Mae and I had planned their return visit back in January. At first, we were both keeping it hush-hush from our kids. Then I found out that she'd let the cat out of the bag but her kids really, really wanted to surprise mine; so the hush-hush I remained. It wasn't easy as the time approached; many times Chris and I almost slipped but we managed to keep the secret. Chris picked them up from the airport on the way home from work. He texted me they were around the corner and told me to take kids to the bonus room. The Parays ducked down in the car so they wouldn't be spied as Chris parked in the garage. I waited and took this video:
I think that says it all! Mae and I spent the next afternoon touring the area, eating lunch and catching up. Then Chris took them to dinner at Corbett's.
The following morning I took the crew for a walk in Hemlock Bluff Reserve. The weather was beautiful!
Then we re-celebrated Lance's birthday.
For the remainder of time, we adults talked and the kids played; which was exactly what we wanted to do; so we did for four glorious days.
It rained the day they left; here and in Florida. I thought it very appropriate, it matched the heavy hearts all around. In a few days, our hearts lightened at the thought of meeting again soon knowing that a little time and distance doesn't effect the friendship of family.
This field trip pushed my comfort zones once again. The Life Science Museum is in Durham, which means I was going to have to drive 45 min from home by myself into a city I had never been to before - with all four kids. I'm glad I didn't cave to my fear; it was an awesome trip.
We met a rather large group of kids for the main purpose of the trip was for the older kids to attend a Lego Robotics workshop.
While Lance and Jared enjoyed the shop, I explored the museum with Titus and Amber. As it turned out they were having a hands-on lab right outside the workshop which was open to all kids, even Amber!
They donned their safety gear and got to work. The analyzed water samples and learned about a pond's ecosystem.
I was amazed at how child friendly the people working the lab were. They were very excited to teach both Amber and Titus, not put out a bit. Conveniently, both labs ended about the same time and we were then free to explore the rest of the museum; inside and out.
The kids needed to run around so we went out to the playground for a bit and then off to petting zoo.
About 1pm, we had to leave to be back home in time to watch our neighbor's son. It's a fascinating museum worthy of much more of our time another day, especially when the train is running in the spring.
Words always seem to be slow in coming when it comes to writing my birthday post for Lance. I think it's because to write the post is to accept that my oldest son is yet a year older and closer to being a man. I do miss the child but I do not lament his growing older for I understand there is a time for everything.
In one year he will officially be a young man and I can already see he is going to be wonderful one at that.
He is a knight in shinning armor; in-training. Rough and Tumble; yet gentle at heart. Champion to our family damsel (his little sister). Loyal brother, quick to point out any injustice and growing in strength each day.
He is lover of all God has created, enjoying the quiet pleasures of sitting, watching and observing the world around; its animals and plants.
He is creative. He writes plays and he builds extensive Lego models. He prefers pencil drawing to color. He likes to help cook and he is quite the pianist.
He is very, very, very very active; willing to play any game or sport. He also enjoys taking off on his own for bike rides for both exercise and to clear his mind; a good life skill.
I pray that we are preparing him well to fight the good fight gallantly along side his brothers, should such a day come. To use his great skills as a leader to champion whatever cause God lays at his feet. We love you Lance more than you could ever imagine.
I am a self assessed book addict with no interest in curing my addiction. I have friends with the same addiction and our husbands roll their eyes when we get together knowing at some point the conversation will get back to books. That said, I do try to temper my addiction from being too expensive by getting books from the library as much as possible. The only down side to this approach is that the books are not on my shelves. Therefore, when it comes time to find books for my younger children I can't just grab them and must use by faulty memory to remember what my older children enjoyed at their age. To alleviate this problem and to share with friends the books we have enjoyed, I have created the "Book Lists" page above. If you're a book addict like me, visit it frequently as I will be updating it frequently and probably tweaking the organization from time to time, and adding some book reviews. Enjoy!
