South Bend Chocolate Factory

According to the time stamp, October of 2006 is when Grammy and I took the girls to the South Bend Chocolate factory for a fun field trip. Let the cravings commence.

Barn Quilts of Kankakee County

Too bad it's not Grateful Friday--but I can't wait!

Yesterday, I took my Mom and Aunt with me to tour the Barn Quilts of Kankakee County. This was Mom's birthday present, but we had decided to wait until the fall trees were in their glory. We could not have picked a better day.

• The weather was perfect and the colors were magnificent. I am in awe of God's creation and man's creativity. 
• I am humbled by the gracious hospitality shown toward strangers.
• I am thankful for His protection, both for us as we traveled many miles and for our precious men-folk who experienced a small field fire while harvesting. (Yes, my initial reaction was the same as yours. The fields are wicked dry this year, but they are wise and experienced. It was quickly contained, no one was hurt, and no damage was done. Thank you, Father!)
• I am also appreciative of close-knit family relationships, as I am aware that not everyone is as fortunate...and time is fleeing.
• I am thankful for folks with a passion to preserve history and culture and share it with others in such a personal way.
• I am happy that I was taught how to read a map!
• Most of all, I feel ridiculously fortunate to be living here in the country myself. I cannot begin to count all the reasons that makes me feel blessed.

But you probably want pictures, right?

Specific information about many of the barns and quilt blocks is available HERE. We still have more to see in Kankakee County. And then it's on to another tour! I'm going to see if there are plans for Barn Quilts in my own county. We'll see where this takes us!

Cowculus

On Friday, we officially kicked off our school year with a huge field trip. And I mean huge in every way. We drove to Indiana with my parents (Hi, Grammy and Grampy!) and went to Fair Oaks Farm. Fair Oaks is one of the largest dairy farms in the US. I am still trying to process the scale of the things we saw. Here are some of the highlights:

• We saw two calves being born. Hands down, this was the coolest part of the day. After the first birth (which was a little difficult), it was wonderful to go back in the barn and see both Mom and baby doing well. I would have put that little boy (he only weighed 60#) in the back of my van and brought him home if they had let me.
• We toured the facility in a climate controlled, bio-secure, luxury bus.
• We saw the "Dairy-go-round" carousel where they milk the cows 3 times a day.
• We learned how milk, cheese, and ice cream are made--and sampled some of each.
• We learned how the farm takes the manure and turns it into electricity to power their facilities. Yes, way. (or maybe I should say Whey.)

A little dairy farm math, or Cowculating, if you'll indulge me:

• FOF has 30,000 cows. 3,000 each on ten separate farms.
• They own 25,000 acres of land. 20% of that land is preserved in forests, streams and unfarmed buffer zones to support wildlife and prevent erosion.
• They have 80 some births a day. Boys are sold, girls stay (and are kept within the same herd for their entire life).
• Each milking cow produces up to 10 gallons of milk per day. I forget the exact numbers, but that's around 20,000 gallons every day (not all of them are producing milk all the time).
• Each cow eats up to 100 pounds of food and drinks up to 30 gallons of water per day.
• Each cow also produces (and you knew this was coming) up to 150 pounds of waste per day. About 60% of that is liquid. Which means, with 30,000 cows, the farm processes 1.6 million pounds of manure every day. I promise, I will never complain about cat boxes again. This was also where I stopped wanting to bring that little cow home with me.

There is a lot more, but at this point my brain starts hurting. If you are ever near Fair Oaks, I would highly recommend a visit. But maybe not with really little kids (below 1st grade). The birthings are...well, births. Exhilarating, but messy. Use your discretion. The place is very kid friendly, but you should know that you never come in direct contact with any of the animals. That is for the cows' protection (and yours), but if you're expecting a petting zoo, it could be a little disappointing (we knew, so it was okay). The information comes at you pretty fast, and much of it would be over the little ones heads. Oh, and if you have kids with sensory issues, you might want to skip the 4D mooovie (sorry).

