Summer Re-cap #1

Before we get too far in the school year and I look up and it's Christmas holidays, I wanted to re-cap some of our fun memories from the summer.

One morning we got up and at 'em EARLY!  We planned to spend some time at a local park and knew we had to get there first thing or we wouldn't be able to bear the heat.  We like this park a lot because it is rarely crowded and has something for all age

Favorites at the park:  Wes - rock wall, Ann Elise - swings and zip line, and Bankston Hays - tall slides

For several years I have wanted to take the kids to a water park.  I figured they would have a good time, but I wanted to make sure I could handle all three on my own.  This summer proved to be the one when all three were swimming proficiently and Wes could manage the slides without me.  We went to celebrate the first day of summer and were having a good time when it thundered.  We were disappointed we had to get out, but when they made the decision to close for the day they gave everyone free passes to return!  YAHOO!  We used our free passes to celebrate the end of summer - going a few days before school started back :)

Favorites at the water park:  Me - lazy river, Wes - potato sack slide (don't know what else to call it but it is like the sack slide at a fair - you just ride down head first on a mat), Ann Elise - tunnel slide, and Bankston Hays - slide under the dumping bucket

My sister and her family live in my hometown (about 3 1/2 hours north of us).  We get together every chance we get and our kids L.O.V.E. being together!  When we found out my brother-in-law had a conference on the coast we started making plans!  The one hour drive was worth it!  The kids had a blast at the hotel pool and us sisters enjoyed our catch up time :)

Every summer we participate in our public library's summer reading program.  It keeps the kids reading and provides us with an air conditioned activity!   This year we settled into the routine of "stories and snow cones".  After we finished perusing the shelves and filling our bag with new books for the week, we'd head down the street to our friends' snow cone stand.

Favorite flavors:  Wes-rainbow, Ann Elise - wedding cake, and Bankston Hays-rainbow

Wordless Wednesday

Myself and Kris - Coney Island, NYC - August 2008

Wordless Wednesday

Ann Elise (3), Wes (5), Presley, Bankston Hays (7 months), and Kris

Cafe Du Monde, New Orleans - May 2008

Spring Break Art Festival

One morning of Spring Break I received a Tweet that the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art was hosting its annual Spring Break Arts Festival that afternoon and decided that would be worth a little road trip!


We found our way through the streets of downtown Laurel and found ourselves on the most quaint street. The street was canopied with trees and and lined with beautiful older homes and a bed and breakfast.


The Museum sits right among this setting and hosted the festival on their lawn.


The kids made their way from table to table participating in different crafts and activities. The Natural Science Museum had a representative with several neat things to see. Bankston Hays walked right up to "pet" the snake. He thought its long tongue was cool!


From there they each made rain sticks...


added their art to a mural...


strung a necklace/bracelet of beads...


and had their face painted.



Bankston Hays chose a star and Ann Elise chose a butterfly.


The event was very well organized and put together. I would definitely make the trip again.

FLASHBACK: Wrapping up the Holidays, Vol. 2

The third objective of our "Day of Fun" was to visit the McWane Science Center. I had never heard of the museum, but determined it had a lot to offer after a google search! From the written word it seemed to be a good mix of children's museum meets aquarium meets natural history museum. And after our visit, I would say that was accurate :)

With complete dependence on the Garmin, we successfully arrived at the center in downtown Birmingham, put our quarters in the parking meter, and crossed the street to the McWane Science Center. After an obligatory group picture at the entrance

The kids were enthralled with this life size marble coaster while we purchased our tickets.

The Center is massive! The interactive exhibits are spread throughout 4 floors. They were promoting their Winter Wonderland exhibit on the top floor so we decided to start there and make our way down. They did a terrific job of putting together winter activities for the kids to enjoy! They turned this escalator into an ice cave/slide...

And had simulated a gondola for picture taking...

They also had a snow room. The floor was filled with a polymer substance that felt and acted like snow (without the cold or melting). The kids were asked to wear booties over their shoes to keep the snow from getting dirty. But other than that they were free to play and build.

This cute snowman was part of the decoration.


The next room simulated an ice skating rink. The kids wore attached a slick bottom skate with velcro around their feet. It allowed them to "ice skate" on the carpet.

There was also an ice fishing station. Once the fish were hooked, they could measure their catch on a nearby scale.

After enjoying the Winter Wonderland, we made our way down each floor trying to take in all the science experiments and wonder. This station had several life size pin thingys. My kids always eye these on the toy aisle. They love the way the pins feel and what impressions they can make.


