This and That . . .

Last Monday, we took advantage of the semi-good weather and took the kids out for a hike and a little Geocaching. Here is a description from a Geocaching website:

"Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout
the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic
idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches
(sometime we call them a cache), outdoors and then share
your experiences online."

So you get the coordinates for the "cache" online and then it is up to you to find them. Sometimes the coordinates are right on and sometimes they can be within 10 feet, so some searching is involved. Sometimes, the "hider" of the cache will leave a short clue. We headed to the hills with our GPS, clues, and walking sticks and had a great time. We ended up finding 6 cahes, that is a record for us for 1 trip. JJ did great hiking on the trails and only needed help through the brush. The older kids all got to use the GPS and we had to work together to find them. It is a great exercise is working as a team to solve a problem and also in following direction and looking at a map. We searched until dark and then came home.

Peaches finding her cache.

I finished the next step in the challenge in Appendix F of A Thomas Jefferson Education. I read through the Declaration of Independence, looked up the definition of any words I didn't know or were unclear, listed 10 things that stood out to me and discussed it with someone. Honestly, my head hurt! I can't remember the last time I really THOUGHT about something that deep and I have always read and studied. It was amazing. Surprisingly, there were about 16 words that I had to look up that I didn't know or was unclear of. This is an amazing tool for study and I need to be more vigilant at annotating when I read.

I was so amazed at the deep yet simple ideas and thoughts put into this wonderful document. Our founding fathers were truly inspired men! It was sad though that I found so many things in the Declaration of Independence that I believe our country is struggling with right now.

I am ready to move onto the next step, but . . . I lent my book to someone and didn't write down the next step!!! AARGH . . . Ya, I know, that wasn't the smartest thing to do. I get a little excited when someone wants to borrow the book though. I will have to call and ask them to tell me the remainder of the steps so I can keep going.

Onto the kids, Ky has LOVED reading the composer biographies that we got from the library and wants MORE! Bugaloo has done great with the art books and draws all the time. I got some art appreciation cards just recently and can't wait to get those out for the kids to look at.

We had a great time searching for books at a local thrift store and scored big time. We got some great classics, including The Red Badge of Courage, Stuart Little, The Trumpet of the Swan, Rebekah of Sunnybrook Farm and MORE!! We also got a few biographies, two for George Washington and one of Paul Revere. My husband's comment was, "Well, I need to get bookselves made. We'll need a lot." That's right Honey, a lot!!!!

We already finished Stuart Little and I think it is definitely a favorite, the kids LOVED it.
Well, good luck to you all in your adventures and Enjoy!!