Model U.N.: Abigail Goes to Washington Edition

Abigail is taking political science at Collin College.  The professor offers all of her students the opportunity to try out for Collin's Model United Nations and to compete in Washington, D.C.  Abigail tried out and was accepted into the program. 

The group of twelve college students have been meeting every Friday afternoon putting together their delegations.  Collin will represent the Republic of Cameroon in Africa. Today the group and their professor took off to Washington D.C. to compete against colleges and universities around the world!  Crazy, right! 

Can't wait to post more over her adventures soon! 

Put me in remembrance; let us argue together;

    set forth your case, that you may be proved right.

Isaiah 43:26

Lyndon Johnson's Great Society

Today was a field trip day, which has always been the best part of homeschooling.  Sissy and I met up with Bailey's and other PEACH friends at the Wyly Theatre.

Last year the Dallas Theater Center put on a production of All the Way.  Today's The Great Society continues the story of Lyndon B. Johnson’s turbulent presidency.  

The play depicts the president's fight a “war on poverty” at home and his war in Vietnam begins to spiral out of control. The cast includes Johnson's political enemies as he fought to pass civil rights legislation and social programs.  It's filled with a cast of legendary characters—from Martin Luther King, Jr. to Bobby Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

The play is a fascinating piece of history that over glamorizes Johnson's presidency and boast his socialist policies.  It goes to great effort to make Johnson appear almost noble.  The play, which was billed as a student performance was laced with volumes of unnecessary profanity.  

The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, 

purified seven times.  Psalms 12:6

Reunion Tower & GeO Deck

While we were down today we headed over to Reunion Tower, or the famous ball in Dallas' skyline. 

From 470 feet up you can see a breathtaking 360-degree panoramic view of Dallas.  The GeO deck has  high-definition zoom cameras, interactive touch screens, and  telescopes.  There is also and outdoor observation deck that lets you see for miles in any direction.

There are also 3-D virtual reality glasses where that allow you lean out over the rails of the observation deck.  Abigail enjoyed the view, Frankie liked the interactive games inside! 

The Reunion Tower is attached to the Hyatt Regency Dallas hotel where the kids attend Leadership Training for Christ. 

The Lord looks down from heaven;

    he sees all the children of man;

from where he sits enthroned he looks out

    on all the inhabitants of the earth,

he who fashions the hearts of them all

    and observes all their deeds.

Psalm 33:13-15

JFK Trolley Tour

With the four years that Caleb served on the Youth Advisory Council for The Sixth Floor Museum we got to see lots of really great pieces of history.  Some of my favorites were witnessing the taping of the Living History series. These were key people on the day of JFK's assassination and events that followed.  We were also able to be on hand when Stephen King debuted his 11.22.63: A Novel. 

Caleb was immersed in the events he has a great working knowledge of the events that transpired during that time in American history.   Now it was time to give the girls a better understanding of that time period.  We took the JFK Trolley Tour departing Daley Plaza.  The trolley traced the parade route and placed related to Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby. 

The tour traced the route Lee Harvey Oswald traveled after the shooting, including the house where he rented a room. After the shooting, Oswald took a cab to his boarding room, 2 or 3 miles from the Texas School Book Depository, then on to where Oswald shoot the police officer J.D. Tippit then on to the Texas Theatre where he was captured. All interesting in the timing and location from downtown. 

It was interest to hear the actual audio of the Dallas PD calling in Tippit's shooting. The Dallas Police Department arrested Oswald for the killing Officer Tippit only late to tie back to the JFK assignation later in the day, when they realized Oswald was the only Texas School Book Depository employee unaccounted for. 

Last portion of tour was back to the Dallas City and County Jails where Oswald was shot. We also saw where Ruby's night club was located.  We also saw the street entrance where Ruby slid in with reporters to kill Oswald.

It was really fascinating to lay out the pieces in a sequential narrated fashion.  It was also amazing how small downtown Dallas was in 1963!  Caleb would love it!

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.  Ecclesiastes 1:9

Plano Teen Court

Tonight was another one of our favorite field trips, Teen Court.  I think this was our fourth or fifth visit to Plano's juvenile court program. 

Teen court is a volunteer program for juvenile Class C misdemeanor offenders to present their case to a jury of their peers. Generally the offender will pay for their citation by completing community service hours. 

The offenders are represented and prosecuted by teen attorneys and their sentencing is by a jury of their peers.  The offenders who come to teen court have their court fees waived but must plead guilty to the charges.  

Frankie and Abigail went to the court session and met up with the Bailey's and other PEACH members.  Frankie has been missing the boy and with Abigail's college and softball schedule she was really wanting to hang out with the kids.  Abigail said Frankie had a blast seeing 'the bad guys get caught!'

