martinzoo

I sure hope this is a portent of things to come. If it’s gonna be cold, then I want some of the white stuff to make the cold worthwhile.

…… You’ve GOT to do this!

Just North of where we are staying is a beautiful area of the Outer Banks called Swan Beach and Carova Beach (Carova got it’s name because it is SO close to the border of Carolina and Virgina).  These beaches have the most secluded, beautiful vacation homes I’ve ever seen.

We decided to go on one of the wild horse tours that are available in these remote beach areas. We used Bob’s Wild Horse Adventure Tours and our guide was Byron. He did a great job and we really felt like we got very personal attention.

The wild horses are believed to be decendents of Spanish Mustangs from the 16th century explorers. For centuries they’ve roamed the Outer Banks feasting on the native vegetation and providing locals with stock for farming. However, with developement, the horses became threatened. Most of the herd was moved into the four-wheel-drive area of the beach and the Corolla Wild Horse Fund now helps with the horses’ medical care to make sure the herd is protected for many more years to come.

Byron told us that there were two theories about the mustangs. The first was that Spanish explorers were so greedy that they left the horses on land so that they could bring back more treasures from the new world. The second story was that two Spanish ships colided off shore and the horses that survived swam to the coastline and stayed. Byron seemed to think the second story sounded more true, but I like the first story better.

Here is GB standing in front of our crazy looking jeep/off road vehicle. It has seating inside for the driver and one passenger. That’s where Gramma sat. The middle row seats three, me, GB and Grampa. The seat in the back is raised up a bit and seats two. We had two young ladies in our group who were clearly unprepared for the weather. They were wearing high healed shoes and light jackets. And it was way too chilly for that.

This beach is considered to be a solidified forest. It’s quite similar to a petrified forest, which has tree trunks that have turned into fossils. But it’s not quite as old as a petrified forest. The photo above shows the almost petrified tree trunks on the beach.

This vacation home was on a row of houses that the locals have termed “wedding row” because there are so many weddings that take place here.  This house is the crème de  la crème. It rents for $45,000. and will sleep 45-50 people. So you can have your wedding on the beach, party at the house, and nobody has to go home afterwards. All-in-one-stop-wedding-reception-honeymoon-vacation……..LOL!

In this video we are on the tour and you can see the horses just meandering around. They seemed so comfortable and free. It was wonderful!

I loved the look of this shot that I got of this trio of horses. The baby one is just adorable, and the movement of the tail on the bigger one just cracks me up.

Aren’t they amazing?

The road system…….. well, there is hardly a road system. This was a frequent occurance. And if you don’t have a local as your guide, you won’t know if this water in the road is 12 inches or 12 feet. The young ladies in the back of our jeep were scared to death that they were going to get drenched with spray. But our guide was great. Oh! And some of the dune/roads were outrageously hilly; so hilly and wildly bumpy that you couldn’t even see over the tops when you were driving through and over them. Can I say again that it was nice to have a guide?

You really had to keep an eye out because around any bend in the road you may find a group of horses just munching away.

Me.

If you are a local, this is a sight that you may just be greeted with when you step out into your front yard.

Gramma’s favorite part of the trip was getting to ride on the beach. Byron drove really fast, it was really bumpy, which GB LOVED, and it was deserted. So freakin’ cool!!

I will admit that I had never heard of Mexican sugar skulls until my friend called and asked if GB and I wanted to come over and make some.

It sounded intriguing, so we went.

What a blast!

This is what About.com has to say about our activity:

November first begins the Dia de los Muertos (also known as “Day of the Dead”) festivities with All Saints Day in which the deceased children are honored and remembered. November second All Souls Day is for the remembrance of the adult dead. Dia de los Muertos combines these days to celebrate the the deceased and enjoy their memories. Dia de los Muertos is not at all scary, spooky or somber.

The most popular “Dia de los Muertos” ofrenda is Sugar Skulls. Sugar skulls are a traditional folk art from Central and Southern Mexico used to celebrate Day of the Dead. Mounds of colorful sugar skulls are sold by vendors in the village open air markets during the week preceding Day of the Dead. Increasing numbers of non-traditional colorful candies such as decorated chocolate skulls and other Halloween candies are now competing with the traditional sugar skulls, which are becoming harder and harder to find in Southern Mexico. The skulls are made of a sugar mixture that has been pressed into molds and then dried. The dried sugar skulls are decorated with icing and sometimes non-edible items such as colored foil, feathers or sequins.

Three moms, lots of kids, lots of colored icing……..

Creative juices are flowing……..

And for some, the concentration was fierce!

Check out this awesome skull!

And check out these cheeks. I could just pinch them!

Some skulls just gotta have hair. Don’t you agree?

After the kids were done, the moms decided to give it a go, too. It was nice to sit, decorate, and chat. I had a lot of fun.

This is GB’s skull. He says that his skull is wearing a Jason mask; from the movie, Friday the 13th.

Maybe if I squint my eyes………

And this is mine. He has no theme, just some crazy colors. I think he looks like a happy warrior.

Election day at the Martinzoo began with voting. I was expecting lines out the door, but much to my surprise, we were in and out in less than ten minutes. Clearly, they were expecting huge lines and so they had a well-oiled machine that flowed beautifully.

Once we reached home we began preparation for this evening’s festivities. My good buddy in Texas, Dana, had some great ideas on her blog that I decided to borrow….LOL!

Here, GB cuts out a pop-up White House complete with little Obama and McCain figures.

Now he’s gluing the White House to the grass/sky sheet.

Isn’t that cool looking? We think McCain looks very dapper and Obama looks very approachable.

