Natural Treasures

Summer isn't over just yet, so we're trying to squeeze a few projects and outings into our days. One outing we recently took was to a working gold mine.

The mine has a small history museum offering a self-guided tour to visitors.

After the tour, we had the opportunity to learn how to pan for gold and then to give it a try. After about 20 minutes of panning, it was clear to my why people were so excted to add some industry and efficiency to the process--panning is tedious and tiring!

When the panning was completed, we moved to gem mining--that process was much easier! The children marveled over the rocks that showed up as their sand washed away and enjoyed learning what each color they saw represented. We got a variety of gems, which just added to the excitement. It was actually just as fun to match the rocks to their name as it was to secure them.

When all of the work was done, we took the time to check out the mine store where they offered to turn our raw gems into cut (and even set) gems. They had jewelry already created to buy as well. Other treasures in the store were colorful geodes cut for display, gem trees (quite pretty), and many other trinkets. Exploring the store was a great way to close out our trip. The drive was long, but everyone agreed that it was well worth the time. :-)

Meet Dorito

John had a birthday. He's 53 now. His birthday came on the heels of much activity in the house--July has been a very full month ya'll! Due to scheduling, we celebrated his birthday in two parts. We had cake and gifts on one night, and then we played games (despite the heat--thank God for a good breeze!) and I took him out to lunch on his birthday proper.

John received some great gifts, but one stood out more than the others. Jozsef, Nikolas, and Bethany teamed up to get John a very unique gift. Meet Dorito. Inspired by a commercial and a good sense of humor, John now has an office mate. And as it turns out, Dorito has captured the heart of all of the children. :-) It's great when humor can be appreciated and family fun can be had in multiple ways.

Happy Birthday John! May Dorito be a long standing companion and may God bless you with many more years!

Bladesmithing

Connor is a hands on guy. He loves to explore and learn, especially with his hands. He will have an idea, reasearch it, and then attempt to create it himself. We are interested in seeing what he chooses as a career path. In an attempt to help him pick a field, and because he loves watching Forged in Fire, we enrolled him in a bladesmithing class.

Directly after returning from beach camp, Connor spent two days at The Forge (a place Nikolas discovered while he was out and about on jobs) learning how to make a knife from scratch. Connor was the youngest guy in the class, but that didn't phase him, and if nothing else, the guys respected him for being there. Connor had an excellent experience and came home with a solid, good looking knife. :-) Good work, Connor!

I'm so thankful he was able to have such an experience. He might even go back for the next level class. :-) Thanks to Nikolas for not only finding The Forge, but for helping to get Connor there and back again. What a full and wonderful week for Connor! :-)

Beach Camp

This year, the bulk of the children had a great opportunity. The church planned to take the teens on retreat to the beach in Florida! Jozsef and Nikolas went as leaders. They helped to chaperone as well as to lead small groups. Connor, Sonja, and Riley were all able to attend. The two older boys have been to Florida, though not this location, previousely. However, for the other three, this was their first trip to Florida. Both Connor and Sonja had been on retreats before, but none a week long. For Riley, this was a first all the way around! The retreat started on Sonja's birthday proper--talk about a birthday gift! :-) Needless to say, the whole group was excited to participate.

The church sent a chartered bus as well as two 15 seater vans full of participants--leaders and students--so it was a good crowd! Our church group met up with another youth group (the two Pastors know each other) and they joined up for a week of learning, worship, games, fellowship, beach baptisms (they had 12!), and memory making.

The children made friends, learned lots, and loved the beach. Panama City Beach is beautiful!

Some of the children came home rather red, while others just returned bronzed. They all loved their time away! Sonja didn't mind being away for her birthday, and to her relief, no one made an embarrassing display of her birthday though she did get some sweet well wishes. :-) Nikolas as awesome about taking pictures, but since he was the guy behind the camera, I don't have too many of him. Still, I'm thankful for the shots he got. There is already chatter about next year's beach trip. Hannah will be in the group by then (move up Sunday is coming up and she'll leave Sunday school to join the teens). Who knows, maybe John and I can volunteer as leaders and we can all attend... :-)