Just go...

There's some things I've had in mind to do, but for one reason or another, I've been putting them off. I've decided enough of that, I just need to go. Today was one of those days. K has been home on vacation and I know he appreciates a little quiet time. So, Jenna, the neighbor girls, and I went off on an adventure today.

Our first stop was Bennett Place. This is a really neat historical area. I heard about this place through caching and wanted to check it out.

Here are some pics:





We had a really nice time exploring the area and finding the nearby geocache.

The next stop was the NC Museum of Life and Sciences (or something like that). I had taken Alyssa here when she was in the 3rd grade and really wanted to share that experience with Jenna too. I wish Alyssa would have wanted to go with us, but she decided to stay home. The first thing we saw were a few dinosaurs - very cool! After playing for a little bit, we headed to the cafe. Next on our stop was the butterfly house.



This is my **favorite** part. They have so many different types of butterflies in there. They fly around as they wish,and if you are lucky, you will get one to land on you.



The girls really loved riding the train. There wasn't much to see, but it was a really cool train!



We all had a fantastic time, and about midway home, I managed to get this photo.



I had a great time. It was great to get out & explore, just to have fun. Sometimes you get all wrapped up in what appears to be the "big stuff" when all along, it is the "little stuff" that is more important. I'm so glad that I took the time to "just go" today.

This is why I geocache...

Today was one of those days...you know, one of those days where you don't know what you want to do...should you stay home or should you go out, and if you go out, where should you go? It was obvious Jenna was bored and was going to drive me nuts all day if I didn't have **something** for her to do. So about noon, I told her to get ready we were going to the zoo. I had heard of this zoo through geocaching. Yes, there is a geocache there, and for those of you who know me well, you know that is enough reason for me to go. The zoo part was gravy on this whole trip.

We get to the zoo and find the cache. Then we head in. It is the neatest place. It's not huge by any means, but it has a big variety of animals to see. We've been to the Asheboro zoo and you just don't get close up like you do here. The workers there are awesome. We got a lot of personal attention. They brought some animals out for us to see and touch. Jenna even got to hold one! (see pic!) She's a lot braver than I am. They give you a baggie of corn to feed the animals while you are going through. That is a lot of fun. I can't wait to go back & hopefully share this place with friends.



We finished up the day with some more geocaching in Jacksonville. One of the caches took us to a great playground and that is always a hit for Jenna. Thanks to geocaching, our ho-hum Sunday afternoon turned out to be a really fun adventure!

Ruff Day!

Today was a ruff day for us...well, for Cacher and myself, but mostly for Cacher. Today was his day to get fixed. I was so on the fence about doing this. Poor fella. I decided it really would be the best thing for him and for our family. So today, he went to have it done. I was a bundle of nerves until it was time to pick him up. When he walked out he was all drunk and wobbly. The assistant had to carry him to the car for me (my back is still not 100%). Once I got him inside, he laid underneath the ceiling fan for the afternoon. He must have been getting some good sleep because he didn't move for several hours. I guess the meds were helping him rest. Around supper time, he got up and walked around, and even made a trip outside. He's been getting extra special treatment from everyone. I have to admit, I have enjoyed this very calm dog who lays right by my feet, but it will be good to have the old Cacher back again.

Snarky..yes, it is a word!

Ever been in the middle of a conversation with some one & think, "Gee, is that even a word?" Tonight I was talking with dh & the word "snarky" came into the conversation. Then I began to wonder whether it was a word or not. I finally decided to look it up on Webster's & yep, it is a word!

From Websters:



Learn something new everyday! That would be a neat challenge...learn a new word every day. Even more challenging would be to use it in conversation that day!

A Historical Adventure

Today the girls & I went on a historical adventure. Someone had set up a string of caches dealing with the Battle of Bentonville (Civil War). It was very interesting and so more complex than I had thought. Here is a pic from one of our stops.



I was hoping to end up at the battle grounds, but it got too hot for us. We did the final cache and decided to come back later. We headed over to Smithfield to do another cache at a pond. There were supposed to be lots of geese and ducks to feed. We had stopped by the bread store to pick up a couple loaves of bread. It was so fun to feed them. They were not the least bit shy at all. Feeding the geese reminded me of the times up in Northern Michigan. We would go out to a spot and the geese would take bread right out of your hand. Lots of fun here at this spot.

Here are a couple pics:




Afterwards we did a little shopping in Smithfield and headed home. It was a fun day with the girls.

Celebrating "6"

We celebrated Jenna's 6th birthday today. I rented one of those huge blow up slides for the party. It was delivered on Friday so we got to play on it before the party. Talk about being a hit! Since it was so hot, we splashed on some water so it would be cooler. The kids had a blast. I also had some other water activities to help keep everyone cooled off. After everyone had gone home, I decided to give the slide a try myself. It's tougher than it looks to get up there, but the going down is really fun. They aren't going to pick it up until Monday so we stick have some play time with it. Here are some pics from the party:





I think I'll go enjoy some quiet time before bed. All this "partying" has worn me out!

Until then,
G

Time flies....

Wow, it's been too long since I've posted in my blog. Time is flying by. The girls get out of school on Thursday. Alyssa has exams this week and I'm sure Jenna's kindergarten is just enjoying the last few days. I am also looking forward to the last day. I'm ready for a break from the school schedule.

May has been a whirlwind of celebrations - lots of birthdays in May. The biggest one was Alyssa's 16th birthday. She had a party in the new room and she got her license! I made her a really cute cake from a Bob the Builder cake that I got at the store.



She really liked it, and I think it came out really cute. Jenna's birthday party is this Saturday. We are renting one of those huge blow up slides. We've invited some of her friends over. It should be lots of fun for everyone. It's hard to believe that both of my children are growing up so fast!

We spent last Sunday at Flanner's Beach. It's a nice little beach at a state park close to New Bern. We all had a good time. It's so sweet to see Jenna playing with Zach. She does love that boy and wants to be near him all the time.



I hope we get to go back there soon. I heard someone else mention White Lake. I haven't been there in years. It would be nice for us to go this summer. I hope we can have several mini trips before school starts up.

We've been doing a little bit of work in the new room. I've been working on the insulation bit by bit and we've also got some sheetrock put up. Slowly but surely, we'll get it finished up.

Until then,
G