Flat Rock

We've been studying rocks this week in science, so Thursday after school we headed around the corner to a beautiful park with no shortage of amazing rocks to study and collect.

We started out by exploring a little and adding to the bucket we had brought along to hold our new collection. We found rocks, stared at rocks, climbed rocks, and eventually did a little slipping and sliding on rocks.

Kassy and Bella getting a good view of the park.

Kassy, Bella, and Ari enjoyed a little swinging time by the stream. 

The stream flows over a bed of flat smooth rocks as it enters the park. Occasionally, the current would catch the girls and slide them downstream a few feet. No worries, though, the deepest point is maybe six inches. 

The water was FREEZING, but that didn't stop these little girls who love to get wet.  It was just a matter of time before they adjusted.

Ari slipped and Trista was her anchor. After a little laugh, though, Trista was done and just wanted her sister off. Obviously, Aria wasn't giving up. Me, being the nice, camera wielding mother that I am, made sure I got the shot before insisting that Aria move.   

Maya stripped all on her own and quite enjoyed her return to nature. Literally. I gave up trying. I put the clothes on, she took them off faster than lightning the second my head turned. 

Kassy got a great picture of the park.

Our friends, Jenn, Lily, and Maddie, joined us for a little splashing. I decided to go and move the car a little closer to where we were playing. Kassy snapped me in the distance, with Maya strapped to my back, as I stooped to pick up a rock. 

Another Kassy pic.

Maddie, Lily, and Ari. Our little BFFs. 

These boots go with everything, whether I want them to or not. Aria wears them to church, the park, with dresses, jeans, shorts, skirts, and bathing suits. It's going to be a sad day when they break or she outgrows them. 

Mommy, I Mean Mother Daughter Date

Kassy and I had a night to ourselves last night on what I would have once called a "mommy-daughter date." I have been increasingly aware of how much my biggest little girl has been growing up for quite some time and when I think about it too much it can get a little depressing. But, nights like last night help curb those sad feelings.  We laughed, we sang (songs which we really didn't know all the words too), we ate way too much.

 The night began at Chill, an amazing little self serve frozen yogurt cafe where your eyes are always bigger than your stomach. Among the flavors we tried were red velvet cheesecake, peanut butter cream, cupcake, and white chocolate mousse and our toppings included cheesecake bites, maraschino cherries, caramel sauce, white chocolate sauce, whipped topping, and probably a few more things I'm forgetting.  

My girl and me.

 After Chill we headed to the movies. After all that sweet at Chill it was time for some salty. We started with a whole bucket of popcorn topped with our white cheddar flavoring and well, we enjoyed it a lot. As a matter of fact, Kassy wasn't even hungry at breakfast this morning.

 At home there was no cereal, bread, or milk, so a quick stop at the store was in order. Kassy's been searching everywhere for a Mockingjay pin. She can't be expected to go to the new Hunger Games movie without accessorizing, right? Those things seem to be sold out everywhere. Well, guess what we found on our trip to the store?  

 This is actually the second take. In the first she was ecstatic, but then composed herself and made me do a second take. 

And this is a picture of the moment when it hit me again but a little harder than usual. She's growing up. She's not a little girl anymore. But, I wasn't so sad or depressed. Just proud and in awe of the amazing beauty of a young woman she is turning into. 

A super Tuesday

How are sedimentary rocks formed? Let's see. 

Did my civic duty and voted in the presidential primary. Later J.T. and I tried to remember why we had not voted in the last presidential primary. Oh yeah! I was in labor with Aria, kind of. My water had broken, but contractions were few and far between. J.T. kept begging me to let him go vote "really quick," but there was no way I was letting him leave that hospital. When our candidate lost the state of Georgia, he concluded that it must have been because he hadn't been able to vote:)

Not pictured: Our super Tuesday concluded with a trip to the movies. Kassy went to see Sherlock Holmes with her friends from our homeschool group, and I was lucky enough to treat the younger girls to a viewing of Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. All I have to say about that is that the girls loved it. 

Blessing Day Reunion

Last Sunday was awesome in so many ways. We got to travel up to our old stomping grounds for the blessing of beautiful Baby Delaney. She is so precious in so many ways and practically has an army of loyal and loving admirers. 

Here's Bella getting some long awaited snuggle time with Baby D. 

Of course, the kids were in heaven all day and I do believe, if they had their choice, they would have kicked J.T. and I to the curb and become Holtons. Some things never change.

The dads even got to catch up on some quality UFC and Ninja Warrior conversations and viewing time.  It all just bored Delaney to sleep:)

And here they are all together. When our families first met there were only five little girls and a cute little Tanner running around. We've grown, now, to seven little girls, a not so little girl, and an almost grown up Tanner. 

Ahhh, Friday

Every Friday morning we attend our homeschool co-op where the girls get to take various classes with their friends. Among the classes they take are kindermusic, presidents and elections, weather, drawing, Little House in the Big Woods, the deeper meanings found in Dr. Seuss (Kassy's class), and American History.  This term I'm teaching a class on American heroes as well as a multi-sensory handwriting class for the younger kids. 

