Ripley's Aquarium in Pictures: Gatlinburg, TN

                                          This penguin was in love with Grace!

Wonderworks Museum in Pictures: Pigeon Forge, TN

Potato Stamps

The girls had so much fun painting with potato stamps.  We've been working on shapes and I cut a potato into a square, rectangle, and circle (well, kind of a circle).  I let them go to town with some finger paint.  Their paintings turned out really cute!  Check out Grace's goggles around her neck.  Safety first!

The Children's Garden of Lexington: In Pictures

Oh Good Grief, I Don't Know!!!

I've lived in this country my whole life and these are just SOME of the questions I had to look up because I didn't know the answers.  I can barely survive Kendall's lighting round of questions.

1.  How did the Liberty Bell get a crack?
2.  Why did they call them colonies and not states?
3.  Where did Washington get his animal/human teeth replacements?  (No, they were not made of wood).
4.  Are we going to start using two dollar bills again?
5.  Why is it called America and United States?
6.  How did they make Mt. Rushmore?

That is just a sampling.  Then of course, the questions that don't really have an answer because we don't understand them ourselves.

1.  Why are all our presidents men?
2.  Why did people have slaves?
3.  Why were there so many wars?

Sigh......

Get Used to It

We will be following some parts of My Father's World this year which includes "visiting" different countries.  I made Kendall a passport that she can have stamped every time we enter a new country.  Check out her passport photo.

When she saw it she said, "That's not a very good picture of me."  Of course I replied, "It's perfect.  All ID pictures are terrible.  Get used to it."  See, we're learning already.

Little Da Vinci

Check out that concentration!  Who knew that painting paper plate apples could be such hard work!

Get Those Gears Grinding

Ooooooookkkkkaaaayyyyyy, time to start up the school year again!  What a summer.  We went to Outer Banks with the family, played outside A LOT, swam at the pool A LOT, and sweated in the heat A LOT.  This might be the first summer in a long time where I'll be glad to see Fall come and the heat go.  So as we trudge out of the pool and into the school room the family embraces a new school year.  Kendall is in third grade and Grace and Madison are in preschool.  Some of us are more excited than others.  As for myself, I enjoy the neatness and organization of a new school room.  Too bad it won't last long!  Kendall has certain things she's excited about (like playing at the park while most kids are in school) and things she's not so crazy about (writing!!).  Grace is thrilled about everything and is asking to start school at 7:30am.  Maddie basically has no idea what's going on and is just along for the ride.  So we'll gear up for another school year and hope that we learn from it before it devours us!