How about some pics? I'll warn you...it was not our best photography day. It's hard to take pictures through glass, and of perpetually moving children.

Blackberry Farm

For our Fieldtrip Every Week (FEW) last week, the girls and I visited Blackberry Farm in Aurora. When DH and I were kids, it was called Pioneer Park, and we were dragged there every year like clockwork. And like most things that are done once too often "whether you like it or not", we got bored with it quickly. Remembering that, I have been reluctant to take the girls, in spite of it being less than 30 minutes away, and cheap to boot.

Waiting paid off. We could not have had a more perfect day. The weather was gorgeous, the park was not crowded and we were all in the right frame of mind to enjoy it completely (What a difference that makes!). The people who work in the various buildings dress, speak, and act in character. It was such fun to watch the girls interact with them. I'm sure we all learned more in that one day than in an entire week "in school".
The train was a huge hit as well, and J made us ride it several times. In particular, she found it hilarious when all the kids on the train would scream as we went through the tunnel.
I am also happy to report that they had a gift shop and it was delightfully affordable. That doesn't happen every day.

Lincoln Park Zoo

Since the weather cooperated last week, we scrapped our plans for the Adler Planetarium and spent the day at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Last summer, we went with a group from our church and it ended up being a horrible experience. Not because of the people from the church, but because I went unprepared to deal with J's sensory disorder. Any chance we had of enjoying ourselves went out the window when I ignored what should be second nature by now. At the point in the day when all three of us were in tears, I promised the girls that we would come back someday and do it right. I am happy to report that this time, all went well.

The highlight of the day was the Aardvark. I am glad that my children can see creatures they wouldn't normally see, but zoos sometimes seem a little sad to me; especially when an animal acts the like the equivalent of an autistic child rocking itself under the kitchen table. It just reinforces how I feel about the stewardship of God's creation. But that aardvark was thumbing his nose at us all. He might have been in captivity, but he wasn't about to act the way his keepers wanted him to act. He was going to ignore the fake termite mound and sleep in the Rubbermaid garbage can and there wasn't a dang thing they could do about it. I loved it.

We only got through half of the zoo, so we'll have to go back and finish later this year. Some thoughts:

• There is no such thing as a Free zoo.
• People from Wisconsin in extended cab pickup trucks should not attempt U turns on Michigan avenue.
• I loved squished pennies. 51 cents and you've got a souvenir. Hang the gift shop.
• There is no accounting for taste in art in Chicago.
• We don't care if they did change the name. We're still calling it the Sears Tower.
• J knows more about animals than I ever will, and I'm not afraid to defer to her.

Red Oak Nature Center

The girls and I have picked two projects for this summer. The first is that we are reading books together that take place in the Great Lakes states. Little House, Caddie Woodlawn, Minn of the Mississippi,Paddle-to-the-Sea, and the Mitt and Minn series are some of the titles on our list (feel free to suggest others). MC and I have this hare-brained idea/dream of someday taking the kids on a road trip around the Great Lakes. The trip involves peaches, cheese (to fix the problem caused by the peaches), and wild rice (to fix the cheese...). It also includes bridges, walking across the Mississippi, and saying things like, "Oh, buckets." By the time either one of us can afford this trip, our children will likely have other plans. But we can dream.

Our second summer plan is to take a field trip every week. Only two of them on the list are places that the girls have seen before. We went to Red Oak Nature Center last week (as part of the Great Turtle Adventure, which you will hear about next post.) and my parents unknowingly took them to the Phillips Park Zoo, which was on the list too. From what I hear, the zoo didn't go over so well (there wasn't even a gift shop!), which makes me glad that I wasn't there.
Here are some of our pics from Red Oak. M insisted on having her picture taken with every critter in the place.

