Nature

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. ~ Anne Frank

Glasses

There was no school yesterday. After an appointment in the morning, we had the rest of the day to play. We decided to go see How to Train Your Dragon -- in 3D. Let me say it never occurred to me that it would be more expensive than your normal "way too expensive" movie. We were going to the same theatre after all; we were just going to receive a pair of glasses to see the movie in 3D. When the lady at the ticket counter told me how much, I almost fell over. Adam said, "How much?" I muttered a number slightly less than $50 -- just slightly. I laughed and said, "What a bargain." To which the ticket lady replied, "Awww, thanks for saying that. Almost everyone is complaining about the price." Too funny!






I have to admit it was money well spent. The movie is so cute and it was so fun for me to sit and watch the kids reactions to it. There were several times where I saw them reach out to touch what they thought was right in front of them.

Another good day...

Field Trips

Last week, Adam had two field trips. The entire fourth grade class went to Reed Gold Mine where they were having Carolina Heritage Days. Reed Gold Mine is the site of the first documented gold find in the United States. There were several special exhibits set up for Carolina Heritage Days. Like this guy ...

The bucket was used in a fire brigade.

As soon as Adam saw this guy, he said, "Look, a pirate!" and he was serious. To say his class was not prepared for what they were going to see on the field trip is an understatement.

And this ...



...this sufficiently scared one of the girls in my group...the one who had wondered off every time I turned around. The one was not dressed appropriately and only wanted to stand in the sun.

We did pan for gold.



We learned that all of the gold that has been found would fit inside the elementary school gym. I was surprised by that. Adam found a fleck of gold.

A teeny, tiny fleck.

Adam and a friend.

We also toured the mine. My favorite parts of the tour went something like this, "This is an air hammer. It wasn't used at this mine." and "This is an escape ladder. It wasn't here during the time they were mining." Um, so the escape ladder is for our benefit? Great.

The next day the fourth grade AIG kids went on a tour of Historic Concord. They had just finished a study on architecture. The teacher had prepared a scavenger hunt for the kids. They were to find certain architectural features on the houses and buildings. Each feature was worth a certain amount of points and the group who had the most points at the end of the day won a pizza party with the teacher.

The kids took the scavenger hunt very seriously.

We also had a geocaching riddle to solve. My group worked together very well. Instead of finding a treasure, the kids were led to historic markers on the sides of buildings.







We took a tour of the Old Courthouse. The first floor of the courthouse had been converted into an art gallery and the second floor into a theatre. We toured the Museum and the Memorial Gardens where the roses were in bloom.



After a trip to the Creamery for ice cream and the Chocolatier, we were all to meet in front of the library. The teacher was collecting everyone's responsibility slips, scavenger hunt sheets and geocaching information. She did all of this right under this sign.

Too funny.

At the end of this week, I head out with Andrew. Every year the kindergarteners take their mothers to a local park for a Mother's Day Picnic.

Soccer, Kites, Bubbles, Ice Cream

Spring has been glorious this year--except for all the pollen. The pollen has been quite rough on the allergies. This past weekend was filled with more soccer. I'm loving being a soccer mom.

Andrew's team had another victory on Saturday. The score was 4-2 and Andrew's team scored all 6 points. Oops. At least we scored more for our team than for the opponent.




I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching Andrew's enthusiasm for life.

We bought a kite and took it to the park on Sunday. We tried and tried and tried, but had no luck getting it to fly. I overheard Adam telling someone that the kite tried to attack us. That's pretty accurate. It would start to fly and then do these crazy spins and plummet to the ground. I'm not sure we had it together correctly. The kids had also received some tiny kites for Christmas. We didn't have any luck with those either.





After we gave up on the kites, we tried some bubbles. The sun was terribly harsh (for pictures at least), but I like these anyway.





Andrew was laughing at something Adam did.

We made bubbles for the kids until our arms hurt. They loved chasing them and trying to pop them with their "swords."




We then headed into town and were treated to some ice cream at the Creamery.

Mint Chocolate Chip for Abby








We really had a great time together this weekend.

On a sad note, I hit a cardinal on the way to taking the kids to school this morning. She got stuck on my windshield wipers. She did not die immediately. She looked right in the window at me and blinked. TWICE. And just sat there. I screamed and then started laughing hysterically. What? You don't think that's the appropriate response? I had no idea how to get her off and Adam suggested that I turn on the windshield wipers. So I did. And she rode back and forth across the windshield. Adam told me to speed the windshield wipers up. I figured it was either that or stop and pick her up by her tiny little legs. The latter didn't appeal to me. So I turned the windshield wipers up on high and she finally "flew" away.

Celebration

We've had a lot to celebrate recently. My parents came to town for spring break and they brought my niece, Jami, with them. She hasn't been to our house in quite a while and it was so fun to have her here with us. My kids love to stay home, and they were beyond thrilled that Grandma and Grandpa came to stay with them during spring break so they wouldn't have to get up and go to camp.

These are my parents' grandkids minus one. Their oldest grandchild didn't make this trip.



Easter was another great cause for celebration. Celebrating Jesus' rise from the grave -- what could be greater? Of course, we had to dye eggs (where did this tradition begin--I need to look that up) and have an Easter egg hunt.






Andrew also had a soccer game while Grandma, Grandpa and Jami were here. His team won 6-2, and Andrew scored 5 goals. After the 4th goal, his coach put him on defense. Andrew wasn't very happy about not being able to "cross that line." When I told him it was okay, he told me it wasn't because it meant that he couldn't score another goal. Needless to say, he crossed the line and scored again. It was just too much for him to resist when the ball came across the line. His coached told him, "No more." I think that's a good thing. Andrew ~ not so much. He'll learn.

This is what it looks like after Andrew scores a goal.




The direct look to the sideline was extra. He had a pretty big audience there and wanted to be certain that everyone saw him score. He also celebrates this way when one of his teammates scores.

Another cause for celebration - Maylin and Pearson. My cousin, Traci, and her husband, Adam, are recently home from adopting two children from Tawain. I was able to spend some time with them at the park over the weekend.





There are some new kids in town, and we can't wait to spend more time with them.

Smile

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.
Mother Teresa

Spring Has Sprung

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. ~ Albert Einstein