North Carolina Zoo

Ever since we moved to the Tarheel State, Tim has wanted to check the NC Zoo off his "Cool Things to Do in North Carolina" list.  So with spring knocking on the door, yesterday seemed like the perfect day for a Friday Field Trip to Asheboro.  

GO HERD!!!

My favorite animal that we saw yesterday was the bison.  The zoo's bounty of bovine brought back fond memories of my alma mater, Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, home of the Thundering Herd.  I'm the Class of '97. I'm not entirely sure, but while I was standing there having my picture taken, I thought I heard those big guys behind me whispering...

 We are...Marshall

The kids were impressed with these life-like alligator statues.  Until they moved!  These alligators were so light in color and so still that we thought they were just concrete.  Boy, were we shocked when one of them started wiggling and crawling!

A neat illustration of how God protects and provides for His Creation is the picture below.  Look at how the alligator sunning itself on the right looks almost identical to the fallen tree on the left.  That alligator's predators probably couldn't even tell the difference.  Pretty cool, huh?

The kids and I also enjoyed finding a playful otter, because the four of us are currently reading together The Willows in Winter by William Horwood (sequel to the classic The Wind in the Willows by Kennethe Grahame).  We now have a better idea of what the characters Otter and Portly look like...

But no trip to the zoo with Tim Barnette would be complete without a jaunt through the snake exhibits.  This exhibit caught his eye.  It's a rattle snake warming itself with a copperhead: the top and bottom are the Eastern Diamondback, and the middle is a Northern Copperhead.  We jokingly referred to it as a "copperhead sandwich,"  or more coloquially, "Kara's worst nightmare when she hikes."

And just for fun, I snapped this picture which housed some information about reptile myths, because my mother will never stop believing that sprinkling moth balls around your house repels snakes.   Sorry, Mom.  The zoo doesn't think it works.  But it helps you sleep better at night... :D

 The funniest story of our time at the zoo came from our visit to the polar bear.  The zoologist on site was answering questions, so I asked what the polar bear thought of the hot summer weather in Asheboro.  The zoologist said that the bear actually hates the cold weather.  A few weeks ago when Asheboro got 4" of snow, the polar bear went into her house and wouldn't come-out.  That's funny!

 (We took a little break mid-day to play-off some energy...)

 Enjoyed walking through the desert exhibits.

 The lion was cute, but the lion's sign was cuter. 

Our family spent years visiting the Cincinnati Zoo, which is a beautiful, well-funded zoo.  And I must admit that I am missing the flowers and bulbs that the Cincy Zoo always displays in the spring.  However, the Cincy Zoo is an inner-city zoo, so it is cramped for space.  In Asheboro, by contrast, they have plenty of acreage. The land animals in the NC Zoo - such as the elephant to the right - have as much area to roam as those in Animal Kingdom at Disney did, and the NC Zoo uses the exact same electric border system.  Way to go, North Carolina!

The most photogenic species of the day was Miss (or Mr. - I'm not sure) Ostrich.  I'm pretty sure she was posing for the camera.  I think she was working the "green carpet."

And kudos to the NC Zoo for offering so many great photo-ops.  Just perfect for a family-loving, blog-posting Mom like me...

Look Ma...No Hair!

Poor Anna was born with the unfortunate condition of being "tender-headed" (as we always called it when I was growing-up in West Virginia).  She puts-on a brave face, but sometimes the tears just start coming when tangles have to be worked out and hair has to be fixed.  It breaks my heart!  So she and I decided that today - the first day of spring - was the day to chop it off and make life a little happier...for more than just ourselves.

I asked Anna at the last minute, 

"Are you SURE you want to do this???"

"Yep!" she assured me.

  The girl at the haircut store pulled Anna's hair into a pony tail and measured (to make sure the ponytail was long enough...)

And just like that...10" of hair was gone!

   Then it was just a matter of trimming, blow-drying...

Styling...

 And Anna Jean was a whole new girl!

Before and After: 

So, what's the funnest thing about cutting-off almost a foot of your hair?  

Not telling Daddy you're going to do it, and surprising him when he gets home from work!

As for that big ponytail...well, it still has plenty of life left.  It's in an envelope on its way to Locks of Love, an organization that uses donated hair of at least 10" to create wigs for children who have lost their hair due to medical conditions such as cancer.  We are prayerful that somewhere out there a little boy or girl will be blessed by Anna's gift, and will run and play and smile with a new head of pretty brown hair.

www.locksoflove.org

Spelling and Voting and Bowling...Oh My!

 It's month seven of our year of homeschooling and we're pumping right along!  The kids recently competed in the C.H.A.R.M. (Christian Homeschool Association of Rocky Mount) Spelling Bee.  I was quite impressed with the all the great C.H.A.R.M. spellers who participated.

Anna (middle) competed with the 1st and 2nd graders.

John (blue shirt) competed in the 2nd and 3rd grade division.

Christopher  (far right) competed with the 5th and 6th graders. 

Lessons continue each day in our core subjects. Below, Anna is learning about weights and measurements using a little help from Mommy's pantry.

And each month, the four of us do a unit study on a topic of the kids' choosing.  In our recent month-long study on U.S. Presidents, I decided to run an election between the boys for the distinguished position of "President of the Rec Room."  During the month, the boys learned how campaigns work and tactics politicians use, even including smear-campaigns and bribery.  (I shan't detail if either of my boys used those techniques in his run for office, but I will reveal that one little girl was promised that her brother would play Barbies with her for the month if he could count on her vote...)  The salary for being President of the Rec Room includes being given his video game time first each day, and its responsibilities include keeping the room clean and coming-up with new ideas for its organization.  But beware! The House (Mommy) and the Senate (Dad) do have the right to impeach if the Rec Room is not administrated properly.  The boys will learn what an incumbent is at the beginning of April, when we hold a re-election.

 Above, our ballot.  Below, our shoebox...I mean ballot box.

Each boy had to make a campaign poster, give a speech, and participate in a debate.  Christopher, our details-oriented child, chose to make his poster show him in the exact same outfit that he would be wearing on election day.  He also came-up with his own hand gesture, which he genuinely believes is original with him.  Hhhmm.  Is it just me, or does that look familiar???

 John sported his suit and tie on election day, and he created a rather clever logo for his campaign (not pictured) that looks like stairs - because the Rec Room is upstairs.  He then proceeded to give the longest, most passionate stump speech I think I've ever heard a politician give.  It saddens me that the length of the speech made the file too long to post to this blog.  It's a doozy.

 And the winner was...

CHRISTOPHER!!!

(FYI: Christopher enjoys it when you hum "Hail to the Chief" to him when he walks in the room.)  Thankfully, at the end of the election both boys made-up with a nice handshake and remain friends.   

 And for Phys Ed one day, we headed to the Rocky Mount Bowling Center and showed-off our crazy bowling skills.  

Ok.  I'll be honest.  The Barnettes don't have crazy bowling skills.
But we do have fun.  :D