Kindergarten Field trip

Last week The kinder class at CC. Mason Elementary took off for Sweet Berry Farms only an hour and a half away from their school.   You would think be the excitement from the 6 year old's they were leaving the country.  All students had to ride the bus there and then fun and activities all day.  Lucky us the PTO picked up all the cost for the students and parents and siblings were invited to go as well.  Mikey was so happy to go hand out with his sister and see all her friends.  John, Mikey, and I all loaded up in the car bright and early as we did not want to miss anything.   We ended up getting to the farm 20 min early  (this might be a first for the Tichi family....early).   We decided to just go play with the baby goats running around till they got there.  When we entered the farm we saw little cups of goat food for 25 cents and bought a few so our boy could feed the goats.  At first Mikey and goats were shy of each other and only one or two would come up.  He loved petting them and now wants a baby goat for our house (we already have too many animals).  Well the more acquainted the little goats got with Mikey the pushier they became.  Soon several goat were fighting for Mikeys food and attention and as luck would have it Mikey was on the receiving end of a head butt.  Yep....one of the goats raised up and went to butt the other but the defending goat moved and Mikey had a head butt planted right square in his chest causing him to fall onto the ground rather hard.  Mikey freaked out and I had a hard time not laughing.   Mikey cried for only a min until he realized he was fine and not hurt in the least.  He went back to feeding the goats but this time with a little more respects for them.  

The buses finally pulled in and tons of little kids with stars in there eyes came off the buses.  All the teachers lined there classes up and we fell in line with Toni's class.   They all had a picnic lunch out at the tables and then off to the strawberry patches we went.  They learned about good bugs and bad bugs first and then they all got there very own ladybug to go release on a strawberry plant. (Ladybugs eat aphids and aphids are the main destroyer of straw berries).  All the Kinder kids were happy to release the bug but Mikey....not so much.  He was in tears because he wanted to take the bug home.  Daddy talked him down and then finally he let his bug go.  Next all of the kids got to pick a basket full of straw berries to take home.  They loved picking there own food.  After all the picking everyone headed to the strawberry guns...it was air powered straw berry flinging messy fun.  Each class was given a banner and all the kids took turns shooting straw berries at it until it was very colorful....the teachers took it with them to hang it up in the classroom.  If was sweet watching all the kids explore the farm and learn about fruits and veggies.  They planed there own pumpkin seeds and played games until the day came to an end.  Parents were allowed to sign them out there or pick them up at school at the regular time.  We asked Toni what she wanted to do and of course she opted to ride the bus home with her class.  It was a fun day and I am so glad the whole family had the day to spend together.  Toni loves her teacher and her class...she is the biggest help with all the other kids...and Mikey.

Inks Lake State Park

John, Toni, Mikey, Kaelyn, Jessica, Devon, and I all went camping this weekend.  As normal around here we were getting off to a late start and I don't like to be late to anything.    John on the other hand is always on Tichi time which has nothing to do with real time.  I am a frustrated person and I try to stay in a good mood but BAM  I am grumpy when things go crazy.   I really wanted to get some bamboo sticks before we left for the park because you can't chop or cut wood in Texas State parks so you have to bring it all with you.  I decided for time sake to forgo the bamboo and just head out on time.  Turns out loading up all the stuff onto the trailor made my husband sweat so he decided to take a shower....hmmmmmm.....I needed to calm down.  I grabbed my little hatchet out of the car and went for a walk in our neighborhood down to this blank lot that has bamboo growing on it.  While walking down the road carrying a hatchet a cop passed me....slowed down and then stopped some ways ahead of me.   I just knew I had broken some non hatchet carrying law or something so I decided to visit my neighbor for a while till the cop left.  What a sight.  Some ticked off little white girl carring a hatchet (I should have thought this out).  Anyway.....I got the bamboo and my husband came to pick me up because.....well....he does not like to wait (so funny).   I hopped in the car and decided no matter what, I was going to be happy on the trip.  We showed up two hours later than planned.  Lucky us we had purchased our cabin that we were to stay in on line.  When we checked in they gave us a map to choose from the remaining cabins.  One handicap, and only two regualar ones left.   Nothing near the restrooms was my first thought......I have 4 kids with me and no cabins anywhere near a restroom.   Looked for the playgrounds.....nope....nothing near that either.   I smiled to mask my frustration and John picked the furthest cabin from everyone and everything.  Again I hopped into the car and said a quick prayer about being happy that we are able to go camping and to help me control myself.   We pulled up to Cabin 14 and it was not much to look at.   A concrete room is the best description but.....it had AC.  While unpacking our kayaks, fishing poles, bikes and other gear I glanced around and saw a swamp looking thing next to our cabin and hated the look of it.   I kept staring up the hill toward the restrooms and thinking....wow we have to climb that hill everytime anyone has to go.   We set the camp up and John started the fire.  We all sat down and roasted hotdogs and chili.  After lunch the kids spotted a trail from our camp site...we took it and it lead right to the best swimming hole....all granite hills and no mud to worry about.  The kids changed and we let them all swim.  Toni loved it except some times she would touch a slimy rock that had not been stepped on in a while and say "I touched the allergies again".    While the kids were swimming and playing John and Devon got the kayaks into the water.  Turns out a different trail lead to the perfect launch place and it was close to the site.  Here is this huge open park and somehow we have private trails and our own granite hill.  Also on our camp site was a jungle of vines that provided endless entertainment for my climbers.   I felt spoiled and silly for being upset at all.   We had the best place in the park and I loved every bit of it.   After all the playing, exploring, and kayaking it was time for dinner.  We had corn on the cob to roast over the fire and steak bites fully maranated.  For the kids I brought a cucumber for healthy reasons and then cut a small pizza up in pieces for them to roast on the fire (it was really good...you should try it).  They loved making there own pizza bites.  Mikey liked the steak too.  Everyone made smoores and life was good.   During dinner I heard all my favorite Christian music echoing off the rocks.  After I ate I went exploring and found a Christian band in the ampatheatre.  I sat for a while and then went back to camp.  We jumped in the kayaks and went back out to the concert to listen from the water.   It was great and not one mosquito bit anyone.   Oh...and that swamp looking thing is a heaven for birds when night falls.  So many birds flew in during the evening that it was crazy to think how many could fit into the cattails.  At night the swamp thing sounded like our own personal frog chior.   When it got to dark we played uno in the cabin with everyone till the kids passed out.  John and I went for a night walk to look for critters and saw snakes, tons of fish (cause the water is clear), crawfish, all kinds of frogs, and we snuck up on a coon....he ran off before we got a great look but he was fishing in the water and you could follow his wet trackes for a while.    I am glad God snapped me out of my mood.  We had the best time and with all the big kids with us we just took turns going to the restroom...it was really not a big deal at all.   I love Inks Lake State Park and from now on I really really really want cabin 14.  I think I should remember what I preech to the kids "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit".   

