We went to Hiddenite, NC a couple weeks ago and had a wonderful day at Emerald Mines. After a picnic lunch, we started with some sluicing…

All the buckets are seeded with gems so you’re sure to find something. The kids got so excited whenever they found a piece of quartz crystal or amethyst.

After that we took some equiptment and went creekin’…

That was the most fun. Wading around in the creek felt good in the heat. We dug and found some pretty rocks and crystals.

Ethan prefered just to throw rocks in the water…and at Rob…poor dad got lots of bruises.

At Gordon’s school, the letter Q and the letter U got married. The boys were Q’s and the girls were U’s. There was a ceremony and now they can make words like “quilt and queen.” Here’s Gordon and a girl in his class (katie). Afterwards we had a reception with cupcakes, cheetos, wedding mints, and apple cider. Very cute.

Gordon also lost his first tooth. Way to go!