How we finished off our year

We are officially done with our school year!  WooHoo!  I had originally planned to go through this week, but I thought Hubby had this week off of school before starting his next class so we double timed through the last two weeks.  Only to realize that Hubby didn't have any time off before starting his next class.  But we didn't hurry for nothing--we got an extra week off!  I'll have a more detailed post about what all we accomplished this year, but I will say that for the first time in a couple of years we finished every book I planned on finishing.  The girls worked very hard this year and I am super proud of them!  But we are all ready for a long break!

We did have a field trip last Tuesday.  We went to the LSU Botanical Gardens.  It started out as a really nice day.  Not too hot as long as we were in the shade.  The girls and I both got to see friends and catch up a little.  We started off going to a couple of different stations and learning about trees and habitats. 

Raising their branches high

After eating lunch we were supposed to go on a little hike.  It was a little warmer by then, and not as much shade on the trail, but we survived. 

And then on the hike back it started to rain.  And not just a little rain.  Pouring rain.  We were completely soaked! However, I was very proud of my girls for not complaining at all.  #4 was a trooper.  I kept waiting for her to ask to get in the golf cart that was trailing our group so that I could ride too, but she never did!  It was a good field trip!

The adults after our refreshing walk in the rain!

 Thursday was our last official day of school.  I think they all had a math lesson and #1 had one memory card left for history.  So we were actually done around 10.  I played this song for our end of school celebratory dance.  The girls thought it was funny. 

And Friday we had our end of the year presentations for the co-op.  The three oldest were all in a choir, #1 did a little something for her storytelling class, and #2 was a guard and the narrator for the Wizard of Oz play.  I have exactly 0 pictures of any of it.  We did film it on our camcorder, but we haven't downloaded any of it yet.  Trust me when I say they were awesome!  Unfortunately, we're not going to be a part of the co-op next year because I'm starting up a homeschool choir, but we were really blessed by the co-op this semester.  The girls and I both made new friends and we enjoyed every week we spent with them! 

So now we have some time to relax before we start our annual summer travels.  The girls don't know it yet, but they're going to be gone the entire month of July.  Hubby is going to be going to CA for a meeting and we have a family vacation scheduled in Hot Springs, AR.  All of which I'm really looking forward to!  Gotta love summer time!

Sickness, a Birthday, and Insects

Baby Girl #2 turned 10 on Tuesday.  It wasn't the original plan, but she actually got to celebrate all week long.

On Tuesday Daddy made her some eggs for a quick breakfast and then I surprised the three oldest with a painting class.  It wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be, but they all had a good time anyway. 

 The best part of course was getting to take the day off of school.  No school for anyone on birthdays around here!  Well, that was the best part for the rest of us.  The best part for #2 was a toss-up between getting to finally wear dangling earrings and getting to read Harry Potter.  Once they turn 10 is when those two things happen for our girls.  She's almost done with the first book and she hasn't worn anything but danglies since Tuesday!

And for her birthday dinner she chose CiCi's Pizza.  Ugh!  But we let them choose wherever they want to go (within reason) so CiCi's it was.  Complete with Mac and Cheese pizza.  One of my favorite pizza's there, actually!

On Thursday we went on a field trip to the Insecterium in New Orleans.  Our only time to actually go to NOLA since we've moved here.  Also the only time I've had to go through airport-like security to see a bunch of bugs.  But we got to see friends and eat some more chocolate covered bugs, so it was worth it. 

Of course crawfish are going to be on display!  Especially the blue ones!

Eating chocolate covered wax worms.  We're used to them now.

Can't forget these two!  Notice the one person not in the pictures eating a bug...

