Our trip to Reptile Gardens

During our recent trip to South Dakota we were blessed with free tickets to Reptile Gardens. My sister-in-law gave the tickets to J for a belated birthday gift. It was the perfect gift for J with his love of animals and it was a fun day. We went to the Alligator Show, Bird Show and Snake Show. J even got to participate in the Bird Show. We spent the entire afternoon there and had a great time. Thank you Beth for thinking of such a great gift!!

Blogoversary Giveaway!!!

I can't believe my 1 year Blogoversary is almost here!!! I want to have a giveaway to celebrate. This will be my first giveaway so I want to make it exciting!!!
Here it goes. . .
2 Prizes!!!!
1st Prize is a $50.00 gift certificate to a local restaurant!! The winner will have to let me know what is close by them.
2nd Prize is a $20.00 gift certificate to Target or Starbuck's your choice!!


The winner will be drawn on my 1 year Blogoversary, so remember to check back and see if you have won.

3 ways to enter!!!
1. Leave me a comment. Let me know your favorite restaurant in case you win 1st prize. Make sure that there is a link back to you so I can let you know if you have won or leave me a separate comment with your email (I will not post this comment). Make sure that you sign your first name and last initial. Thanks!!
2. Make a post on your blog about my giveaway and let me know that you have done so. We all love to win free stuff so tell your friends!!
3. Tell me how you found my blog. Have you been following, did a friend refer you, etc. I would love to know how you found me.
BONUS good for an extra entry!!!
Because I am a home school mom I am always looking for great Field Trips ideas. Tell me about the best field trip you have been on with your kids.

I am really excited about my first giveaway. I can't wait to see who wins!!!

Trip to Fort Fisher Aquarium

Tuesday we decided to take a day trip with some friends to Fort Fisher and visit the aquarium. After the aquarium we had a picnic lunch by the beach and the kids took a walk along the beach. Then we took a ferry over to Southport for some ice cream and shopping. We had a great day.

I finally scanned this picture from our trip to Hershey. We had a lot of fun together on this trip. Maybe we will get to go back again soon.

Common Whitetail Dragonfly

J noticed this dragonfly on our back step the other day. I thought that it was very strange looking. It didn't even look like a dragonfly, but I looked it up and sure enough it is a common whitetail dragonfly.

Summer Camp

I did it!! I actually dropped K off at Summer Camp. I hope I survive the week without her. She is 2 1/2 hours away from home for an entire week. The boys are very glad to have a week with only one sister. LOL
Thank goodness she went with three friends from church, so she will have tons of fun!!

Last Day of School

Well today is our official last day of school!!!
The children finished up some of their subjects early, but today they are done with everything. Another year down.
I am really looking forward to next year. We have decided to put the girls into school. The school is very close to the house and both girls could go there for one year until K goes on to middle school. There were many considerations that went into this decision. I won't list them all, but we feel that it is the right decision for our family at this time. That is not to say that we can't pull them out and home school at any given point if we are not happy with their education.
The boys will continue to home school and I am excited about their curriculum for next year. I always feel like that when I start ordering curriculum. They will be using the following curriculum next year.
Math--Teaching Textbooks
Grammar & Composition--Abeka
Reading & Comprehension--Total Language Plus
Science, History, Bible, Spanish, Health--Switched On Schoolhouse

Funny

A little girl had just finished her first week of school. When her mom asked her what she thought about school, she replied, "I'm just wasting my time. I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk!"

Remember

Please take time today to remember the sacrifice of others. I would like to say "Thank You" to all soldiers who have willingly given so much to protect this county.