On yet another level they had a very impressive dinosaur exhibit. It contained numerous skeletons and facts!



They also had a petting tank in the aquarium section. The tank was full of baby bull nose shark and sting ray.


These smiles say it all! A day trip to Birmingham is every second worth it. You could spend an entire day at the McWane Science Center - very well done!

And it might just exhaust a few little ones...

FLASHBACK: Wrapping up the Holidays

I stayed in my hometown for the week after Christmas. It was Kris first week out of the country and helped keep us busy. We spent lots of time enjoying family and trying to plan things "out of the ordinary" for a fun experience.

My sister and I loaded up our 6 kids and drove to Birmingham one day. We set our sights on visiting the Lego store at the Riverchase Galleria and the McWane Science Center. We also had hopes of enjoying something for ourselves - like shopping at the Summit! But after getting 6 kids dressed, buckled, driven, unloaded, corralled through a massive and crowded mall (both the UGA and MSU marching bands were enjoying the food court as they made their way to their bowl games), food ordered (who wants nuggets? who wants a burger? who wants apples? who wants fries? fruit punch, lemonade, or milk?) - prepared (who wants ketchup? who wants ranch? who needs their nuggets cut?) - eaten, everyone to the bathroom, shop the Lego store while trying to keep imaginative minds under control, repeat a few of the steps to get us to our next stop, and enjoy the exhibits for a few hours...we were tired (aren't you exhausted just reading the list????) and the sun was setting. Our dreams of casually walking the sidewalks, perhaps a Starbucks in hand, chatting as we walked in and out of stores that had beautiful and bright window displays (why don't dreams ever include the reality of pushing a double stroller and reminders not to touch??) - yeah, they're just that - dreams. So goes our life... We can enjoy ourselves another day, right?

Without a doubt, the trip was still worth it!

I was looking forward to visiting the Lego store. I have a few friends that have talked about it and given me the scoop. How could it not be fun? Walls of Legos and stations at which you can create? But, I was probably most excited about making the "build your own package of people"(what Lego set has enough people?).

After successfully navigating lunch without anyone spilling their drink or getting lost...

...we found the store and made our way in...bliss! The back wall was covered in bricks separated by color. Which totally made this organized lady giddy :)

The packaged options were more than we'd ever been faced with.

And the station for creating your own people took it to a whole 'nother level! Heads, Hats, Accessories, OH MY!!!


We managed to escape the Lego store with one small purchase per child and pure joy that we'd survived #2 on the agenda (#1 being lunch)!

*Adventures at The McWane Science Center to be compiled later*
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It's here! It's here!

Kris is on his way home as I type and I could not be more excited!!! He still has a little more than 7 hours left before touching US soil but he's getting closer :)

He has had a wonderful time visiting with old friends and making new friends, experiencing a new culture, and seeing THE need around the world. I am really glad he was able to go - just sad we all weren't. It is definitely a perk with his job!


Hopefully the wait will pass quickly as today will be spent getting the house in order, doing laundry (to make way for his 2 weeks worth!!!), and running a few errands. After school the kids have ballet and basketball and then we have a little surprise to get ready for Daddy :)

Can't wait to have him home!!! Even if he is coming home with a beard...

Thanksgiving Getaway

I really love Thanksgiving Break! Our kids get a whole week off from school and that makes me happy. I love having everyone at home all day. There are no lunches to pack, quarrels over brushing hair, or math sheets. It is just family time. We tend to get a lot done around the house and next to nothing makes me more happy than checking things off my "to do" list!

For the last three years we have opted to take a day or two and get away. It slows our pace, allows us to enjoy nature, and have fun together.

This year we had decided not to do an overnight trip. So we planned a day trip to Dunn's Falls and were very excited about hiking the surrounding area and seeing the waterfall. We had to adjust our plans once we arrived because they were closed! But, thanks to a map app, we quickly reorganized a new destination not too far away :)

We ended up at Clarkco State Park. The kids were exclaiming their famished state long before we arrived so the first thing we did was enjoy our picnic lunch!


There were several really nice playgrounds that we all enjoyed!





The park has a gorgeous lake!


They had several large pavilions with lots of picnic tables.


Some of the pavilions even had these stone fireplaces that I thought were really pretty.


We chose to walk a portion of the five mile nature trail. The leaves were really beautiful.


And the kids had a great time climbing over fallen trees, finding little critters under leaves, and listening for wildlife.


There were people fishing under the shade of the big trees.


There were cabins available for rent that sat on the water's edge.


It was really peaceful!


We had a great time getting away and would definitely visit this park again. YAY for Thanksgiving Break!!!