After wards Abigail treated Frankie to McDonald's for fries and a Coke! 

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 2 Corinthians 5:10

Unarmed and Not So Dangerous

Today we made the trip to Houston for a long weekend of softball.  On the way to Houston we stopped of at Huntsville to see the Texas Prison Museum. 

It turned out to be a good day to stop by because Former Warden Jim Willett who wrote the book, 'Warden: Texas Prison Life and Death from the Inside Out' was visiting the museum. 

One of the most chilling exhibits at the Texas Prison Museum is "Old Sparky," the decommissioned electric chair in which 361 prisoners were executed between 1924 and 1964. This legendary device, made by prison workers, was in storage at the Walls Unit Death House before being donated to the museum.

One of the most fascinating exhibits was the work of photographer Barbara Sloan called, Last Statement.  It is a look at the victim’s of both sides left behind following an execution.  It include the last words of the guilty as well as the statements of the victims family members who witnessed the execution. 

It was a fun stop and great way to stretch our legs after driving for three hours! 

The Lord was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. Genesis 39:21

Pumpkin Patch

While Abigail was at school today, Frankie and I visited the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm in Gunter, TX with the church preschool.

The farm has pumpkins still on the vine, perfect for pies!  There are hayrides, a 6-foot tall hay maze and a petting farm.  Frankie enjoyed feeding the goats, sheep and cows.  She wasn't a fan of the longhorn. He just about took off my hand when trying to eat a pellet! 

I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,

for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.

Psalm 50:9-10

Berry Picking

Today Ms. Beth called and asked if we wanted to make a run up to Sadler, Texas to Wild Berry Farm.  They are a family owned blackberry and blueberry farm were you can pick your own berries. 

The kids and I visited the farm back in 2008 and picked buckets of blueberries to make jelly! We recently canned Blueberry Pie Filling and froze some blueberries.  So I have plenty of blueberries on hand.  Today I was wanting fresh black berries to make jam! 

The weather was beautiful and we picked about six pounds of berries.  Ms. Beth and Tessa picked about ten pounds!  All of the berries and produce are grown naturally with no chemical pesticides or herbicides.  

The price comparison is easy, the berry farm is $4/ pound.  Sprouts has organic blackberries for $2 per 5oz container, meaning $6-ish/pound.  Kroger has blackberries for $2.50 per 5oz container, meaning they are $7.50-ish/pound. 

We got our berries washed and in the freezer, we will tackle jelly making another day! 

Click HERE to see our visit in 2008! 

Gleanings will be left in it, as when an olive tree is beaten—

two or three berries in the top of the highest bough,

four or five on the branches of a fruit tree,

declares the Lord God of Israel.

Isaiah 17:6

Scarborough Renaissance Festival

Caleb is home for one of his favorite events of the school year, the Scarborough Renaissance Festival Student days.  It is like stepping back in time complete with 24 stages of Medieval Times entertainment including full combat jousting, Birds of Prey exhibitions, knife throwing, fire whips, jugglers, high flying acrobats and sword fighting just to name a few. 

There are also plenty of shoppes of crafts and artisan demonstrations like glass blowing and sword making. Plus, Children’s Knighting Ceremonies, a Grande Parade, Renaissance rides, games of skill and so much more.  The food is fit for a king including turkey legs, gyros, cakes and tarts! 

Caleb's favorite event would be the jousting but to be honest he really goes for the food.  Abigail's favorite is the tomato throwing booth where you can throw whole tomatoes at a jester for $1 per toss. I don't want to know how much she spent throwing tomatoes but my softball girl had a blast and she did nail the jester! The whole time the jester was hurling insults at her!  

The way of fools seems right to them,

    but the wise listen to advice.

Fools show their annoyance at once,

    but the prudent overlook an insult.

Proverbs 12:15-16

Children's Aquarium at Fair Park

Today we joined homeschooling church friends at the Children's Aquarium at Fair Park for their Homeschool Day. Several years ago this aquarium closed down to for a complete remodel.  The museum is now home to fabulous fresh water zone with takes of eels, piranhas and snapping turtles found in those areas.  There is also an intertidal zone with exotic fish. 

The aquarium is part of the Dallas Zoo so today for the Homeschool event there was staff on hand for demonstrations with the kids.  There were special feedings for the kids to observe, including the piranhas.  They were also able to pet the sting rays in the petting tanks.  

Praise the Lord from the earth,

    you great sea creatures and all ocean depths

Psalm 148:7

Touring the Federal Reserve in Dallas

We were given the opportunity to tour the Federal Reserve or the Fed in Dallas.  The kids learned in a classroom setting about the central banking system of the United States. 