A number of our wildlife questions are directed to a gentleman from our church who works for the forestry service. He is a naturalist, wildlife rehabilitator and educator. One of the interesting things that has come about from our conversations is that he has offered to let us keep a gorgeous orange Corn snake as a science experiment. The educator/homeschooling mom side of my brain wants to jump at the opportunity. The descendant-of-Eve side isn't so sure. Of course, J wanted a snake as a pet several years ago and I just saw M and her little cousin carrying toads around the yard, so I'm pretty sure both the girls are on board with the idea. I'll let you know which side of my brain wins.

Adler Planetarium

Yesterday, DH and I took some of the kids from my SS class--the ones who had won a contest last fall--to the Adler Planetarium in Chicago (minus one, plus the little sister who went by default of both parents going) . It was a lovely day and we had a wonderful time. We were only able to explore two exhibits, but we purchased a membership and will definitely go back.

We saw two of the shows: the Night Sky in the dome (good) and the 3D Vision: Imagining the Universe (eh). Because we do not believe in the theory of Evolution, it frustrates my children (and me) when it is assumed to be true. Consequently, when the narrator asked if we believed what he had just told us (about the Big Bang) was true, J said "No" in quite a loud voice. He then went on to say that it was true, but they were still "awaiting confirmation". Awaiting confirmation is another name for faith. Hebrews 11:1 tells us "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." When you don't have confirmation, according to the scientific method, all you have is a hypothesis, not fact. I do not have a problem with the theory of Evolution. I have a problem when the theory is treated as fact and all other theories are ignored. If someone believed in Evolution, but could acknowledge that it took faith to do so, I could walk side by side with them without hesitation.
I pray that discussing multiple theories with my children will allow them to make an informed choice, rather than simply standing by the only option most children are ever taught.

Bounce Town

Well, the relatives have all deserted us and we are catching up on sleep and housework. Things aren't quite back to normal, but we're getting there. Thanks for being patient. Here are some of the photos from our trip to Bounce Town.

Wild Kingdom, al fin

Zapato the Wild Stallion~can you guess where this name came from? Yes, "zapato" is "shoe" in Spanish, so this horse is named Shoe. Aren't they clever? The grass on this card was fun. I put blobs of several different green paints on a plate. Then I randomly dipped the brush and sort of scrubbed it down the paper. The brush was (are you ready for this?) a cat brush with metal bristles!

Squirt the Seahorse~another obvious name choice. I painted the background paper with Bluing (the laundry additive) and then stamped the seahorse in metallic copper. One of our favorite exhibits (before they got rid of it!) at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, was the Seahorses. Fortunately, all of the seahorses are still there, just moved into other exhibits.

Taffy the Giraffe, whose name I can only imagine came from the pulling and stretching of taffy, was a bit of a trick to put together. The stamp had been carved for my SiL...in California. She graciously stamped it a couple dozen times on card stock and mailed them to me. I colored, cut and then layered the card with a background gradient (using a kaleidacolor pad) and the silhouette of the Live Oak stamp that I carved for the State Trees postal ring.

Technically, this Great Blue Heron card was for the I'll Fly Away LTC ring, but it fits with the rest of the Wild Kingdom so well that I'm posting it here. I was looking for an excuse to carve this stamp for quite awhile. The design for the cattail stamp was handdrawn, which might not seem like a big deal to you, but to someone who excels at stick figures, well, it was a breakthrough. ;)

Periodic Asundries

Everything is finally coming together for our "official" study of the Periodic Table of the Elements. The wall displays that we ordered from the Oriental Trading Company arrived. They were folded up really tight and came out smelling like new vinyl, but the wrinkles are starting to hang out. The pockets were a bit snug on some of the trading cards and some of them had to be trimmed ever so slightly in order to get them to fit. To answer your question, Yes, they are clear on both sides so that we can see the backs of the cards as well.

Now I just need to figure out where I'm going to hang it! It's huge!