We thought he was going to be the only one to have one land on him

But #2 got lucky too

And since we were in New Orleans with friends we decided that we would take the girls down to a famous cafe to get some famous beignets.  First of all, we walked several blocks to get there.  We were in the downtown area and had already paid for parking for the day so we didn't want to try to move the vehicles and have to pay again.  Walking in crowds trying to keep track of 9 children was a little stressful for me.  But we made it in one piece.  We even got caught by a few street performers.  The girls enjoyed it even if I was slightly irritated having to put money in a terrible "magician's" hat.  But the beignets were really good and the time with friends was welcome.

Iced Cafe au Lait--it was humid!

Lovely magician--just lovely

After getting home I took #1 and #2 to get manicures.  This was one of the things #2 wanted for her birthday.  I was originally going to just take #2, but she asked if #1 could come too and since #1 has her own money to pay for it I agreed.  We had a good time.

Tonight #2 is actually going to get to open the rest of her gifts.  I failed to take in to account Valentine's Day and President's Day when I ordered her gifts so they didn't actually get here until yesterday.  Definitely another Mommy Fail to add to my list.  It won't be the last either!

And tomorrow she'll get her birthday breakfast, chocolate chip pancakes and turkey bacon.  So even though it didn't quite work out the way she wanted, I think it was still a pretty good week for her.

As far as school goes, we actually only did school work on Wednesday.  I woke up in the middle of the night Sunday night sick to my stomach and stayed that way for the rest of the day so school was cancelled.  Tuesday was off for the birthday, Thursday was the field trip, and Friday was co-op.  So we did part of school on Wednesday, and it wasn't really good for anyone.  I was still not feeling great so was cranky and short with the girls.  They couldn't seem to get in the school gear and kept messing around.  We didn't really get anything important covered.  And so we'll chalk this week up to "life experience" (because that sounds better than saying the week was wasted, although it really wasn't) and we'll move on. 

I'm looking forward to not having anywhere to go tomorrow.  I'll probably sleep as late as I can get away with.  And we'll be back on track for next week!

Stennis Space Center

I know I mentioned this in my weekly wrap-up, but this field trip deserves a post all by itself!

#3 told me she had never been on a bus before.  Poor homeschooled child!

When we lived in Houston we lived 30 minutes away from the NASA center.  You know--the one that when you think of Houston you think of NASA being there?  Yeah, that NASA center.  It has a really cool science center attached to it and everything.  In the four years we lived there do you know how many times we visited this wonderful NASA center?  0.  Yep, we never made it there.

#4 driving a space shuttle

So imagine my amusement when I realized that the field trip I signed up for this month without even looking at where it was or what we were doing because we missed all the summer field trips and I wanted to see everyone again was in fact a visit to the NASA center in Mississippi.  I found it quite amusing that we were driving an hour and a half to visit something that was only 30 minutes away for four years.

I was pleasantly surprised when we got there.  Turns out the Stennis Space Center is the second largest NASA center, second only to Kennedy Space Center.  This is actually where they test all the engines for the rockets.  Navy SEALS also train there, there are several military facilities on site, different colleges have buildings there, and many commercial companies use the area to test and build new products.

This picture actually doesn't do the size of this justice.  It is the size of two football fields.  Massive!

Another rocket tester

While there we were also treated to a volunteer who ran us through several different aspects of what an astronaut's life is like while in space.  I learned a lot of new things I had never heard of, but my favorite was how the astronauts eat their food with a spoon.  They literally shovel it in their mouths with the spoons turned vertical.  Awesome visuals!

When there are too many astronauts on the Space Station and not enough beds, the astronauts without a room will sleep in these bags, literally hooked on a wall.  They also wear that strap over their eyes to block out any light and keep their head against the pillow!  Crazy!

They eat with a tray strapped on their leg with velcro tabs to hold their food packets on the tray.

 The three oldest got to ride on a simulator.  I'm not sure exactly what it was of since I didn't go on it with them, but I heard about lava and almost hitting a lot of things.  They loved it!

And of course, the gift shop had astronaut ice cream.  I wanted to try it too so we got mint chocolate chip and chocolate.  If you've ever eaten those freeze dried yogurt bites they have for babies you'll have a sense of the texture of this stuff.  It didn't taste bad, but the texture was just weird!

