Our HOT but AWESOME Day in Amelia County Virginia

It was a record breaking HOT day in the 100s, but was a great day nonetheless! Today we traveled up to Amelia County Virginia for some fun and learning.

Ken completed his FIRST Blacksmithing class ever today! It was so exciting for us all. Ken has really wanted to try his hand at this incredible craft and finally was able to have the opportunity. The first class was free, but you had to pay for the materials which were $25, which was wonderful considering how much he learned and accomplished on his first day of class!

http://yesteryearschool.com/index.html



Ken Forging a Cross.



Ken at his forging station.





Ken - One happy guy with his new

toys tools.

Heating up the metal.



Shaping the metal.





Ken's Finished Products (in order of completion):

We added Ken's cell phone (a T-Mobile Tap) for size reference of his completed projects!



S Hook



Decorative Hook



Cross



Hook with Decorative Leaf



Dragon Poo (aka Clink) - It's the leftover material that didn't burn in the coal.



While Ken was busy foraging, Jewel and I watched for a bit, pet the old cows on site at the blacksmith's yard, and then took in some of the sites and history of the area.

This cow was such a sweet girl.





Their tongues are SO strong & so rough! We felt like they were going to pull our hands in their mouths! Oh, and they enjoyed the all the sweating we were doing! The salt improved out taste!



Ahhh... Food - Always a good way to make friends!



Jewel at Sailor's (Saylor's) Creek Battlefield. Which we learned was an incredibly important turning point in the Civil War, but is often overlooked as it occured only 3 days prior to final battle at Appomatox. The tour (just us and a docent/officer) was highly informative, the countryside lovely.
http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/sai.shtm

Jewel at the Hillman Home and Sailor's (Saylor's) Creek Battlefield Hospital



Oh to have been a medic during those bloody battles. Check out those medical tools.



Overlooking Sailor's Creek Battlefield. At the time of the battle, the water was a real obstacle and would have stood about chest deep, versus the knee deep it is now.



Jewel standing by the graves of three of the Hillsman children (children of the residents who occupied the home) at Sailor's (Saylors) Creek Battlefield during the war. All three of these grave markers showed the children to be one year of age or under.



Marker in Honor of CAPT Moses Overton for service in the War of 1812. This was a little more obscure, we're going to try and learn more about CAPT. Overton and why this was next to the children's gravesites.

Our Girl Camp Happy Helper!

This posting is a little delayed, but wanted to include it. From June 21st to June 26th Jewel was at Girls Camp. The girls camped at Lake Sherando in the George Washington National Forest which is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western Virginia. The girls had a lot of fun, defeated challeges, and were spiritually nurished. Jewel definately enjoyed being outdoors in the mountains and swimming in the lake, getting more in tune with the spirit and also learned a lot in the process. Of course during just about any camp each of the girls received a nickname. Jewel's nickname was Tarzana as she spent probably just as much time in the trees as she did on the ground.

After Camp they held an video presentation and awards ceremony. Jewel was recognized for being a "Happy Helper." She always wanted to get in and help the leaders. What a good girl.

Newport News Stake Young Women. Jewel is in the front row at the end on the left side, wearing the tie dye shirt and jean shorts.


Newport News 1st & 2nd Ward Young Women. Jewel is in the front row to the right of the flag with the braids, blue bandana on her head and holding an American flag.

Grandpa Walt's Visit!

Grandpa Walt took a road trip all the way out from California and stopped to visit us during his travels! What a special treat! We loved having him SOooo MUCH! Jewel (being his lil' biker babe) especially loved the visit and was sad to see him go! She loves her Grandpa Walt bunches!! It was so cute when we ran into some friends of ours in Yorktown, she proudly showed off her Grandpa and gave him extra hugs while saying "...this is my grandpa!" Sure wish we lived closer to Grandpa Walt. Here's some pictures during his visit!





Grandpa, Ken & Jewel on the pier at Yorktown.



At the Yorktown Victory Monument



Obviously Jewel is LOVING being with Grandpa and riding - and in style too on his new Goldwing!



Two peas in a pod! What characters they are! How fun!



Nothing like the feeling of freedom on a bike!



Enjoying the ride while listening to oldies on the radio with Grandpa! Sheer contentment!!

Jewel's First Sewing Project on a Sewing Machine!

Jewel wanted to sew project item as a gift for someone, but knowing one does NOT just start sewing on a final project without practice (especially when one has never used a sewing machine), Jewel began to practice on old towels and it developed it a smock (Jewel's idea as we went along). I thought it was great!









In my excitement of it all, I took LOTS of pictures of Jewel while she practiced sewing for the first time, not wanting to miss anything! This is Jewel's "Really Mom?" look. As if to say, enough pictures already... though I know she loved it!



The towels had lot of wholes, so Jewel used some old towels to patch the wholes on the original practice towel. Then she added five pockets! The three pockets around the waist are nice and BIG!







Jewel even added zippers on the sides!



I had to try it on and model it for Jewel! It was a great fit!

Life with Chickens

This year we also decided to get some chickens, 5 to be exact. They were hatched on June 14th. We've affectionately named them Tender, McNugget, Bar, Be, & Que. They'll be good egg laying hens. We have 2 Rhode Island Reds, 2 Black Australorps, and 1 Welsummer. When they begin laying, The Rhode Island Reds will lay an average of 250 large to x-large brown eggs each bird per year, while the Black Australorps will lay an average of 250-300 large to x-large brown eggs each bird per year, and the Welsummer will lay an average of 200 large dark reddish brown speckled eggs per year. They are all quiet, affectionate breeds. Matter of fact, there is one, Be, whom we have added to her name, she is now Princess Be, that is very attached to Jewel. We added Princess to her name as Ken and Jewel had forgotten to cover the brooder box (now that their getting bigger, it's a big deal) and Be had hopped up on the waterer, and out of the brooder box and found the blue velour pillow atop of the bucket we usually sit on. She was all snuggled in napping when we found her. She also likes to sit on Jewel's shoulder and give her kisses. Spoiled rotten bird. :-)

When you look at the pictures, the Rhode Island Reds are Reddish to blondish red in color as chicks, "Bar" is the blonder of the two RIRs and "Be" has a darker red. The Welsummer, "Que" has the wide strip down the head and body. The Australorps are black and creamy, "Tender" has the more blond beak & "McNugget" has the black beak. :-)











After the chicks arrived, Jewel really didn't want to leave her little chicks alone and was being quite broody, then the next morning and was up bright and early again. I went looking for her one morning and sure enough, there she was with the chicks, sound asleep with them surrounding her hand as it lay down in the brooder box. When I first found her, her hair covered her face, then I uncovered it (she's a VERY sound sleeper) and took another picture so you could see her face. I just couldn't resist. It was just so cute and so very sweet.