Hello to all my people.

Well...so so so much has gone on that I really can't write about all of it.  Toni was diagnosed with Asthma and our whole family is suffering with allergies.  We went to Virginia for spring break to visit my sis one last time before she moves to Cuba.  Loved the visit.  It was my kiddo's, my 19 year old niece, my mom and myself in the car for the long haul.  It was so fun having my sisters kids and mine together....they play so well.   I have tons of pictures but can't share any of them.  My main computer is on the fritz and I have not had access to it for about a month.  My husband keeps "fixing" it but it still does not work.  I love that he keeps trying.  I think we need a new computer.  Anyway.  We visited my mom a week and a half ago and that was a blast.  Took the babies on an unexpected 6 mile bike ride...they did great.  I was proud of them for not giving up.  We took pictures in the blue bonnets on the way to there.  I love one of the pictures so much (again...I would share but......)  Easter was a blast.  We had a BIG eggstravaganza at the church and 1000's of eggs were hunted by 100's of kiddo's.  It was a fun morning.  They had games, crafts, shows, and of course the hunt.  We spent several hours there.  We had a little Easter egg hunt of our own here at the house too.  The kids have too much candy.  All in all we have been good.  Well....after spring break we all took turns at the doctor for about 3 days and spent over $600 to get all the proper meds to deal with the spring allergies.   It feels like the flu when you get hit hard.  We still have bills sneaking in the mail because of things our insurance won't pick up.  But the Lord never gives us more than we can handle. Check this out.  I was getting money saved to travel to my sisters and still be ok with the budget but then my mom ended up going and she paid gas and food for the whole bunch of us.  My sis picked up our hotel for two nights and my mom picked up the third night.   So when we arrived home with all of our sickness we did not even worry about the bills at the doc.  Anyway...I might be oversharing but we are just so blessed to be able to live like we do.  It seems no matter what we are always taken care of.  Ok...lets see...what am I missing here.   Let me see, I have kinda lost my mind lately too.   I can't remember what day it is most the time now.  I walk into a room and can't remember what I needed in the room.   Or I finish half of something and walk off and then can't remember what I was doing or why.  I have missed appointments, meetings, and all kinds of stuff in the past month.  I have never missed my mommy group at church and yep....you guessed it.  April snuck up on me and I just forgot we had a meeting.  I signed up for Vacation Bible School crafts this year and we had a meeting planned....totally forgot and missed it too.  April is hard LOL.  Toni is doing great in school.  I know her teacher loves her and she always does so good in class.  Her hand writing is pretty and getting better all the time.   Toni's teacher was gone for a few days and the class had a substitute teacher.  Well...Toni comes home with a thank you note from the sub saying how great she was and how much help Toni was during her few days there.   It seems everywhere my girl goes she is loved and appreciated.  She is such a wonderful little girl.  Ok...that's it for now.   Wish me luck on getting my computer back and my photoshop....and all my pictures to play with.   I need access to all my stuff.   Love to all my readers and sorry for not signing on for quite some time.