Catching Snakes......and Other Summer Fun

Yes, I caught the snake you see in the net. I chased it through a muddy creek and it swam right in to my net. Why? Because Jonathan and I were at our Park District's "Every Other Thursday Science" program. This week's program was "Critters in the Creek". The kids were given nets and we waded into the creek to see what we could catch. Don't worry, no animals were harmed and all were set free at the end of the program. It was so much fun! Except for the snake.

Other fun things we have done so far this summer includes a pirate cruise aboard Cincinnati's BB Riverboats. I purchased a season pass from Groupon for a great price. We can go on four various cruises as often as we like, which will be frequently!

The cruise included face painting, tattoos, walking the plank, and swabbing the deck. Jonathan has also successfully tested at Taekwondo and is now a green belt (with a shiny stripe!).

In two days, we will be celebrating Jonathan's 6th birthday, so I have been working on things such as as this:

And this:

And how is your summer going so far?

It's That Time Of Year Again!

Someone around here is going to be six soon! A week from Saturday and it is party time! Last year at this time, I was busy preparing for a science party. This year, it will be at his taekwondo academy, the first time I haven't had his party here at home. It will be fun, but I can't do as much in the way of decorations as I would like.  However, I will pay attention to details where I can, and today I have been hard at work making "Hai Ya!" straw flags, More details to follow....

A Lovely Surprise

Beautiful from any angle, this gorgeous arrangement of roses and sweet peas arrived on my 56th birthday a few days ago. My sweet niece Michelle made me feel very special.

First Taekwondo Tournament

Waiting for his turn to compete

Being awarded 2nd place for Form

With his trophies

Jonathan attended his first taekwondo tournament last Saturday. This was just a small one sponsored by his school, the Minion Showdown. He was very excited to be awarded the 2nd place trophy for Form and 3rd place for Sparring. He really loves his taekwondo classes and is progressing well. He will be testing for his green belt in about two weeks.
When he started taekwondo last fall, I knew very little about any of the martial arts. Jonathan had wanted to do karate for a long time, and I kept resisting. We won classes at his school's Fall Festival, and when the free period was over, Jonathan continued classes. I have learned quite a bit about what is involved and it is very different from my preconceived idea of martial arts. I have come to see the benefits of the sport: self-discipline, respect, focus and pride in your accomplishments.

Kindergarten Field Trip

Last Friday, Jonathan's class had a field trip to the Newport Aquarium. I went as a chaperone and had Jonathan and two other kids to look after. It was fun! the kids really seemed to enjoy themselves.
The aquarium has a penguin parade outside the entrance every morning and we were there in time to see it. A penguin entertained us as we awaited the arrival of the real ones.

We had lots of time to see the animals and learn about them. The jellyfish are always popular. This exhibit has a tank with different color lights, pushing a button makes the jellyfish appear to change color.

The penguins, "Mighty Mike" the oversized alligator (or crocodile??) and of course, the sharks, were favorite exhibits. The shark petting tank was the ultimate adventure for some and for others, not so much. They also had time to play in the interactive Frog Bog and the Penguin Playland.

As we were waiting to board the bus at the end of our aquarium time, we were entertained with an impromptu magic show. One of the parents is a professional magician, so he had a few tricks up his sleeve that the kids loved!

Next we went to a park near school for our packed lunches and playground time. It was a special day for the children (and for us parents, too!).

Down On The Farm

I think I should change to title of my blog to "The Library Blog"! Once again, we had a fun party provided by our library. This one was on Earth Day and featured a Down On The Farm theme.

As I have come to expect, Miss Janet did not disappoint! The decorations and details were wonderful.

The orchard (fruit), the garden (veggies) and cow pies (chocolate cakes).

Haystacks (pretzel sticks)

Pitchforks and hankies

View of the table, love the fresh flowers!

The window ledge was filled with pots of geraniums, old watering cans and galvanized buckets

Drink bottles with "MOO" straw flags, filled with milk at snack time, and barn shaped take home boxes

While I was admiring the decorations, the kids were having so much fun doing farm themed activities.

Hay rides!

A real saddle to play on

Playing horseshoes

May I say one more time: We love our library and appreciate its talented, hard-working staff!

Let's Play Some Baseball!

Tonight was Jonathan's first coach pitch baseball game of the season. He has lots to learn about the game, but the learning is fun!

Springtime + boys = baseball!