The only ice cream allowed in the car!

We were also blessed to meet new friends today.  I actually met the Mom at our Mom's Night Out a couple of weeks ago and we knew that we were going to be seeing each other today.  Her three oldest are girls the same age as my oldest three.  I was hoping the six of them would hit it off.  Well, they did more than hit it off.  They immediately paired off with their "same age" friend and it was like they had been friends their entire life.  None of them were shy and once they started talking they didn't stop.  By the time we were ready to leave we had been invited to a birthday party for their third daughter and there was talk of letter writing and sleep overs.  Thankfully the Mom and I also get along well so I look for this family to become good friends for all of us! 

Yay for new friends!

I'm very thankful I finally made it to visit a NASA center, even if I had to drive to MS to do it!

We didn't buy the zoo--but we went!

Back in March or April Hubby bought a membership for the zoo here in town.  We had one for the last several years in Houston and it always paid for itself in just a few trips.  Our thought process buying one earlier in the year was that we would go when it was still cooler and could enjoy ourselves a little more.  It also helps to go during the week when most kids are in school.   That way we miss out on most of the crowds.

Tigers cuddle too!

Well, we didn't end up going until our school was officially out for the summer.  Most of the public schools went one more week so there wasn't a lot of kids running around, but it was definitely hot!  We packed our lunch, which turned out to be a necessity since apparently they don't open their concessions until public schools are out for the summer.  We found that out when we were all very thirsty at the far end of the park.   Unfortunately, this zoo does not have tables or benches or shade for that matter outside of the zoo to eat at.  So what else could we do but eat in the car?  And we obviously couldn't allow our children to sit in a car that had been sitting in 90 degree heat for several hours without the AC turned on!  We might have lingered a bit more over lunch than what we would have if we had been sitting outside!

 This is a terrible picture, but you know those birds in the Jungle Book that look like vultures?  I always thought they were just normal vultures, but this bird looked exactly like them and it was HUGE!  Probably the second largest bird I've seen other than a condor.  It has the crooked neck just like in the movie and everything.  I stayed there for the longest time just watching it.  It was so ugly it was fascinating!

And it wouldn't be a zoo in Louisiana without a gator or 4!

We did go back in the zoo after lunch to see the second half that we didn't get to before lunch, but it was really warm that day and we were all pretty miserable after just a little bit of time.  So we checked out some of the larger animals that were close to the front and then we were ready to call it a day.  Amazingly enough, when we were walking back out to leave we just happened to pass the kids area where there was a playground.  The younger two girls immediately perked up and wanted to play.  The older two even played a little.  Momma sat in the shade and drank water!

Just because big, white, loud birds are cool!

So we ended the day a little earlier than we planned and we didn't get to see the entire zoo, but that is the absolute best part about having a season pass.  You can go for a couple of hours and then leave and not feel a bit guilty that you didn't get your money's worth.  We'll go back eventually--probably not till about October, but that is still OK.  We have several months to go back as often as we want to.  And besides, the animals come out more in colder weather, right?

So many strawberries!

We love to go strawberry picking!  Mainly because we love eating them so much, but also because it is something out of the normal that we don't get to do more than a couple times a year.  One of the homeschool groups we joined had a field trip to a strawberry patch, but you had to pay $7 per child and it didn't seem like you got many strawberries.  So when one of the other groups put a group together and you only had to pay $8 for each gallon bucket--and that price was for however many you could fit in there--I jumped at the chance.  We were supposed to go before our trip up to see my family, but we were rained out.  Which is why we were there this past Tuesday.

I had looked at the GPS before we left so I knew about how long it was going to take to get there.  We left later than I planned, thanks to the fact that our car has officially bit the dust.  Which means that when I need the Suburban we have to drop Hubby off at the church before leaving and then pray nothing comes up that he needs to go anywhere!  We were still going to get there on time though.  I took it as a good sign that I started seeing signs for a strawberry farm along the route we were driving.  I didn't look at the name of the farm.  After all, how many strawberry farms could possibly be along this one country road?

