Getting Back to Nature

Like our trip to Aullwood, it was just the three younger kids and I left at home on a beautiful Fall Saturday while Steve and Cole had to work. We had some errands to run and decided to fit in a short visit to Carriage Hill Farm in Huber Heights as well. Carriage Hill is a "living history" farm. We spent some time watching the black smith, broom maker, etc. We then looked at the animals and took a walk through the woods. Once again, it was just nice to be outside. I always liked Summer best. It seems now that Summer can just be so hot. If you aren't swimming, some Summer days are just too hot to be outside. Fall really is becoming my favorite time of the year.

 

 

Take a Hike!

On Saturday, September 29th, Trent, Reed, Riley and I went to Aullwood.  For as long as I have lived in Vandalia, I will always be a country girl at heart. I just love to be outside, especially on gorgeous Fall days. I feel like I have to soak up the nice weather before the dreaded winter comes.

We started at the nature center and hiked through the woods.  When we came out of the woods on the farm side, Riley saw some of the animals and said, "I didn't know this place was a zoo." I replied, "It's a farm Riley." Then Riley said, "Oh. So a farm is like a zoo only with different animals?"  Ha!  Unlike me, she really is such a city girl. I guess it shouldn't have surprised me when she thought the tractor was a big lawn mower either.  You should have seen her in the pig and goat barns.  She really wanted to see the animals but was holding her nose and gagging the entire time.

All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Riley started kindergarten on August 31, 2012. She is in the afternoon kindergarten class at Murlin Heights, and Mrs. Caldwell is her teacher. Riley had her kindergarten screening a couple of days before starting class. She got all 100 percents on the assessment. When her teacher asked what she wanted to learn in kindergarten, Riley said she wanted to learn how to talk to the animals and the birds. Ha!


Riley in her classroom at Open House

Riley and Mrs. Caldwell



  

Back to Class-August 28, 2012

Hiking in Hocking Hills

We went to Hocking Hills on Saturday, August 12th. It was a perfect day for hiking-partly cloudy and highs in the low 70s. We did four of the trails-Cantwell Cliffs, Rock House, Conkles Hollow and Old Mans Cave. Old Mans Cave was the favorite of everyone. We had a picnic lunch between hikes and made a stop at Dairy Queen before heading home. It was a great way to spend a day!

Gettysburg

We were up early and checked out of the hotel by 7:30 a.m. We had a 10:00 a.m reservation with a Battlefield Tour Guide at Gettysburg. The tour guide drove our van around the park and gave us a tour. We got out at several significant sites. The guide did an amazing job of telling the story of the battle from beginning to end. He kept the kids very interested and answered all of their questions. Our two hour tour ended up being a little over three hours. We all enjoyed Gettysburg and Trent even said that the Gettysburg tour was his favorite part of the entire trip.

We very much enjoyed our trip to DC and are so glad we visited. I was hesitant to consider DC at first because of the ages of Reed and Riley.  This turned out not to be a problem at all. The kids did great. They were fascinated with the city and were constantly looking around taking it all in. There were a few times (on tours) where their interest was lost but that is to be expected. I was able to  reengage them by pointing out things that I knew would be of interest to them.

We are sad that our trip is over but know that it is one we will never forget.

DC DAY 5-The Day We Hit The Wall

Since we were out seeing the monuments and didn’t make it back to our hotel until well after midnight the previous night, we had made a plan to take it easy this morning. We got up later than usual, had breakfast and went for a quick swim. We walked down to Crystal City Sports Pub for lunch.

After lunch, we took the metro to the Holocaust Museum. We knew that Reed and Riley were too young for the main part of this museum. Steve and Cole went through the children's area, Daniel’s Story, with them and then just waited in the large open area while Trent and I spent about an hour viewing the main exhibits. We then switched off and Steve and Cole viewed the main exhibits. The younger two were more than happy to go through Daniel’s Story again. This area is very well done. With everywhere else we visited in DC, I tried my best to explain to Reed and Riley where we were going and what we would be seeing and the significance of it ahead of time. I was pretty lost on how to explain the Holocaust in terms they could understand. Daniel’s Story did a great job of that. Afterward, we just waited in the lobby for my Steve and Cole to finish. They spent a little over an hour in the main exhibit as well. We all would have liked to have more time seeing the main exhibits, but we did what worked for us.

Following this, we took the metro back to our hotel. We had tickets to see the Marine Barracks Parade later that evening and wanted time to get everything packed and ready to go for our departure the following morning. When we made it back to the Crystal City Metro Station, we noticed a sign saying that the station would be closed beginning at 10 pm that evening for maintenance and stay closed the remainder of the weekend. We looked up the information online and found out that we would have to take a bus back to the Crystal City Metro Station from the next station down the line since the Marine Barracks Parade would be over past 10 pm. Reed and Riley were still a little tired from the previous night and really wanted to swim (again). Because we had seen so much and they had been so great all week, I gave in and we decided to skip the Marine Barracks Parade that night. We grabbed dinner and swam in the hotel pool. (On other days, I took about 50 pictures each day.  I took a total of 4 pictures this day.  I guess I was tired too. Ha!)

                                          Holocaust Museum

                                                    Riley inside the Holocaust Museum

                                         Last Ride on the Metro

                                          Last Ride on the Metro