Thursday, September 6, 2007

A Fun Trip to "The Rocks"

Hi Friends,


Our first field trip was today - and it was a big success!  Thank you for those that were praying for us.  It was just nice to be out!  It was fun to see friends again and to feel like I have back a part of my life that I've missed.  I appreciate these times even more now that I've been without them for awhile.


I made a list last night of things to do this morning - from packing a picnic and things to take (lots of it for Eliana!).  This morning I tore this list in half and gave the lunch/picnic prep list to my oldest two and they did a fabulous job!  They completely took over all breakfast and lunch prep while I fed and got Eliana ready for the trip.  (Typically close to an hour to do this.)


We left a little later than I had hoped - but arrived on time at 9:45am.  The drive was a little more than 30 minutes and Eliana was a great traveller.  She was laughing several times during the trip at something Daniel was doing.  He likes being the one to help her and loves playing with her.  He often comments "My sister.  My sister."  when he is playing with her. 


Our outing today was to a place called "The Rocks".  The children saw a man panning for gold and he told them a little about the history of gold mining.  They were also able to "dry pan" a bag of dirt.  There were a LOT of stones and gems in the bags.  The children were thrilled.  Isaiah kept talking about "his treasure".  Joshua was so very careful about getting all of the gems - large and small.  Daniel liked taking his stones out, lining them up and seeing what he had. 


During it all, Eliana was a doll!  She rode in the sling and hardly made a peep.  When it was time to eat, she did a great job on her bottle.  She ate 4 ounces and I decided it wasn't worth hooking up the pump for just 20cc so we didn't.  It was nice not to have to do that!


After eating lunch and playing for awhile, we decided to go home.  We made a detour by a local dairy farm for some delicious ice cream.  I bought a video about the dairy farm.  It was fun to watch and learn about the operation.  They used to do tours when my oldest children were young, but stopped some years ago when the foot/hoof sickness was going around.


***I have a few photos from our day that I'll try to add in later. ***


There is more to our day, but it's late and I'm heading to bed.  We have a big day tomorrow!  If you think about it, please pray for Rebecca.  She is really nervous about the presentation tomorrow.  Several of her closest friends are coming to support her.  I want her to be able to enjoy this moment.  She has worked very hard for it and I don't want nervousness to overshadow the day. 


Thank you dear friends for your encouragment and support.


With love,


Leslie