Last Day

Ok, so there are a lot of bad pictures from the front-facing camera on my phone, but I tried to let the kids take pictures with the good one, and let's just say their photography skills leave something to be desired. Or perhaps it's a new form of artistic design. :-)

The last day of school was a lot of fun, but sad for me. I miss them a lot, and am going to be really sad if I can't go back there in the fall. I'm looking forward to seeing them grow up!

Splash

There's a splash park across the street from the school, so on one of the last days the kids got to go play. They did their best to splash, spray, and soak me with hugs, and had a blast doing it.

Have I mentioned lately that I love them??

My Loves

Random pictures of the people who get me through some of my roughest days. And who cause some of my roughest days, too. But their hugs make everything seem right with the world. I love them like crazy. I don't know how anyone couldn't feel the same way after seeing their adorable faces!

Tanganyika

All year, the kindergartners worked really hard to collect aluminum cans. Then they (well, one of the parents) took them to the recycling place to make money for their spring field trip. They raised over $600!! Their reward? A trip to Tanganyika! I'd never been, and I'm so glad I got the chance to go--for free made it even better!

The penguins were really cute, and so close! You literally could have reached over the wall and touched them (I didn't, of course. That would be a bad example for the kids. Or maybe I just couldn't find a moment when they weren't looking!).

The lemurs were, by far, my favorite thing. We got to go in with them, and they crawled all over us. So cute and soft!

My other favorite thing was the birds. I don't remember what they were called, but they were really neat. You walked into the enclosure with them, held out a cup of nectar, and they landed on you to eat.

Tanganyika was a totally unique experience. I've always enjoyed the zoo, but being able to interact with the animals was even more fun! I definitely recommend it as something to try at least once.

Memphis, cont.

First stop Saturday night was at Kristin's uncle-cousin's for a wine-tasting they were hosting. Their home was absolutlely gorgeous, and they were amazing hosts!

In her defense, one of those is Sammie's. Kristin likes her wine, but not -that- much!

Next stop--a final night on Beale!

Easter morning we got up bright and early, packed up the cars, and headed to church. We went to the service at Full Gospel Tabernacle. None of us had been to a Pentecostal church before, and it was definitely an experience to remember! I really enjoyed the music, but it was late enough in the day that we had to leave before the service was over in order to get home at a decent time.

All-in-all, it was a great weekend, and I hope we can do it again soon!!

More of Memphis

 We slept in Saturday morning, then took the advice of the hotel clerk on a place for lunch. So glad we did! Let me just say: Memphis barbecue is famous for a reason! Hole-in-the-wall, Mom-and-Pop places are the best.

We spent the afternoon at an amazing Underground Railroad Museum. It was in a house that actually operated as part of the Railroad. 

We saw quilts with codes sewn into the patterns, artifacts from the era, and the crawlspace where runaways hid. It was less than a foot high, so the people literally had to crawl to get through, and had to stay that way for hours. Possibly days. Really eye-opening experience!

Friday Night in Memphis

K gearing up for the night ahead. She's got her game face on now, folks!

One of the nice musicians we met, John. He, along with pretty much everyone else we saw, told us more than once to "Be safe." Disconcerting? Perhaps.

First night on Beale. Love this picture!

Two of the other musicians we met. Pimp Daddy was definitely an interesting character. But how much can you expect from someone you meet in a [well-lit, definitely occupied] alley?