In looking back over our doings of the week, it hit me this afternoon just how filled our lives are with wonderful outings, explorations, discoveries and plain old fun. As I list in my mind what we did or the experiences we had, it seems incredibly busy, but this is a typical week for us and there's actually a lot of "ease" built into our lives since we don't have to be at a particular place (school, the office, etc) at a specific time every day. Most days we wake up without alarm clocks. We prioritize and choose what we are going to do, accomplish or explore each and every day, and each and every day it can be different. Granted, Paul and I have to get our work done for MoonDance and After Hours, but we seem to still manage to keep a good bit of flexibility and fun in our lives.
Just a brief summary of some doin's around here:
Monday: Paul takes Emily and Bethany (Em's best friend) for a cabin field trip to the Eno River. Despite the rain, the field trip is a go, albeit with a smaller contingency of attendees. They get to explore the waters of the Eno River with the help of one of the park rangers and come home wet and happy talking of kick nets, watery creatures, snails and more.
That afternoon we are visited by a family friend, Brittany, who may be relocating to Raleigh. The girls got to admire Brittany's employment portfolio, and admire it they did! Britt is a professional baker and her portfolio consists of page after page of amazing decorative cakes and confections.
Britt wasn't able to escape fast enough though and was roped into the hideaway for some book reading. (Those are temporary tattoos on Em's face.) The evening is capped off with a sleepover for Em and Bethany. A much looked forward to event!
Tuesday: The girls start their day with an adventure. They don backpacks, throw in some snacks and water, grab their compass, and head out the front door to explore the neighborhood. They only make it as far as the corner (they're not allowed to leave our dead end street), but you'd never know it based on their excitement level. After that, we head to cabin for a day of fun and play with our Dream & Discover pals.
Wednesday: A trip to Marbles Kids Museum in downtown Raleigh with 2 other cabin families. Marbles is a hands on interactive kids museum. This month they had a traveling Olympics Exhibit where the kids could try their hands at various sports (ice hockey anyone?) and learn a bit more about the Olympics. Emily and pals spent a good bit of time building structures with over-sized Legos; donning kimonos, getas and obis in the 2-B-Me Gallery while learning a bit about Japanese culture; oohing and aahing at the feeding of the shark in the Splash Zone;
and playing chess on the giant floor sized game board. Emily and I were the last to leave and were sad to close down the museum right in the middle of an involved game of running a restaurant and hotel in the Around Town! exhibit.Thursday: A work day with lots of visitors coming and going in our home and in the shop followed by a lovely outing to the American Tobacco District.
Friday: Today we caught a play at the Raleigh Little Theatre with 5 other cabin families. Ozma of Oz was presented courtesy of the theater's Teens on Stage program. The RLT is one of our favorite venues for plays. It's small and intimate, so much so that they warn the audience in the front row to keep their feet tucked under their chairs during the performance. You really feel like you are part of the action, and that's a wonderful way to introduce theater to children. This particular play was not one of my favorites as it seemed that every single scene was one of contention and strife. Lots of yelling and arguing and bickering between the characters in addition to the occasional brawl. That can be a bit overwhelming for younger children, especially when you're seated just a few feet away from all the commotion.
We still enjoyed the outing though and spent some time afterwards exploring the fabulous rose garden behind the theater. This particular rose garden is one of three accredited gardens in the Carolinas and is the display garden for all new roses presented by the All American Rose Society. There are dozens of glorious rose beds perfuming the air with their heady scent, a small fountain/pond, and shady bowers, grottoes and pathways to explore.
We finished off the afternoon with a hop over to Locopops, Emily's absolute favorite popsicle palace in all the world and an ever popular hangout for our D&D crew. You can't eat just one!
