Field Events

This event has become a fun last event of the year.  I love hearing that families look forward to this tradition too!  We changed up the format of our event a little bit each year.  As always, it was a lot of fun!

The children were divided into two groups based on ages - an older and younger group.  Then within each age group, we had 3 groups for rotations.  The groups took turns at each of the following three events.  These were all individual competitions.  First was the softball throw.  (I didn't get many photos of this one.)

Running simultaneously was also the long jump.  I don't know if you can tell from the photos that the field was wet.  And some of the children slid when they jumped.  Others were more tentative in their jumping because of this I think. 

The third event was the 50 yard dash.  It was funny seeing some losing shoes on this event.  The children are each given a card with their time on it from the current year and also past years so that they can see how much they have improved in each event. 

Sisters taking some time to run together.  :-) 

While the bigger kids were competing, the younger children had a fun area to play in as well.  There were bubbles, chalk, a tunnel and more.  Even a couple of events for them too like the egg and spoon. 

I was trying to spend time taking photos as I could.  And of course, my little assistant also wanted to take some pictures.  She does actually get some good ones.  People will almost always smile for her which helps a lot too!  Didn't she get some great ones?

Had to include one that she took of me.  I am rarely on this side of the camera.  :-)

The last events of the day were team events.  We had 4 teams (2 older and 2 younger) which each had a color (note the bandanas).  Each team helped to cheer on the other teams when not competing too.

We had the 3-legged race.  These are the younger kids. 

And here are the older ones.  Can someone tell me if you click on the photo can you see the smaller pictures in a bigger format?  I was just trying to put a lot of pictures in one spot, but its not really fun if you can't really see them.

Next was the sack race.  The younger children had actual sacks. 

We used garbage bags for the older students.  Didn't work as well as we hoped as they tended to tear.  It was better than them trying to use the smaller bags though!

Lastly, was the egg and spoon race. 

While the older students were racing, we asked the younger ones to cheer for them and vice versa.

I loved this moment when I saw so many of the older students cheering on the last younger child in a race.  Encouraging them to finish well.  Who doesn't enjoy being cheered on?!

Younger children.

Older children.

We ended with a picnic and recognition of who won each event.  It was a fun day.  Lovely weather.  Delightful friends. 

Thankful for this fun time with so many that I enjoy.  Its a delightful end of year tradition and we'll look forward to doing it again next year.

Blessings
Leslie

Outer Banks ... Day 2

We were prepared for a very soggy day 2.  All of the weather forecasts said 100 percent chance of rain.  Well, after getting a break on our first day, we were just thankful that we had gotten a reprieve.  

I woke up early this morning.  6:30 which is very unusual for me.  I listened and heard ... nothing.  No sounds of rain.  I peeked out the window and saw the sun hiding behind clouds.  I was elated!  Maybe we would have a bit of time today too!  I quickly checked the weather forecast and was delighted to see that it had changed since I had checked it the previous night.  Now we had weather that looked promising until about lunch time.  Thank you God!

We hadn't firmed up our plans for the day as the weather really impacts what you are able to do.  Since we had some sun, we decided to first go out to the beach for some play time before breakfast.   

What a fun start to the day.

It was cool, but very beautiful.  Loved seeing the sun shining through the clouds in places.

We decided to head up to Currituck lighthouse.  Some of us went early to take advantage of the sun and others decided to spend a bit more time on the beach.

This lighthouse is the same style as Bodie, but obviously the outsides are very different!  Isn't it beautiful?  I do love lighthouses!

The inside is different in color and style, but not basic shape.  I love that you can see how thick the lighthouse walls are at the windows.  The walls get thinner as you go higher up into the lighthouse.  

I took Eliana with us this time.  She was scared.  The view at the top was amazing!  I got some great shots of all the children too.  (Well, not Eliana as she would not get up off the floor.)  The bottom left is the Whalehead Club.  The bottom right is the lighthouse keepers house (now gift shop).

This is our lunch spot.  Isn't it lovely!!!  The bridge is a historic one.  Loved the row of cute little ducks following their mama.

Got a picture of the whole group after meeting up again with our friends.

After one too many photos, they loved the opportunity to have us stand and smile for multiple pictures too.

And have you noticed the weather?!  No rain!  A little tiny sprinkle around lunch time for a few moments, but that's it so far!

We went back to the Wright Brothers site to finish up the Junior Ranger badges.  We hurried out yesterday without finishing so that we could make it to the lighthouse.  We knew that we could finish this inside in the event of  poor weather.

The boys talked with the ranger about what they had learned and then were sworn in.  Proud of them for their efforts and they were excited too.  In addition to the badge, they received trading cards of famous aviators.  This is something new being done at some of the Eastern National Parks.

We looked around some at the inside museum that we hadn't visited yesterday.

We made a stop at Sweet Frog before heading home.  Who doesn't like a treat before dinner?  Just as we were loading up in the van to head home ... it started to rain.  Wow!  I couldn't have asked for better timing on that one.

Sometimes we get the breaks that we hope for and don't expect.  Its is a sweet gift.  Sometime too though, the rains come in spite of our prayers.  Sometimes the rains bring gifts that we don't yet understand or appreciate.  The rain and the sun are both needed in our lives.  And through it all, God is there.  He is faithful.  He is with us.  He will keep His promises to us.  We had this sweet reminder of God's promises as we left.

Daniel and his collection of goodies - mostly from this trip.

Thankful for a fast and fun and well-packed field trip with friends!  We are hoping to go down again sometime soon and hit some of the things that we missed this time around.  (Daniel is wanting to earn more Junior Ranger patches!)