When we were at The Museum of Science and Industry last week, we were able to finish the Glass Experience exhibit (see previous post). One of the most fantastic displays was of Chihuly's Macchia glass bowls. There was a movie that showed how they make them. Incredible is all I can say.


I'm not sure, but I'd guess that some of these bowls are worth more than my car!

Part of the exhibit perfectly fit our study of the elements. They had display tables that featured samples of quite a number of the elements used in glass manufacture.

And of course, the wall displays were a big help!

It makes it fun that we have discussed the table enough that the girls are starting to recognize it's appearance and significance. When we walked into this hallway, Megan got excited and practically shouted, "Look Mom! Elements!"
My only fear is that the girls will start asking me "What element is that made of Mom?" and I won't be able to find the answer.

One last note: we bought a small Periodic Table poster (placemat size) in the gift shop at the museum. It has pictures of almost all of the "real" elements, or pictures of the person who discovered them, plus info on the back about each element. I'm sure I paid more than necessary, it being from a gift shop and all, but the info says you can buy it in different sizes from periodictable.com. And you can buy samples of the elements at element-collection.com. Now don't you just want to go right out and buy a piece of Praseodymium?

Silica Serendipity

Our choice to study the periodic table of the elements in school this year was largely guided by our participation in the group exchange of LTCs on Atlas Quest (ATCs to the rest of you). Receiving 118 miniature works of incredible art gives you a very strong desire to display them. And if we are going to take up all the space to display that many trading cards, we might as well use them in our homeschool. Thus began a wonderful story. Here is how the rest of it goes:
The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, which is only a mere 75 minute drive from us, is hosting an exhibit called The Glass Experience (sadly ending in 4 days). Purchasing a museum membership was already in the field trip plans for school this year and I wanted the girls to see the glass exhibit. Glass is made from silicon, right? What better way to start our exploration of the elements! So last Thursday we packed some snacks, the camera, the kids, and a couple of grandparents into the van and headed to Chicago. Part of the exhibit is called "You design it, we make it!". Anyone can draw a picture, and if they pick your picture they will make it out of glass during one of their demonstrations. To shorten the story, I'll tell you what you've already guessed: They picked J's picture! And not only did they pick it out of hundreds of pictures, but they ended up picking it at the demonstration that we were at!! She drew a blue cat on a green rug. This is a brief explanation of how the glass lampworking process goes:

To start the process, a "glob" (yes, that was the technical term they used) of molten glass on a metal rod is shaped using various tools. Some were made of fruit wood soaked in water for a softer effect and because they don't draw as much heat from the glass.

Different companies have different "recipes" for glass, but this glass is made from silica, soda ash, limestone, and lithium. Other elements are added to create the colors.

This is the body being shaped. The gaffer forms a narrow break off point (sorry, I don't remember that technical term) so that they can separate the sculpture from the metal rod when they are finished.

Glass is best worked around 1500-1800 degrees, so it went in and out the furnace (2100 degrees) many times.

Here Rae (sorry if it's not spelled right) works on the green rug the cat is sitting on.

Now the head and facial features are added.
The completed piece is placed in an annealling oven to cool slowly over night, at about 100 degree an hour, to make the glass stable.
What a priviledge it was to get to see J's cat being made by two very talented artists! The hot glass portion of the exhibit was by the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.
Here is her drawing and "Siam", her blue Siamese glass cat.
Ta-Da!

I do have pictures that relate more to the elements, but that is for another post.

Some people would call this coincidence, luck, or fortune. But as someone who believes in the absolute sovereignty of God, I see the hand of a gracious Heavenly Father who takes an interest in the smallest details of the lives of His children.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

"Our highest assurance of the goodness of Providence rests in the
flowers. All other things-our powers, our desires, our food-are necessary
for our existence. But the rose is an extra. It's smell and it's
color are an embellishment of life, not a condition of it. It is only
goodness which gives extras, and so we have much to hope from the flowers."

