Sunday, December 9, 2012

feeling too SLUGGISH to do laundry



the laundry will just have to wait(again).
 
this morning Miss A informed me that she has a new pet slug & that he has been living in a teeny little container since Tuesday. so i suggested that maybe it was time to make him a more comfortable home (instead of doing chores...of course).we did a little slug research & headed outside to get to work on his new habitat.
we both agree that he looks much happier in his new place munching on that fresh green leaf. (can you spot him?)
*our fave slug fact: they love one our fave foods...KALE!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

nest notes{seasonal favorites}









seasonally flavored teas are one of my fave things this time of year! during these cooler months we seem to have a hot mug of coziness in hand thru out the day. cozied up on the couch, knitting, snuggling, reading (esp a cup of herbal Honey Vanilla Chamomile in quiet after the girls bed time) watching a movie, etc...the brownsugars & i have tea in the afternoons sometimes with a sweet treat & maybe a little cream. if visitors stop by i love to have a hot cup of tea to offer.

last year i became obsessed with the Nutcracker Sweet tea but couldn't find it again this year. i tried the Trader Joes Vanilla & Cinnamon black tea & was super surprised that it came pretty close in flavor!

the very next day of course...i found my teas at my fave local grocery store & stocked up! {bummed i didn't realize the Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea wasn't gluten free & didn't get to try it...was so looking forward to it!}

*testing out mobile posting with the new update :)

Gold Rush at Riley's Farm

Riley's Farm. Oak Glen, Ca. 11.1.12
a few weeks ago a friend invited us on their homeschool charter's living history trip at one of our fave local places 
Riley's Farm
it was on our fall to do check list, so we packed our stuff up last minute & hit the road early in the morning!
my mama made the brownsugars costumes a few years ago when we visited the Colonial Farm Life trip
& luckily they worked again for this Gold Rush trip. 
(because really what better way to experience a living history field trip than being in costume!)
check the Riley's Farm link...it's absolutely beautiful & they have so many many fantastic things to offer! 
our guide giving the group a history lesson & the laws of the land.
mining in the gold field.
to enter we had to make a deal with the claim owner.
our deal was to pay 30 percent of the gold found. 
the kids mostly calculated their negotiations themselves.
{these pix are out of order...oops}
searching for nuggets by hand in the sluice boxes.
afterwards the girls decided that maybe it would be better to invest some of their hard earned gold mining money on a {highly} price inflated mining pan.  



 at the bank they converted all their gold into paper money.
there was even a bank robbery!
 the miners also had the opportunity to try to earn extra money by doing other chores if they could find any.
 
after the claims & the bank closed for the day
we were served a miner's lunch that consisted an apple, jerky meat, cornbread, a slice of cheese & lemon aide
before the auction in the big barn
(where of course you get to spend your hard days work earned pay).
the auction was such a great educational lesson in supply & demand (as the supply of objects to bid on decreased, the bidding price on the remaining objects increased significantly).
at the end of the auction the guide discussed supply & demand in further detail as well as other valuable educational & historical info.
one of our fave tidbits was that he pointed out that the same people owned the claims, mines, the goods & supplies for purchase, the bank, the auction, pretty much everything involved
& they made a fortune off (US) the desperate miners!
i'm not giving it all away,
but fall at Riley's Farm is a beautiful time of year to visit (as any actually)...check out the Riley's Farm link to see why!

Saturday, December 1, 2012

visiting our local pumpkin patch


a few weeks ago i surprised my brownsugars with a last minute field trip.
we started a pumpkin unit, needed to add some fall to our house (even though as you can see it was still hot!) &needed new seeds to add to my garden pumpkin patch that dried up in the hot weather.
we needed pumpkins! i couldn't think of any better place to get them than to pick them from the vine at our local pumpkin patch ourselves.

ps playing blog post catch up since blogger was not letting me upload pix & with the new mobile app update its still a little wacky! grrr!