Have fun exploring your city/state/world!

Blessings
Leslie

FIeld Trip to the Outer Banks!

I am always up for a fun field trip.  I'm thankful for friends that are too!  What fun we are able to have together!  While studying Neil Armstrong (Beyond FIAR), we also spent some time learning about the Wright Brothers.  Since there is a memorial close to home - in the very spot where they flew their plane - I thought a field trip was in order.  We have visited this site, but it was just before Eliana was born so the younger boys were pretty little when we were there.  

Getting a groupon for a hotel in Kill Devil Hills just sealed the deal for me!  I mentioned it to our co-op group and was delighted that 4 friends were interested in going on the trip too!

We picked our dates and made reservations.  Unfortunately, as the date drew nearer, the weather forecast was horrible.  Cold and rainy.  Calling for 80 to 100 percent chance of rain.  Ugh!  Well, we prepared for it by packing extra clothes, umbrellas, layers and lots of towels.  As we were driving down, I was delighted that it had not yet started to rain.  Then the forecast shifted to pushing the rain back until lunch time.  This was great!  Some time to explore outside before the rains hit!

We started at the Wright Brothers Memorial.  

 We thought is was fun to have a photo with Neil who inspired this road trip!

Since this is a National Park site, there was an opportunity to earn Ranger badges!  Daniel and Trent were delighted and I think it was fun for them to work on it some together.  Eliana did a bit, but wasn't really highly interested.  Maybe another day.

 Trying to get a quick group photo.  "George" is a stand-in for Eliana in the second photo.

 Learning from reading the signs.  The building is a replica of the one that they lived in while they were here.  It was surprisingly nice inside.

 Love this path which marks the spot where the Wright brothers flew their plane.  There are markers along the path showing how long each of the flights actually were as well as how long each flight lasted.  The boys wanted to race to see who was faster - the plane or the boys.  Boys won on this one.

 The last flight was the longest and was pretty impressive.  I'm sure it was a thrilling moment!  Loved the view of the monument from this place too.

 The monument is set up on a hill and is more of a walk than it looks.  (Most especially for those with shorter legs - or for anyone carrying someone with shorter legs.)

 Love all of these faces!  The beautiful girls.  The handsome boys.  Can't you just see that this was a sweet and fun time?

 After spending some time on the monument, we went to a picnic area near the base to have lunch.

After lunch, as we were driving out, we stopped by this model of the plane.  There are also statues of some of the people that were there.  The children LOVED playing and interacting with the statues.  It was quite funny and I think it makes for some delightful pictures.  What do you think?

We are still experiencing a reprieve from the weather.  The latest update looks like rain at 3pm and not lasting more than an hour.  The next day though is 100 percent chance of rain all day long.  We had planned to visit Bodie lighthouse the following day but due to weather made a change in plans.  It wasn't far, so we drove on over.  Isn't it beautiful!

 Bodie lighthouse has undergone some renovations and for the first time was open to the public!  What fun!  Have I mentioned that I LOVE lighthouses!  I know I'm not alone in this feeling either.

We bought our tickets and went on a tour to the top with a ranger.  In the pictures below, the top right is  on the bottom floor of the lighthouse and was used to store things.  The next photo down is the entrance to the room where the stairs begin.  The bottom right is a shot looking up through the stairs.  The bottom left is a sign inside the lighthouse.  You can see the change in spelling which also indicates the correct pronunciation of the lighthouse.  Its just like "body".  There are various stories as to where the name originated.

It was very windy at the top!  So thankful for a beautiful afternoon.  We had a little bit of sprinkles, but that's it!  Thankful!  And happy.  I love these big smiles!

Here are some of the shots I took from the top of the lighthouse.  The view is beautiful.  Nothing much is built up around this lighthouse so you have clear views of the marsh and also the ocean.

We also had a view of Eliana bossing around our friends in a game she had made up.  I wondered why they were laying on the grass and heard about my bossy daughter when I got down.  LOL  The house is the lighthouse keepers home that is now a gift shop and offices.

 I took a lot of pictures of the lighthouse.  I think it is beautiful.  (Though not quite as much as the beautiful young ladies in front of it.)

 Still hanging in with good weather so we now head over to Jockey's Ridge.  Its open later in the day and was the top request of my boys.  I really wanted to be able to go there and the following day was going to be a bust in terms of weather, so we headed over.  Managed to get a shot of some of the group before they headed inside the visitor center.

There are great hands-on displays inside.  Informative, interesting and fun!

Heading down this path to make it to the dunes.  Jockey's Ridge is the tallest natural sand dune in the Eastern United States.  Well worth a visit.  It is beautiful and fun for people of all ages!

A shot of the group before they took off for the dunes.  It was hard to keep up with them after that!

I'm not sure if you can tell how steep the slope of this dune is from the photo, but it so quite tall - and big/wide.  And the view at the top is amazing!

View from the top of the sound on the other side.  Isn't this gorgeous!

From flying a kite to climbing the hills, from sliding to rolling down, it was all fun!  The children LOVED being here!!!

 We packed a lot into one day, didn't we?  And yet it wasn't rushed.  It was sweet time spent learning, laughing and having fun.  Some of my favorite of our homeschool days!

An amazing display of God's handiwork.  

This trip is worth it if you are considering it.  Even for just a couple of days.  We spent just 2 days there and were able to do a lot.  Now, I would have loved more time, but we'll save that for another day.  :-)

I'll post our second day soon I hope.

Blessings

Leslie