The answer is two.  I know this because we visited both of them on Tuesday.  I don't know about you, but when I can physically see my "destination" I stop paying attention to the GPS.  Which is why I turned in to the first strawberry farm I saw.  We saw a bunch of kids picking strawberries.  I knew there was going to be over 100 homeschoolers so I took this as a good sign.  I thought it was slightly odd that they were already out in the field since we were 10 minutes early, but it was my first time meeting up with this group, so I figured they just did things differently.

We parked, walked through a field of mud, and joined the crowd of people.  At which point I noticed that most of said people were actually small people.  As in pre-schoolers.  I am aware that homeschool outings almost always include the entire family, not just certain ages of kids, but it isn't usual for there to only be little kids running around.  I finally asked someone who looked like they were in charge where the homeschool group was.  She looked at me weird and asked if I was at the right farm.  I told her I was pretty sure I was, again, thinking how many farms could there be.  She asked me for the name of the group again, looked around, and informed me that she was pretty sure I was at the wrong place.  I start panicking a little wondering how I could have possibly been so wrong with the directions.  At which point she FINALLY informs me that there is another farm across the street.  I could have used that information 5 minutes ago, but whatever.  She didn't appear too happy to have to tell me about the other farm.  There is probably a strong rivalry going when you have two strawberry farms on the same road.

So we trek back across the muddy field and attempt to drive out amidst all the little munchkins running around.  I pull out of the wrong farm and immediately see a sign pointing across the street to the correct farm.  I did not see this large sign at all the first time I was on the road.  We pulled in and I noticed the large group of adults and children of all ages.  I also noticed their shirts which actually read "Bayou Cajun Homeschoolers."  Yep, we were in the right place!  Technically late, but still 15 minutes earlier than the rest of the people who showed up.

Number #2 decided to pick on her own

Needless to say, we had a great time.  Because they don't use any pesticides on their fruit we were able to eat as many strawberries as we wanted while we picked.  This worked awesome for #4.  I was able to pick strawberries to keep and every time she wanted to help I would let her pick one and eat it.  This kept her from caring that she wasn't actually putting any in the basket.  Don't judge me!  If you love trying to get little hands to carefully pick a berry and put it softly in a bucket instead of smushing it into a sticky mess, more power to you!  Me--I was just glad we were all able to walk away happy!

Fruits of our labor!  Get it--"fruits"  :-)

There is some angle food cake under those strawberries!

Quick Trips and Field Trips

A few months ago I was desperately searching for field trips for us to go on so that my girls could branch out and find some more kids to get to know.  This week I actually had to cancel one that we were planning on going to.  And as the summer draws nearer and we finalize our trips I am realizing that we really don't have a lot of free days available.  And by that I mean there are not a lot of days that I will plan anything on.  When I over-schedule everything seems to fall apart, so I tend to be selective about what we plan for our family.

Having said that, these last couple of weeks have been jam-packed with activities.  All of which we have enjoyed, although I like looking at the next couple of weeks and seeing a lot of open space on my calendar!

First was a used curriculum sale I went to.  It was with a new homeschool group which is always a little awkward meeting new people, but I survived.  Actually, I scored #3's math for next year at a third of the cost of what I would have paid new.  I also sold enough to cover that cost.  All in all, a successful outing.

Then I was finally able to get my massage that Hubby got me for my birthday.  I always forget how much I love massages.  So let me state this--I LOVE massages!  She asked if I wanted a deep tissue or just a relaxation massage.  I told her I had four children who I stayed home with on a daily basis.  I was going to need some pain to get my back and shoulders back to feeling normal!  She did an amazing job!  I oohed and ahhed so much Hubby bought himself a Groupon to go get one for himself.  I feel a little jipped about that, but I'm letting it slide!

