Are you Happy???

This beautiful little sign is from Pinterest...I cannot take the credit for it.
How I wish it were in my home...I must create my own version!

I just have to say, I so completely agree with the premise that
"It is thankful people who are happy."  


We can all find things in the world to be worried about or ungrateful for;
unfair or unjust things in our lives abound!  
It's just part of this life...but that doesn't mean we should all lose hope and walk around hanging our heads and feeling mopey and sad like Eeyore.
.
If you wish to feel happiness surging through your body...
search for the many things you should be grateful for, it won't be hard, just open your eyes and your heart and look around...they are EVERYWHERE...
 and guess what ~
YOU Cannot Help But Feel Happy!!!
It just happens, 
give it a shot, you'll see I am right!


In no time at all you'll be doin' the Happy Dance in your kitchen  :0)




My hope is that during this week coming upon Thanksgiving that you will realize the beauty and wonders that abound in your life and that you will find deep joy in them.

Happy Thanksgiving, dear friends...(I am grateful and thankful for YOU!)

Defeated? Really???

For any of you who were concerned that I was not okay, or possibly losin' it...I'm GOOD!

Remember, I am too big of a brat to be defeated...a little beat down somedays...BUT NEVER DEFEATED!

Gotta go back to a quote that makes me giggle every time I read it.

"BE the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, "OH CRAP, SHE'S UP!"

I will always strive to be just that woman...I will always stand for what is good and true...I will never be afraid to be who I am.  And most importantly I will be proud of who I am!

So, if you were worried, let it wash away.
I am still standing,
I am standing Tall
(well, as tall as I can get)
and I will keep getting back up when I have been knocked down,
YOU can count on it!!!

Wishing you a perfectly lovely day!!!

Seattle!

If all of our kiddos were grown, I'd be strongly considering spending a few months living here!

Chad and I had so much fun.  Granted it was only about 24 hours worth of fun in this amazing city...but I will take what I can get!

We arrived Friday evening and had dinner in the Space Needle...

the view--nothing short of breathtaking!
The spinning dining room gave a feeling I hadn't expected ~ but after a few minutes I was oriented and all was okay in my little world!

Looking out over the city, I was quite sure I would NEVER want to live in a place as busy as this...
but it was so intriguing to witness...
I will say, I still feel that I could never live in place this busy (at least not while raising kiddos),
BUT...

after spending Saturday enjoying what this city had to offer,
I could be convinced to visit long term
(again, only if my kiddos weren't little people...not the place I'd want to be raising them). 
My one requirement would be that I live downtown within walking distance of Pikes Place Market and the Pier. 
No desire to have to drive anywhere or to have to attempt parking once I had driven. 

The market was charming beyond description! 

I've never in my life seen veggies and fruit and cheeses that I could say I felt excited about. 
I even had to photograph them...
that's how much in love I was with this produce! 
I know, I'm a little off my rocker, you'd have had to be there to appreciate it!

The one experience I could have done without, actually occurred as I was snappin' photos of that amazing produce. 
This "guy", all I can recall of him was that he had dark hair, dark eyes, a powerful voice and he stood a good shoulder and head above me...anyway, he came up and said, "Hey, you can't be taking pictures..."  I must have looked a little shocked and he told me he was just joking. 
Okay...dumb joke!
Then!
He asks me a question that stumps me...
"How do you get a cougar off your front porch?" 
Well, I am clueless as to what this man is saying to me. 
All I can think is why would a cougar be on your front porch. 
And if there is one there, stay inside!!!! 
Well, this is what he says next...
"Offer to buy her a pizza and invite her in." 

Yep, you go it...

I stood there with a blank look on my face...

I'm still thinking that we are talking about an animal and wondering why on earth a cougar would be sitting on your front porch. 
Then all of a sudden,
I realize this guy is picking up on me, and I might add in a VERY RUDE sort of manner. 
I must have given him my shocked look, he kindly touched my shoulder and apologized. 
I ran back up to my hubby and stayed quite close to his side the remainder of my time there!

