Tag Archives: field trip

Spring Break(ing Me Down)

19 Apr

I kid. I kid. Spring Break 2012 has been great, it’s just hard to keep these tiny customers entertained and pleased each day ’round the daylight hours without collapsing. It works out wonderfully that I get to have the week off with them and have my mom (“Honey”) here at the same time but kids will wear you down, man. I forgot what it’s like to have all the minutes in the day to enjoy with children packing limitless energy. I actually sent them to “school” for one of the days.

Really though, they got to shadow with their buddies who attend an area private school to see if it’s something they may like. They both loved it. I think we will wait a year and see how Nate handles First Grade at his current school before we decide on making a major move. It’s good to know that they both were happy there – and frozen yogurt with buds at the end of the short day was a sweet topping.

Frozen Yogurt Friends

We spent another day shopping. Nia scored her new favorite (slightly) heeled shoes and we all laughed as Nate busted a move near the CD samples of 60’s Swing near the greeting cards at Target.

Some other Spring Break hours were spent on a special daddy/son baseball night that featured Tim Hudson pitching for the Gwinnett Braves and a happy Nate with a ball.

Thanks to a Sharing, Stranger

Another fun (and brave) day involved a field trip to the Atlanta Botanical Garden thanks to my friend, Tracy, who gave us guest passes. Of course, we had an adventure figuring out how to get there when my GPS needed slapped to obey me. Then, Nate ran through most of the Garden like he was in a sprint race (and sighed out at one point, “You keep wanting to look at all the flowers!”). What I will remember most is this:

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Following the Map Readers

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Momma's Pack, Complete with Necessary First Aid Kit

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Enjoying the Exploring

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"What's in that cave?" "Boo!"

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Giant Caterpillar is Hungry

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Loved the Children's Garden

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Whoa! Bees!

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Favorite Fancy Flower

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Trying to get the frog to jump in his pocket.

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Happy Day with Honey

I guess a good Spring Break is one where the adult supervision needs a nap during the day while the kids destroy one of their rooms.

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She Held My Hand

14 Apr

I went on a field trip with Nia and learned more than the tour guides taught us. While the guides at the William Harris Homestead Home were interactively telling us about the Civil War, land ownership, cotton and life in the 19th Century, I was learning more about my little girl.

For example:

How she interacts with friends:

  • They would hold hands, whisper and giggle about things I didn’t quite understand.
  • They took care of her. One even made sure Nia could see and told another friend to “let our little one see.”

How her mind thinks:

  • She bravely raised her hand at almost every session to ask the guide a question or to try to answer their questions. She got a lot of praise for getting the question right about what would make the homemade candles a different color. “Maybe they were burned or something.” The guide seemed surprised and told her that not many people answer that one correctly. Nia beamed.
  • She searched for me in the crowd to connect eyes with me when they mentioned Savannah in one of their talks.

What makes her laugh:

  • She giggled at the silly speak that only her friends understood and at the jokes the tour guides told.
  • Hayrides. For sure.
  • She laughed at me when I tried to be funny in front of her friends. (I think I had a 78% success rate on my jokes but I should get extra points because I didn’t have to resort to potty humor for laughs.)

What makes her upset/concerned:

  • She was very concerned about one of her friends lying to me. (The little girl told me she had something in her lunch and Nia waited to see if she was telling the truth. Nia reports that she in fact – did not – have it in her lunch.)
  • She does not like line cutters. Not one bit.

I also learned that she was happy I was there. She genuinely wanted me around – reaching out for my hand several times and including me in her silliness with friends. Thank you for making me feel so welcome, Bean. I love hanging out with you and your buddies.

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