We Didn't Go to the Zoo, But I Still Spent the Day with Wild Animals

So it's been a pretty big week in the Hale house.  Much of it involves starting or getting ready to start new schools.

Liam has been given his pre-school assignment for next year.  Unfortunately, there wasn't an option to be at the same school as Graeme so we chose a traditional calendar school less than a mile away so they will be on a similar schedule and I can get both of them to and from school without too much craziness (or so we hope).


Then, on Thursday, Graeme started kindergarten!!!!!  How my children got old enough to be doing things like starting his academic career is beyond me, but there it is.  Graeme is 5 going on 6 and excited to be at his new school.  With the staggered entry system they have for kindergarten, he only went on Thursday this week and then will start "full-time" next week.  

He had a really good first day but I think with it being really long and lots happening, he was very emotional at carpool pick up (he had left his hat in class-we parked and went back for it).  After an Oreo cookie and driving about 10 seconds he calmed down and told me he had fun.  We headed home for a break and Wizard of Oz (we read the book first before I finally let him see it earlier this week).  Then after dinner, we sat down together and did some homework.  I want to get him used to having it and I need to find what time works best for him to have a break but also not put it off too long (hopefully we will start good habits now).

The big plan was to wrap up this crazy week with a fun trip to the zoo on Friday.  Alas, this was not to be.  Temperature wise, it looked perfect, we have been unseasonably cool this whole week in the 70s and 80s. But while most days bring afternoon storms, today's forecast was heavy rain all day in Asheboro.  Time to come up with plan B.

After sleeping in and playing for a nice chunk of the morning.  The boys had one of their best play together mornings which was a really lovely start to my morning.  For Mike, a wonderful moment came when Graeme was being a doctor and telling him that he needed more bed-rest so he would feel better.  Mike fully agreed and stayed in bed for a bit longer while I got up to make him Doctor Graeme's recommended coffee medicine.

The weather held the threat of rain at any moment, but it was so nice and cool that I decided our adventure for today would be doing a couple of different outdoor parks until the rain actually fell.  Our first stop was near the house at Jones Park Playground.  The boys had much fun running around, getting their energy out.  Liam was quite the little monkey and took to climbing the rope ladder to a rope "web" up top and then having me help him get down to do it all over again.  Graeme was being a scarecrow (his favorite character from the Wizard of Oz) and checking out all the different areas.  

As it started to get a little more crowded, we moved on.  Our next outdoor park was the outdoor art at the NC Art Museum.  For Graeme, it was a walk down the yellow brick road to find the Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz.  For Liam, it was a nice place to bring his ball (he never threw it, just carried) and check out some fun outdoor art.

We did go inside for a bathroom break and a quick walk around some indoor art.  The boys really loved one exhibit that projected them onto a canvas and made them into art :-).  

We then headed over toward the Rodin outdoor garden and some more fun outdoor art.  Graeme thinks that one looks like a tornado so he took pictures of me "panicking" in front of it.  I love the Rodin sculptures and the lily pond, it is a favorite place for me at the art museum.  Sadly, Liam does not share my appreciation of the beauty of nature and art, he instead was drawn to the pebbles and rocks lining the lily pond and I had to keep him from tossing them into the water.  Needless to say, we didn't spend much time enjoying the day there before we needed to move on.

After finishing our outdoor art exploration, we headed over to the mall for some frozen yogurt and a couple of mall rides to finish out our adventures.  As we headed home, we drove right into the wild and crazy weather and so now we are home cleaning up from the crazy morning and trying not to drive one another completely nuts.