Kindergarten Beginners Day

With much prayer we have decided to put the girls in public school next year. A will be in Kindergarten and K will be in 5th grade.
Yesterday was Beginners Day at the local school and K and I took A in to the school and stayed for an informational meeting while A went to the classroom for Kindergarten. There was an envelope with some work in it for A to take to the classroom with her. She asked me if it was her lessons. When I told her yes she said, "Ah man, I didn't know that I would have to do lessons!" I chuckled and asked her what she thought that she would be doing in Kindergarten. She said, "Read, play outside, and color." That sounds about right to me. LOL

Testing

We completed our end of grade standardized testing last week and I mailed them off to be scored yesterday. I always breath a sigh of relief after we are done testing. Then I get anxious about how the children did on their tests. We should have the results in a couple of weeks.
I am sure that they did well. They always seem to do fine on these tests, but I always get nervous anyway. I try not to hold to much stock in these tests because some children just do not test well. But on the other hand when this is a homeschooling requirement for our state I want them to do well. I guess I will just have to wait to see how they did.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, OH MY!!

Today we went to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. Kurt was able to get off work to go with us. It was so nice to have the whole family together for a "field trip". It was not overly crowded and the weather was great. The children all picked their favorite animals.
The zoo was very nice. They had lots of animals to see. I really liked the gorilla. He looked as though he really enjoyed posing for the cameras. It was a fun family day.

The Discovery Museum in Cleveland, OH

After we visited family in Pennsylvania recently, the children and I went to Ohio to visit my Dad and step-Mom. While we were visiting they took us to the Discovery Science Museum in Cleveland. The children had lots of fun and we finished the day with an IMAX movie. That was the first time I had been to an IMAX theater. It was pretty neat and I think the children enjoyed it too.

Our trip to Hershey!!

We recently had the opportunity to take a trip to Pennsylvania to visit family. During this trip we decided to go over to Hershey and tour Chocolate World. It was such a nice trip and we really enjoyed the Trolley Tour of Hershey. It was fascinating to hear about Milton Hershey. His story is truly an inspiring one. He failed so many times before he succeeded, but he didn't give up. He was a very giving man and the company that he set up continues to do great things. And of course the chocolate was great!!!

Coloring Eggs

We colored eggs tonight. It is so much fun to see the children being creative with their eggs.

Questions about Field Trips!!!!

I am trying to think of some fun, educational field trips for my family. Have any of you been on any memorable field trips? Where did you go? What made it memorable? Was it memorable in a good or bad way? Please leave me a comment about all your fun field trips!!!

Website Spotlight Thursday

Today I would like to Spotlight :
This is a really neat website with lots of great things that you can do with your children. There are craft ideas, pages to print, games and recipes. Just go check it out!!!

Blog Spotlight Monday

Today I want to take some time to shine the spotlight on Sandra at Full Bellies, Happy Kids. Sandra is a Christian SAHM and wife to her Air Force Husband. They have 2 children.

I love her blog because she has her menus planned out two weeks ahead of time and she has the recipes listed for all the great dishes she makes.

Like this one: Mexican Lasagna.

If you want to find out how to make this yummy looking dish, just visit Sandra's blog!!!!

Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow, winter to continue

Being that I was raised in Punxsutawney, I try to follow along with whether or not the groundhog saw his shadow. It is fun to see if what really happens is remotely close to his predictions.

AP--PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. – The world's most famous groundhog saw his shadow Monday morning, predicting this already long winter will last for six more weeks.

Punxsutawney Phil emerged just after dawn in front of an estimated 13,000 witnesses, many dressed in black-and-gold to celebrate the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl victory the night before.

"There's significant buzz from the Steelers win and quite a few Terrible Towels floating from the crowd," said Mickey Rowley, deputy secretary for tourism in Pennsylvania.

The annual ritual takes place on Gobbler's Knob, a tiny hill in Punxsutawney, a borough of about 6,100 residents some 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club announced the forecast in a short proclamation, in which Phil acknowledged the Steelers' 27-23 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

According to German superstition, if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow was seen, legend said spring would come early.

Since 1887, Phil has seen his shadow 97 times, hasn't seen it 15 times, and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.

Rowley said the Groundhog Day festivities is Pennsylvania's largest tourist gathering in the winter. And if Phil's forecast proves correct it should bring even more tourists to the state.

"It's six more weeks of skiing," Rowley said.

Videos of the girls singing.