Ecology Center

I took the day off work today to go to on a field trip with Dawson's class.  We went to a local ecology center where the kids heard a story about making vegetable soup, picked and cut lettuce, learned about herbs, planted onions and beans and finally tasted the delicious soup.  

Miss Kim read one of our favorite stories "Vegetable Soup." 

Next, everyone was put to work cleaning, peeling and cutting vegetables.   

 Everyone was very focused on cutting!  They were using pumpkin carving knives to be safe!  While the soup was cooking, we headed out to explore some of the gardens.

 In the Children's Garden, they were taught how to cut the collard greens by the stem.  After they were cut, the children put them in a basket to be added to our soup!  They cook quickly so, we didn't need to add them until the soup was almost done.

 We then visited the herb garden.  We identified and smelled lots of herbs.  Dawson did not like the smell of the chives!

 Each child had the chance to pet one of the chickens Miss Kim took out of the pen.  It was quite friendly!

 It was fun to feed the chickens some grass.

 Planting our onions....

And finally eating the soup.  Most of the kids said it was good and then changed their minds!  They decided they would rather have their own lunches.  Very cute!!!  I give them a lot of credit...every single child tasted the soup!  

Father Daughter Dance

Last night, Dawson's school had their annual father daughter dance.  I asked her a long time ago if she wanted to go and she said "NO."  Then of course, she found out a few friends were going so things changed.  It was a hard start getting out the door but, after the evening was complete (at 9:30) she came home all smiles.  When she walked in the door, she told me her favorite part was dancing with her dad!  

Behind the Scenes

We were so lucky to get to go behind the scenes at the zoo hospital last weekend.  My friends, friend works at there and invited us back to see a few things.  She first showed us the X-ray machine and then the X-ray of the flamingo with a broken leg.  It was very interesting to see the break on the computer.

Next, we were able to see and bet the flamingo.  I was taking a picture from above him.  Notice his adorable pink cast!  

 Then we ventured out to see some animals and burn some energy.  It was a beautiful day!

As always, we ran back and forth on the net bridge!

 Last but not least, a train ride.  

Easter 2012

Happy Easter! We woke up this morning to new scooter along with a basket filled with a stuffed bunny, a couple of pool toys and a chocolate bunny. The Easter Bunny made quite a mess eating his carrots this year!

Trying out the scooter before we headed to brunch. She had no trouble at all riding this new 2 wheeler! I think that balance bike we have has really helped her become so good at balancing!

Bubbles always bring a lot of joy. Especially ones in an egg shaped container! I love the smiles and giggles!

Our cousin Sophia, Bella and Dawson discussing what was inside the eggs.

When it was time for a break, I held a search and find contest. The teacher in me always makes them do something educational!

And finally it was time for some carrot cutouts. These only lasted about 5 minutes with 6 teenagers around!

Stan Hywet Hall

We spent the morning walking around an old manor home with beautiful grounds. Our reason for being here was their annual egg hunt. We have had unusually warm weather this year so many flowers were in bloom.

Mother Goose, Miss Muffet and Little Red Riding Hood were also visiting children throughout the grounds.

Dawson and Grace had fun chatting about Spongebob before the egg hunt began. I will have to tell Lynn what they were talking about later. It was very funny!

Off they went. The funny part was after the countdown from 10, the girls just took off for the center of the grass. On their way out there, they didn't pick up any eggs. The two of them were just running and laughing.

And she finally decides to pick one up!!!

We walked and walked and walked. It was fun exploring all the paths and trails around the manor house.

The best part of all was opening the eggs. It was amazing to see how happy these three girls were opening their eggs filled with little trinkets such as plastic coins, stickers, rings etc. We can't wait until we see what the bunny brings tomorrow. Don't forget to leave carrots out!

Happy Egg Hunting

This weekend I held a small brunch with an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. We were lucky enough to get great weather for the hunt. Look at these adorable girls getting ready to get some eggs!

And they are ready to hunt....

I wonder what's over here by my favorite rock???

An egg...WOW!

Another one here under the bush...

And finally time to check out the goods! This is just the beginning of our egg hunts this Easter. There will be a few more before Easter!

Springbreak 2012

We are back from a week of sun, surf, sand, diving and tons of fun. All week we just enjoyed the water from morning until night. Each day we were up by 6:30 and in bed by 7:20. What an amazing vacation. Cayman was our destination because I wanted to go diving. A hobby I have not had the chance to do much since Dawson came home. It seemed to be the perfect spot for everyone to relax and do whatever water sport they wanted to!

Took a dive to feed the stingrays. They were so gently and fun to play with in the water. I did have a few other wall dives but, this one was the only one I got a picture of myself!

Endless hours were spent in the sand making castles and writing words!

All week long I found lots of words written in the sand. It was fun to see how many words she knew how to spell without my help!

A few water fights happened during the week! Daddy is mean but fun!

Dawson started this one!

Writing her name in the sand!

Our feet.....

Hanging in the pool.

And a few final braids to end our fun vacation!