We watched our friends' girls while they went on a date.  Always fun times having 7 girls together!

One of the girls didn't believe we had crayons!  Ha!

 

We met some new friends at the Pretend Play place we went on a field trip to last month.  This family has only been in BR about a year so they are looking for new friends also.  We haven't spent a lot of time with them, but what we have I have enjoyed the kids and the Mom.  We're looking forward to getting to know each other

Yep, they are going to be good friends!

This last weekend we took a quick trip up to my brother's farm.  It was a lot of driving for less than 48 hours of visiting time, but it was worth it. Being  away from all of our family continues to be the most difficult part of being in the ministry.  So quick trips like last weekend are necessary to help us continue to feel grounded somewhere.  As always, we had a blast.  #1 and #2 even had their first gun lesson with their uncle.  Daddy could have done it, but the uncle has the land. Both of them hit the target multiple times.  I also shot the rifle for the first time.   I've only ever shot handguns before.  I also hit more times than I miss!  Woot!

Safety First

#1

It was a little hard for #2 to hold, so she gets a stand

Not too shabby!

Yesterday Hubby and I had our date.  We went and saw the new GI Joe movie.  Big flop!  We're sticking to movies we know are going to be good from now on.  Movie theaters are too expensive to waste on a bad movie!  But we enjoyed the time we got to spend together, nevertheless. 

And now we're gearing up for the next two weeks.  Hubby and I are starting a two week diet that involves eating no carbs.  I will miss them!  We also have a homeschool conference this weekend we're attending.  It's been a few years since we've been able to attend one, so I am really looking forward to it.  I wouldn't say Hubby is looking forward to it, but he is supporting me in my desire to attend.  As usual, he reminds me how blessed I am to be married to him!

May is shaping up to be busy, busy, busy and then summer, as always, involves much travel.  So we're going to take some time to take a breath and get organized before that happens!  God is good, all the time!

Pretend Play

Eating lunch afterward

This past Monday we went on a field trip with one of the homeschool groups I have joined.  I honestly didn't do any research on the place that we were supposed to be going, other than to see that it was within 10 miles of our house.  There has not been anywhere close to the same number of field trips available that we were used to before we moved.  Each homeschool group is different, and the biggest one we joined has actually only had field trips geared towards Kindergarteners.  Luckily, as with most homeschool groups, siblings of all ages are welcome to come to any field trips.  Normally I'm pretty picky about what field trips we go on because even though they technically count as a school day, we get no actual school work done on those days.  So I'm not wanting to have a field trip every week.  But because we still don't really know anything to do in this area and haven't had a chance to get to know any homeschooling families I want to go on as many group trips as possible to get to know some other families.  Which is why I didn't really care where we were going for this particular trip. 


Turns out that where we were going was called Pretend Play--and it was awesome!  I've seen places like this before, but we haven't been to one since #3 was a baby.  It is just a spot in a strip mall, but inside they have made several "pretend" stations.  This one happened to have

a baby/house area,

 a vet clinic,

a dress-up area,

a firehouse, a dirt/construction area,

 a train station, a stage and costumes, a castle with a slide, an entire table of Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, a glow in the dark space station, a craft room,

a puppet show,

 a reading nook, a kitchen, a restaurant and a grocery store. 

And my girls loved all of it!  They even had an area for babies under 2 that I let #4 go in for a few minutes when she was getting overwhelmed from too many people. 

It really was one of the best places like this I've seen.  #1 and #2 didn't enjoy it quite as much as the little girls just because there wasn't really anyone else their age there, but they kept good attitudes about it and found enough stuff to keep themselves occupied. 

Overall, it was a great couple of hours for the girls, we met a few new families, and best of all, I got information for another homeschooling group that I've already contacted and signed up for another field trip to go strawberry picking with.  This makes my third group.  I will eventually find one that fits our family!