Our Medieval Feast

Monday was the last meeting of our co-op until the new year. As we wrapped up week 12 we celebrated with a Medieval Feast (much of our history memory work has been from this time period.) The kids dressed up in some type of Medieval costumes and were treated like royalty. The older students in the co-op had the day off, but many still chose to come and serve the younger ones. Some of the Daddy's even showed up as Musketeers! You should have heard the girls squeal with delight when they saw that Daddy was there and part of the festivities!(Sophie was all about the curtsy!)

Each class gave a small presentation. Haleigh's class sang a song about the different kinds of stars. Sophie's class spoke on the significant symbols and colors of family crests. Sophie's teacher even made each of her students a crest that symbolized their personal strengths.

Many families created a family crest for the feast. Here is ours...

Mackenzie got to have a "picnic lunch" in extended nursery time. A special grandma, who is actually a clown, came to care for the youngest children during this time and shared her talent of face painting. Needless to say, Mackenzie was very proud of her puppy face! (Even the next morning, forgetting we had washed it off the night before, said, "Don't wash my face it is cute and beautiful!")

As we ponder the many, many things we have to be thankful for our CC co-op is high on that list. Monday was such a great experience for the girls (and for Mom and Dad ;)

Fillin' Up the Love Tanks

Life has been moving at a pretty quick pace around here over the last month. We haven't had a lot of time to just slow down and be a family. So Saturday we cleared our daytime plans and headed up the into the mountains. Our destination was Highlands, NC. After a bit of a drive we soaked in the quaint little town with a sweet downtown. We started in a coffee shop and then headed to a toy store to observe what could make the Christmas lists this year.

After a great lunch with our young ladies we drove about seven minutes down the road and there was a little turn off that steered you right behind a waterfall. It was pretty cool!!

About another tree miles down the road we arrived at Dry Falls. Two sets of stairs led us down to some beautiful falls.

Guess what... you could simply walk behind them. It was pretty amazing!!

Another skip up the road took us to a beautiful lake with a little wooded path around it. We walked, skipped, and ran around it. By the time we finished our lap pockets were full of rocks, hands were full of sticks, and hearts were filled with love!! Then of coarse, we headed back to town to fill our bellies with ice cream!!

It was a much needed, beautiful day of family!!

Simple Joys of Sisterhood!

Happy Cow Creamery Field Trip

Tuesday was a beautiful day! Not only was the weather perfect, but we had a special place to go. The Happy Cow Creamery!!

We got to go in the milking parlor and learn all kinds of fun facts about the milking process.Then we followed the path the milk takes and headed to the creamery. I'm not sure if I'll ever buy any other brand of milk again.

They don't use the silo to store feed so they turned it into the creamery.

Next we loaded up and took a ride through the fields. They have an alternating system to grow fresh fields of grass each month to keep their cows eating as healthy they do in spring all year long.
The girls got to take a special side trip to see the calves. This was "Little Freak" she was the one that let the girls pet her so she was the favorite.

It was a a GREAT field trip.

(Truth be told I have a lot of country in my heart so I was daydreaming most of the day about living the dream of farm life. I know Granny, it's much better in my dreams than reality, right?)

6!

As Haleigh came out of her room yesterday morning all I heard was giggling. She told me the party hats tickled her as she walked through the streamers that announced it was her special day. (The night before she was concerned that she wouldn't remember it was her birthday when she woke up. I think she remembered ;) Another little funny was when Haleigh told my mom, "My legs didn't even hurt when I woke up!" I'm not sure where this thought came from, my best shot at it is that she thought she would do a lot of growing during the night which could cause some pain in those stretching legs!?

Haleigh,

You are so precious! You keep us laughing, that's for sure. Your sweet heart that overflows with joy is contagious. To watch you spontaneously praisin' Jesus is a blast. The love you show for your sisters is unmatched. Your giggles that slip out through the day express the happiness in you as you discover your strengths and tackle your challenges. Your outlook on life is refreshing. We love you Haleigh!! Thanks for being precious you, we can only imagine what God has in store for you!!

A Rockin' Good Field Trip

Last Thursday Sophie had the opportunity to take a field trip to Hanson Rock Quarry. I was unable to go because they didn't allow younger siblings to "tag along." So a dear friend and her daughter invited Sophie to join them. From hearing the stories and seeing the pictures of this great adventure I am already excited to go next year to see it all for myself.