whoo, what a day! (or two!)

So yesterday, I’m driving home from co-op, with 4 dozen of Steve’s eggs from out at Foster’s (I’d like to meet this Steve.)
Now, ya’ll know I live in the country, but we have us a gas station, a Dairy Queen, and now a Dollar General!  And a private college. 
It was right here in the middle of all this that I hear a POP! ChuggaChuggachugga wakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakkawakka from the car. 
Here I am, in the midst of the hub-bub of DQ and DG that I find myself stranded.
Interesting snippets from this fun little experience:
the best toy for a 2 year old on the sidewalk waiting for someone to come get us is her brother’s car seat
if you are in your car trying to unlatch those blasted LATCH hooks from the whilst the children hang out on the sidewalk, there will be cars stopping to look astonished at children left on the sidewalk
DG can’t keep 4 eggs in their cooler for 45 minutes for you.  So don’t ask.
Having a smartphone AND internet service would be a really great tool system here.  Otherwise you have to ask for the phone book one hundred eleven times
Want to shock someone, like the DG cashier?  Tell her you don’t know how to text. 
:)  So that was Tuesday. 
Then comes Wednesday. 
Friend Lecia came and snagged me and my gang for a trip to a fun little farm further back than I am (they don’t have a Dollar General, ya’ll!).  It was great fun!

hayrides with with bumps and all!

Don’t you just love a good John Deere?  (is that the North Carolina comin’ out in me?)

MG ran off with some old friends made new, EK ran off with her new BFF,


which left me with HR and SA.
Fine company, I say!

We tried our hand at milking a cow,

some bean bags, various haybale activities, a story, and a corn maze!

*this little ditty was great!  the kids were to use the water pump to race little ducks!

A little lunchin’, a little chillin’, a little shoe-in-the-cotton-bin-searchin’ and we were ready to head home.  It was a great day!

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SO, Lecia and I are carrying on like we always do, when POP!

Aaannnnnd now the Faulkners AND the Smiths are broken down on the side of the road! 
Can you believe that?  Two breakdowns in two days? 

Thank goodness for cell phones!  Lecia called Amanda, two of her sons and a neighbor who also homeschools and was with us on the trip (and how cool would that be to have a neighbor like that?!?!)

Do you see what’s in Amanda’s hand?  hahahaa!
 

But now, hold up.  Where are all the kids in this?
My 4 + Lecia’s 1 + Amanda’s 3 =

Barb at Handbook of Nature Study would be proud, because Amanda was going to get us going on a nature study while we waited for help to arrive

Help did arrive, in two waves:  the cool homeschool neighbor wave, and the “big boy” wave (this is how we talk at our house.  really.)  Thank you Ryan, Seth and Bekah!

It was really all good, and made me appreciate the friendships that we have formed in our group.  And shoot, these girls are a riot to be stranded with!

Moral of the Story A: If you break down, have a cell phone and a friend with you.  Sons who drive are also a plus.

Moral of the Story B:  If you are planning on a third trip out this week, stay home.

Have anything exciting happenin’ out your way?

Help!

Gang, this has been one busy, busy 4-ish weeks!  Large Family Logistics is doing a good work up in here, but ya'll!  Trying to *finally* buck up and do some homey stuff (lol, yo!) and schooly stuff is taking all of my energies!!

I have a giveaway from APOLOGIA coming up ASAP that i need get details for and put out there (so tell everyone you know that the giveaway may possibly maybe be the new, glorious Homeschool Planner by Debra Bell!)

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I have to share my Women of Faith experience with you!

I have 1 - 2 - 3 non-homeschool book reviews to share!

I have so!much!school stuff to share!!!  And family stuff!!

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But I need help!  See, my blog isn't updating anywhere for a month (well, except for maybe the time when I got lost in feedburner something-or-other and hit a "Ping now" button.  whatever that means.)  HELP!!! 
I really want the giveaway to be a success, and for my readers to know there is something to read, but I just don't know what to do!!  HELP!

Living History, Chunk 2

Hello again!  I had many more pictures to share, but some of the ones I really liked didn't stay flipped around like I wanted them to, but I have plenty more to share!

 We walked around the property of the homeplace of Booker T. Washington, seeing and experiencing in some small way, what life was like there...

 We saw so much, and the interpreters were amazing.  So much information!

We also got to enjoy some music and a LITTLE flat-foot dancing! (I had the dancer in the previous post!

 No homestead experience would be complete without

weaving

carding and spinning

We also saw sheep being shorn with manual shears.  THAT takes skill.

MG enjoyed watching a photographing the animals on the farm, including one incredibly huge...

I loved watching HR actually interact with another person!!  He let this little guy play with his gun.  Something so small, but it meant so much to see him do that!

 And he turned out to be little 5 year old Booker T. Washington in a show that we watched!

The long-awaited wagon ride, which sent us to a stand to learn about tobacco as the cash crop of this plantation. 

 To end our glorious day, we had a most sensible stop en route to our homestead and a classic living history meal of bean and rice:

We saw one of my best friends, Amanda, and her family at both events.  Make sure you get over to her blog to see her BEAUTIFUL and more-slowly-written blog post about the same day!

Living History, Chunk 1

I have been absent from blogging because of life, but I wanted to share *alot* of pictures from the terrific weekend!
This is a very picture heavy post, but I hope you enjoy experiencing living history with us!
(and forgive me for doing this rather quickly -- I need to eat my oreos prepare for my Sunday School lesson!)
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We went to a Civil War re-enactment just down the road a piece. It was just supposed to be Pa and MG.
Plans changed, and I am so glad. Had I stayed home and "gotten something done," (not sure what with the other three here) I would have missed the education and the good times with my family.
We had never been to such a thing, and I'm no history buff, but the soldiers-on-steed bearing the flags, standing sentinel at the entrance gave me pause.

Once we got out and going, we saw a serious discussion of officials.

HR was quiet all day, but it wasn't the demeanor of a boy oblivious. He had the posture and look of Taking It All In.

The Intolerable Mess escapes no one, not even on the battlefield. This does not provide me hope ;)

We talked at length with a Union soldier, who had no need of a tent. Hmmph. He was kind enough to share some hardtack with us. SA approved!

Taking It All In from On High.

The Hardtack Soldier with a Bayonet (right?)

The battle was not yet waging, but there was about to Something to happen, if'n we didn't see to some rations for these young soldiers of ours.

Down the road a smidge was the Booker T. Washington Museum, a living museum that is a treasure!
But first, those rations!

Children's activities....

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A Sheng (or Cheng?): where the harmonica came from!

Flat-foot dancing!

Game of the Graces, a really cool game!

There is so much more to share, but Blogger has seen fit to call the shots on how many images I can add. Hmmph.

I'll be back after I get more oreos I finish my lesson!