Category Archives: Field Trip

If I Were a Rich Girl…

kei-hat-lake

We spent delightful days at our friends new house at Smith Lake.†† The house was incredible.† Over 7000 sq. feet, on the lake front and beautiful.

I could stay there forever and Kei had all the rooms assigned as if we lived there by the time we left.† Complete with a homeschooling room of course.† An amazing house.† Imagine waking up, walking into the kitchen and being surrounded on 3 sides by floor to ceiling windows with a lake view.† The pool was great and Kei worked on her diving skillz.† She stayed in the water for hours and hours.† I swear she is part mermaid.


It was just what we needed.† Of course I got horribly blistered.† Why is it I lather Kei in sunscreen and then half way put it on myself!!!!?????

Happy Thursday,

K

Great Day to Be Alive!

countrygirl2 Country Girl [Picture by Esther Crawford]

We had a terrific day.† My friend Karen invited us over for lunch and a play day for the kids.† Kei and I had never been to her house before.

Esther picked us up and our 1st stop was the library.† We went to Madison and they have the greatest library.† It was full of “Swine Flu Misplaced Public School Kids” and when we got there Ben came up and said, loudly, “I don’t feel good <cough> <cough>”† He really didn’t feel well but it was a little funny too.

Then we continued on our journey with directions from Ms. Nuvi.†† Even though she and I disagreed a couple of times, she got us there safely.

Karen’s house and land was awesome.† She had a yummy lunch for us.† Pasta salad, bean salad, [which Kei loved and got the recipe for] sandwiches with all the fixins’, chips, Pistachio Salad.† All very good!

Then us moms went out to the front porch to swing and talk and the kids proceeded to play games which sounded very much like someone was murdering them all.† Great fun!

Karen, Esther, Kei, Chan and I went to the pasture and had a BALL!

kei-in-pasture

She has goats…..

kei-chan-feeding

and a little calf…

kei-calf-2

and chickens and the cutest little guineas and a big ‘ole Rooster!

Kei was in heaven!

kei-chan-pasture

The cute little calf tried to eat my jeans!† We couldn’t figure out what he was doing.† He started with Karen, then started licking Esther and then me!† My jeans were wet with calf spit!† But my toenails looked GOOD!

calf-licking-me

As the day wound down, Kei and Chan took their books and went to read under a big tree.† It was right about the time the school bus came by and neither Esther or I could resist such a perfect photo op.

This is why I homeschool.

who-needs-school-21

We gathered up tired kids, lost shoes, lost books, wet clothes and headed home.

A perfectly lovely day.

Thank you Karen,

Kei and I have now decided, we are country girls trapped in the city!

Hugs,

K/K

Brrr It’s Cold INSIDE!!!

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day today.† Warm breezes blowing, birds chirping, butterflies flitting around.

The smell of freshly mowed grass in the air.

And what did my darling girl want to do? Go ice skating, where it is cold and wet and brrrr.

Our home school group goes ice skating twice a month.† Kei loves it.† She has gotten to be pretty decent in a short amount of time.

It wasn’t so bad.† Regina was there and I got to talk to Tara, a homeschool mom that I haven’t ever talked to much.† She was great and gave me some great ideas for curriculum for next year.

But still…ICE SKATING?

kei-ice-skateHappy Weekend,

Hugs,

K

Earth Day 2009

What a beautiful world we live in.

We celebrated Earth Day by going on a Wild Flower Hike and picnic with our homeschool group.†† On the way we passed a school bus and felt very sorry for the kids who were going to be stuck inside on this wonderful day.

We arrived at the spot with little problem, thanks to Esther’s directions, Gina’s ability to read said directions and Bobby’s manly driving!

It was a little cool and overcast but we set off.† It was a great place to hike and a stream that the kids, of course, had to try out.† I think these kids would jump in water if they had to chip the ice away first!

There was exploring,

exploring

there was splashing, there was worm races, there was a simple ceremony for poor dead Lacey who raced a good race,

lacey-the-worms-funeral1

there was laughing, there was friendship and there was learning!

kei-brit

What better way to celebrate Earth Day!

Hugs,

K/K

Field Day, Puppet Shows, Jump Rope, Play Days and Easter oh my…..

Since my computer has been out of commission I am going to squeeze the last 3 weeks into one post.† We spent a portion of the time in our downstairs bathroom hiding from tornadoes.† My poor umbrella that I just bought did not survive.

umbrella
Farewell Dear Umbrella

Our homeschool Field Day was awesome thanks to Heather!† The kids all had such fun.† We had around 107 people there. I love how homeschooling just keeps growing and growing!

kei-fd
Kei the Mighty!

One of my dearest friends Ali, got Kei a puppet theater and several puppets and she has been playing with them so much and I have been an unwilling audience for 100 shows!!

k-puppet

We finally had a warm day and Kei wanted to jump rope.† She loves to be outside.† April is so crazy here. It can be 70 degrees one day and 35 the next!

