Carving Big Jack

 

Remember Cale's big pumpkins? One exploded all over the house before the fair, and for awhile we weren't sure his second was going to make it, but it did. And it made it back home. The fungal infection that was invading the stem stopped and he was hopeful that the pumpkin would make it to Halloween. But then....the chickens got it... 

See that hole that goes all the way through to the inside cavity? It's from the chickens pecking and pecking and pecking all day long.  So it was carving time!

Because of the location of the hole Big Jack's face had to be facing a different direction than planned. The hole was incorporated into his mouth, and he's facing the sky.

As you can see the chickens were very excited about carving. I believe a couple even tried to go inside once the top was off.

And here he is all lit up!

Cale's already making plans for next year- and now's the time to prep the soil. Last week we heard that a new world record was set- 2032 lbs!

Lessons from the Garden: Following Through

Today I am over on Homeschool Mosaics, talking about making goals, following through and how the garden helped my son learn these important lessons. 

To read all about Cale and his pumpkins, head on over to Homeschool Mosaics!

School. Home. Holidays.

 School 

We've been very relaxed lately with schoolish stuff. But here is a little of what they have been working on. Rylan has continued his tree list (of every tree he has seen). He's up to about 200 or so. Cale and Lakin spent some time creating with clay. I handed them a box of toothpicks and they went to town making creations like the one pictured. Cohen has spent a lot of time with the How to Draw Whales and Sharks book. He's getting pretty good at them too.

 Home

 

 I rearranged the school/play room. I moved a couple of desks in and a shelf out. I wanted to give Rylan and Cale their own space. Which Annika promptly took over.

Annika's room also got rearranged- you know the whole big girl room thing. The crib was taken apart, a full size mattress brought in. A tall shelf out and a shorter and wider one moved in.  She loves her knew room- rug, bed and the fact that she can almost reach the dolls she's not supposed to get down.

 

 Holidays

 

We went low key this year for Halloween. I really hate all the [junk] candy they get. I don't like how it makes them act or the increase in stomach complaints. Usually I give in, but this year the kids pulled together their own costumes using clothes and supplies already on hand and a trip to the thrift store. The little community center down the street held a trunk or treat last Saturday. It was small, very small. But it gave them the experience they wanted from Halloween.

Yesterday we attended a Halloween Festival for the local homeschoolers put on by our co-op. I made cupcakes for the cupcake walk, there were games, crafts, pizza, a bonce house. The kids had a great time. And when we got home Rylan made pumpkin cookies for their Halloween treat- which I much prefer to the junk they would have received anywhere else!

The Mountain State Fair: Winning Ribbons

Today was the day the boys got to pick up their fair entries and see the results up close! They were really excited! So here are a bunch of pictures of them with their ribbons. They were so, so proud of their achievement and so am I!

Cohen won 3rd place for his Christmas ornament, 2nd for his yeast bread, and first for his pie, cupcakes and cookies. His chocolate chip cookies also received a large Judge's choice ribbon (he was really proud of that big rosette!)

Cale won 2nd for his peacock, tempra painting, and his decorated cupcakes. He placed first with his soft pretzels, fudge and metal craft. His panda bear cupcakes also received a Judge's Choice rosette!

Rylan placed 3rd with his dried basil and his cheesecake. He got 2nd place for his banana peppers, oil pastel drawing and garlic bread sticks. His black and white flower photograph and decorated cupcakes came in first. Last year he made flower cupcakes and they placed first and received Best of Show. He made the same design this year and came in first and Best of Show again. He was really excited to see that ribbon again!

 This year Lakin was finally able to take part in the fair in the participation section. He received 3 ribbons (and $3) for his great projects. He worked hard right along with everyone else and I am happy he was finally able to take part.

 Now I have 10 framed art pieces to hang up in the stairwell and shelf space to find for all of their other pieces. They immediately decorated their walls with their prize ribbons, Rylan added his current ones to last years. They already are making plans for what to enter next year!