The Fed in Dallas is the central monetary distribution center for the 11th District. In the past we've tour the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing several times but this was our first time to tour the Fed. 

The tour included interactive exhibits about: The 11th District;  Founding the Fed;  Supervising Banks;  Historical Currency;  Structure;  Moving Money;  Debating a National Bank;  Monetary Policy; and The Regional Economy.  

At the end of the tour our docent gave each of the youth $4,000 in discarded, shredded money. 

raise your voice for understanding,

if you seek it like silver

    and search for it as for hidden treasures,

then you will understand the fear of the Lord

    and find the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 2:3-5

Monet: The Early Years

What to do, when you are studying the mid 1800's and there happens to be a Monet exhibit in Fort Worth?  Sounds like a field trip day to me! The Kimbell Art Museum is hosting a special exhibit devoted to the young genius of Claude Monet, called Monet: The Early Years.  It concentrates on the first phase of the artist’s career, from his Normandy debut in 1858 until 1872, when he settled in Argenteuil, on the River Seine near Paris.

The exhibit includes his early work as a teenager, portraits of his favorite model turned wife, and his children in their early years. The exhibit include still life and landscapes including snowy scenes and windmills.  The exhibit included an audio tour giving the history behind many of the works. With probably over sixty works of art from various collections, the exhibit gave an extraordinary look at life in Monet's younger life. 

Because museums aren't always a teenagers favorite field trip, Abigail and I joined her friends Elaine and Katrina along with their moms for this educational event.  Afterward the girls talked us into lunch at Sundance Square.   

 This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them—for this is their lot.  Ecclesiastes 5:18 

Glorious Gardens

We spent the day hanging out at the Fort Worth Japanese Garden in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.  The garden was built in 1973 and many of the plants and construction materials were donated by Fort Worth's sister city Nagaoka, Japan.

This was our first visit and was the first time our PEACH group visited the gardens. The docents offer various tours spotlighting science or botany. 

There are multiple koi ponds flowing from the Trinity River.  The master gardener was on hand to give us his inspiration on the gardens.  

I made great works. I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees.  I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. Ecclesiastes 2:4-6

Touring the Federal Court House

Today we toured the Earle Cabell Federal Building and Courthouse, in the Government District of downtown Dallas, Texas.  The 16+ floors are home to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit, the U.S. Marshals Service and other federal agencies.  

The kids and I were here in 2006 touring with our PEACH group and were able to go behind the scenes in Judge Sidney Fitzwater's chambers.  Today our group were given a behind the scenes interview with the head of the US Marshall Service, and the head of Judicial Services. 

After wards we headed into a case of fraud being heard by Judge Sam Lindsay.  Judge Linsay was a Clinton appointee, he spent time with the kids answering their question.  It was very interesting to hear about the process of becoming a federal judge. We were able to set in on a couple of hours of testimony and litigation.  It was a great experience for the kids and very eyeopening to watch the process. 

You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great,

 but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.  Leviticus 19:15

Compassion and Coffee

Schoolwork is set aside for the day for our first field trip of the school year. We made our normal food pick ups for the pantry and then hurried over to meet up with the Gungans! They were down from Oklahoma for a quick visit. We laughed until my cheeks hurt.  

In the afternoon we met up with Abigail's friends Gracie, Katrina, Elaine and their families for the Compassion Experience.  It is a mobile "mission trip on wheels".  Visitors see first hand the realities of global poverty, where you walk through the homes, streets, markets and schools of impoverished countries. In about 30 minutes, visitors walk through the true story of a child growing up in the developing world.

It's a powerful tool to demonstrate how great the need is around the world. Compassion tackles global poverty, serving more than 1.8 million children in 26 of the world's poorest countries. Today we walked through the world of Kiwi a girl growing up in the Philippines. 

After our tour of the Philippines we headed to the developed world in Frisco for coffee at Nerdvana. It's a cafe and gaming lounge.  There are joysticks you can pick up and join in on-line gaming plus an amazing assortment of board games.  The girls laughed and giggled their way through Skipbo and macchiatos! 

The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. II Chronicles 36:15

Living in Perfect Harmony

'From the sublime to the exhilarating, Mexican, South American, and Spanish composers have given us a rich diversity of beautiful music,' is what the Educational page of the website read.  The Dallas Symphony offers several performances each school year for student.  Our awesome home school group, PEACH, has attended these events since long before we joined in 2005.  Many of the performance are geared toward an Elementary age group in that the dialog between songs is simplistic in nature.  But the performances themselves are always first class.  Even as a parent of older kids I found myself amused at the younger kids in the audience 'conducting' the orchestra and the sheer wonder of such musical masters! 

