Final Field Trip of the Year

You can spy Hannah at the very bottom of the picture in the black/red flowered dress

I went on my final field trip of the year yesterday (Yes, that's two field trips in two days...I'm tired and my list of the things that need attention is long!)  This one was for Hannah's third grade field trip to the symphony.  Honestly, we had horrible seats.  We were on the second row clear to the right so we had an incredible view of the cellos and not much else.  The logistics also needed a bit of tweaking. However, despite all that, it was a great experience for them and I'm so glad we did it.  I didn't get to go to the symphony until I was in college.  I thought this was a real treat for them and myself.

The program was especially geared toward elementary aged children and therefore, a much shorter program.  The symphony partnered with the local zoo and they put on a program together.  There was narrative between songs about the animals and how music can set the mood for characters and settings.  It was actually quite good.  The exposure they had to music was great, but I also thought it was a good experience for them to dress up to go to a special event.  When we met the bus at the venue (we didn't ride the bus this time...thankfully), I mentioned to the teacher how nice they all looked.  She seemed impressed as well.

I'm thankful to have experienced all these field trips with my kids and share it with their friends, but I'm also thankful that I have an entire year before we have another round of field trips!

Field Trip #2 Complete

Yesterday was Luke's turn for a field trip.  Despite the dreary rain and the long bus ride, we had a great time on his field trip.  They'd been studying the branches of government.  We went to an area children's museum that ran a simulation of the different branches.  We started with the legislative branch where there were 6 potential bills that may or may not become laws.  They stepped them through the entire process from committee hearings until it is signed in as law or vetoed by the President.  We then moved to the judicial branch.  Here they ran the kids through a very simplified court case.  Each child had a part in this one.  Luke served on the jury.  Once they'd decided on the verdict, we headed briefly into a small replica of the Oval Office to represent the executive branch.  It was quite educational and served as a good review for this Momma.  After lunch, the kids had about an hour to check out the rest of the museum.  We were all over the place from a VanderGraf generator to replica of Rams locker room to playing detective.  It was a fun day!  Now, for the last and final trip today.....

Taylor Homecoming

We decided with just days to go last week to attend Taylor University's homecoming.  Neither Chris or I had been in years primarily due to the fact that we lived miles away or Chris was not home.  Chris had some college friends coming in for it so we packed up the Trio and headed for what turned out to be a delightful weekend. We saw my parents and they watched the kids when they got bored with the weekend (thanks, Mom and Dad!), visited with friends and toured the campus.  It's always fun to catch up with friends.  However, the most surprising thing to me was the campus.  We've driven through campus a time or two over the years simply because that area is home to me.  However, this time we toured the actual buildings.  So much has changed in what seems to me such a short period of time!  The highlight of the tour was going through the new science building.  Chris was a computer science major so we made a stop there.  One of his professors ended up taking us on a personal tour of the entire department.  The equipment and what they can and do do there was really neat.  It's just too bad that Luke wasn't with us to check out their drone room!  

Pumpkin Patch Outing

At the end of last week, we finally found a few minutes to head to the pumpkin patch.  We were blessed with an extra day at home for Chris and the kids  and to make it even better, my parents were in town to join us.  The day didn't seem stellar in the weather department, but it was perfect fall weather to indulge us our annual trip.  I visited this orchard last year with Andrew's class on a field trip, but it was the first time our family went to it.  It was so much more fun than the commercialized orchard just down the road - quiet, way less busy and much more like you're on a real farm.  They had a kid play area, but they really enjoyed the cows, pigs, rabbits, chickens and turkeys.  We took a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch where they had all varieties.  So fun to pick out a pumpkin.  Some kids went for the traditional while others went for the unique.  So glad to share this memory with them.

 Ready for the wagon ride

 Mom was telling us that my Grandpa used to have a tractor very similar to this one.  Loved it that he had to "fix" (straighten) out the muffler before we even headed to the field.

 Andrew and Hannah were my traditionalists

 Luke had to make a choice, but we did end up with more than one of these

Really glad that Mom and Dad could share the afternoon with us

One Field Trip Down

Last week, the second grade headed to our local zoo (our very nice zoo I may add!)  I got the entire experience of a second grade field trip - bus ride in the back of the bus both directions, walk (ok, fast walk) through the zoo and lunch with these four.  We actually ended up having a great day.  The weather was perfect for such an outing.  The back of the bus ride wasn't nearly as bad as you might think since the boys spent a big chunk of the 45 minute bus ride playing "I Spy" and if you exclude the part where I went airborne when a bump was hit.  The walk through the zoo was fun and much easier since I had other chaperons helping me with these four, which included another Mom and a Mom and a Dad.  That's right - four adults for four kids!  Can't beat that ratio.  Lunch was also fine and it brought a surprising conversation that at least one of those boys would have rather been in school than the zoo (not my son!)  Thankfully, I delivered them all back to their teacher and took a much needed quiet break before returning to school to pick them up.  Kudos to their teachers for doing that every day.  I was tired!

The Lost Heiress - A Book Review

Roseanna M. White was a new author for me to read and she did not disappoint.  The Lost Heiress is filled with suspense, mystery, love, family and friends.  All the ingredients that make a really good book.  Coming in over 400 pages, this book is filled with details.  Initially, I thought that it detracted from the book.  However, it lent itself very well to this time period, made you feel like you're part of the story and definitely aided in character development.  If you are a Downton Abbey fan, this book is for you since it is set in a similar time era and has all the dynamics of the royals and their servants.  The only draw back to the book was that I found the characters confusing, especially at the beginning.  There are several characters and they go by different titles depending on who is addressing them.  The author does a pretty good job of setting aside a couple of pages to make it easier to sort out who is who in the book. Definitely a good read.  I'm hoping for another one set in the same period from this author!

I received a complimentary copy of The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White from Bethany House Publishers.