Have your kids ever entered projects into the county or state fair? I highly recommend the experience!

The Mountain State Fair Round-Up

 The kids look forward to entering the fair every year. Last year when we finalized our plans to relocate that was one of the things they asked about- is there a fair? So we searched online and found it- the Mountain State Fair. Close by, tons of categories and pretty similar to the TN Valley Fair they had entered in the previous 2 years. When it came time to submit entries, they went big- Rylan entered close to 20 categories. Cale and Cohen entered around 13. And Lakin qualified to entered the participation group so he entered 3 things.

Drop off day was last Tuesday and Wednesday, so they had been working hard on their entries everyday. Here is what they entered:

Cohen:
      Art: Colored pencil, oil pastel, water color and tempera paint
      Crafts: Christmas Decoration, recycled craft, any other craft, pottery
      Baking: Decorated cupcakes, drop cookies, pie, yeast bread

Cale:
     Art: Colored pencil, tempera paint, crayon
     Crafts: Christmas decoration, sculpture, recycled, metal craft, pottery and any other
     Baking: Decorated cupcakes, rolled cookies, old fashion fudge, any other baked item

Rylan:
    Art: Crayon, oil pastel
    Photography: Color animal. color plants/flower, B&W plant/flower, B&W animal
    Agriculture: Banana peppers (he did sign up for more, but our garden didn't cooperate this year)
    Crafts: Christmas ornaments, paper craft
    Baking: Decorated cupcakes, yeast rolls, cupcakes, muffins, pie and any other baked item

Lakin had 6 categories to choose from and he entered art, jewelry and crafts.

 I must say that the baking portion is the most stressful. With 14 items and one kitchen it got a little hectic. But because of the location, later drop off times and the items the kids chose to make we were able to stretch the baking from Monday afternoon-Wednesday morning and still make the deadline. But there were 3 batches of cupcakes, Rylan's cheesecake and garlic bread sticks, a pumpkin pie, a peanut butter pie, pumpkin muffins, spice cookies, chocolate chip cookies, honey oatmeal bread, 1 batch of botched fudge and another that set, and soft pretzels! And that is a lot. Plus bagging, tagging and printing recipes for each one. And next year Lakin gets to join in on the baking fun!

We did take a trip on Friday to check out the fair- so they did get to see if their entries won. But we didn't see all of them so I will wait to unveil the winning entries until next Monday when we go to pick up their stuff!

Crafting Cale and the Duct Tape Peacock

Cale entered to make a sculpture in the fair this year. He poured over Pinterest, and finally settled on this peacock. The inspiration piece (linked above) looked like it was made out of foil, but after he modeled the body out of plastic bags and tin foil he decided he would use duct tape to cover the outside instead. He used pencils and more foil and bags to add the feet. And lots and lots of blue duct tape.

The tail is made from a piece of heavy cardboard. Covered in purple and peace sign duct tape. He used gorilla tape and hot glue to attach it to the body.  Because of the leg angle the peacock needed a little lift, so he used a covered tin can to make a little seat for it. Then added toothpicks and pom-poms for the crown. I love it!

 

And just for the full picture, let me zoom out a bit. This is what my living room looks like in the middle of a crafting session. This was not all of the mess either. 

 Later in the day, Cale also decided to make Annika a doll using the same method. She absolutely loved it. And hugged it and patted it's back for a long time. She was all smiles. She's also got some of the best big brothers ever. Ones that make her dolls and bring her flowers and share their snacks.

linked to Weekend Whatever, The Sunday Showcase,

Nine Years Old

This boy.

He's 9 years old today.

He is an amazing boy with an amazing heart. He is wild and crazy, never quiet and never sits still.

He is loving and kind.

He's someone you want around in an emergency and can put aside any emotional reactions and do what needs to be done. He's strong and hardworking. He's artistic and creative.

He is also a lover of anything chocolate.

Happy Birthday, Cale!