A week on the go

Tuesday, the girls and I had errands a plenty to run. Always seems like there is something we need or somewhere we need to be. Tuesday, we needed dog food. Rosie was quite distraught when we didn't feed her before we left; we were completely out of dog food.

Wednesday, the girls and I were suppose to go on a field trip to the Augusta Canal but it was rescheduled. Unfortunately, it was rescheduled to a day we cannot attend. I think we'll try to go ourselves one day with John.

Thursday, the girls and I went to Charlotte for the morning to help my parents with some yard work. All the recent rain made the grass really fast. Jesse learned how to put together, and use, a weed eater, and Chloe helped transplant some vegetables for Grandpa. Then of course, we had taekwondo too. I would have skipped taekwondo, but one of our students was graduating early. I always like to be a graduation, especially for my own students.

Camp Week!

This week was Kershaw County Day Camp. The activities were the same as last year: archery, fishing and a nature hike. The only difference is this year they were actually able to fish; no rain this year. They enjoyed themselves and saw some friends they had made last year. One of them is planning on doing the next play at the Fine Arts Center, so I guess we'll see her again soon.

Jesse finished her book she received for her birthday on Wednesday. She is now starting the entire series over again.

Chloe is ready for the Battle of the Books tomorrow and I hope her team does well.

"Alice in Wonderland"

Today is the final show of "Alice in Wonderland". If you've missed them all you missed one heck of a great show! I've had many parents come up to tell me how awesome they believe Chloe did. She has one speech that has rendered everyone speechless. Jesse was complimented last night, by the director, for her dance moves, which made her very happy.

Back row: Rachel, "the Caterpillar"; Mel, "the Hedgehog"; Jesse, "the Tin Man". Front: Chloe, "Alice #2)
Yes, all the Alices were referred to by their number. lol



Two of my favorite people from "Music Man" that we were reunited with during "Alice".

The "Wizard of Oz" crew for "Alice". It was a bit funny!

Lewis Carroll and all of his Alices.

All-in-all it has been an interesting ride. But I'll be honest, I will happily go back to teaching our taekwondo students next week knowing they listen (most of the time), are honest and trustworthy. I rather enjoy being around people I know I can trust. One of the things I teach in my classes are honesty, integrity, and the idea that martial arts is not just an individual sport, but a team one too. We help each out when we're stuck. We offer support and aid when we fall. And above all there is no laughing at one another because no one enjoys being laughed at.

We also went on an awesome field trip Friday. We went to the Catawba Cultural Center in Rock Hill. It was amazing. I learned so much! Chloe said, on the way home, it "was the best field trip ever!" Jesse quickly agreed.



A pottery demonstration; she created a milk jug right in front of us!

A demonstration of their music then several of their dances.

Jesse's favorite part was the "Friendship Dance" because everyone was able to participate. I loved the idea of the dance; you hope you and your friends' paths cross often. It is a beautiful, simple thought. Chloe's favorite was the "Hoop Dance" and I agree it was awesome and tiring just watching. lol

Another zoo trip

Yep! We went to the zoo...again. John promised Jesse a couple of weeks ago he would take her back so they could do the new rope thing. And to try the new mini donuts. You see when we went two weeks ago it was Senior day for Ben Lippen (a local private school). We were told by someone the Seniors received coupon books and inside was one for the mini donuts. The Seniors devoured every donut in the zoo by 11am!

Monday we went back. However, Jesse decided she was not up for the rope thing just yet. I think she needs to sit with it for awhile. It is the height thing for all of us. Funny how it does not stop her from climbing the rock wall though.

Her favorite part is coming down. Wierdo!

Chloe loves the carousel. And of course she HAS to feed the giraffes.

It tickles!

We did have the mini donuts. We all agreed they were good, but so not worth five dollars. We also stayed away from the gardens this time. I didn't want to take a chance, with Jesse since she was not 100% yet.

A day out

Monday was John's day off. As usual, by 10:30am he was bored. By 10:50am, we were all loaded into the car heading out to the zoo. We haven't been in awhile and knew there were some new additions to it that we wanted to see. We were no longer bored. ;)



It was sitting on Jesse's head.

BOYKIN, SC!!

Yep, there really is a Boykin, South Carolina. Really! And in this spot on the road is a quaint little store called, the Broom Place.



