Roaches, Butterflies and Jelllyfish, Oh My!

We took our first homeschool field trip of the year last week! We are members of the Audubon Institute so we decided to do a field trip to the Insectarium since we are studying Insects this month in our Apologia Science lessons. We'd been there before but I was very happy to see H take his time and look at the exhibits. He genuinely wanted to learn about the bugs.

We were able to go with another family and it was great to see them again. Both the Insectarium and Aquarium were undergoing some modifications so I'm looking forward to seeing what new exhibits they are cooking up in there!

Both museums are doable in one day, and we enjoyed it immensely. We had lunch on the river in Woldenberg Park and the boys had a blast. As we walked back to the car, E said, "This was the most AWESOME field trip!"

If you're in the New Orleans area, take the time to check out everything the Audubon Institute has to offer, it's amazing!

Roach TV!! It's so creepy it's awesome! Check out this one and many more at www.apl.tv.

 It's hard to get these two to take a normal photo!

 The butterfly garden is awesome!

 The Crescent City really is an amazing city. I complain, but all it takes is one trip to the French Quarter and I'm in love again.

 Even Jedi's need to go on field trips.

 Trapped!!

The jellyfish are one of my favorite exhibits at the Aquarium.

I hope we can go on at least one field trip a month! We'll save the zoo for when the weather is a little cooler. If you go in the summer months the animals are just sad and hot!

~~~Amy

A Little Bit Country...

We got to spend an afternoon in the country with a friend on a Sabbath recently. The kids were enamored with the creek, forest and little farm.I wish we could have a little piece of land like that ourselves, but we are suburban folks for now.

Isn't God's handiwork just beautiful?? Many are His blessings!!
~~amy

Wordless Wednesday

©Amy Dutsch 2012

Wordless Wednesday

©Amy Dutsch 2012

Castle on Irish Bayou

Blueberry Love

We visited the local blueberry picking farm the other day. I highly suggest this activity if you have one near you. Not only do you get a quick, fun, learning experience for the kids, but you get great, healthy food to make a plethora of recipes from.

Blue Harvest Farms uses no pesticides so you can eat RIGHT off the bush! How cool is that!?? Located in Covington, LA off Hwy 21, it's a reasonably priced activity for all. At 10.00 a gallon or 2.00 a pound, it's far cheaper, even with gas, than the 4.00 a pint (or more) price for blueberries in the store. And you picked these yourself, it sounds like work, but it's fun!

Check out Blue Harvest Farms site and Facebook page for details on hours and tips.

Here's our little bit of fun while visiting...

All images ©Amy Dutsch, 2012

Delight me with a comment and a repin! :)

~~Amy

Team Update

Handmade Louisiana...it's my baby. It was founded in April 2009 by myself and two other artisans who were from a former Etsy La based team that fizzled out. Although a majority of our team members sell on Etsy.com, we were adament that members need not sell on Etsy to be a part of the team. Although I do continue to run one shop on Etsy, I quickly learned there are more venues than Etsy to be a part of and one should never put all their eggs in one basket! We wanted our team to be open to anyone who created handmade who was in or from Louisiana, even if they didn't sell their creations.

So, here we are! Still chugging along on our blog and with an Etsy Team . We've all been quite busy lately, so we've not had as much time to devote to the team as we'd like, but that's a good thing! That means our shops are doing well, and our lives are full!

The Craft a Long Challenge will be back in November. Watch for it on the blog at www.handmadelouisiana.com

Artists of the Month should be continuing as well as our Team Picks! :) Thanks for all the support over the years!

~~Amy

Wordless Wednesday

Copyright Amy Dutsch 2010

Do you artfire?

Well I do now!! And I'm loving it!! I admit, shamefully, to have signed up waaaaay back in November. Then something called BLockhead Radio and a craft show came along, not to mention children, house, etc...and I neglected my AF shop..horribly! :) But NOW, I am BACK baby! I finally signed up to be verified and am slowly listing more items! (not sure which items will take precedence...I'll decide that later since it doesnt cost to list PER Item I can do what I want!!)

Of course i like Etsy, it was my starting point, but the times they are a changing! It's time to try new venues and see which ones really rock! Im also checking out Crobbies.com...good potential there also! :)

SOOOOO come check out artfire and of COURSE I created a Louisiana guild!!! You must be verified to join a guild, and just like Etsy teams, guild's hold great potential for you!! :)

So come check out and you'll be impressed I'm sure! Super easy listing, great customer service and very user friendly!!

www.mamaslittlemonkeys.artfire.com

See you there! :)