Not sure I could handle something like that again. 
I've not had that kind of experience in sooooo many years! 
And I really didn't even know what to think or how to handle it.
I told my hubby about it and he just smiled and held my hand, I think he was laughing inside, but didn't want me to see it.  I'm a little slow sometimes.
Anyway..moving on...

Here are some of my yummy produce photos...I hope you love them as much as I did! 

Check out the garlic...BIGGEST garlic I've ever seen!!!

That is the coolest cauliflower ever!!!

Why have I never seen these things?

Different colored carrots and giant sized radishes...I just cannot get enough of this place!

Can you see the price tag on these amazing bouquets???

$10!

I could not believe my eyes!

The most beautiful flowers...

How I wanted to buy up bundles of them...

but they would never have survived our long drive home...

so photos would just have to suffice!

My other favorite place in the market was this sweet little Chinese Man...
ADORABLE!

He was an artisan...JEWELRY...

Chad saw his work while I was off on my little picture taking adventure.

Well, Chad loved his work and wanted me to come home with something "Special",

so I am now the very happy owner of a beautiful, unique, one of a kind bracelet.

I was sold as I listened to this sweet man speak...

I kinda have something for the Chinese ~

I'm thinking it must have something to do with such wonderful experiences with Accupuncture.

I know, once again, I'm a little strange, but this man was adorable.

I think that if he had just been any old person, I may not have been as drawn to his work. 

But he just had such a sweet little way about him.

He worked and molded the bracelet and as he did, he put it on and said,

"Oh, look it was made just for you, perfect fit...copper good for you...look good on you..."

I just loved him and walked away with a little something to have as a reminder of my splendid weekend in Seattle.

Well, after our wonderful little time in the market, we went on a CRUISE!!!!

It was only a 2 hour cruise, but it was oh so beautiful!!  It was called the Locks Cruise...quite interesting...

we traveled

 (hmmm.what do you call it when you are traveling on water??? 

we didn't actually sail since we weren't on a sailboat...

I guess we cruised through the water...

sounds good to me)

So, we cruised through the Seattle area checking out all the sites...

I thought we were on a fairly large "ship"? 

Boy, I should have done a little more thinking before writing about all of this.

Anyway, as I was saying,

I thought our ship was fairly large,

but in all actuality we were mighty shrimpy comparatively speaking.

It was Fascinating to see all the huge ships and the sailboats and the house boats. 

Oh how I loved the houseboats...

so charming!

I really wanted to just jump on board one and check it out. 

Instead I just admired them from my ship. 

 Don't you like that, "my ship"? 

I took so many photos,

but I loved the way the sunshine shimmers on the water with the landscape of the city behind. 

I simply cannot wait to visit somewhere, anywhere again. 

I am finding that it doesn't matter where we go,

I am always fascinated and intrigued by the newness that each location offers.

I'm pretty easy to please...we've only traveled a very few times...

I never felt I could leave all our kids, I am too busy being the Momma.

It feels like such a treat to be able to leave for a weekend with my hubby and not worry about our kiddos (okay I did worry about them, but I knew they were okay)

The point being, it's just a good thing to be able to have a little time away, to run around having a good time, being crazy, doing anything you wish, and not having to worry about watching and making sure everyone is safe and sound and accounted for and not wandered off somewhere lost.

But no matter if my kiddos are there or not, I find I am always drawn to things that make kids smile...

I cannot pass by a carousel

without wishing to jump on and find the most magnificent horse to hoist myself upon. 

I love the lights, the music, the joy...

I feel just like a little child...giddy with excitement!

I think I need to have a date with Sleepless in Seattle...

it might just become my favorite movie!

So happy to have had this time in Seattle...LOVED EVERY SINGLE MOMENT!!!

I'm Defeated...

the very thought of dealing with some things brings a desperate, despairing feeling of inadequacy to my soul.

It matters not the strength that we possess if we fail to recognize it within ourselves.

This is the point I've reached,
I know I possess the strength but find it difficult to see it within myself...
my strength has been weakened and I feel less than who I truly am...
I have had cause to question just who I am and I find that I feel defeated before I even begin...

Yet as I write those words,
I am immediately stricken with the thought that I am only defeated if I allow myself to be...


