We went apple picking with some of our co-op friends this week - anything is more fun when done with friends (and apple picking is fun to begin with)!

Jaden pushed the cart to the part of the orchard we would be picking in.

Noah definitely enjoyed his first trip to the apple orchard :)

Jaden inspecting the cart to see how much room we had left.

The final two apples for our baskets!

Lael shared the pushing job with Mom on the way back - being very careful not to spill any of our beautiful apples!  We picked two varieties - Jonagold (the ones closest to Lael) and Empire.

A lovely afternoon at the orchard!

I'm already thinking of all the tasty treats we will make!

SCHOLA fun has begun again!

Co-op time is here once again!  It's hard to believe, but this is our fourth year with our homeschool co-op . . . we all look forward to the beginning of the new school year to see our old friends and meet new ones!

 

This fall, Lael's classes include Genetics, Elections, and a gym class.

This week, they made a model of DNA using paper clips . . . pretty cool.  (Why didn't we do things like that when I was in school???) 

 Jaden has a class on Elections too (his is taught by Mom), as well as one on famous scientists and their discoveries . . . oh, and the ever-popular gym class!

 Noah is still too little for actual classes, but he still has lots of fun playing with his friends :)

Enjoying those final warm days . . .

This was actually quite a warm day - but before long, we'll be bundling up when we go outside, so we're enjoying the warm sunshine while we can!

 I guess Jaden thinks it's cooler to not smile when I take a picture of him.

 Brothers that swing together . . .

 He's always been a climber!

 Sweet girl!

 Little brother wants to do everything that his big brother can do!

 Noah with the "brroom, brroom, beep, beep" (aka - pretend car)

 Just a quick pic of some of the gorgeous flowers that are still in bloom!

So glad that we can make simple but sweet memories together!

Pennypacker Mills

Last week we experienced a piece of Pennsylvania history when we visited Pennypacker Mills in Schwenksville, PA.  This estate was the summer home of Gov. Samuel W. Pennypacker, who served as governor of Pennsylvania from 1903-1907.

 

We visited in conjunction with "History Adventures in the Summer", a hands-on history program by Pennypacker Mills.  The theme on the day of our visit?  The General Store - and we had so much fun!

 

The staff gave the kids a general overview of the general store - where things were located and what kinds of merchandise could be purchased - as well as sharing a snapshot as to what life was like at the turn of the 20th century.

 After some instructions, each child grabbed a basket and a shopping list and were turned loose to shop!

 There were all kinds of tasks - like weighing out dry beans . . .

 . . . and cool things to see, like this telephone.

 Noah watched all the big kids scurry around from the comfort of his stroller.

 One favorite activity:  grinding grain by hand into flour.  (My kids were thankful that we have an electric grain grinder at home!)

 Even Noah got in on a bit of the grain grinding action!

 Noah was quite entertained by the "horse" (made of wood) tied to a hitching post - he couldn't understand why the hitching post wouldn't "let go" of the rope when he asked it to! ;)

 Lael and Jaden also tried their hand at using a pen and ink to write . . . then decided that they'd stick with pencils for their schoolwork!

 After they completed all the tasks on their shopping list, they went to the front counter - Jaden wasn't quite sure how to take the general store clerk . . . she talked to him like he was a boy of that time period!

We also got to tour the governor's home but have no pictures (none were allowed inside).

 

It was a fantastic field trip . . . and a wonderful glimpse into what life was like 100 years ago!

Opening Ceremony Fun!

We have been anxiously awaiting the start of the 2012 Olympics in London . . . it's such an exciting time!  So we decided to make some yummy treats to enjoy during the opening ceremony - treats with an international flair!

Tostones (fried plantains) . . . Lael learned how to make these in her co-op cooking class and insisted that we include them in our menu!

 Spanikopita are little pockets of spinach and feta goodness surrounded by layers of phyllo dough . . . I'd never made them before, but we all loved them!

 Queso fundido - a hot cheese dip with roasted red peppers and chorizo sausage - another family favorite!

 For dessert, we HAD to have an Olympic flag cake - Lael and Jaden did a great job making the rings!

 (For the Beijing Olympics, we made the rings out of M&Ms - but we decided that we like the fruit version much better!)

Unfortunately, once the party - and the opening ceremony - started, we got caught up in all the excitement and I forgot to take any more pictures!  Ooops!

It's the beginning of the 2012-13 school year at God Seekers Academy . . . I'm beginning my 7th year of homeschooling already -  and I'm still trying to figure out where the time has gone!

Every year on the first day of school I try to fix a fun breakfast . . . this year we had French toast kebabs!

 The youngest student in God Seekers Academy

 My third grader

 My sixth grader

We're ready for some exciting adventures this year!

Cool summer fun!

We've definitely had some hot days this summer . . . so we've tried to keep cool in any way possible.  One of our favorites - swimming!

On the 4th of July, we had fun swimming in "Mr. Hank and Mrs. Pat's" pool . . . as well as having a yummy cookout!

We also purchased a little inflatable pool for the backyard . . . we got it with Noah in mind, but all the kids have fun cooling off in it!

Daddy is a great lifeguard!  (Actually, he's more of a make-sure-Noah-doesn't-fall-out-of-the-pool-onto-the-concrete-path guard)!