As a teacher, some family adventures are with your school family. Today I went with the 7th grade class to our state capitol building.
Missouri State Capitol, Jefferson City
Our state representative met us, and we sat in on the House meeting, visited the Secretary of State’s office, visited the Senate chambers, and went on the whispering gallery and dome tour. Our state representative also fed us lunch.
It’s a long way to the top!
We got a lot accomplished in the short time that we were there, and the seemingly endless staircases provided lots of steps toward my daily step goal.
It’s the one we’ve been waiting for. I’d originally planned to travel to a neighboring town for totality, but then I saw that we could view 99.7% totality from our own backyard.
12:39 p.m. taken through the eclipse glasses
We played outside through the duration, occasionally glancing up through the eclipse glasses.
1:55 p.m., 99.7% totality
The sky was darker than what it appeared in the pictures. First, it looked hazy, and then we were filled with a different kind of light. It was white, like the moonlight.
It wasn’t easy to get pictures, but it was awesome to see with our kids and our babygrands – a wonder that we’ll not soon forget.
It’s amazing what a week and a half can do in the world of seedling growing!
The plant babies are growing!
I still have a few lazy babies that are trying to gain strength to stand tall, as well as some spots that haven’t poked a seedling through at all – but as a rookie gardener, I’m very impressed with how well it’s been going so far!
If all these little guys thrive and survive, I’ll definitely have some plants to share, because there’s no way my square foot garden can hold this many!
It’s definitely exciting to watch them change and grow!
We like to float in March to celebrate our anniversary. The one thing about March is that you never know if you’re going to get warm weather or cold weather. We woke up to clouds and temperatures in the 50’s, but the wind was blowing, so it was a little chilly.
Ready for takeoff.
It was 10:30 a.m. by the time we launched from Pulltite. We had the river totally to ourselves – with the exception of the critters that live there. We floated to Round Spring, and it was a great float. The sun even decided to come out before we reached the journey’s end!
This year’s Carleigh gift for us and Z was passes to Silver Dollar City. Today we went for our first visit in quite a few years. Z had no idea that we had secretly arranged to meet up with his best friends from Kansas.
That moment when you “accidentally” run into your best friend after not seeing each other in person for nearly four years!
We had a lot of fun catching up with our old friends and riding lots of rides together. The Three “Z” Amigos were particularly fond of The Great American Plunge, and rode it multiple times.
We also got to ride the new and improved Fire in the Hole, which is now a much smoother ride.
I enjoyed the atmosphere and smells at SDC, and I sure have missed it after all these years! Of course we had to pick up some salt water taffy before we left.
The root beer taffy is my favorite!
I’m already looking forward to many more adventures there throughout the rest of the year!
I was thrilled this morning to wake up and discover that some of my seeds have begun sprouting!
Itty bitty baby seedlings!
I don’t typically ever start from seeds, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I’m guessing (hoping!) that there are different growing times, depending on the type of seed. There are definitely certain rows that aren’t showing anything at all.
I planted two rows of each seed and I put them in alphabetical order because I’m just weird like that. It helps me remember what is planted where.
Rows 1-2 are cucumbers. 3-4: hot peppers. 5-6: lettuce. 7-8: summer squash. 9-10: sweet peppers. 11-12: tomatoes.
After checking seed packets, there are some that take at least 10 days to emerge, so I’m excited to see what transpires throughout the coming week while we’re on Spring Break!
I’ve never been much of a gardener. One year, we decided to try square foot gardening. That first year went really well, but everything’s pretty much been a bust since then. Over the past quite a few years, I’ve grown a few plants in pots, but this year, I want to try gardening again – from the very beginning.
The seeds of choice…
I love salad and I’m hoping to “grow my own salad” this summer. I got the little seed starter greenhouse and went to work filling all of the little spots with soil. Hopefully by May, I’ll have some little plants!
Gracie decided to help. 🤣
A sunny March day was a beautiful day for planning and planting!
In late September, GiGi moved to Myrtle Beach. We knew that we wanted to visit her there, so about three weeks ago, we started planning a big surprise.
The first day of Christmas Break, we jumped into the car for a Mom and Z (and Bella!) road trip. It took literally all day and a good part of the night (thanks for nothing, Atlanta Bypass!) to get there, due to a road closure and rerouting and rain.
On the morning of day two, we pulled off the big surprise and stayed to visit with GiGi most of the day. During that time, it poured rain. No thunder, no lighting, but tons of wind and rain. There was even a tornado warning at one point.
In the late afternoon, the rain stopped long enough for me to get a couple of beach pictures. The water was choppy and the wind was beyond ridiculous!
Myrtle Beach after the storm.
We went to a couple of shops for souvenirs. Our plans for the boardwalk were put on hold and we “vegged” in our hotel the rest of the evening, because it started raining again.
Day three we woke up to sunshine and a beach walk. We walked from 20th all the way to 29th or 30th!
Myrtle Beach in the sunshine!
Of course, I had to take off my shoes and have my toes in the sand and water – even in December! Bella got her toes in the water too, and considering how much she hates baths, she wasn’t a fan of the tide, but otherwise loved exploring the beach.
Keep me where it’s dry, Mom!
We headed back to GiGi’s for another morning and afternoon of visiting, and then walked from our hotel to the beach for a sunset beach walk.
Pink skies make me happy… Pink skies on the beach… even better!
We then went to the boardwalk for a Christmas light walk. We could hear the ocean in the background as we walked through the lights and music. It was a lengthy walk through the lights that covered the distance of multiple beach blocks.
Winter Wonderland at the Beach.
We then headed back to grab GiGi to go through the two-mile drive through lights. They had areas with Disney characters, nativity, salute to America, as well as lights coordinated to music. One of my favorite parts was when Elsa “froze” the light tunnel we were driving through.
You got us, Elsa! 😁
Day four was the long drive home. We got to go the original way we planned through beautiful mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee. I would love to see those mountains in spring or fall sometime!
It’s that time of year again! We headed out with Jason and Juliet for our yearly fall float tradition. We watched the sun rise on the way there, and the fall colors didn’t disappoint.
Clear water, cool reflection.
The morning started out a little chilly, but for the first time on a fall float, we were actually removing layers before the trip ended.
We saw a deer, as well as some bald eagles along the river at our old standby, Pulltite to Round Spring.
Heading for the final stretch.
After kayaking in winter last year, I expect that this will be our last float of 2023… unless the elusive sticky snow happens to grace us before then. A sticky snow float is definitely on our kayaking bucket list!
Sometimes outdoor adventures can happen just outside your own front door.
This year I decided to try raising a cherry tomato plant in a pot, so we’d have lil’ tomatoes for our summer salads.
We were successful in getting a few tomatoes, but I still haven’t mastered the fine art of gardening.
And then the critters came…
Evil little brat!
This is one of the three critters who decided to take up residency on my cherry tomato plant. I was not at all impressed!
My brother feeds these things to his chickens. If I had chickens, the evil little brats would have met their fate. However, since I don’t have chickens, these guys will live to see another day. (And probably another tomato plant, because this one’s done for!)
Travel With the Fam 