Thursday ~

We woke up with weather threatening storms today.  We kept our eye on it, but they didn't hit until about 10pm. 
The kiddos played TimezAttack and we read 2 chapters in our history.  I sent them out to play for a while, so I could fix lunch.  After a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches (each) we loaded up with our mud boots, several towels and an extra change of clothes and headed out for a field trip to Two Pines Landfill.  I grew up calling this place 'the dump', but apparently, it is not PC to say dump anymore, so we must call it THE LANDFILL.  My children wasted no time correcting me each time I goofed!
Riley, Chunky and I were excited about this trip - Samantha and Roger, not so much. (Hey, if he is home, he gets to participate!!). We were divided up into two groups and we went inside and learned about the layers of the landfill.  From there, the kiddos all got to make a Landfill Pie. 
In a clear cup, they layered graham crackers (dirt) pudding (tarp) licorice (pipes used to vacuum the methane gas out) more graham crackers (to protect the pipe) then the trash - rice puffs (to show the 40% of paper that is trashed) fruit loops (all the metal) and a mixture of nerds, coconut and mini m&m's (for the rest of the trash).  After that, we got a layer of chocolate sprinkles (for the small stuff, like what you sweep up and throw away).  Then it (rained) chocolate syrup, then a final layer of pudding (dirt), some sprinkles (for the grass) and a few more licorice sticks (because the pipes stick up).  The kiddos had a great time and really enjoyed the dessert! 
After we finished up inside, we caravan out to the plant.  There at Two Pines, they have a plant that takes the methane gas and turns it into electricity. They produce enough electricity at the 'landfill' for 4500 homes in our area.  From there, we got to go 'behind the lines' and out to the actual zone they are filling right now.  We watched the dump trucks bring it in and DUMP it and the bulldozer spread it around, the compactor smash it down to 2 feet deep and the final bulldozing cover it with the 6 inches of dirt.  There were lots of questions - and we learned a lot.  The drivers of the equipment are trained each week on the driving.  They know exactly how deep the 2 feet of compacted trash is and how much is 6 inches when it comes to the dirt.  They cover the trash each night with dirt to help cut down on the smell and the spreading (by weather or creatures). 
At the end of the tour, the kiddos all got goodie bags.  I asked for a couple more bags- they are the mesh kind that are great for the grocery shopping. There were some fun stuff in there for the kiddos, but I didn't need that stuff!!  The whole tour took about 2 hours, but it was a really great trip!  The coordinator of this trip is going to set up something to go to a recycling place and tour that next as a follow up!!
We came home and I made tater--tot casserole for dinner, along with some carrots...there were no left overs...I am going to have to make a bigger pan next time!! 
I had a Ladies Auxiliary meeting, we are finalizing plans for an Open House. I came home with a nice to do list for this next week...in addition to everything else we have going next week! 
Well, I am signing off here and we are going to watch Ed bring the storms to us!  Pray for no major weather for us!