Field Trip: Chattanooga Aquarium

Yesterday at about 8 o'clock in the morning I had a passing thought - it would be nice to go to the aquarium today...  An hour and a half later, after we had finished doing our reading and math work, we jumped in the car and took off on an adventure.  

We've been studying mammals this year using the Burgess Animal Book, and for the past few weeks we've been in the thick of the weasel family.  How appropriate would it be, I thought, if we could go watch the otters play for a while?  It was the perfect day for a spontaneous field trip as we had the aquarium almost to ourselves. We went to see the otters first, and as soon as we walked up to the glass they slid down the rocks into the water and came right next to us to visit.  It was amazing, and we got to watch them play for quite some time.

 After visiting with the otters and sturgeons, we went to pet the stingrays and small sharks and then headed into the butterfly room.  The children would literally live in the butterfly room if I let them - they get so giddy trying to have the butterflies land on their sleeves or fingers.

Raindrop being so still and patient.

Giddy.

Songbird's photo.

 After peeling the children away from the butterfly room, we went to watch the penguins.  They were being so vocal, and the volunteer on hand said that the males are extremely territorial.

I didn't get a picture, but they also had a screech owl out (which the kids loved).  It was the first time we've visited the aquarium when we had the place to ourselves.  One of the main advantages to this is that we got to hear the inside scoop on several of the animals.  One friendly volunteer told us all about the different sharks and how to tell them apart, along with lots of other little bits of aquarium trivia.

After leaving the aquarium we stopped by our favorite bread shop for some raisin bread, then stopped by the Riley's house to hug some necks, then spent the afternoon at the Staven's farm chasing chickens and jumping on the trampoline.  We are feeling thankful for a sweet day!

Field Trip: Booth Western Art Museum

We've been reading Holling Clancy Holling's book Tree in the Trail this year, and as a celebration of finishing the book we decided to meet some friends in Cartersville at the Booth Western Art Museum.  Neither of us had ever been to this museum before, but we were all extremely impressed with how well it was laid out, how beautiful the architecture was, and how kid-friendly it was.  

This is another field trip that was amazing, in part, because we almost had the place to ourselves.  But it's a winner all-around (and we'll definitely go back). First off, the museum is extremely affordable, as children get in free.  Second off, they have one of maybe three completely glass elevators in the country.  The kids would have sat and watched the elevator go up and down all morning if we let them.  It is pretty cool to see the weights and gears and everything.  Third off, the museum is organized really well and has a variety of interesting galleries.  And finally, there is a children's museum in the basement that is amazing!

They have a life-sized horse you can climb or jump on that actually whinnies and neighs when you pull the reigns.

They have a replica of a coach car that you can climb in and rock back and forth and up and down.

I didn't get any good pictures of the rest of the room, but it was divided into sections with different Western games you could play and art you could make.  Definitely a winner.

Our sweet field trip buddies - so thankful for this family!

Beautiful

This girl!
It was Japanese dress-up day at school, and this was our best attempt at making Songbird Japanese-looking.  She looks more like Heidi or someone from Scandinavia, but either way I thought her hair looked so lovely. :)

GrandJan's Birthday: A Trip to Springville

My sister is back in the country for a few months, so to combine visiting with her and celebrating my Mom's birthday, the kids and I took a trip to Springville.  We had two amazing 60 degree days, and we spent as much time in the woods as we could.  It was like camping with the luxury of having soft beds to sleep in at night. :)  It's nice that my brother's family lives with my parents right now, so we got to spend a lot of time with cousins.  But we missed Kris and Katie and Hubry!

All the Grandkids

Acting silly!

Sweet little sis' 

Eating hotdogs and roasting marshmallows at the upper rock room.

Climbing trees.

Fording rivers (or springs).