teeth!

Ok, so this is a horrible picture, unless, of course, we were actually planning to audition for the latest child horror flick. But it does show the missing teeth - of which Punkin is very proud. She has lost 3 in the last 2 months, and still thinks it is very special to get her corn cut off the cob for her. "No, SnugBug, you may not have your corn cut off - you have all of your teeth."

We were watching America's Fun*niest Home Videos tonight and one of the clips showed a man whose lower dentures fell out. Punkin was just blown away that he lost ALL of his teeth.

And for those of you keeping track - the tooth fairy was late. Again. What a scatterbrained tooth fairy we have!

Tiny Talk

My SnugBug is entering the phase that dcrmom calls "The Festival of Questions." Here are some of my favorite:

"Am I really SnugBug?" (he said his real name of course!)

"Have I been borned yet?"

"What makes the car go?"

"Mommy, is this really red?" (it was)

me: "Mommy's not feeling too well this morning. I feel like I've been run over by a truck."
SnugBug: (shocked) "Did it break any of your bones Mommy?"

Read more funny tiny talk at Mary's site!

Egyptian unit, Part 2

We've had a blast with our Egypt unit!! Here are some highlights:

Egyptian clothes:

We're mummies!
Sugar-cube Pyramid

Rest time?

I have my kids take a rest time everyday. SnugBug usually naps, Punkin usually draws or does something artistic. I'm all about her being creative - but well, OH MY!!

First Day of School

Punkin started her enrichment program this week. She had a great first day!

Looking good!

Starting with story time!