Does anyone need training wheels....

because Ella no longer needs hers!

When we got back home from eating last night, the weather was so nice that we decided to stay outside  for a bit. I was on the phone with my sister when I heard, "Mom, come here!!"  As I turned the corner, I saw Ella hop on her bike and ride down the sidewalk. 

A few weeks ago, she was practicing and got really good with balancing so we decided to go around the block. We soon realized that was a bad idea. She was riding well but her speed started to get out of control.  I meant to stop her but my big size 10 foot went in front of the wheel. The bike came to a halt but she did not. I thought she was never going to get back on that bike. For a few weeks, she did not touch it. She kept asking us to put her training wheels back on but we wouldn't.

She finally decided to give it another try. I guess it was too hard watching her older brother and sister ride down the sidewalk together.

Can you guess who her teacher was??

Her crazy daddy!!!!

Watch out for the big guy on a little pink bike!

WAY TO GO 

 ELLA!

We are so proud of you!

This free photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

The Center for Puppetry Arts

Today, we went on a field trip to the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. If you are ever in Atlanta, I would make plans to visit this place. They have shows, make a puppet workshops and a museum. We attended  Paul Bunyan & the Tall Tale Medicine Show. First, they took us  to the make a puppet workshop where we made a blue ox puppet out of cottage cheese containers.

After the kids finished making their puppet,  they were grouped together and practiced putting on their own puppet show.

While still in the room, I took a few pictures of the puppets made at previous workshops.

We had a great time making our puppet.......even me!

We grabbed a quick snack before heading off to the show. It was such a cute performance. They used many different types of puppets including shadow puppets to tell the stories of tall tales. I do not have anymore pictures because the workshop was the only place they would allow us to take them......something about a copyright.

When we finished touring the museum, we headed over to The Varsity to eat. This is the suppose to be the world's largest drive-in. It has been featured on the food network before. When I was younger, we used to stop and eat there on the way to my grandmothers. I remember it as this exciting place to eat......my how times have changed. The food is just not as good as I remembered it.

It was another great day of field trip fun. Guess what we are not done yet....we will go to the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham next week and for the summer we have plans to travel to Gatlingburg, Tn, New York City, NY and Hilton Head, SC. I LOVE FIELD TRIPS...... can you tell???

Strawberry picking at Kauffman's Farm

For the past several weeks I have wanted to go pick strawberries. In the beginning, it was weather, then it was being out of town and then all the patches were out. Needless to say, I was bummed. About a week ago, someone sent me an email about a place in Montezuma, Ga called Kauffman's Farm. It is located about 30 minutes from here and is run by an Amish family. So I called and set up a homeschool field trip.

We picked pesticide free strawberries.

Then, we walked in an orderly fashion ran to pet and feed the animals.

The goats were trying so hard to get to the food in Ella's hand. She would get close enough to tease them and then back up because she was scared they would bite her.

Finally, she got the courage.

Next, came the hay ride.

and finally the homemade strawberry ice cream.

From Kauffman's we went around the corner to a Mennonite restaurant. 

We had a day filled with fun, good food and friends.

Tomorrow, we will be heading to Atlanta for another  field trip to the Center for Puppetry Arts.

Yummmmmmmm!

I was given Amish bread starter a couple of weeks ago. I did my first round and kept one of the bags to do a second round. This bread takes 10 days of prep work and waiting but it is well worth it in the end. 

I know I am suppose to be a friend and pass out the starter which I did in the first batch but when I do my second round..........

I bake it all up and put it in the freezer.

Well, maybe not all of it...

Who stole the muffin from the muffin tin

Who me????

Yes, you!!

Wasn't me

Then who????

Nothing Sweeter

There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping child.........

....unless they are asleep and surrounded by books.

It is so much sweeter than inviting a friend over and doing this......

....playing video games in the same room but on different TVs.

Pictures and it was their idea!

In the previous post, I mentioned that I took pictures of the girls at The Rock Ranch. The scenery was just beautiful. There were so many places to take great photos. Since I had been taking them all day, I figured it would be just torture on my part to get them to take more. I was getting ready to call it a day when I heard Laney( my child who  REALLY HATES taking photos right now) says, "Mom, come and take a picture of me by the stream." Awww! Every mothers dream( or at least mine right now). To hear those words just made my day! Have I mentioned what a huge hassle it has been lately to get Laney to take pictures.

My only complaint...........it would have been nice if I could have given them a bath and changed there clothes first.

Rock Ranch Field Trip

I can't believe there are so many wonderful and educational things to do around here. The good thing is we are not even done yet! Tuesday we went on a field trip to The Rock Ranch in The Rock, Ga. This place was a amazing. The founder of Chickfila started it. Someone told me they still have a cow with the Chickfila branding on it. They have so many programs all throughout the year for all ages.We went for the Pond Life Eco Adventure.

They had different stations set up to accommodate the many groups attending. We went to the web of life first.

The kids discussed an animal  food chain.

Next, we went on a hayride. Aside from a smell or two, this was one of the most relaxing hayrides I think I have ever been on. A lot of it had to do with the fact that we were not sitting on hay, the weather was gorgeous and  the scenery was beautiful. 

Next, we went to the worm class. Did you know that worms do not have a nose? They breathe through their skin. Have you ever seen worms dead on the sidewalk? They die because there skin dries out and they can no longer breathe. They do not have eyes either.They sense vibrations through there skin.  Did you know that worms poop is good for the soil? They also break up the soil when they move which helps crops grow.

This lesson was free of charge!

Finally, we went to look at pond life. They gave us a net and we scooped up water, mud, algae, and whatever else came along. We dumped all of those things in a bowl and took a little closer look with the magnify glass. We saw many living things we did not even know existed until we had a closer look.

After we were done with the class part of the field trip, we enjoyed everything else that was there on the ranch.

We jumped on the giant inflatable pillow,

went down their unique slides,

played in the sand,

jumped in the bouncy house,

and played in the corn house. They also had a carousel, a train, animals and they are in the process of building a mini town. This will be a replica of a what a town looked like back in the day only mini sized for kids.

If you are ever in the area, this place is a must. The staff there was excellent! Go to www.therockranch.com for details. They have a place on there website where you can get age appropriate worksheets.   If you did not think all that was enough they gave us a coloring book and a coupon for a free chickfila meal. I love Chickfila!!!

I also took some pictures of the girls by the stream but that will have to be another post for tomorrow.