This week...

This week has been one heck of a miss-mash of stuff. Here's just a sampler...

I managed to salvage some produce from our garden before the aphids and cabbage worms ate it all. Guess I'll give it a break and try it again with the kale and lettuce in a week or two.

My daughter started her riding lessons for the Fall.

We also started back with our Spanish and Piano teachers this week for the new school year. My son in particular is not too happy about this, "Here we go again." he says.

My daughter actually said this to me one day this week, "I don't want to go anywhere." I can't believe that came out of her mouth. This child has never said such a thing like that to me before! Could this possibly be an exact opposite twin switched when I was not looking?

We went to Lazy Daze, the annual Arts and Crafts fair in Downtown Cary. This is a huge fair that occurs every year and a great place to go to see artisans of all kinds and find one-of-a-kind items. We've been so many times, we almost decided to skip it, but we did trek down there to peruse the stalls. We got some good food, and took in a little entertainment. The weather was mercifully nice. Last year it was cancelled on account of a hurricane and the year before it was in the 100s.

Here's my handsome guy.

On Tuesday we went to the NC Museum of Natural Science Homeschool Day. It's a day where they offer various classes to homeschoolers of all ages. You have to pre-register and pay a fee. Unfortunately, they make you sign up for classes after you get there, and the line was out the door. This event was sold out, so you get an idea about the demand for this sort of thing. There were two sessions, but we only were able to stay for the first and didn't get both of the classes we wanted. Still, it was well worth it.

The new wing, by the way, is pretty neat. I'm so excited about the new laboratories and exhibits. It's a terrific resource. If you just want to go exploring for free you can head down there and spend the day, or you can sign up for their Family science classes (filling up fast). These are in addition to the Student Programs that they continue to offer. A good overview of everything they offer can be found here.

As a 10 and up kid, Jessi was able to take a class in a real laboratory about laboratory techniques (pipetting, measuring, what things are called, how to use a microscope...) and with our favorite teacher too, Mr. Bob.

Noah had to settle for a class on the planets and constellations, but he got to be the sun for a while and view some neat animals while reviewing the information we know about the solar system, the names of the constellations and some of the stories behind them.

At home, I am happy to say we continued to get a good bit of schoolwork done, and Noah even dragged out the "Tin Can Robot Kit" that has been sitting in my office for a year. I actually have two of these and Jessi did hers the next day. This little project was a good study in two different personalities. Noah really enjoyed the process. He loved screwing in the little bitty screws with a small screw driver. For him it was about completing the project and making something. The kid likes details. I still can't figure out why he doesn't like Legos.

My daughter pulled her kit out, immediately decided what it's name was gonna be and told me a whole story about how the robot came into to being and what kind of robot it would be. When it came to putting the little delicate pieces together, however, she completely melted down. Not a detail kind of nitty gritty person this kid. For her it's all about stories and characters. Probably not going to be an engineer.

They both also had their testing day in karate class. Noah earned his second stripe on his black/brown belt. The next step is Junior Black belt, and that will be in December. Jessi is one step behind him.

You might notice the hairdo on the female unit. This is a sign that the two have them have been on an Avatar: The Last Airbender anime cartoon binge the past two weeks. Turns out you can stream the whole series on Netflix. We seem to go from one fantasy world to the next. Ah well, at least it fits in with the whole karate thing.:)