I am in charge, I am in control of me...
I do not have to turn that over to another,
I do not need to feel weak or small because of another,
I do not need to change who I am to please another,
I do not have to lessen the spirit within me to appease the crowds,
I do not have to withhold the deepest, most sincere thoughts that I have for fear of offending another,
I do not have to conform to be accepted...

All that I have to do is to be me,
to follow the Spirit that guides me,
to share the light that has been given to me and to not be afraid to do so...

I'm Defeated ONLY when I allow myself to be...

Have you ever been faced with something that just feels bigger than you are? 
Something that makes you want to shrink at the very thought of dealing with "it"?
Something that tears at your very core?
Something that, no matter how difficult it will be to handle, must be handled and not swept under the carpet?

Of course you have! 
We all have...
I guess this would fall under the "test" part of life...the part that makes us wiggle in our seats or wish to hide our heads in the sand!

The past couple of weeks, I have been tormented
(YES that is truly how I've felt!)
with a task that is before me. 
I have been asked to do something that goes against what I feel is right.
It goes against the very things that make my life what it is. 
How can one set aside a deep part of themselves to please another? 
Why would we even do that? 
Better yet, WHY would anyone ask that of another? 
Why can't we all just love and accept each other...without condition, without judgement, without condemnation...

The emotion that I have felt while dealing with this situation has been overwhelming. 
I feel that I am generally pretty level headed, that I look at life in the most positive way possible, that I see the good in others and that I truly live my life in the hope of blessing others around me.

So...
When I am asked to do something contrary to what I am "okay" with, my little world feels under attack. 
I feel as though I've just survived one massive earthquake,
I've come out and I'm still on top;
then the thought comes;
surely there will be the aftershocks of that massive quake...can I withstand those? 
Am I too weak? 
Will they hurt too much? 
Will I remain standing at the end of this "test"?

I am grateful that my structure, my foundation, is strong and sure...
It's strength has been tested!
And with the aftershocks that are looming in my future
I find it imperative to take stock of where I stand, am I prepared for what is to come?
Do I know what I believe? 
Am I prepared to stand up for those things that are the most important in my world? 
As uncomfortable as this all feels, I know I will be stronger for it.
It is simply another of those times that I need to grow... 

I will admit that I haven't liked one single moment of this little earthquake!!!
I'd really prefer to just have a little temper-tantrum, screaming, hitting, kicking and just generally flipping out, but since that wouldn't really be appropriate for someone my age, I'll just whine and complain that sometimes life isn't fair...and it's not...

Why does growth have to be so stinkin' painful? 

Makes me think of the long nights when one of our little ones would wake crying and miserable, as they suffer growing pains ...
I have always felt helpless, I can't make that pain go away.
I can kiss them and try to make it better, I can rub where it hurts, I can lay with them and try to comfort them, but I cannot make it end.

I recall so many nights just thinking how unfair it was for this sweet little person of mine to be in such real pain.  And as time goes on, they will each experience other kinds of pain as they grow and unfortunately, my little kiss will probably not end that pain either.

Why must we suffer through hard times?  Why does it have to hurt so? 

The best guess I can come up with is that during our struggles and our suffering we experience feelings that become so deep within that they will never be forgotten.  Our moments of growth and understanding need to be remembered, they cannot be lost or we may at some future point also become lost.  I actually think we NEED these hard, ugly, confusing, heart-wrenching experiences.

The other part of this answer is one I find more and more the older I become.  It is during these times that I realize I cannot do it all on my own.
I need help! 
I need guidance!
I need my Savior to step in and pick up the pieces when they have all crumbled down around my feet and I don't have the strength to even bend over. 
He stands ready to pick it all up and put it all back together. 
I am lousy at asking Him to step in...
He has to be so frustrated with me on a continual basis. 
I'm sure He'd love to take a 2x4 and whack me right upside the head and knock a little sense into me.
But you know what...
He "gets" me. 
He knows I am stubborn and that I think I can do it alone, I am a brat and I want to be independent, I don't want to have to ask for help, I just want to figure it all out and move on to happier days...I'm thinking He must feel its high time for me to get this lesson down.  And you know what it has been magnificent...He answers my prayers by showing me witness after witness of exactly what I most need.  I am truly blessed by his kindness and understanding.

