Racing!

One of the main points of our trip south was to see the races this past weekend; however, we stopped by the Aiken training facility to watch the gallops. The Daisy and I just love to do this. Right when we pulled up, a bluebird landed on my car. How cool was that? Saturday brought the 78th running of the Carolina Cup. A little chilly out but overall night weather for racing. We were invited to tailgate with my friend Annie and her family and friends but spent the majority of the time between the paddock and the grandstand for races. It's just what I've always done.

Field trip: Gray Fossil Site

On our travels, we stopped in Gray's Fossil Site in Tennessee. We only had about 45 minutes to tour but it didn't take us even that long. Was kind of a bust, really, as far as field trips go.

It was a good exercise in what The Daisy knows about dinosaurs. And The Boo was right there trying to give information all along too.

The Daisy does some copy work:
Any guesses here?

The answer is, in fact, your mom. I took exception to this part of the exhibit!

The Boo got to make his own dinosaur:

The kids got to try to make dino tracks, which was just an exercise in how to really frustrate a 3-year-old:
And there was the obligatory fossil dig, which was kind of lame:

Shedding out horses

The horses are losing their winter coats, are itchy and rolling in mud. So they are a MESS! The Daisy has been assigned the task of shedding them out every day and The Boo is helping. Yesterday The Daisy rode Tara Jean out of the pasture and the mini just took off. She fell off TJ and complained about dirt in her pants for 20 minutes.
Tara Jean has the coat of a buffalo! I liked the shadows of this picture with The Boo and Gracie:
Meanwhile, I'm not without a task. This week I finally finished shingling the run-in shed. Now to move on to the storage shed next to the house, but that one won't be as wobbly. *skeery!*

Creativity central

I like these days when things just happen.
The Daisy and The Boo got out the Tinker Toys and made all sorts of things. What I overheard was they were making a time machine.
While it looks like a gun, The Boo told me this was something else. I forget what. I'll have to ask. Then The Daisy made this peacock and a couple of birds just for me!

Sun is out - must be time for ...

... riding horses again.
The Daisy jumped on Tara Jean the other day when I let the horses out to have a change of scenery and wander about the yard. (This beat the other day when I looked out my bedroom window and saw all three of them running up the road because I'd left the side gate open. *Sigh*) Gracie and Hank just hanging out, enjoying the sun: Nothing makes that girl happier than being on a horse, even if it's a short fat one.

The Boo dresses himself

What's that about necessity being the mother of invention? It was a bad day in the house. Your mom's on a tight deadline. There's lots of tension. You go to ask her a question when she yells at the computer so you just hightail it right outta there and figure you'll make a little something easier on her.
Get yourself dressed. Never mind that you're only 3. And even though your shirt is on backwards and your pants are on backwards and your shoes are on the wrong feet, your mom seems to be extraordinarily proud that you got yourself dressed.

Science experiments

Finally we got around to using our science toys garnered from Chick-fil-A last summer. The kids just pulled them out and measured and poured to their hearts' content. Then I had to get in the mix and have them do the actual experiments the things were designed for. I know - no fun.
The Daisy learned about liquid viscosity using water, oil and molasses. She learned about the use of polymers by helping me do the slime experiment for my craft at work then how a plastic bag will seal itself. Later in the week, we attended our homeschool's yearlong Wonder of Science program and this one was about light. The Boo listened intently. Here The Daisy is learning how light and color are diffused

Oscar night 2010

Our old South Carolina neighbor, Buck Sanders, was nominated for his score for "The Hurt Locker" with his partner Marco Beltrami. While they didn't win (stupid "Up" score), here is their magnificent photo of Buck and his 8-month pregnant wife Dominique with Marco and his wife.