021

Esther had a bunch of us to her house for a play day.† Kei would move to Esther’s if she could.† We both had a blast!† I laughed so much.† Besides being smart and full of great ideas HS moms are also hilarious!

Food Tastes Better w/ Friends
Food Tastes Better w/ Friends
Important Girl Stuff..
Important Girl Stuff..

We went to church on Easter and then to Daddy’s for lunch and an Easter Egg Hunt.† It was our 1st Easter without Momma.† I missed her so much.

Before the Hunt
Before the Hunt
Found One!
Found One!

All in all, a lovely 3 weeks.

Hugs,

K/K

The Old House…

mamaw

My daddyís mom and dad lived in Moulton.

They were older. Even when I was small they were old. I loved my Mamaw more than anything when I was little. She never wore pants, always dresses and stockings with elastic garters. Mamaw loved red; even though she was a little embarrassed about the fact that she did. [She considered red a ëloose womanísíí color]† We went to their house almost every Sunday.†

About twice a month they would come spend the night with us. We always went to pick them up because even though my Papaw drove around town, he didnít drive distances. Mamaw would always let me pack her overnight bag. I loved picking out her dresses that she would wear.

Every summer I would spend a week or so with Mamaw and Papaw. They had a great house with a farm. It was strange because they lived on a farm but they lived in the middle of town. I would help gather eggs and milk the cows. It is sad that Kei has never done those things. Mamaw and I would walk to ëtowní. I loved it. It was right down the block but I always felt so grown up.

I have so many memories of my Mamaw and Papaw. The both lived to be in their 90ís. But by that time I was older and didnít spend so much time with them.

I loved their house. It was a big old farmhouse, over a hundred years old.† My daddy told me they bought it for $2500, with 16 acres! When my grandparents died, he and his brothers sold it for $20,000. It is for sale now. The asking price is $136,900!!!! They have even put in a pool!† That is with NO acres. My daddy didnít believe me, he came over here to look on the internet. He said that Mamaw and Papaw would faint if they knew how much it was.† I wish we could buy it. I would even live in Moulton!

I would give anything if, just† for one day, I could grab Keiís hand and pull her back in time. Back to Mamawís front porch, with Daddy making home made ice cream and Papaw smoking his cigar and Momma and Mamaw inside cooking fried chicken with all the trimmings. I would show her the pond and climb my favorite tree with her, I would show her the hole in the barn where we would throw apples, and the grapevines and the wraparound porch that we would play game after game of chase. We would quietly crawl under the house so I could show her the wild kittens that were just born. I would show her the secret room in the back of the house that we made up scary stories about. She could sit in Mamawís lap on the front porch rocker and feel so loved and happy. I miss my Mamaw and Papaw, but mostly I miss my Momma.

Happy Wednesday,

<3

K/K

Ivy Green/Spring Park

kei-pump

We had a wonderful day yesterday for a trip to Helen Keller’s birthplace.

Ivy Green was beautiful and I could imagine how serene it was during Helen’s era.† Kei was so excited even though some of the things the guide told us was not exactly how it happened. :)† It was so cool to see the very key that Helen had locked Anne Sullivan in her room with.

the-key

After Ivy Green we headed to Spring Park.† What a great place!† I had been wanting to go here for over a year and it was worth the wait.† I enjoyed catching up with my HS moms who I have missed so much during the long, cold winter.

Kei was in 7th heaven running and playing and train-riding and roller coastering and merry-go-rounding and duck feeding and jumping and giggling.

kei-falls

What a lovely day…

<3

K/K

Sol Beautiful Sol…

Yesterday we went to Camp Down Low for Solar Fun Day.

Esther, homeschooling mother extraordinaire, always has the coolest things for the kids to do.

They made solar cookers for hot dogs [chicken hot dogs that wouldn’t kill them if they didn’t get completely done, they put sun screen on a Paper Man to see how well it worked, they made ‘coolers’ to see how long an ice cube could last, they watched a colored ice cube melt on the concrete.


They also ran and played and did a talent show of sorts, played bounty hunter and played with trains and sang and laughed. I love this lifestyle I have been blessed with. I love these wonderful mothers that I have met.

I left a thermometer in my car, parked in the sun, to see how hot it got. 160 degrees! Fahrenheit! And to think parents [and I use that term loosely] leave their children in the car to ‘run in’ and get a few things or leave their pets! It makes me want to scream!

That aside, it was a lovely day. Enjoy the Sun! With Your Sunscreen of course. 😉

July ALREADY!!!????

I can hardly believe it is July.

I know the old adage, “Time flies when you’re having fun” but fun isn’t exactly what the last few months have been.

Although it has had its moments.

Yesterday was one of them. We got together with our HS group and had a swim party. [Thanks Regina!] The kids loved it! The moms and dads loved it. Fun was had by all.

There were about 50 people there! We ate, talked, kissed boo-boo’s, sprayed suntan lotion, watched water tricks, blew up floating devices, exchanged advice, doctored bee stings, discussed summer plans, laughed and throughly enjoyed each other’s company.

What a wonderful way to celebrate the 1st day of July!