This was the command center at the Martinzoo tonight. We have the electoral college map that we colored as states were called. And we have a chart that we filled in with the electoral votes.

It is 10:00 p.m. EST, and it’s pretty much a done deal. So I’m sending GB off to bed. But not before he made this funny little video. It’s a spoof of one of his video games, Super Smash Bros. But he’s calling this Super Smash Presidents.

Hilarious!

30 miles per gallon

Created by The Car Connection

That’s not too bad for me! I’ll take it.

Hmmmm….. Mid-sized sedan……. I guess I’m like my husband’s Civic…..

Hahahaha!

My extremely good friend, Carol, who lives in Florida, where this is more apt, sent this funny to me today. And since this is a homeschool education blog, I thought I’d pass it along so we can all get a chuckle!

Fifty Years of Math (1957 - 2008)

Last week I purchased a burger at Burger King for $1.58. The counter

girl took my $2 and I was digging for my change when I pulled 8 cents

from my pocket and gave it to her. She stood there, holding the nickel

and 3 pennies, while looking at the screen on her register. I sensed

her discomfort and tried to tell her to just give me two quarters, but

she hailed the manager for help. While he tried to explain the

transaction to her, she stood there and cried. Why do I tell you this?

Because of the evolution in teaching math since the 1950’s:

1. Teaching Math In 1950’s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production

is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

2. Teaching Math In 1960’s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production

is 4/5 of the price, or $80. What is his profit?

3. Teaching Math In 1970’s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production

is $80. Did he make a profit?

4. Teaching Math In 1980’s

A logger sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production

is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment:

Underline the number 20.

5. Teaching Math In 1990’s

A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and

inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the

preservation of our woodlands. He does this so he can make a profit of

$20.

What do you think of this way of making a living? Topic for class

participation after answering the question: How did the

birds and squirrels feel as the logger cut down their homes? (There are

no wrong answers, and if you feel like crying, it’s ok.)

6. Teaching Math In 2008

Un hacero vende una carretada de maderapara $100. El costo de la

producciones es $80. Cuanto dinero ha hecho?

My sweet hubby had to go back to work this week. This was the first time in our married life that he took a solid two weeks off from work. Well, two weeks for fun: he’s had to take time off to take care of me when I gave birth or had various surgeries. But this time it was all fun. And we had the best vacation ever. And my husband probably enjoyed it the most, which is a good thing. Because he works so hard every day, and I get to stay at home and homeschool GB, which I am so grateful for.

So, I wanted to lighten my dh’s mood each day when he got home by bringing one of the funnier aspects of our cruise into his dull, dreary day. I learned how to fold those cute little towel animals and I left one on his bed for him to find each night when he came home from work, along with one of the Carnival cruise chocolates that they leave each night.

Elephant

Chillin’ puppy (my old towels aren’t stiff enough to make these really nice)

Swan family

Cool lobster

And the monkey. He hasn’t seen this one yet. So, I hope he doesn’t check my blog before he comes home. If he does, well honey,  this is your last one. It’s a cute little monkey.

It may be a small thing, but I think it did cheer my sweet hubby when he came home from work. And that’s what it was supposed to do.

GB is now old enough that he understood that Aquagirl and Jabem both brought friends on the cruise. The whole time we were gone he kept making statements to the effect, “I feel so guilty, because MY friends would love this…..” It doesn’t matter to him that Gymbabe and J paid their own way. He just wanted his friends to come on this amazing adventure.

So when we got back it was imperative that GB get to have his friends spend the night at our house. My dh and I are very like-minded. We think that if you keep kids busy, they won’t argue and whine during parties and sleep-overs. So we told GB that he could invite his twin friends, OC and WC. But we were gonna keep those boys busy. Because GB and OC are such good friends, sometimes poor WC gets left out. I feel bad about that so we try to make our activities group-friendly.

In this photo, GB is waiting for his friends to arrive. This cube is driving him crazy!

The first thing we were going to do when they got here was take them out on the jet ski to go tubing. My dh handles all aspects of the jet ski. So off they went, only to return an hour later. It turns out that there is not enough water in the lake. The boat ramp is completely dry. So it was impossible to get the ski into the water. Poor disappointed boys. But my dh had the answer, as usual. He told them that he would take them out to a new putt-putt that opened up near our house. So that’s what they did while I went grocery shopping.

We fed them the very kid-friendly pizza upon returning and then headed out for Rubber Ducky night at our pool. This is the one night a week that the pool stays open until 9:00 and you can bring floats of any size. Ours is a huge pirate ship that came with a sword and a gun that squirts an unlimited supply of water because of the intake hose at the bottom of the ship. Everytime we come into the pool with the pirate ship, all eyes are on us. And the kids flock over. Since GB had brought friends this time, he basically wanted to keep the pirate ship for them. But usually all the kids share their floats, moving around the pool and trying them all out. I KNOW that it must drive the lifeguards crazy.

Once again my dh took the helm on this activity because I had a meeting with the other homeschool moms. I got back to the house around 9:30. And they boys had already moved into video game mode. But we had ONE more activity planned for them. We stoked up the chiminea and roasted marshmallows for s’mores. ………Yummy!

I thought the picture below was adorable. I kept asking OC if he wanted another chair, but he insisted he didn’t need one. GB says that OC is the best friend he’s ever had. Once again, I have to say it, I’m SO glad we homeschool. GB would have never met these boys if we hadn’t joined this homeschool group.

The night went fine, they were quiet in GB’s room, they woke up at a decent hour, and I brought them home after lunch. I deem the event a success!

Next vacation, we may be in trouble.