So in closing this whole dump my heart out on my blog for the whole world to see and wonder why the heck I open myself up like this...

I'm defeated only when I allow myself to be...
and
I do not give up that easily
I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED (remember, I am a brat!)
I will stand strong
I will stand for what I believe in
I will do it with a smile on my face
and with love in my heart.

I will come out knowing who I am
with more assurance than before this little quake in my life.
My testimony will be strengthened, I will stand solid and unshakable. 
And when this is all over and I move on...
my hope is to help another stand when they feel they no longer have the strength to do so.

Hay Rides, A Little "Culture", and Flower Child Moments...

What a truly amazing last two weeks we've enjoyed!

Besides our regular routine, which is mighty amazing in itself...we managed to sneak in a few extras!

A field trip to the pumpkin patch!
Love those hay rides and choosing "just the right pumpkin!"  
I'm tellin' ya this can be a very long process...patience is in order!

The next amazing thing the little girls and I did was quite unexpected.  At the last minute, I had a friend offer 3 tickets for us to attend a production at The Morrison Center.  It was a Korean Cultural Night...if only I had the words to describe this night...what I can tell you is that I have a new found love of these beautiful people.  I went with a little apprehension...simply ignorance on my part...I left with an overflowing heart and eyes that had freely spilled over the edges.  I was moved at their kindness and sincere humility when addressing our Veterans.   They thanked them for their service in a way that touched me more than I had experienced ever in my lifetime!  Their music, dance and Tae Kwon Do exhibit were superb...breathtaking at moments.  I felt inspired to learn more of this people, I felt saddened at the state of North Korea and lastly I felt a longing to expose my children to people, customs and cultures throughout this world.  The latter, I do attempt to do on a very regular basis, but the feeling is stronger than ever.

We finished up a sensational month of learning and our 4 youngest kiddos particpated in The History Fair ~ I was so proud of their efforts.  They truly did some amazing work.  One presented The Statue of Liberty, another Castles, another The War of 1812 and lastly Leonardo da Vinci.  I could not have been more pleased with them.  They learned so much and presented what they had learned to an audience...love these opportunties for them!

At the end of our month, we always have a big ol' whoppin' party to celebrate the country we've studied for that month.  This month was Germany...oh my goodness, can I just say, their food is mighty scrumptuous!  We cooked and cooked and ate and ate!  Our menu included some wonderful salads ~ German Potato Salad and a Nudel Salad -- both were so yummy, lots of vinegar!  We also made pretzels, these were a hit!!!  The kids loved making them and eating them was quite a pleasure.  We decided to make Dampfnudels...wasn't too sure how these might taste...we were very pleasantly surprised!  They are basically a dumpling sort of goodie...only so much better...light and fluffy and deliciously sweet.  Then we topped them with a divine vanilla sauce and a bavarian creme that I'd have to say was the VERY BEST I'd ever tasted (and I made it!!!)  Love it when that happens!  We had samplings of Chocolate Nougat candies and a German Chocolate Cake.  Good thing we only do this party once a month or I'm afraid we'd be racking up the pounds!!!  The kids decorated our classroom to look like OCTOBERFEST in Germany...Blue and White are the colors of choice in Germany...the kids went crazy with streamers all over...it was fantastic! 

Each month we have a little book club featuring a book from the American Girls Series...we are currently working on Felicity...I LOVE THESE BOOKS!!!!  This month's book was Felicity Learns A Lesson ~ loved the lessons and the time I had to discuss all that this little gem had to offer.  We were able to get into a discussion of just why the colonists would have thrown tea into the water...at first my younger kids were appalled, by the time we were done with our conversation they understood so much more about our freedoms and why we must stand for what we believe in.  What a beautiful way to teach such an important lesson!!!