Or glass cats.

The Prospect of a New Friend

Minneapolis/St. Paul is a wonderful place and I have loved it for years. It is clean, artsy, and easy to get around for the most part. You can actually find a parking place that doesn't require collateral and the family friendly activities abound. One of the first adventures that we had on our trip was meeting up with The Red Cat at Prospect Park after DH's first appointment. The following pictures are pretty self explanatory so I won't insult your intelligence by labeling them.

My children humored me enough to let me find the two boxes in this park. Getting to meet the Red Cat was a highlight of the trip for me. I have long admired her carving skills in postals and LTCs and it was a pleasure to be able to put a face with the trailname. Hi, Heather!!

Modern Art

Another episode in our travel adventures in Minnesota included a day at the Minneapolis Scultpure garden with my college roomie and her family. I am not a really big fan of a lot of modern art. Much of it seems to reflect chaos and a rebellion against God's intended order in the world. Which I understand is the whole point of much modern art. So it's not so much that I don't "get it", as it is that I get it far too well and rebel against the rebellion.
Oscar Wilde said "Life imitates art far more than art imitates life." Either way, the imitation makes the art recognizable. It is enlightening to walk, or rather run, through a sculpture garden with a child and see their view of the pieces. Can they recognize what they are "supposed" to be or relate to them or not? Without being told what they are?

Yep. That's a Spoonbridge and Cherry. (with St Mary's Basilica in the background)

This was, by far, the kid's favorite piece. There was a pair of ducks with 8 babies in the pond. Once here, J just parked and stayed by the cherry the rest of the time we were there. She had no interest in scoping out the rest of the scultpures.
Yep. That's a Walking Man. The girls had lots of theories for where he might be walking to, or from.
Yep. That's a Hare on a bell. Why the hare is on the bell is another story, but we had fun postulating.
Yep. That's a Glass Fish. Leave it to J to notice that the fish is standing out of the water because the pond is too small for it to fit inside.
Yep. That's Prometheus. And yes, he is strangling a vulture.
This amazed me. We didn't tell the girls what this was right away and yet this was M's reaction to it~to go lay down in front of it. The piece is called "Reclining Mother and Child".
Goddess with the Golden Thighs. It's a stretch (pun intended), but I can see this. But what woman in her right mind would be flattered by this sculpture? And if flattery wasn't the intention...
...as I am sure was not the case with this one.
I am sure that a little research would reveal a great deal more about these sculptures. But it is so much more fun to imagine that Isamu Noguchi was mad at his wife when he carved "Judith".

There is a letterbox at the sculpture garden also. But in the planter's interest, I am going to keep those pictures to myself. :)
All in all, we had a wonderful time. There were many wonderful plants in the conservatory as well, but those are for another post.

Big Zoo, Little Zoo

Our recent, impromtu trip to Minnesota was a complete success from our children's point of view(for an explanation of our reason for the trip, see here). Unburdened by financial or medical cares, they flung themselves with abandon into all the joys a vacation has to offer. The next few posts will be dedicated to some of those joys, although in no particular order.
A cool, overcast Monday found us wandering the completely delightful Como Zoo in St. Paul. As we live about an hour from Brookfield Zoo near Chicago, we were extremely pleased with this little zoo. Brookfield might have the advantage of size and significant funding, and it is difficult to see everything in one day because there is so much. But Como Zoo more than makes up for it with superior displays and animals that are obviously content with their homes.

We were amazed at how close you could get to the animals. Close enough to see them drooling...
Dreaming...
Showing off...
Playing with Yo-Yos...
If you don't get that last reference, you need to watch Fantasia 2000.

I love going to the zoo when the weather is cooler. The animals are much more active, and the people much less so.

Yes, they had Koi. :)

No, the fam didn't let me find the letterboxes there. :(

There is also an amusement park and conservatory at Como, among other things, but those will be saved for another post.