09/14/08- 09/20/08- Birthday Camping and Ornithology

Another short week, but for a much more pleasant reason. We celebrated two birthdays this week- mine and dd's. We always have family celebrations. For the kids, we alternate additional "friend parties" and birthday trips. This year was a trip year for dd and she chose to go camping.

It rained pretty much the whole time, and I swear our new tent has ultra amplification features. However, we managed to make dinner and s'mores (sp?) beforehand. Just sleeping outside seemed enough for dd...thankfully.

Ds attended the first class in a Junior Master Naturalist program offered by the Clemson Univ. Pickens County Extension Office. It was all about birds and was held at Table Rock SP, which is always a thoroughly enjoyable place to spend a day. The price is oh-so-right at $10 per class.

I peeked at the literature in the notebook he received while the class went on a mini-hike. Lots of text. I wondered if ds would actually read it. On the way home, I heard him gasp. I broke hard and pulled over, thinking the worst. When I turned around, he yelled, "Mama, DDT is HORRIBLE!"

Otherwise, ds completed a couple of math lessons and spent many hours making stop motion flicks on his computer with clay figures. Dd completed a logic lesson. As her recital is next week, she practiced violin a bunch. We attended park day and gymnastics lessons. Free reading reigned.