I have to admit I had heard of Boykin, but had no clue where it located. John received a phone call a few weeks ago asking if we would go pick up a Clemson broom for someone. I won't say who. We were told it was only twelve miles away. Really? Twelve miles and we didn't know it? Well, truth be told it was more like twenty-three. ;) We walked in to find there is no stock at the Broom Place. You go in to make your request and you hope (like us) you are the first in a long line. I will admit most people had called in their order, so their brooms were in the back waiting on them.

They however did not get to witness what we did. The machines Ms. Susie uses are all over one hundred years old. She told a story of her hundred year old threader breaking. No one makes them any more. However, she had a customer that owns a company that makes tools. They took a screwdriver and ground it down for her to use. It is not quite the same, but she is happy to have it.

More and more

Seems like the more things change, the more they stay the same. We are still working on our school work in hopes of finishing by the end of June. Fingers crossed! The house is staying relatively clean, so long as you are not looking at the girls' rooms. Taekwondo is going well. I have taken over the white/yellow belt classes for most of the teaching; Mike is not even coming in until class is almost over now. John is working hard, but taking some time off later this week.

Some days I feel great about life. Even on days when the house is a mess and we are behind in school. Today is not one of those days. The house is clean but my mind is cluttered. I have quite a few things I need to remember to do, or deliver, in the next couple of days. John will be home and I worry school will not get done while he is here (it usually doesn't when he is home). It is easy to say, "just do it" but it is not always easy to do.

I have another pretzel order, with cupcakes this time! Too bad I cannot get her to respond to my emails regarding the colors. I think this is the part frustrating me these days.

Anyway. John has decided not to get a pool this year. I think we'll stick to the small one we have and the sprinklers, for cooling off. I have quite a few places I'd like to take the girls before it gets too hot. I would love to have school at the lake one day, but with our county getting out of school this week I'm not sure that would be a great idea. I'm sure the girls would not like doing school work while they hear other children screaming and splashing in the water. :)

This past weekend we took the girls to the NC Zoo. The NC Zoo was our second date years ago. Back then I was there, sometimes, once a week. Do you know the saying, "You can't go home again?" Well, it is true. My zoo is not the same. Once the African Pavilion was full of animals and now it is full of orchids. They now charge you $2/each to stand on a deck to "see" the giraffes, just to "see" them! The trip really made me appreciate Riverbanks more. However, Chloe is now happy she saw a polar bear! And I'm happy we won't have to go back for two, or more, years until they open the new polar bear exhibit.

Another adventure

The girls have really been enjoying their new found science class this year. Or is it called nature class? Either way, they love it!

Ms. Chanda (the wonderful teacher at science/nature class) allows the students to bring in items, from nature, for points that can then be used to "purchase" items other students have brought in for points. Did you follow that? I hope so. Today, both girls took in a gourd that Grandpa grew. He actually gave them to us when Jesse was in K for us to paint (I still have quite a few more left, don't worry). Jesse "bought" a peacock feather with her points today and Chloe "bought" a beautiful purple rock (not sure what it is yet...maybe we should have asked).

Jesse's peacock feather (I didn't get a picture of Chloe's rock yet because she traded it just before we left.)

Discussion on wildlife versus domestic animals.





Actual mistletoe in a tree!! No, it is not plastic. ;)




Ms Chanda mixing the plaster...she is so awesome! And no I did not volunteer to help on that one. Too close to a "craft". LOL





Me being silly and taking Wendy with me.




Jesse and her deer track.





Chloe cleaning off her bobcat track.

School House Rock!

If you are around the same age as John and myself then that phrase will mean something to you. On Saturday mornings, between cartoon shows, was School House Rock! We learned about nouns, conjunctions, electricity and how bills become laws. Are you humming yet? Now, imagine weaving those songs into a story for a real-live stage performace. That was School House Rock! this morning. The Children's Theater in Columbia did an awesome job of telling a good story that blended in the music perfectly. And as always, the actors did a fabulous job.

Chloe and Jesse are both considering audtioning for a play in January. I'll keep you posted on their decision.

Bring on the cabbage!

