Thursday, August 17, 2006

So, I thought I'd post some pics featuring some of the fun that we've been having here at the Button house.

The first is Chloe on her first day of school. She was so excited and she seemed surprised that it was fun. We've learned two poems so far and the letter I i. A Beka does extreme review and she's a bit bored with that now so I'm sure I'll learn how much review she actually needs but its going well and we're excited. I'm a bit overwhelmed but I'm sure I'll get over it.

The next photo is of Halle and Chloe helping me make cornbread. I use the term "helping" lightly since Halle was sticking the measuring cup in the mix and trying to eat it and Chloe kept taking "pinches" of dry mix to eat. It was fun though and Halle got to wear Chloe's apron.

And last but not least this is what Chloe was wearing when she got up this morning. I don't think the photo actually captures the craziness of her hair but it was very cute. She let me know that her name is "pinky" and she's Chloe's sister. What an imagination! Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

More aquarium pics along with scrapbooking with Grandma and a pic with Blackeyed Susans.


 Posted by Picasa

More Aquarium Pics

So sweet! The only other person that can put Halle to sleep by holding her is my Mom, Halle is very finicky like that. The others are Grandma, the otter exhibit (which I loved) and Chloe and me inside-sort of- a fish exhibit on the seahorse level of the aquarium.


 Posted by Picasa

Monday, August 07, 2006

The Tennessee Aquarium

These pics are from our trip to the Tennessee Aquarium. I'll post more pics later- I would do a bunch at once but Picasa will only post 4 to a blog (in my experience at least) and I can't get Hello to work. It's probably best like this anyway so you don't suffer from picture overexposure. If I see too many I start just scanning them- I'm sure you're not like that.
So the first pic is of Amanda and Chloe outside the aquarium. I wasn't expecting the fountain and "river" but it was very cool- and hard to keep Halle out of. I let she and Chloe play in it while waiting for Travis to buy tickets but then she wanted to dive in and I hadn't brought towels and wasn't ready to let them get their new outfits soaked. Yes, they were wearing new outfits because Grandma and Grandpa were coming.

We went to the aquarium on a Saturday and I don't think I would do that again. We were meeting Trav's parents there but arrived a couple of hours before they did. We hadn't purchased tickets beforehand so Trav had to wait in line for about 35 minutes. Then we headed to the freshwater side of the aquarium figuring the saltwater side would be much better. We were instructed to go down a level first and then head to the 4th floor and make our way back down. So we headed down to the seahorse exhibit and it was miserable. There were so many people that you had to wait in line for every exhibit. The girls were tired and hungry and so we decided to head down the street and grab something to eat.

We'd never been to Chattanooga before and instantly fell in love with its charm and with the amount of things to do. We didn't have time to explore though and settled on The Mellow Mushroom for some pizza. We had to wait quite a while for our pizza but it worked out great because Doug, Joyce, and "auntie 'Lyss" found us just as we were finishing up our meal. Everybody was excited to see everyone else and I'm sure we were the loudest bunch in the restaurant so we tried to catch up as we headed back to the aquarium.

Thankfully the lines and crowds had dissipated while we were gone so we headed back down to the seahorse exhibit and were able to enjoy things much more this time around. Of course we were trying to take in the whole aquarium- which I was thoroughly impressed with- while trying to reconnect with the Grandparents/Parents/Sister/Aunt. Halle of course didn't remember Grandma and Grandpa and was standoffish as usual. But Grandpa in his great wisdom remedied that by grabbing Halle and throwing her in the air two or three times. Seriously, she was hooked and I was shocked- I didn't expect her to react well to that, but she did and I was very thankful. She was Grandpa's girl after that and Chloe was Grandma's girl so the aquarium experience was much more fun for Travis and me. We actually got to look at exhibits and walk while holding each others hands instead of the little ones.

The aquarium website says that you should expect it to take 2 hours to see it all but it took us every bit of 4 hours and we could have probably spent another 2 hours to really take it all in. I'm sure it was the size of our group but we had a great time. I'd definitely love to go again but I'd like to stay 2 or 3 days and actually take in all Chattanooga has to offer. Maybe next summer.... Posted by Picasa

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Star Cars Museum

These are pics from our trip to Star Cars Museum in Gatlinburg. I swear I'm a total dork, but when Travis and I saw this on our honeymoon I begged to go inside. They had K.I.T.T. from Night Rider and Herbie the Love Bug outside and you could see the car from the Beverly Hillbillies and from the Flinstones movie inside so I was totally hooked. Amanda has wanted to go since then and this is the first time we've taken her. Since she's a huge movie buff she was soooo excited.

I was a little disappointed because the last time we went it was larger and had more cars. Madonna's car from Dick Tracy was missing as was the Monkey's limousine- very big bummers. But the truck from Twister was a nice addition as was the Beach Boys mustang that Travis and I are in front of. I got Chloe's picture in front of a squad car from the Andy Griffith Show- so cute! But the biggest thing was that Amanda not only got to see one of the SUVs from Jurassic Park she actually got to get inside and have her picture taken! I should add that she watches that movie EVERY SINGLE TIME IT'S ON TV! It's actually kind of annoying- but anyway- for a small fee you can get inside the car of your choice and have your picture taken. It was Trav's idea and she was so excited. She actually had to climb through the window because it was so beat up but she totally loved it. Travis didn't take a picture of that and I'm not sure why, maybe he wasn't allowed so I don't have a copy of that picture to share but it was very cool.

I think I will share vacation stuff in small bites so that it's easier to digest. Posted by Picasa

Friday, August 04, 2006

OK, I haven't posted in about a month and I have much to catch up on. I'm not going to take the time to do that right now because I have a lot of other things to do. I will however make a small announcement...I have finally heard from the Lord on the school issue with Chloe. I'm going to be homeschooling her this year. I just placed the order with A Beka Books for the complete teacher and student set along with the lesson plans! I'm excited and nervous but I know I'm doing the right thing.

I have much more to catch up on- a trip to the Tennessee Aquarium, a visit from Trav's parents, a small vacation in Gatlinburg, and tons of pictures but that will have to wait. I'm going to the gym now, have a great day!