Our Little Corner: Botanical Gardens

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Botanical Gardens

On Saturday we decided to go to the botanical gardens in Nashville. I found on their website that they are having a promotion until the end of August. Children are given free admission. It was another hot day so Dave once again filled up our water jug with ice water & brought cups. We enjoyed learning about the different plants and trees. They also had a program where you could sign out an Adventure Backpack. It was filled with a craft, crayons, markers, activity books, & a map. It guided the children through the gardens and gave them things to discuss & look for. Very neat!

My Kiddos

Talking about structure, shape & color

Ornamental Pepper Black Pearl

Beautiful View

Banana Tree & Two Monkeys

Cute Little Guy

Walking through the arbor

Some of the beautiful flowers

Magnolia

Crape Myrtle

Entering the Japanese Garden

The boys found lots of tiny acorns.

A peaceful place

Serenity

Boo takes a moment to read her book.

Princess loves her piggy toes.

This was a neat little place to take a water break & work in their books.

An early reader?

Bugsy takes his turn carrying the backpack.

We walked to the far end of the gardens to look at the sculptures & found this pet cemetery.

Wow!

We thought this slate looked really neat.

On the way back

We loved how smooth the bark was on this Crape Myrtle.

We spotted these teeny tiny pine cones.

Mommy & her blessings

It was so hot we wanted to jump right in!

Lilly Pads

These little critters were hiding underneath.

We walked for over 2 hours & saw lots of plants & trees. It was also neat learning about the different gardens, their purpose & their designs.

3 comments:

Crystal Arcand said...: I just love Princess in that second picture - just hangin' out on Daddy's arm! Too cute!; Friday, August 21, 2009
Megan said...: These were really, really neat! I think I'll set up our next field trip there. :) Meet you for lunch?; Monday, August 24, 2009
Kristine said...: Crystal, I love that too. She fits there perfectly. =)
Megan, that would be such fun! When you move to TN we'll set a date! =0); Monday, August 24, 2009

SUMMERTIME 2012

2012

It was a year full of learning not only educational-wise but life lessons too. We have come to treasure those we love more than ever. Family time is to be savored and memories to be created and viewed as priceless. And our Lord is to be praised, trusted & loved.

We are enjoying our summer. It is full to overflowing with VBS volunteering & attending, Taekwondo, park playdates, gardening, Staycation, camp, birthday parties, visits from loved ones, adventures & day trips, friends, outdoor fun, swimming, summer treats, church & lots of trips to the library. It is wonderful to have some time to renew & relax.

OUR 12th YEAR

It is hard to believe we are in our 12th year of homeschooling. Where does the time go? It seems as if I should feel like an expert by now. But that's not the case. I learn more every year & always look forward to the opportunity to grow.

This year we have made some big changes. At first I was a little cautious wondering how we would handle this. But God has been amazingly gracious. We have made many new & wonderful friends. Even with cutting back our schedule is full to overflowing with fantastic & fun opportunities & experiences.

I look forward to seeing what more God has in store for us this year and sharing it with you, our friends & family.

Summer, Here We Come!

We are winding down our school year. We've finished our co-op studies & had our last classes of the year. AWANA is almost over as well as TKD. The spring soccer season is in full swing. Soon summer will be here. Swimming, park days, field trips, VBS, popsicles, gardening, bike rides & fun with friends are things we are all looking forward to. We will be doing some fun studies over the summer as well. Some we have already begun!
As always our days are full to the brim. Many like to comment that Dave & I have our hands full. I agree. Our hands & lives are full of fun, laughter, learning & growing. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

A New School Year

School has begun! It isn't officially fall here yet but our fall activities have started. We are now back in AWANA, Wednesday night groups, Sunday school, soccer, homeschool & 2 family learning co-ops. This week we have added Taekwando to our schedule. Yes, we are busy! On top it all off I am co-leading our large, church homeschool support group. We kicked off the new school year with a picnic. It was an amazing time & lots of fun was had though the weather tried it's best to ruin it. God prevailed!

This year we have a 9th grader (How did we get to high school already?), a 6th grader, a 3rd grader and one in Kindergarten. And don't forget our little toddler!!!! As many like to comment yes, we have our hands full. Our hands are full of blessings, of life and of love. Some days bring more challenges & tough times but through it all we grow stronger & closer.

Announcement *

She is here! Safe & sound & BEAUTIFUL! We are all wrapped around her little fingers. Our little princess arrived on
April 6 at 8:06a.m. by C-section. She surprised us all by weighing only 7lbs. 9oz. We had expected her to be at least 9lbs. based on the ultrasounds. She is also 19.5 inches long. A little peanut!
As you can see from some of her hospital photos she is already learning to accessorize. Lol. The nursery nurses at the hospital stuck a pink bow in her hair. I love it!
I will not be publishing her real name on my blog due to safety reasons, (just like I have done for my older children), but if you'd like to know feel free to email me privately and I'd be happy to share.