In their Little House in the Big Woods class today, Bella and Trista got to make butter in their own little jars. Bella's Presidents and Elections teacher has given them the assignment to write a letter to the president that they are actually going to send to him. Now she just has to come up with which issue she'll address in her letter, and write it, of course. 

After co-op we headed down the street to our Leap Day find: our new favorite park. A good time was had by all the girls this time. Maya was awake and Kassy reluctantly joined us.

Ava's a little tuckered out on the right while Aria practices her swinging skills.

Bella was ready to fly! She took this jump several times. Unfortunately, wood chips are a little more slippery than sand, so each time she came down her feet slid right out from underneath her. Apparently, it was worth it.

Lunch!

Kassy started the park visit out with lunch and a good read on the swings. 

So, Maya's pretty much potty trained. She stays dry all day at home and when we go out her diaper stays dry and she uses the potty. So, why not put her in panties when we're out in public? Well, I guess something about panties just rubbed her the wrong way today. After 2 accidents at co-op it was back into a diaper. Luckily, it was cute because we had no spare pants. Of course, she has stayed dry the whole rest of the day. 

And she's having fun!! 

At the end of the day, I'm welcoming the weekend with a sigh of relief because we have made it through this terribly busy week. Time to relax. Well, maybe after Trista's 9 am soccer game, in the morning. 

Leaping to all the Wrong Places

We had grand ambitions for this year's leap day. After awaking early enough to get our morning devotional and chores done, we would start out the day by hitting my favorite  semi-annual consignment sale at 9 am sharp on its opening day. We'd then have a quick lunch, swing by the store to pick up some jump ropes, and then head to our homeschool group's "Leap for Leap Year" activity. It would be a blast competing in all sorts of jumping activities with our friends. We'd get home in time to take it easy for a little while before I took Ava to ballet and the older three girls headed out with J.T. to Trista's soccer practice and then on to church where Kassy had a Young Women's activity and Trista and Bella would get to go to Achievement Days. This, mind you, was going to be Trista's first activity. Everyone went to bed full of excitement.

The reality of February 29, 2012: I woke up an hour after I planned on. Everyone got dressed and ready in a hurry and we made it out the door 45 minutes later than planned with the house looking like a tornado had just rolled through. We drove all the way downtown and upon arriving I was thrilled to not see many cars. "Yes! I beat the crowds!" We all unloaded, the baby and baby carrier were strapped on, the stroller loaded with 2 more girls, and we were off! We walked straight into a very empty convention center. Huh? I know I got the date right. Maybe they were somewhere else in the building? Nope. Upon looking it up I discovered that the location had been changed between the last sale and this one. I never looked close enough at the recent ads to notice this. The new location? Five minutes from my house! Time to back track. Even though we were an hour late we still made out with some pretty good deals: $85 for 7 outfits, 2 shirts, and 7 books. Now on to the real fun!

Lunch was a little rushed because of my late start. The kids did get to eat and play with their friends for a few minutes before I had to peal them off of the Chik-Fil-A play equipment, but promises of playing at the park with more friends made the screams of protest subside pretty quickly.

We were 5 minutes late, but that wasn't too bad. It's a pretty large park, so I drove around the perimeter looking for familiar vehicles and faces. After the third lap I knew something was off. Deja vu! Did I have the time right, the place? Check the Facebook invite! My last check had been a quick scan. This more thorough investigation revealed that earlier I had skipped right over the announcement that, due to the possibility of bad weather, the location was being changed to an indoor location that was, once again, five minutes from my house. Too late to make it!

I make the announcement that we have missed "Leap for Leap Year" and take full responsibility. The tears and whimpers begin. "How about we play at the park here anyway?" The younger ones are all for it. The older two, not so much. They opt for reading in the car and keeping an eye on Maya, who is napping. So numbers 3 through 5 and I take off to investigate this new park. All I have to say is that it was SO much FUN!! We, yes me included, were swinging on monkey bars running after each other and having a blast on equipment we hadn't played on before. I had to run back to the car for my camera and convinced Bella to come join the fun. Between the monkey bars, some other thing that involved hanging and sliding, and running with Aria on my back, I later felt like my muscles were on fire. Who knew the playground was such a workout? Certainly not this thirty something mama who hasn't played so hard in a very long time.

 

Happiness. The day's mishaps have been redeemed. Right? We rush home (after a quick stop at the dentist office to pick up Bella's purse she had left there the day before) and don't have too much time to relax. After making dinner, practicing a little soccer with Trista, getting Ava ready for ballet, and cleaning up my disaster of a house, breakfast and all, it was back downtown for ballet. We finally made it home to collapse and take it easy. However, this day wouldn't be complete without one more dose of disappointment. Achievement Days activity for Trista and Bella? It's actually on the first and third Wednesday of each month. February 29 was neither. I had done it again! A quick reminder of our fun park day and their "new" clothes brought smiles back to faces. 

In the end I think Leap Day was a success. I learned a lesson about detail, discovered our new favorite park, and am incredibly grateful that I managed to cram so much into one day. Did I mention that I ended the night by doing 3 loads of laundry? Ah, the feeling of accomplishment in the face of so much chaos and disappointment. It actually feels pretty rewarding. It's not surprising I slept incredibly well that night too.