Christmas Cookies

      This post is about one thing my family and I have been doing for Christmas. We've been making Christmas cookies to give to neighbors. I also made cranberry and banana nut bread. We made gingerbread men and sugar cookies that were snowmen, bells, trees, and stars. We decorated with raisins, red-hots, chocolate chips, and lots of different types of sprinkles. 


Another tradition we have is to read Christmas books. In the back of a book titled The Twelve Days Of Christmas that is illustrated with gingerbread cookies, it told some history of the gingerbread cookies. I would like to share some of these facts...  

Gingerbread men were especially popular in England.  Mrs. Washington made them for George Washington. In the 1800's Americans hanged gingerbread ornaments on their trees.  Some American bakers made alphabets which kids were allowed to eat when they learned their letters.

 

Marie Curie

 

 In school today we have been leaning about Marie Curie. She was a fascinating lady who became a famous scientist who was the first person to discover Radium. Here is the information I learned

about her.                                

       Marie's  Childhood  

   She was born in Warsaw, Poland as the youngest child in the family out of five. Her favorite pastime was books. When her older sister was struggling reading a book Marie took it from her and began reading it. She taught her self  to read when helping her sister pick up a cardboard alphabet. Her parents said she was to young to read since she was four years old. They said her mind would get tired also, they didn't want a child prodigy. Her parents banded her from reading.  She often asked them " May I please read now?" Finally they sent her to school early, she excelled in her lessons and was the smartest in the class. Conquerors in Poland forced the teachers to teach Russian  history but secretly the the teachers taught Poland history instead. One day a  Russian
Inspector came to make sure they were obeying the rules Marie stood up and told all of the answers the Inspector impressed left.


                         Marie's Adulthood
   Marie helped her sister pay to go to the Sorbonne University. Five later her sister did the same for Marie. While at the Sorbonne she often went without  food or sleep. Later she met Pierre Curie who considered  her as a genius and wanted to work with her. They got married had two kids and began to study in a old shed the radioactive materials. In their study's they found radium which they won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903. Sadly, in 1906 Pierre tragically died due to a wagon accident. Marie was heart broken and was extremely lonely.  She continued her work and won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911. She passed away in 1934 due to exposure to radium. No one knew how deadly it was back then.


          


                      

Reindeer Cookies

Yesterday evening we made reindeer cookies to start off this Christmas season. Here's how to decorate them: First after you make the dough, you shape it into small triangle shapes on the baking sheet. Next, you get to get to put 2 pretzels in the top corners for the antlers. Next, you put two green M&M's on for the eyes. Then, you put the red  M&M on for Rudolph's red nose. Lastly,you put them in the oven for 10 to15 minutes. You can find the recipe  here Enjoy!     

  Here are four facts that I learned about reindeer.   

1. Both  male and female reindeer grow antlers.
2. Reindeer typically have a lifespan of around 10 years.
3. An adult reindeer can weigh up to 300 pounds.
4.  Reindeer are good and strong swimmers.

Since you can't live on cookies we made Chili too.  My sister and I won third place at the 4-H Chili Bonanza  with this recipe last year. The 4-H Chili Bonanza is fundraiser for 4-H where you can take your chili and display your table. Then you serve a small bowl of your chili to the judge. After that you serve the extra chili to every one there.  This year instead of a chili bonanza they had a waffle supper. The chili recipe is                  here.

State Flag of Texas

Chili is the state food of Texas. 

Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge

Recently,my family and I went to a TACHE field trip to the Tiger Creek Wildlife Refuge in Tyler, Texas.  I found out about the refuge when I was studying about Tigers and other big cats a few years ago.  In the book their references told about the Tiger Refuge and where it was. So when we moved closer to Tyler, we visited them and I learned lot of facts about big cats. Since we enjoyed our tour so much, my mom organized a group tour.  The refuge had added several new pens and buildings since we last came. When we got there they split us in two groups. The first group which we were in went to the tiger pens. The pens are chain link but their is a metal fence separating the pen and the walk way. After being showed  the Tigers we got some of our questions answered. They feed them different kinds of meats
when hunters clean out their freezers they donate their leftovers to them, they also get road kill. They received some of the tigers from Michael Jackson and some from the Circus. We changed sides and we got to see Bobcats, Mountain lions and more. Next, we saw future expansion and the lion pens.  I learned that programs introducing  tigers back into the wild aren't working. Also tiger breeding programs haven't been working either. Due to habitat  loss they will come extinct if nothing is not none soon. Here is there website : http://www.tigercreek.org/  I had a great time and loved it.  

4-H Goats

Rusty

I bought two wether Boer goats for showing in 4-H.  A wether goat is one who has been neutered. On September the 23rd I bought my goats from a nice family we go to 4-H with.  Each of my goats was about 3 months old already. After I got my goats, my sister decided she wanted a goat too, so she bought one as well. The reddish colored one is named Rusty. The other goat's name is Houdini because when we first got him, he escaped a lot but not any more.  My goats are market goats, these are goats that are intended to go to the market for meat after the sale.  (I will not be eating my goats.) 
You have to work with your goat and practice every day so you will be ready for the show.