Halloween was very fun for our family...My favorite part was one evening when my daughter came to me and thanked me for not being too lame to dress up and have fun.  Now, had you seen me this particular evening, you may have thought I was crazy...I did!  And quite honestly I was a little uncomfortable with being dressed up in such a wild sort of way...FLOWER CHILD / Hippy!  But she thought I was great and was thankful for me...then I jokingly said to my oldest son..."I bet you wish I was a little more lame and wouldn't dress up"...I fully expected him to agree with me ~ instead he said, "Yeah, I'm glad you're crazy!" 

A Journey Through Our Solar System...

SO...Just how BIG is our Solar System???

We found out today ( on a small scale )

If you read my last post about the Solar System, I mentioned that I'd be adding in our little journey as we VISITED each and every planet today...Yep, All in ONE day!  Amazing!!!


Here's how we did it ~~

Each pace, or large step
(hopefully equal to about 3 feet)
represented 3,600,000 miles!  
That's BIG, let it sink in for a moment...okay, now we'll move on.

We started our Space Journey at the Sun and made our way to each and every planet in our Solar System.
(here's another way to look at how we figured this...each inch represents One Hundred Thousand Miles)
100,000 miles every inch we went....mighty impressive!


We did some serious walking today!!!
I've never traveled so many miles in a days time!  :0)
I found these measurements on a website that unfortunately I did not write down and I cannot for the life of me remember what it was...so if you were wondering how I became so smart and was able to figure all this out...don't be impressed...I just copied someone's else's brilliant mind!
Wish I could claim it, but I just can't!!!  Actually what I really wish is that my brain was half as brilliant as those that come up with some of this stuff!

 Let's get back on track...
You simply have to do this if you want a glimpse of just how vast our solar system is...mind boggling!!!  We started in our front yard and had a great big hula-hoop leaned against our white picket fence to represent the Sun.
I gave "planets" to several of the kids to carry along as we made our way on this amazing journey.

We had to be quite a sight...25 crazy people walking down my lane and then down to the end of the road and half way down the next street, walking in giant steps, counting ever so loudly until reaching our next destination!

Here's how it went ~
First, let's go back over the order of the planets...this is so super cute if you don't already know it...the kids remember it easily and it's a fun way to recall all the planets in order from the sun...
My Very Excellent Momma Just Sent Us Nine Pizzas!!!
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto


Now that we've reminded ourselves of the planets we'll be looking for first...it's time to get busy!

Again, our "Hula-Hoop Sun"
 
was placed against the fence.  Let's start finding our planets...How many steps away would the first one be????

First planet just 10 steps away from the Sun ~ MERCURY.
The child carrying Mercury set it in place
and we called out for the next planet ~ VENUS...
take another 9 paces and place Venus.
Then onto EARTH...
mighty close, only another 7 paces.
WOW, the Earth is very close to the Sun (or so it appeared)  
At this point it was time for a little review...
just how far away is the Earth from the Sun ~
a whopping 93 MILLION MILES!!!!
Holy Smokes...we've done some serious traveling!
And all in just a few meager steps.

Time to visit MARS!
Just a few easy steps - 14 to be exact!

At this point it started becoming FUN!

I pointed out that we had now made it through all of the Inner Planets...
What came next?
They all knew ~ Hooray!!!
THE ASTEROID BELT...

And then what?

JUPITER, of course...We were approaching the outer planets!!!

So we'd been used to just taking a few steps...this time they started gasping a little as I had them guess how many steps we should take to find the location of Jupiter.

95 Paces to Jupiter!
The child holding Jupiter placed it in position ~ Our Giant Planet was now set and it was time to move on...much more traveling to do!

Next Stop would be Saturn ~ another 112 paces.

Then on to Uranus ~ they were starting to wonder if we'd ever reach all the way to Pluto ~ we had to take another 249 paces to reach Uranus!!!

I loved the guesses they'd give!  I think they were starting to get a little worried...our paces kept increasing with each planet we visited!

Neptune would be our next planet to visit!  In just 281 paces we'd arrive!!!

After FINALLY arriving at Neptune,
I had several kids say,
"maybe we should just skip Pluto, remember they don't even consider it a planet anymore!"
I would have nothing to do with that!!!
We'd made it this far and we would make it all the way to Pluto!