Today's performance was a celebration of Cinco de Mayo, and for posterity's sake the repertoire included: Revueltas: Sensemayá; Marquez: Danzon No. 2; Piazzolla: Oblivion; Chavez: Sinfonia India; Villa Lobos: Aria from Bachianas brasileiras No. 5; and Defalla: "Ritual Fire Dance" from El amor brujo. I'm confident I could butcher the pronunciation of all of those pieces!  Fortunately Abigail's Spanish is much better and she read the program to me! 

Music is so powerful and it invokes so much emotion and expression.  I find myself awestruck when listening to such talent.  Even when my own kids play the piano or sing, I swell up with pride; I've often wondered if that's how God feels when he hears us.  Maybe that is why He commanded us to sing!  

After a magical morning of symphonies, Abigail and I stopped by Klyde Warren Park for lunch.  I promise this was a school related event.  After all we used this opportunity to observe people in their natural habitat, milling through the food trucks and interacting with others. 

As it is written:

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;

    I will sing the praises of your name.”

Romans 15:9 (2 Samuel 22:50 & Psalm 18:49)

Every Vote Counts

Our PEACH youth stepped into a candidates’ shoes at the special exhibit at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum.  The exhibit called Path to the Presidency gives youth a fun, interactive peek into past presidential campaigns, the changing face of the American electorate, and a glimpse at life on the campaign trail. 

The exhibit brings historic campaigns to life with artifacts, documents, photos, videos, and many other interesting components. There were great video clips of formal presidential debates and the kids got to try their hand at using a teleprompter to make their acceptance speeches.  Abigail and Gracie made their own political poster, and Frankie and Abigail re-created the iconic Kennedy brothers pose in the Rose Garden. 

He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

guarding the paths of justice

    and watching over the way of his saints.

Proverbs 7:8-9

It's A Musical!

Tonight the Dallas Opera put on the first musical in its history in grand style.  Show Boat featured a 51-piece orchestra, 37 named roles, 43 chorus members, 27 boxes of hats, a 40-foot container of props and enough costumes to fill half of a 53-foot semi-trailer truck!

Jon and I took the girls along with Hannah and Mikayla to the extravagant production.  Show Boat began on  Broadway stage in 1927.  Playwright and lyricist Oscar Hammerstien (later of “Rogers and”) convinced Florenz Ziegfield to let him produce the show in the 1920s taken from the best selling novel by Edna Ferber. 

The show is probably best known for songs like Ol’ Man River, which was FABULOUS!  Some of the songs were adapted to operatic songs, but others kept the Broadway musical style.  

Great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. Matthew 13:2

We Need Some Space

If you haven't participated in the Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day Live, you will want to mark your calendars for spring next year.  Hundreds of museums throughout the country participate giving free access to many great museums.  In the past we have visited art, history and air museums, but today we headed over to Arlington to the University of Texas for the planetarium.  It is located on campus in the Chemistry and Physics building.  

Jon has never made it to the Planetarium with us and it is one of Caleb's favorite hang outs.  We watched prerecorded viewings of the Texas star gazing sky along with a NASA program on Cosmic Colors on the 360 degree screen!   Cosmic Colors took a look at why plants are green, why the sky is blue and a look at the entire electromagnetic spectrum. 

UT Physics and Chemistry students had experiments set up throughout the science building with experiments and outside we participated in solar gazing of flares on the sun!  It was a great way to kick off Caleb's Spring Break! 

He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.  Psalm 147:4

World of Wonder

Who would want to visit a place called, “world of wonder” by the Dallas Morning News.  The Perot Museum of Nature and Science opened its doors in December 2012, but this was our first visit to this incredible museum.   One of our fabulous field trip coordinators for PEACH arranged for about 40 of our homeschoolers to enjoy the day at this amazing five story state-of-the-art museum.

It houses exhibits with 3D computer animation with life-like simulation.  There are plenty of hands-on activities, interactive kiosks and educational games.  The girls enjoyed the earthquake simulator, demonstrating tectonic plates.
 

The museum houses a 298-seat, multimedia 3D theater with 4 K digital projection and immersive surround sound. I don’t even know what all that means except it was the coolest, most realist 3-D movie I’ve ever seen!  We watched Tiny Giants; the story of a two month old chipmunk in a wild wood is forced to grow up fast when he finds himself alone for the first time. Only by using his ingenious superpowers can our hero not only stay alive, but also become a master of his universe.

Being a science museum, they have created a natural sustainable and environmentally friendly structure including a rainwater collection system, LED lighting and solar-powered water heating.   But I think the girls were more impressed with the café located in the museum which offered spectacular wraps and delicious fruit assortments!

The museum absolutely lived up to all the publicity and was made even more enjoyable sharing it with great friends.  We will definitely be back! 

behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.

Revelation 6:12-13