Discovery Park of America

We were able to take one 'trip' over Spring Break! We drove up to Union City to visit Discovery Park of America. I wanted to keep it a surprise to the boys, but Evan saw me packing bags. He got very upset because John was gone for the week and said "You're leaving us too? Who will take care of us??" The jig was up. I told him to keep it quiet, but when Luke woke up from nap we were going on a trip.

If you know this kid you know he wasn't letting me off that easy. He asked me 200 questions. Finally I told him I would tell him were we were going but not telling him who we were meeting there!

I showed him online all about Discovery Park. He was so excited to go! Those little dimples and excited demeanor...I just couldn't keep it from him. I told him I wouldn't tell him who was going as well, but we could play 20 questions to guess who it was. It only took him about 7!

He was excited about Lila and the entire McClain clan was going to be there. When we got to Reelfoot the boys scoped the place out and settled in. I knew sleep wasn't going to come easy with four kiddos in bunk beds, especially my two vocal ones. Around 10:30, I decided to give up the fight and take Luke into my room. I had a set of bunk beds along side my bed that I put Luke into. He was asleep within minutes.

Amazingly enough we all up, showered, cars packed, and out the door by 9:30. We arrived at Discovery Park shortly after doors and opened and we were off!!

This is the museum's welcoming committee.

Thank goodness there were three adults. Emmy stayed with twins most of the time. I trailed Luke and the big kids hung with Bill. 

This was by far one of Luke's favorite exhibit. I am still not sure what it does or what it was saying to him.

It was fun dancing in front of this thing. We learned I have really cold hands. Can you make out my body in the second picture?

 

The water section was a hit for kids of ALL ages!

 

 

There was a two story slide all the kids ventured down multiple times.

We came back to this solar energy exhibit multiple times. You use the mirrors to reflect light onto other mirrors which makes planes fly in a circle on the ceiling. 

They had an 20,000 aquarium that sent my anxiety through the roof. Do you see that fish?? I mean, Do.You.SEE.IT?!?!

 

The museum showcases a lot of different modes of transportation.

 


I can't see old cars like this without thinking of my dad.


The outside grounds were just as impressive! Discovery Park has about 50 acres of land with 6 different sections ranging from a Tree Maze to an old school house, settlement, chapel, mill ridge, and a train depot! Whew...we are so thankful Wednesday was a pretty day!





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All in all, it was the BEST day of Spring Break!!

Snow!!!

This winter has been pretty brutal for most of our north eastern friends. Down here in the South we did get a week of 'snice' (which is snow/ice...but mostly ice) that took us out of school for three days in February. We made the most of it and brought out our 'sled', which can double as a cookie sheet when needed, and had fun!



So much fun, Evan wanted to write about it in the first grade newspaper!

But in true Memphis bi-polar weather, the real snow came in March, just days before Spring Break. The storm was predicted to pack so much power, the Weather Channel named it Thor. No need to head to Kroger for bread and milk. I was ready with the real necessities. Bring it, Thor.

And Thor set him hammer down! This stuff was the real deal! Fluffy and white and cold....

We are terrifically lucky to have one of Evan's best friends live in the neighborhood. Him and Quinn spent seven hours together!

We made snow cream. They boys were really excited to help, but not so excited to eat it. They all vetoed the dessert and went straight for the real ice cream.

After working alllllll day in his office (I literally mean alllll day), Daddy finally got to join us for the snow fun!

 

 

My loves

We express a whole lot of love around this house. There are constant "I love yous" thrown around at random intervals throughout the day. There are spontaneous hugs and kisses and a whole lot of cuddles.

But we don't really celebrate Valentine's Day as a family. We do Valentine's at school and have some candy that is heart shaped, but the boys don't get presents or a special card. Don't get me wrong...they are the loves of my life! After looking at social media and feeling like a pretty terrible mother for not doing something hugely special and spectacular, I decided that they boys would be okay. But, I did want to get down to the root of why I never thought to shower them with special things on that particular day. The boys have special parties at school and treats with friends and I LOVE they do that! But why wasn't I making a big deal about it at home?

I realized that day has always been set aside for John and me. Not that we need "A" day....no couple in love needs just ONE day to celebrate it. I just like to go on dates and do special things with my husband. February 14th just gives me a great excuse to make sure a date is on our calendar.

We always give each other the gift of time for Valentine's Day. There have been Valentine's Days where I had roses delivered to work or a new yoga mat (hit it out of the ballpark on that one babe!) show up, but mostly we make sure to give each other time. It doesn't even mean we have to 'go out'. Some Valentine's we have an 'in house' date night. That has been some of my favorite evenings with John. No babysitter, kids in bed, favorite tapas, wine and just us being able to finally talk.

We shower each other with the thing that is most precious...most rare at this point in our life. Uninterrupted, quality time together. Which I realized...is my LOVE LANGUAGE! That's why it is so important to me.

And possibly why I don't make a huge deal about it with the boys. They get almost all of my non-work hours. I try to shower them each and every night with quality time as a family. We say NO to lots of things so we can be together as a family. If I leave the family during the week, it's for pretty important people and I rarely leave twice in one week.

This year one of John's favorite musicians, Sam Bush, was playing at City Winery in Nashville. It was a last minute (in my book) decision. Our favorite sitter could stay with the boys and we found a hotel that hadn't jacked up their prices too bad for the Valentine's Day weekend. So we hopped in the car and set out for our 26 hour date.

I admit, I have never even heard of Sam Bush before this trip. I was blown away by his performance. He was great! But I also love (good) live music. And the venue didn't hurt. City Winery has to be one of the coolest places to see a performer. So cool in fact, we are trying to go back in May to see Shawn Colvin.

But you know what I loved most....spending 26 uninterrupted hours with the love of my life. Happy Valentine's Day my love. I appreciate that you treat every day like it's Valentine's.

Pinewood Derby

Evan has joined the Boy Scouts. He has had a great time meeting with his wonderful leaders and friends. One of the main events in Scouts is the Pinewood Derby.

 

It's hard for a six year old to participate in every part of the car building, but I was determined! After John did some research on car design and weight (and all the stuff I would have never thought to do), they we about designing. Sweet John, being the amazing dad he is, gave Evan FULL reign to put whatever he wanted on the car. Evan wanted it green with racing stripes. He even put a design on the top with the number 6 because "I'm six years old!". :)

 

 

During the races, Evan's car came in second twice and third  another time. While that didn't qualify him to move on (which we were completely okay with!), he still had a blast!