I first showed my goats in the East Texas State Fair and placed 4th and 10th place in their classes.  A class is a weight range that is decided after all goats are weighed at registration for the show.  This way all goats are divided into groups of goats that are the most alike. 
The way you show market goats is; First, as you lead your goat in and around the show ring you should be confident and always keep your eye on the judge while also knowing what your goat is doing. Several times when all of the other goats stop walking you need to setup your goat or brace it.  Bracing is when you try to get all four feet setup like a square then push on his chest with your knee so that his back gets hard as he braces to push back on you. When the judge is two to three goats over, you really need to start bracing your goat. 


Next, when the judge is in front of your goat, you have to brace the goat really hard because the judge will be feeling the back of your goat. While the judge is doing that, he may ask you some questions such as how much you feed your goat, what is the goats name, etc. 


Then, when the judge is done checking all of the goats in the class, he will pick out the goats that he likes the best and pull them to the side.  He will then check these goats again before putting them in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place order.  


Finally, you will walk your goat out of the ring. If your goat placed 1st in your class, you will most likely be called back with all of the 1st place goats from each class to be judged again for a Grand and Reserve Grand champion out of the whole group.


Different rules will apply in different shows, so be sure to check the rules before you register or go to a show.


When you get home from the show even if you win first place you still need to work with your goats. 


I hope this post will help you learn how to show your goats. 


Here are some pictures of us working with dad to build our goats a shelter.  Now the goats can get out of the weather and we can keep them separated when we feed to keep some from eating the others food.

Building the shelter.

   

Taking a break for a photo. 

 

Fresh by Brookshires

Portobello  Mushrooms.

Learning about lobsters.

Desserts at the Bakery

Baby bananas.

Flowers in the floral department.

Colored cauliflowers.   

Fresh fish and octopus.

Bread in the Bakery  

Cheese slicer

 My mom scheduled another awesome field trip for TACHE! She had organized a field trip to the new grocery store FRESH. We went to the fruit and vegetable area first.  It was neat because they had all kinds of exotic fruits and vegetables. They had colored cauliflower, all different kinds of mushrooms, live and dried herbs, dragon fruit, lots of root vegetables, mini pineapples and  also miniature bananas. Plus lots of other yummy looking fruits and vegetables.  Second, we looked at the meat and seafood section and they had there own lobster tank and a sushi bar where you could buy prepared sushi. We got to watch the chefs prepare some sushi too. They also had different kinds of whole fish you could buy head and all. In the meat area we got to talk to the butchers. They told how they made their sausages and they made patties with vegetables and cheese in them. At the cheese counter, they had a cheese slicer that I thought was neat because it cut the block of cheese with a thin piece of wire.  The cheesiologist gave lots of different samples of cheese that were good( well most of them).  The cheesiologist let us smell some of the  cheeses. They had a big  cheese wheel from Wisconsin; but now back to the rest of the store. Next we saw the full burrito bar, sandwich bar, and soup and salad bar and where the chefs cooked and prepared dishes that you can buy and take home and microwave. Also the chefs had made bagged meals, you could buy and take home. We went from there to the gelato bar which is an Italian ice cream. Gelato is like regular ice cream or yogurt but it's creamier than ice cream and is healthier. Then the tour guide showed us the tofu isle and the gluten free isle too. Then we got a tour of the bakery. The chefs  had made lots of different breads and desserts for us to sample. We got to sample homemade tortillas that were good but my moms  tortillas are better. We also tried pumpkin bread, baguettes and some homemade peanut butter cups that were great! Next, we got to go to the store room which was fun because we got to go into a giant freezer that was less than 10 degrees. Lastly, we saw the floral department that was interesting because it had different flowers which I had never seen or heard of before. That wraps up the tour. I had an awesome time and would rate it 8 stars out of 10. 
                                               That's all thanks for reading
                                                                             Christopher

Patty pan squash.

Dragon tongue beans.

Texas quail eggs.

Cheese isle. 

Fruit.

Stack of cheese.

  

Military Living History Field Trip

replica of a Humvee

My mom is the awesome field trip coordinator for a Christian homeschool group we are in called  Tyler Area Christian Homeschool Educators (TACHE for short).  She had organized a field trip to a ranch owned by Tom Townsend.  Mr. Townsend is an author and a mini cattle rancher; while he also helps supply combat vehicles and artillery for movies.  He had  all kinds of army trucks and jeeps.   When we first got to toy land (that is what he called his ranch) Mr. Townsend was in a metal building that he stored most of his vehicles in he also kept some military equipment there also. He let us look around in the building while we waited for more people to arrive.  Then he told us about each of the  combat vehicles, equipment ,and models. Then at the end we got to ride in a real Diamond Reo 2 1/2 ton truck that had been used during 
World War II.  I had a great time and would recommend it 

Ha Go Japanese Light Tank  

Mini replica of some tanks.

v   

• This is my favorite cookie recipe. Try it out.

  Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 (9 ounce) bag milk chocolate candy kisses
  • 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration
                   

Directions

Recipe Yield 4 1/2 dozen

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour and cocoa, add to the flour mixture, mix until all of the flour is absorbed. Finally, stir in the pecans. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Unwrap chocolate kisses. Mold about 1 tablespoon of dough around each chocolate kiss. Place 1 1/2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until set. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Roll cooled cookies in confectioners' sugar