We had an amazing vacation which spilled over into January. We went to Myrtle Beach. It was a lot colder than we like but not as cold as Missouri so we survived. In Myrtle Beach we got to experience a lot of things. The guys always go on a deep sea fishing trip but this year we all got to go! The kids got to see a squid up close. Brian caught a shark, they coat Toad Fish (which will bite your fingers off so we learned about those) and some sea bass. We didn't catch much but it was sure fun! We also went to the Rice Museum in Georgetown. It was a beautiful historic town. Our extended family gave us some trouble about visiting a rice farm since we grew up raising rice, but it was very interested to see how rice effected South Carolina. We also saw the oldest vessel in North America! We went to Ripley's Aquarium which I can't imagine how crowded it would be in tourist season since it was very crowded the day we went. We ate one day at the House of Blues and did many more things! It was a great spot to visit.
At Ripley's Aquarium with our entire family crew- 23 this year instead of the usual 13.
Then on new year's day we went to DC. It was bitting cold but wonderful. Ben and I have been to DC twice now but the first time was work related. We knew this was somewhere we wanted to take the kiddos and it was so cool. We went to a lot of different places this time and our 2 days there were jam packed. We saw the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Jefferson's Library (which is amazing and huge) and so much more. We took a tour of the Capital and learned that the President has to get an invitation before stepping into the Capital building so that there is a separation of state and that a young girl created an art piece of Lincoln and saw him to complete it the day he was assasinated. We rode the Metro which Aybrin really liked. Aybrin said he learned that trains and cars go faster than roller coasters but he liked the Metro. Asher said he thought it was scarey. We went to Arlington Cementary and watched the Changing of the Guards, we ate lunch at the National Park right beside an outdoor skating rink! We went to the Smithsonian where Mom and Dad bought us Imax tickets to stay after the muesum closed so we could watch "Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian"! It was so cool! This was just a handful of things we saw and did. It was the best!
In front of the Capital Building before our tour
Making funny faces inside of the Capital
The Lincoln Memorial which is even more breathtaking at night.
The Washington Monument taken while we were driving down the road
Then we got home and a couple of weeks later we found out the kids were going to perform at the Harlem Globetrotter's Game in Springfield!! They were the half time show and it was amazing. They attend TOT class once a week where they learn basketball handling skills along with academic skills such as colors, counting, foreign language, etc. The learning part is mostly review for Aybrin (except for French and Spanish although I've been wanting to start a foreign lanugage program for quite a while now) but the skills are awesome for both kids. And Asher now knows which hand is right and which is left which is awesome! The night of the game we put orange in the kid's hair to match their orange shirts and we were so glad we did it. It really helped them stand out so we could see them good on the court. Grandma even went to the game. Mom told the Globetrotter's coach while we were getting autographs, that this was Grandma's first basketball game in 75 years. He said that if he would've known that he would've had her come down on the court during the game! The team and the coach were so nice. It was the best experience. And now I think there's going to be a write up in the Christian County Headliner with their pictures in it! We're super excited!
Enoch is in the left row- the one closes to the camera turned towards the camera. Aybrin is right beside him. Asher is in the right row closes to the camera.
Eleesia's the girl closest to the camera with straight hair (Janiece straightened it for the performance and it was so cute) Asher is right beside her.
Mackenzie- our friend, is sitting down, then it's Eleesia then Asher.
Our friend Morgan is the girl with the bow in her hair, then it's a little boy, then it's Enoch then Aybrin.
This is a squid. Yuck!
At Ripley's Aquarium with our entire family crew- 23 this year instead of the usual 13.Then on new year's day we went to DC. It was bitting cold but wonderful. Ben and I have been to DC twice now but the first time was work related. We knew this was somewhere we wanted to take the kiddos and it was so cool. We went to a lot of different places this time and our 2 days there were jam packed. We saw the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights, Jefferson's Library (which is amazing and huge) and so much more. We took a tour of the Capital and learned that the President has to get an invitation before stepping into the Capital building so that there is a separation of state and that a young girl created an art piece of Lincoln and saw him to complete it the day he was assasinated. We rode the Metro which Aybrin really liked. Aybrin said he learned that trains and cars go faster than roller coasters but he liked the Metro. Asher said he thought it was scarey. We went to Arlington Cementary and watched the Changing of the Guards, we ate lunch at the National Park right beside an outdoor skating rink! We went to the Smithsonian where Mom and Dad bought us Imax tickets to stay after the muesum closed so we could watch "Night at the Museum, Battle of the Smithsonian"! It was so cool! This was just a handful of things we saw and did. It was the best!The architecture of the building in front of the Changing of the Guards
In front of the Capital Building before our tour Making funny faces inside of the Capital The Lincoln Memorial which is even more breathtaking at night.The Washington Monument taken while we were driving down the road
Then we got home and a couple of weeks later we found out the kids were going to perform at the Harlem Globetrotter's Game in Springfield!! They were the half time show and it was amazing. They attend TOT class once a week where they learn basketball handling skills along with academic skills such as colors, counting, foreign language, etc. The learning part is mostly review for Aybrin (except for French and Spanish although I've been wanting to start a foreign lanugage program for quite a while now) but the skills are awesome for both kids. And Asher now knows which hand is right and which is left which is awesome! The night of the game we put orange in the kid's hair to match their orange shirts and we were so glad we did it. It really helped them stand out so we could see them good on the court. Grandma even went to the game. Mom told the Globetrotter's coach while we were getting autographs, that this was Grandma's first basketball game in 75 years. He said that if he would've known that he would've had her come down on the court during the game! The team and the coach were so nice. It was the best experience. And now I think there's going to be a write up in the Christian County Headliner with their pictures in it! We're super excited!
Top row: Enoch and Aybrin
Bottom row: Eleesia and Asher
Essa does not perform in TOT yet
Enoch is in the left row- the one closes to the camera turned towards the camera. Aybrin is right beside him. Asher is in the right row closes to the camera.Eleesia's the girl closest to the camera with straight hair (Janiece straightened it for the performance and it was so cute) Asher is right beside her.Mackenzie- our friend, is sitting down, then it's Eleesia then Asher.Our friend Morgan is the girl with the bow in her hair, then it's a little boy, then it's Enoch then Aybrin. Now we're into February. Janiece and I have been doing a full force decluttering/Spring Cleaning attack on our homes. We're spending 3 days a week at each other's houses going through EVERYTHING! We're so tired of doing it but it's nice to see the end results and to realize that things are now super clean. No more dust bunnies under the bed! We've also been researching Natural things for your body and cleaning supplies. We're doing research on the harmful toxins in our everyday products. And of course we're planning our gardens and learning natural cures for herbs we're going to plant.
Our big news for school is that I think Aybrin will enter his first Science fair! The fair will be at the Library Center in Springfield on April 16th. We're excited and looking for good projects we can do. We're also planning to attend the SHEM homeschool conference again this year which always gives us plenty of encouragment and resources to get inspired for the upcoming year. That partly sums up our month. We're having fun here and hope to hear from some of you soon!
I'm trying to add Ben's picture but it messed up yet again (sigh)!!
Look how cute Asher and Eleesia are sleeping on Janiece's lap!
Here we are at bike and bbq day at Mom's school
Flying Ninja kick!
The baby robins we watched hatch in our back yard. This has been the best spring for us watching our birds!
Aybrin in his new Tae Kwon Do uniform
Aybrin with his cake at his reading party on Monday night