Cave Painting, Birthday, Six Flags and More

This month has been a busy one.  We've had lots going on, and we've been enjoying some wonderful spring weather.  Here's a little rundown on the last few weeks.

Once a month, our library has an afterschool program called Kids' Club.  Each month, they have a different activity planned.  This month, they talked about cave paintings and then each kid got to make his/her own.  Laura LOVED this because it involved one of her favorite things: art!

Laura and her sweet friend Mishka work on their cave paintings.

Laura is busy putting the finishing touches on her caribou.

 This little smarty is getting harder and harder to challenge these days.....

"I like math!"

Spirit Week at Laura's school included team jersey day.  We were happy she wanted to represent the Midwest / Big Ten down here in the heart of SEC country.

Still a Husker at heart!

April also includes one of Cliff's favorite times of year: his birthday!  While he was out of town on his actual day (his jazz band was touring the Pensacola, FL area), we spent the following Saturday celebrating, both at home with gifts and cake, and by going out to dinner.

The kids picked out their own outfits for dinner out.  Nathan is even wearing Daddy's tie tack!

I think the boots really add a nice touch to the outfit. ;)

Cliff was very happy with his new cocktail glasses.  He also has the beginnings of a little cocktail shelf now, which he has been enjoying after long days at work.

Laura worked very, very hard to make this special Cincinnati Bearcat for her daddy!

Nathan colored a special picture for Dad.

Always happy with a Clive Cussler book!

Last week, Nathan and I surprised Laura by dropping by school for lunch time.  She got to choose two friends to join us at a special table.  It was sweet to listen to their girl talk and see how she spends her day at school.

Laura and her sweet little friends Victoria and Savannah.

Also last week, Nathan and I took a small field trip with friends of ours.  We visited the Museum of Natural History on the Georgia College campus.  It is small, but it has a pretty nice collection of fossils and animals.   Plus, it's free!

Nathan and his buddy James walk down the sidewalk on campus.

What a great bobcat imitation!

A real black bear!  I don't ever want to see one this close up in the wild!!

Fun at home continues to come from the simple pleasures:

A big box occupied the kids for most of a Saturday.  They put pillows inside, climbed in and started coloring and decorating the inside of the box.

Last Sunday, we decided to surprise the kids by taking our first trip to Six Flags for the season a week earlier than we had planned.  We didn't tell them where we were going.  They had no idea for 2 hours in the car....not until they saw roller coasters from the highway!

A nice lady at guest relations gave the kids these stuffed animals!  They were so excited!

Laura took this shot while we were riding Up, Up and Away.

We always love the carousel!  Nathan is excited to be tall enough to ride a moving horse this year!

As always, we continue to take advantage of the amazing children's programs at our library.  We are sad that Ms. Anne, the children's coordinator, is retiring next week after 34 years of devoted service to the kids of this community, but we are thrilled that Ms. Sue will be taking over her position.

Ms. Sue leads Nathan and his friends in a pet parade during this week's story time.

Nicer weather has meant the return of play dates at the park.  We spent over 2 hours at the park yesterday with friends.  Nathan loves to go to this park and dig in the sand.

A beautiful day!

Another thing we've been doing recently is trying to schedule more days for Cliff to do preschool with Nathan.  This is a win for everybody.  I get a morning or two off, Nathan gets to enjoy Dad's style of teaching, and Cliff gets to experience this joyful little guy on a regular basis.

Making sourdough bread with Dad during school this morning.  Nathan loves to be in the kitchen with us!

In addition to all of this, Cliff and I have been wrapping up our semester, Laura has been working on her last research project of the year (Namibia), the kids have continued in their activities, Cliff had a successful jazz band tour, and I have managed to get hired to teach water fitness once again.  I begin on May 7 and will teach 2 classes per week at the Georgia College Wellness and Recreation Center.  So, all in all, a good month.....but definitely a busy, busy one!!

Gina