We had an easy 242 Paces to go.  When we arrived at Pluto, we all wanted to celebrate!!!  We placed a tiny little mustard seed on the ground to represent our little dwarf planet.

Oh dear...and now for the march back to the Sun.  You would have thought that these kiddos would be tuckered out at this point.  Think again!  Most of them took off running.  This lovely body of mine doesn't really enjoy running, but I couldn't let them all leave me in the dust, so I did my best to keep up.  I didn't say that I actually kept up with all of them, I just did my best.  :0)

The only thing that I feel could have made this day any more spectacular would have been if I had the ability and the location for us to go in a single straight line for them to actually "see" just how far we had traveled.  I think they still got it, but if we could have had a pair of binoculars to spot the sun...would that not have been simply amazing??!!

ANYWAY, I sooooo suggest this to anyone that wishes to make an impression to a group of kiddos!  This one will have them gasping!  What a magnificent day!!!

One more wish...
How I would love to be the driver of that lovely little MAGIC SCHOOL BUS!
We'd be making some spectacular field trips...
oh well, for now we'll just have to use a little imagination and a whole bunch of creativity!

Outta This World!

I've been teaching all our kiddos along with a group that comes to my home 2 days a week all about the Solar System.  I have absolutely LOVED this!  Quite possibly one the reasons I love teaching so much is because I love learning so much!
I don't believe for a second that we know it all,
nor do I believe we should make children think that we do.
I love having the opportunity to say, "I really don't know the answer to that, BUT I will find out and let you know next time we come together."  
I don't know about other people, but my kiddos think I know EVERYTHING, well the older ones used to think this and the little ones still do!
I feel it's really important to let them know that we just keep on learning new things every day, EVEN MOM!  

The month of October has been devoted to learning about the Solar System for our Science Class ~ I'm tellin' ya what!  I think I need an entire year to do it justice...not gonna happen, so I just picked out the gems that I felt were most important.  And if I've done my job right...all these kids will have the desire to keep on learning  on their own, so it matters little the amount of time I put in for them!

I'll highlight a few for you ~ hope you're ready to learn something new (and if you already know it all, well ~ you are way ahead of me!)

The first of the month my kids and I made a model that spans our classroom of our Solar System.  I could not be happier with it (well, if Jupiter would stay where it was supposed to that might make me happier, but besides that minor problem, I have loved it and it has served its purpose well)  We did our best to depict the size and color of the planets as well as their relation to the sun.  If any of you homeschooling mommas are looking for ideas, I have them for you!!!  To make your very own Solar System...look below!  :0)  After the directions, I'm also going to take you on a little journey through our Solar System ~ We walked and visited EVERY single planet today...can I just tell you it was amazing and rather enlightening!!!!

Directions for a ton of fun!!!!
For the Sun ~ Find a giant round yellow plastic tablecloth and hang it in the corner. (I found one at the Dollar Store and it is perfect!)
Next you just need a little tiny bouncy ball for Mercury - drill a small hole in the center and hang it from fishing line.  (All of your planets will hang from the ceiling being suspended by fishing line and 3 hooks (but not fishing hooks...hooks that you screw into the ceiling, just thought I should clarify that one) -- one in the center and one on either end)
Then comes Venus - we found a small Yellow Tennis ball, again just drill a little hole through it and hang it up.
Earth is next in the lineup - Earth and Venus are very similar in size, so we used another tennis ball only in blue.  (wishing I could have found something with blue and green...but it worked)
Now we come to Mars - The RED planet, so yes find yourself a small red ball, smaller than Earth and Venus.

That does it for the inner planets...
at this point if you were super creative you could add in the ASTEROID BELT!  So wishing I would have done this...I still may ~ in fact, before next Tuesday when we all meet again, I'm thinking I should really have that there for the kids to all see (a picture in your mind will stay forever!  or at least close to forever!!!)

Alrighty, let's start on the outer planets - 
our GAS GIANTS!!!!

