Camping with the Pruitts

A couple of  weekends ago we went camping at Hanging Rock State Park with our good friends, the Pruitts. The kids have been asking to go camping together for probably a year. So, us parents knew there was no escaping the reality - even if that meant camping in our backyard.

Of course, Hanging Rock is much prettier than our backyard.....

We went up on Saturday and picnicked by the lake before enjoying the beach on the lake. The weather was fabulous. It was an absolutely beautiful day. The kids (and parents) had a great time. It was very relaxing. Unfortunately, Scott conveniently left the cameras in the car while we were at the lake. Fortunately, Jill took some pics.

Samuel thought this was great fun. The guys felt it the next day.

Playing in the sand was a favorite with the boys.

Splashing around was a favorite with the girls.

Check-in at the campsite was 4 pm. We set up camp while the kids played.

 There was lots to explore - trees, the trail between the two campsites, tents, a snake..... Yes, I said a snake. So the kids were running back and forth between the two campsites when Sarah comes to tell her mom, excitedly, 'I heard a ssssss sound and saw a snake. I stepped over it 'cause it was in my way....' (or something like that). Jill asked her what color it was and how big it was. Sarah said brown and held her arms out as big as they would go. Jill and the rest of us just kind of shrugged it off to an active imagination. Until....someone on the road stopped right in front of our campsite and yelled out to us about a snake crossing the road. Sure enough.....

It was a big brown/black snake. - I'm never doubting a three year old again.

We grilled hot dogs on sticks. Samuel was very patient and cooked his completely by himself.

The others weren't so concerned.

I thought Ian was going to fall asleep.

Payton was very excited to roast her first marshmallow. Notice the length of the stick. Payton was very leery of the fire. She is actually very scared of fire, so for her to be that close, was quite a feat.

We slept as well as can be expected. Ian ended up between Daddy and I on the air mattress. I can't blame him - that ground was pretty hard and his sleeping bag didn't do much to help. I was impressed that Payton made it all night in hers. But at one point, we woke up and caught her completely on top of her pillow.

Ah well, it's camping.

Sunday morning we broke camp and went for a little hike down to Lower Cascade Falls.

Mr. Blake led the search for salamanders. Unfortunately, they didn't want to come out and be seen.

Don't mind the child heading towards the waterfall.

Good times..... Good times.

Lazy 5 Ranch

Today we took a trip to an exotic wildlife park which is about an hour from here - close to Mooresville, NC. We were greeted by some donkeys. There were 3 other cars that entered the park right in front of me. I don't know what it was about my car, but I sat there for a good 3 or 4 minutes until we were allowed to pass.

Sorry, little guy. We don't have anything for you.

We met some people from RSA there - including Samuel and Sarah. First stop was the playground.

Next we explored some of the grounds. There were all kinds of 2 and 4 legged creatures. 

Then we took the wagon ride through the pastures of exotic life. 

The gates were semi-reminiscent of Jurassic Park. 

All right, they weren't nearly as big as the one in JP.

The rules to feeding the animals were simple: The two legged animals, you let them eat from the bucket. Four legged animals you could had feed. First we met some two legged animals. Ian was so enthusiastic right off the bat and held out food for this particular ostrich.

 I didn't see exactly what happened, but Ian must have pointed at the bird and the bird must have thought that Ian's little hand was food, because Ian got his middle finger pecked. Poor guy. It didn't do too much to the finger, but it was pretty scary.

 Evil pecker. 

For the remainder of the trip, Ian sat on my lap and he was fine.

We saw water buffalo, pot bellied pigs, lots of different types of deer, zebras, a rhino, buffalo, emu, giraffes and several different types of cows. Cows and giraffes like to use their tongue when they eat - did you know that? I really didn't think about it too much until....

 

My favorite part was feeding the giraffes. Thank you, Jill for actually getting me in some pictures.

After the wagon ride, we picnicked by the playground and then headed down road to a local farm for some locally made ice cream. We all enjoyed it. Ian enjoyed wearing it too :)

Legos legos legos

Scott has really gotten on a Lego kick lately. The kids love spending time with Daddy, so if Daddy thinks Legos are cool, so do the kids.

Payton finished this kit all by herself.

The latest round of interest started when Scott decided it was time to organize the Legos. He hemmed and hawed and contemplated for a couple of weeks, before he settled on a system....for now. Then he spent 3 days sorting the Legos. The kids actually enjoyed helping with this process.

I have to admit that I really like it organized. And the kids do to. Ian was able to put together a row of cars in no time flat because he could find all the pieces.

That wascawwy wabbit....

I mean, that rascally rabbit has decided that my carrot tops are the best meal around. Almost every morning this past week I've had to chase him away. He knows I've got his number. Unfortunately, I think he has a leg up on me. The damage has been done and now I just have to pull them up and eat them. But the baby carrots sure are sweet and delicious :)

I caught ya....

Wun wabbit, wun.

End of the year party and Last day of school

This week was the last week of Payton being in Pre-K. The class had a end of the year pool party at the YWCA and Payton wanted Ian and I to come. The pool (not pictured) was nice because it had a zero-depth entrance and only got to 2 ft deep. There were lots of water features to play under, so the kids had lots of fun. I was the only mom that ventured in the pool (thus, no pics). The party finished with a pizza party.

The last day of school was a little emotional for Payton (and Momma). But it wasn't too bad, just a few tears before school. We took the camera so Payton could get pics of her and her friends for a scrapbook. She even got to eat lunch with her class.