Digging With Friends

What's more fun than digging in the dirt?

Certainly none of the kids with us a few days ago would disagree.

We spent the cool and breezy day at Spring Villa Park. The purpose: to celebrate a birthday and dig for quartz!

I should mention that when I told my husband where we had been that day his response was swift. "You do know there are major sinkholes out there don't you?"

Ok, so I did see the signs posted at the entrance that said "Danger: Sinkholes in the Area." I tried to convince myself it didn't mean sinkholes as I understood sinkholes. Maybe it meant large holes in the ground.

Nope. It meant the kind of holes that could completely swallow up an entire area. And my husband, who doesn't get worked up about much, made it abundantly clear.

So while we had a lot of fun, I think we'll find somewhere else to dig next time around.

Reading Through The Winter

Who am I kidding? The title to this post makes it sound like we've been holed up inside trying to stay warm.

HA!

There may have been a couple of cold days so far this winter, but it's been rainy and mild here in the Southeast.

Reading is a huge part of our daily lives, and we read in all kinds of weather in any season.

During our morning read aloud time I've introduced Shakespeare through Charles and Mary Lamb's collection of Shakespeare stories for young children. In case you didn't know this, Shakespeare is not a fast read, so we have been working our way through this for about two months. The first few stories (each is about 12-13 pages long), I would read in their entirety. The rest I've broken up into two or three parts.

We've also ventured into some classic Winnie the Pooh tales through Audible.

We are currently listening to "The Railway Children" each morning during breakfast.

I spent January and February with these three novels:

"Longbourn" is basically the Downton Abbey story of Pride and Prejudice. It's hard to like the Bennets much when reading like this.

"Crazy Rich Asians" is a total guilty pleasure read. Designer names abound, so much so that toward the end I was almost ready to chuck the book if I had to endure one more name-dropping episode.

"Quiet Dell" is not for the faint of heart. It's a fictional account of a true and horrific crime that occurred in the 1930s. Luckily, the reader is spared most of the gory details and deals in the before and after of the crime.

Inside Out

Mattie is a huge fan of Pixar's film "Inside Out."

So much so that she watched it once a day for 24 days straight. We've all breathed a collective sigh of relief that she has taken somewhat of a break from her daily habit. I think it's been almost a week since she last asked me to play the movie.

In the midst of the "Inside Out" watching days, she talked a lot about emotions. She spent a lot of time asking questions like:
"Mom, are you happy?"
"Mom, are you sad?"
"Mom, are you disgusted?"
"Mom, are you afraid?"
"Mom, are you mad?"

or

"Mom, which one is your favorite?" (Disgust and Sadness)
"Jack, which one is your favorite (First Fear then Joy)
"Dad, which one is your favorite?" (Anger)
"Mom, do you know which one is my favorite?" (Fear)

And for several weeks there was "Inside Out" inspired art. She wanted to paint each emotion, plus Bing-Bong (he's pink) and Riley (she's orange).

We did some abstract shapes, and she decided we could only use the colors associated with the emotions expressed in the movie.

I got into the spirit one day with some dot artwork using the colors of the emotions. I think I titled it something like "Drops of Emotions."

We even had the soothing background music, if you can call it music, that appears on the menu screen after the movie is over playing in the background while we painted.

It was actually quite therapeutic!

McWane Center

I was blown away.

We've been all over and have visited museums across the United States, but I was not prepared for how much I would love the McWane Science Center in downtown Birmingham, Ala.

Birmingham is about a two-hour drive for us. It's one we've made many times for various reasons. I kept telling myself we needed to go to the McWane Center on one of the trips, but never made it a priority.

This past weekend we had a wedding to attend in Birmingham. I decided this would finally be the opportune time to visit McWane. We could take the kids during the day and go to the wedding that evening.

Almost everything at the McWane Center is hands on and a science lover's dream, which meant Jack L-O-V-E-D the place!

What We Read Before/After Christmas

December is one of my favorite months. Not just because it's Christmas and all the wonderful food and festivities that come with it. It's also the time I have a complete month off from work and can read to my heart's content.

We do a lot of reading around here anyway, but in December we got in a whole lot.

For Me:
Susan Witting Albert's China Bayles Series:

There are many books in this mystery series, but I picked up three of the more recent ones. I'm not sure where I came across a recommendation for these, but "Bittersweet" was on my list. One of the great things about these books is there are recipes in the back that go along with some of the meals dished out through the book. I tried the taco casserole recipe last week, and the family says it's a keeper. I hope to make the carrot cake cupcakes this weekend and the herb quiche soon.

For the Kids:
Patricia Polacco Books

Patricia Polacco might be my favorite children's book author. Her stories are so sentimental and gratifying. We came across her last year on a reading list with the book "Mrs. Katz and Tush." We bought the book because we couldn't find it at our local library, and Jack asks me to read it ALL - THE - TIME!!! We recently read "The Bee Tree," which is at our local library, and then picked these four up in early December. I want to read everything she's written now. They are that worth it.

Poetry:

We are big into poetry here. I have four anthologies we own that I read something from every day. I recently found an entire shelf at our local library devoted to famous poets. We read Langston Hughes and Edna St. Vincent Millay a while back, and I picked up Walt Whitman, Edgar Allen Poe and an anthology edited by Jack Prelutsky, undoubtedly the best modern poet for children's poetry, that we are still working our way through.

Fantasy in Lights

This weather pattern known as El Nino has put a real damper on things this holiday season. Even now, as I type, there's a steady and constant rain outside my window.

Because of all the rain, I thought we weren't going to make it to Callaway Gardens to see the yearly display of Christmas lights. We took Jack when he was about three, and I wanted Mattie to be able to experience the Christmas magic. Luckily, the light show runs through Jan. 2, so last night, during a break in the rain, we headed toward Pine Mountain, Ga. to catch the show.

Most of my pictures of the actual show are somewhat blurry because I had to snap them on the moving "Jolly Trolley" ride.

There's plenty to do if you arrive before your scheduled departure time on the trolley. We ate hot dogs and loaded nachos, danced around in the pretend snow (bubbles coming out of an overhead machine) and took silly pictures.

The line to get to the trolley ride is quite lengthy. There are two stops along the way before boarding the trolley. The first checkpoint is where the ticket barcodes are scanned. The second is a large tent where everyone meanders through.

As we approached the second checkpoint, Jack asked if we were going to have to take off our shoes. Now that's the sign of a well-traveled child! He breathed a sigh of relief when I noted that only airports require you to do that.

Getting In the Spirit

Down here in central Alabama, the temperature has been unseasonably warm all fall. It certainly doesn't feel like Christmas and winter are approaching.

In order to get us all in a more festive mood, we've been partaking in some local Christmas festivities.

1. The Nutcracker

This year Mattie is taking pre-ballet lessons. Her dance company puts on a yearly performance of The Nutcracker, and we made it a girl's afternoon last weekend. If she sticks with dance, it will still be a few more years before she makes it into a performance.

2. S'mores and Hot Chocolate

A local hotel, affiliated with the university here in town, has hosted several S'mores and hot chocolate evenings.

3. Gingerbread Village

The same hotel also has a gingerbread village, with replicas of campus and city buildings, as part of its display.

4. RamCorps

Our church hosted a performance by this student group from the University of Mobile. It's a brass and percussion ensemble that puts on upbeat and lively performances.