they wanted to try it

so much has been going on over here i can barely even keep up with it all myself! anniversary trip, camp trip, soccer practice & games, not to mention still unpacking etc...& to top it all off: 

this year my brownsugars all decided they wanted to try public school. 

(the pix are of their 1st days)

my oldest wants to be a space engineer & got accepted into the engineering program of her dreams. (THANK GOD!!!) she is NEVER EVER coming back to homeschooling! the program is A M A Z I N G!!! she comes home beyond super stoked every single day of her amazing new life! in turn i am beyond super stoked for her & her straight A's making self(our years of homeschooling the way we did paid off!)

the younger girls wanted to try it for a month. 

my middle girl missed being homeschooled in the very beginning, but after time & esp after 6th grade camp...she decided she has found her niche (aka new friends!!!) & is staying in school. its amazing how much she has blossomed in so many ways. she is loving having her own thing going & is also making straight A's while she's at it! 

her teacher (whom i LOVE LOVE LOVE)calls her "a model student!"

my baby girl on the other...public school just didn't work for her. i'm not going into all the negative details but she (we) really tried to stick with it (& the teacher *ahem*) for about 3 weeks but it was all way too much. things got so bad hubby even pulled her out while i was away chaperoning camp. but now she's happily back home, loving "being like an only child finally" as she put it & her little world is back to good. with mama her favorite teacher, her favorite classmates (ollie & mahalo) & in her favorite classroom

...H O M E :) 

8th grade promotion ceremony

each grad received a cute personalized chalkboard pennant.

love love love these group of girlies!

she walked in to the "Star Wars" theme song

(each grad picked their fave song).

wearing yellow checked sunglasses.

(each grad walked in wearing shades...cool kids.) 

the co-op teacher gave each grad a special word & a special gift that defined them.

her word was empowered & her gift was a Spock figurine. both abs perfect!

dress & converse...yes!

these two crazy best friendsies...peas in a pod {heart}

yummy gluten free 'stache cakes made by my sweet hubby!

{such a good daddy!}

me & my beautiful amazing girl

 

our oldest brownsugar's 8th grade promotion ceremony was Saturday. a little windy, but an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day for a country club celebration!

 

the promotion ceremony events were planned by the 8th graders themselves & our wonderful homeschooling co-op families did such a fantastic job with the party planning, decorating, etc...! these 8th graders were such an awesome group of smarties, they more than deserved it all.

extremely proud!

 

wait.

it's just sinking in that 8th grade promotion means she is done with 8th grade forever & will officially be a high schooler next year!

WAAAAAH! NO! NO! NOOOOOO!!!& why?!?

{only 4 more years left in the nest}

it all happened so fast...sadness.

la jolla marine bio beach teach

 

la jolla 2.21.2013

miss smartypants 8th grader was invited on our homeschool co-ops high school marine bio beach teach lab. the younger brownsugars went to the Birch Aquarium with their sitter & big sis & i spent the day together exploring the beach & tide pools with the high school kids. (btw - i loved this awesome group of teens!) 

the day started out chilly but by the time we hit the water it was much warmer, sunny & absolutely beautiful!

 

*note to self*- the red wellies were a fantastic choice! i would have been miserable with wet jeans, socks, shoes & freezing feet!

 

SUCH a fantastic day & another fave field trip

(the younger girls had a fantastic time too!...bummed i missed it)

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!

learn how to make your own comfie slug home here.

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!