Well, at least it caught your attention. :)

Today, we went to our first Nature Class at the Clemson Extension. Unfortunately, today was the last day of class for this school year. :( A friend of mine has been asking if we could go for awhile now, but we have not been able to attend for one reason or another. The class and teacher were as great as she has been saying. I will definitely go next year.

So, you are thinking, "What about cabbage?" Am I right? Probably (or you just completely forgot about it). Today at the Nature Class was Cabbage Chemistry (or Garden Chemistry). I have to admit Jesse kind of had an "up" on this one, because two weeks ago in chemistry she did a very similar experiment. Ms. Chanda made a purple liquid by boiling red cabbage. They each had a cup of the liquid and started adding things to it to see what would happened. It became acidic then basic and later they did another experiment to neutralize another mixture. The girls had a lot of fun and Jesse was happy she knew most of the answers. After all the chem, we went on a nature hike. Chloe liked the lily pads and Jesse liked the baby frogs. I got to actually meet some people I've "known" through FB and some I had met previously, but was unable to talk to during that event. I think we all had fun and can't wait for the next gathering.

Busy week

We have been so busy lately with all the work outside, and it still lingers on. Saying you have to put out mulch, start a garden, and just do general maintenance while waiting on fence people does not really sound like much. But we have weeded the area for the fence twice already and it needs it again (the 23rd can not get here soon enough as far as I'm concerned). Mulch. Oh, geez! How much mulch do we need?! We are getting there but it is slow. I'm hoping by the end of the week all of the mulch we have will be put out. However, we still need more.

Yesterday, the girls and I escaped the yard and the school books for a field trip to the zoo with some friends. We had a great time and enjoyed being outside for a while just for fun. lol We have been asked to go on a field trip tomorrow, but our schedule right now cannot afford another one so soon. And it is to a place where John wants to go and I don't want to go without him, so we are going to make that a family outting one day.

More vacation?

So, John is still technically on vacation. However, I don't think one day passed this week that he did not work, including today. I won't complain...too loudly...because I am getting a great yard! I've just missed the hubby this week.

There have been a lot of things I've wanted to blog about over the past couple of weeks, but my time is limited and quite frankly I've been exhausted!

I'll start with the yard since everyone I see around town is asking. The yard is coming together. Right now I'm back to working on the garden; I planted three tomato plants tonight, but I still have more to plant. We are making the garden more decorative. John said tonight it is not economical, but it will last. Each plant is going to have its own space marked by concrete edgers. They are not the same ones going around the yard, the edgers for the garden are actually taller so hopefully it help keep out more weeds. There is going to be a walking path between each plant. And no, there is not enough room there for all the plants we want, but we plan on expanding the garden next year to a place up the hill in the back.

My children continue to amaze me. Recently, I have started asking them to try new foods. Most recently it has been baby spinach and red, sweet peppers. They liked them both. In fact, they enjoy cutting up the baby spinach, mixing it into ranch dressing and using it as a dip for other veggies. Amazing. I am very happy they are not picky eaters like I was growing up.

Lost friends turn up in the darnedest places. We are at Lowe's last night being accosted by the kid's program volunteer, just after he left us I looked over and there was Angela. I have not seen Angela in probably two years, or more. And there she was! Then this morning we went back to Lowe's for the kids' program. Shortly after it started my friend Petruta came in with her children. Followed by Angela! I thought I hung out at Lowe's enough, but apparently if I stay there long enough I'll see everyone I know.

I know there was so much more that I wanted to share but now I just cannot recall. I wish I could sit down here everyday for ten minutes to update you on our lives but right now it seems impossible. I am overwhelmed by school, household chores and yard work to the point where it seems only one of them is getting done right now. We all know which one it is too. I hope soon all will be back to normal, life will be less chaotic and more of my time can be spent with you here.

A day of new adventures

It has been (still is) a beautiful day. We have been planning a trip to the zoo and today we finally made it. I have been wanting to do a horticulture/art class there at the botanical garden. I assumed the garden would be in full bloom and it did not disappoint. I love the garden this time of year. The girls love to practice their drawing and the plants there were just perfect for that. It was also the very first time any of us had been on the woodland trail. I had heard it was there, but we had just not walked it. It was also the first time the girls had been on a real nature trail. They really enjoyed seeing all the different trees and streams. Jesse, the explorer, took the lead most of the time. We had such a great time exploring and discovering parts of Columbia we had not seen before.