City Slickers...

After we stomped around on the mountain for a few hours, we went over to Barnyard Friends for a trail ride...and a stop at the petting zoo. It was obvious to anyone with a lick of sense that we were city folk...and I'm sure they weren't impressed! The kids were in awe of the sheer volume of poop the horses could produce and we all listened a bit too intently to the directions on how to "steer" the horse. Russ swears his horse let out an audible groan when he saw his rider! It seemed a bit unnatural to let the kids ride alone considering they were no more experienced than we were...then again, they handled it very maturely. They're apparently not old enough to realize the ramifications of a horse getting spooked! Oh to be young and fearless!

After the trail ride, we headed back to the barn so the boys could feed the animals in the petting zoo. Anyone that knows me AT ALL, knows that animals harboring mites and exposing their salivating tongues will send me into a tailspin...major heebie geebies! Once again, I am being tried as the mother of boys who LOVE animals and equally love feeding them out of their bare hands. By the end of the day, Alex was referring to himself as the goat whisperer. Truth be told, those goats did seem to possess a bizarre affinity for him. Carter spread his love equally amongst the pigs, goats and cows. I simply hid behind the camera and used massive amounts of germ-ex!

Spring Break

The boys spent the first half of their spring break with Mimi and Papa (Sunday-Wednesday). They went to Jonesboro and stayed in a hotel with an indoor pool...this could have been the extent of their trip and they would have been thrilled. They also played putt-putt, went to the movies, went to Chuck E. Cheese, went to the park, played "real" golf and basketball and apparently managed to cram in a few hours of sleep. This made our fun-filled Thursday on Petit Jean Mountain pale a bit in comparison, but we enjoyed it nonetheless!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day. We met the fabulous Dale family for a picnic at Camp Mitchell. I worked there for two summers during college so it was a neat experience to see my kids exploring my old stomping grounds. We also went down to the grave site where the boys played hide and seek in the crevices of the boulders...I tried to look the other way. There is something very unnatural about saying, "Watch where you're stepping or you'll fall off the cliff!

Fashion Conscious...

You might feel like you are sensing a trend with my posts...a Star Wars trend. You would be absolutely right. Despite my best efforts to use the force to detox Carter, my powers are useless against the dark side. It doesn't help that his father is equally enamored. It also doesn't help that his grandparents have saved ALL of Russ' Star Wars toys from the 70's and 80's (ok...I'll admit it is kind of cool to see the "antiques"). Most visits to Grandmommy and Grandaddy's result in a relic making it back to our house. On a recent visit, Carter hit the motherload when he got a Darth Vader carrying case full of Russ' old action figures. They spent HOURS matching them to Carter's new figures. I had no idea Carter was so interested in fashion! He noticed the changes in Luke's belts and the fact that Luke apparently opted to go back to his natural hair color. The platinum look just washed out his features! And the fur on Han's hood was so unrealistic in the 70's. PETA apparently got involved and Han had to accept a lovely faux fur that just flows better! And don't get him started on the Storm Troopers boots...

Back in the Saddle...

We skipped fall soccer this year (for the first time in 7 years!) so Alex could try his hand at Wildcat football. He wanted to play spring soccer so he could decide which he liked best and make "an informed decision" for fall 2011. That's my smart boy! Truth be told, I think he likes the idea of football, but the reality of soccer. He seemed really excited to be back in the saddle again this season. He has been gunning for the goalie position since starting practice. He LOVES the pressure of this position. He finally got his chance in the second game. He played half the game in the field and the other half as goalie...and he did AWESOME! So proud of him!

All decked out in his goalie gear!

Dribbling up the field...

Punting the ball back down the field after blocking a goal.

Disturbing?

Apparently, tithing was the topic of discussion in Sunday school. The kids were each given a little cardboard tithe box to decorate. I'm assuming the teacher was not very specific on the appropriate ways to decorate said box. When is the last time you saw Yoda on a steeple? Or Jedi guarding the side of the church? I feel like I should send him to church with a disclaimer: Honest, we are good parents! We are trying REALLY HARD!

Corruption...

We decided the boys were officially old enough to watch those ponies run at Oaklawn...and maybe gamble a little bit. Judge if you must, but it was a heck of a fun day! We met the Dale fam for a day of beautiful weather at the track. We allowed the boys to place a $2 bet on each race. After they won, they had to decide if they wanted to use "their own money" to bet again or if they wanted to quit. Alex poured over the odds with Russ and he lost far more than he won. I think he came home with a grand total of $2 in his pocket. Carter just wanted me to read him the names before every race. He would pick the horse that sounded the best (this is his momma's method as well!) and roll with it. By the fourth race, he was up $10 and decided to quit. That will buy an action figure so he was good for the day! We ended the day with ice cream at Scoops...homemade cake batter ice cream...mmmm, mmmm!

The three amigos: Carter, Jordan and Alex

Me and Suzy Q. I suspect those shades will date us someday!

Soccer Season

Soccer season got off to a rough start this Saturday. It was cold and rainy...did I mention it was cold? Alex's game was actually canceled due to the weather, but for whatever reason, the Maumelle fields were open for business. There was a lot of mud slinging and sliding mixed with a fair amount of whining (from the adults!). I hope to have much better pictures to post later in the season, but I couldn't let Carter's first game go without a bit of fanfare. My baby scored two goals and did an awesome job at goalie. He has no fear when it comes to charging the other team! The refs said the game was a tie, but Carter says he knows "they really won."

Carter and Davis fighting for the ball.
Carter on the sidelines with his buddies Parker and Owen.

Defending the goal...I love this shot!

Back in my day...

The boys both had projects due at school this week. We (please note that this was not a solo effort on the boys' part) worked on them over the weekend. Once again, Russ and I found ourselves saying, "We didn't do this when were in first grade...or fifth grade!" I think it's a sign that we are getting old. We actually did reports with real encyclopedias and cut pictures out of magazines. Foreign concepts to our kids! While I definitely give the boys props for their original ideas, I'd like to give a big shout out to "Team Galbraith" for the end result.

Alex had to do a model of an animal cell using any medium. We initially had high aspirations of making a gelatinous creation encased in some type of saran wrap, but reality soon set in. Alex realized that it was going to require a bit more time and effort and the neighborhood kids were having a nerf gun fight...the outdoors were calling. Model magic to the rescue! The makers of this stuff were genius. Seriously, I love to swirl the colors!

Carter was supposed to make a poster of a famous American. The person was left up to him...can you guess who it was? He initially wanted to do Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader. We had a lengthy discussion about the fact that THEY AREN'T REAL! I also don't believe they were American, but that is beside the point. After we got our facts straight, he opted to go with George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars. It's the closest he's ever come to actually being excited about a school project. We'll take our breaks where we can get them!

The stars on this poster were actually battery powered and would flash when you flipped the switch. I'm pretty sure they didn't have those "back in my day"...I'm pretty sure our flashing stars were made of glitter!