1st in line is our largest planet ~ JUPITER...Jupiter was just a smidge more work, but not too much!  Find yourself the biggest ball you can and then cover it with butcher paper, if you want add a little brown coloring (my kids did the honor here!) then don't forget to add your big red spot!  Tape it on and then figure out a way better than I did to make that hummer stay suspended in air!  Basically just wrap fishing line like crazy all over it and then cross your fingers and maybe go ahead and do your toes, too and then hang it up.
(A little helpful side note!)  The biggest reason for the middle hook in your ceiling is to hang Jupiter on one side of it and Saturn on the opposite, pretty much as close as you can to the hook.  They are some big heavy planets and they want to do some serious sagging!
Okay, let's move on...the next one was definitely the most work, BUT SO WORTH IT!  SATURN looks amazing hanging in my classroom, I love it!  So why was it so much work, well because I chose to do the ring around it...all of the outer planets really should have had them (especially Uranus, but we'll get to that in a moment or two) but I was a tad bit too lazy after doing the rings of Saturn.  So here's what we did...Find yourself a big old yellow ball, then grab a piece of RED poster board (this will be for your ring)  Cut a big hole out of the center of the poster board and then round your edges a little.  OH...Forgot to mention this one....USE the leftover hole from the red ring for JUPITER'S SPOT!!!  Works perfect  :0)
Okay back to Saturn...we suspended the ring and the planet separately, took a little work, but it looks great.  To hang the ring, we just poked a few holes and hung it from the fishing line.  I didn't even try to keep it perfectly level and it looks "perfect"!

Moving on to Uranus...
(still not exactly sure how I should pronounce this one, he he he)
Sorry, that's just the way I am!
Guess none of you really needed me to add that in, oh well, too late!
Uranus is a pretty cool place...
what makes it pretty spectacular to me is that the rings and the planet are on a tilt, soooo if you are smart enough to figure out how to hang those rings, go for it...and when you are done, shoot me a little note so I can add that, too!  I just grabbed a small green ball  (not tiny...much larger than Earth and Venus, but smaller than Jupiter and Saturn)   Remember the last four planets are called gas GIANTS for a reason  :0)  They are biggies!!!

We're getting close to the end, next in line is Neptune.  Use the same size ball as you did for Uranus, only make sure this one is Blue.  I was lucky enough to find these two balls in kind of a "pearly" look, they just make me happy!.

Okay at this point, the Scientific Smart People would say we are done...
But I wasn't quite satisfied...and since this is my classroom and I get to be the teacher...I've decided to overrule the smartie pants and do it my own way!!!
 I grew up believing that we still have one more little planet hanging out there
and by darn-it my kiddos are gonna know about it...
so, yes, I added PLUTO in.
I used a tiny brown bead.
For anyone who cares...I did make sure to let them all know that Pluto is officially now referred to as a dwarf planet...but hey, planet is still in the title and I for one find nothing wrong with being small...therefore I found it mighty deserving of hanging out in my classroom!

Now for a moment of honesty...REMEMBER at the beginning when I said I don't know everything...well the honest to goodness truth is that I don't know A LOT of things.  There was a big one that I learned doing this little exercise.
While at the store purchasing our supplies for our solar system, I picked up a bundle of stars that I thought I'd just hang around as well, I was so very happy at the thought of stars hanging from my ceiling...much to my dismay, I found that we have only ONE STAR in our Solar System....For those of you who were not aware of this (I'm really hoping I'm not the only one!)...Yes, The SUN is our ONLY Star in the Solar System...all the ones we see out our windows or while gazing up in the sky are in our galaxy, but not in our solar system.
I stumped most of the kids with this question, and a few of the moms.
BUT NOW, every single one of those kiddos know just how many stars are present in our solar system.

The saddest part of knowing this is that there is a quote that I adore...
"Shoot for the moon.  
Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."
Dang it all...NOT TRUE!
We'll just be floating around "out there" if we miss the moon (just don't miss it is all I can suggest!)...
so that is the one bummer that I've felt during my month of studying.

Okay...this post (as well as most of them that I ever do) is getting pretty lengthy...so, I think I'll just end it here and do another one with our Solar System Journey...


IF I CAN EVER figure out how to get pictures off my phone, I'll add some so you can see these wonderful little creations of ours.  Until then, just use your imagination (I happen to think that is a better choice anyway)


Ta ta