5th grade field trip

Today I went with Davis on his very last elementary school field trip (sniff, sniff) to the Isle of Palms, which is a Barrier Island near Charleston.  We left our house at 6:25 a.m. and didn't return to the school until nearly 6 p.m.  It was a very long, very cold, but very fun day.  We learned several amazing facts.  For instance, did you know the Palmetto Tree isn't a tree at all but actually grass?  It's still listed as South Carolina's state tree because they didn't figure that out until after all the stamps had been made and it was already in text books.  The weather was very cold but sunny so it wasn't all bad.  We took a boat trip that was very windy and cold but beautiful.  I enjoyed my day with Davis, it was very bittersweet.

It was dark and early but we were excited.

I took this for Andrew, it's the skull of an Atlantic Bottle-nosed Dolphin.

The saltwater side.

This looks like tracks a snake would have made but it's actually from a sea otter going from the freshwater side to the saltwater side.

Listening to our guide.  Davis is the last one on the left.

The freshwater side.

The beach with leftover hurricane damage.

It was tough to navigate through it at times.

Davis on the beach.

On the beach with my favorite fifth grader.

The horseshoe crab skeleton he found.

Getting ready to learn about crabs.

The Blue Crab.

A Crab Catcher, like the one they use on Deadliest Catch.

Busy Saturday

Yes, I know it's been almost a month since I've posted anything on here but we haven't really done much besides trying to stay well, keep up with school work, and start preparing for NEXT school year. yes, I said next.  I registered my baby for Kindergarten (sad) and my oldest for middle school (even sadder).  Next year will be tough on this mommy!  Both of them, however, are more than ready and excited for their new adventures.  Andrew, on the other hand, would be perfectly content to stay home with me for the rest of his life.  Sweet boy!

We planned several months ago to take our children to the Circus.  Davis has only been one time and that was right after Andrew was born and the other two have never been.  On the same day as the circus, I discovered there was a reptile expo going on so we ventured out to both.  The day began with Davis going to karate from 10-11 then the reptile expo, lunch, and finally, the circus at 3.  We were all wiped out by the time we got home at nearly 7.  Needless to say, this was the first spring forward our children have ever slept semi-late (we were bad parents & didn't set their clocks).  It  was a great day!  All three loved the reptile expo!  Aubrey was a brave girl and held a huge, $3,000 snake!  Andrew wouldn't touch anything at first but then got brave at the end.  Davis touched everything.  It's a miracle we made it out of there without some sort of creature!

The circus was amazing and all three were absolutely mesmerized (Rick and I were, too).  Aubrey loved the acrobats & the elephants, Andrew loved the dogs and the motorcycles, and Davis enjoyed taking tons of pictures and videos with his DS.  It was a great day!

Oh the excitement of all these reptiles!  He could hardly stand it!

"I want this snake."

Aubrey holding the $3,000 snake.

Andrew wanted ALL the snakes!

Davis got into it, too.

Petting a crocodile, and yes, it belongs to that little boy.  Ick!

That Albino Reticulated Python weighs 80 pounds!

Andrew finally got brave enough to touch something.

Davis and Aubrey checking out the turtles.

This dragon was Aubrey's favorite.

Circus time!
Me with my silly clowns (Aubrey's nose kept falling off so she had to just hold it on).

After 3 kids and nearly 17 years of marriage, we still love to be silly & have fun!

The chaos before the Circus started.  You could walk down front and dance with the clowns.

Patiently waiting for things to get started.  I don't know why she looks sad, she certainly wasn't.

She cracked us up in this hat that came with her cotton candy!