We have had a fun week at the Batchelor Pad. I loved that Easter was the same week as Spring Break.
We started the week by going for a walk in Harbison State Forest. We lived across the street from the forest for six years and never walked the trails. I have no idea why. It was a perfect day for a walk with temperatures in the low 70's.
Jalen wore his Spiderman glove and assured he was prepared to fight off any bears we might encounter.
Guess what Jalen's doing.
Jalen and I left our water in the car, which wasn't a very good idea.
Afterwards, we headed to Pelican's for snow cones and ping pong. Pelicans is becoming our favorite place.
On Tuesday, we met our friends the Locklears for some bike riding in the park. I didn't get many pictures, but it was a lot of fun.
Wednesday we headed to Rock Hill. We did this last year and it was a big hit so we decided to do it again. By going to Rock Hill and staying in a hotel, David doesn't have to drive back and forth that day and the kids get to sleep in a hotel and swim - two favorites. There is only one hotel in Rock Hill with an indoor pool so that's where we stay -
Comfort Suites. It's a nice little hotel.
We were too early to check in to our hotel so we went into Charlotte to
Discovery Place. What a great place! (And because we're on food stamps, we got in for $1 and the IMAX was only $5.)
Walking through the rain forest.
Being elevated by air.
Visiting the Eiffel Tower and the Pyramids in Mexico. (Built out of blocks.)
Building our own structures.
Cool ceiling.
Bed of nails.
Pulling themselves up.
Loved the snake, but the handler was a little creepy.
The frog dissection was gross.
Making amazing creations.
Jalen started out making a robot, but then decided to make it a jet pack. It was pretty cool.
It was a great way to spend the day. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at IKEA to get a dresser for Jalen. He desperately needed one because the drawers in his current dresser kept falling out and I was afraid he was going to hurt himself. We got a good deal on a floor model.
By the time we got back to the hotel, we were able to check in and start swimming. We especially liked the hot tub!
Jalen: "Baylie, look at my six pack!"
Baylie: "Those are called ribs, Jalen."
Thursday, we headed to
Lazy 5 Ranch. It had come recommended, but we didn't really know what to expect. Jalen loved the "pirate" playground.
It had been recommended that we pay the $5 extra to ride in a wagon instead of drive our car through the park. That was a good recommendation. I think I would have been a little nervous with these guys sticking their heads through our windows.
We rode in the wagons pulled by draft horses.
We rode on benches on the sides of the wagon. I was in the very back.
When we had first started, the driver went over a stump and I flew off the bench and landed flat on my backside on the bottom of the wagon. It must have looked hilarious. I was glad it was me and not one of the kids because I think they would have flown completely out of the wagon. As it was, I was left with a pretty nasty scrape and bruise where my back slid down the bench.
We saw all kinds of animals on our ride. There was Scotch cattle. (I loved these when we were in Scotland and was excited to see them again.)
We were given buckets on the ride so we could feed the animals and they would come right up to the wagon for food.
I think the Watusi were my favorite. Their horns were so impressive. We weren't allowed to feed them or the zebras.
Bighorn sheep?
They have three types of large flightless birds: ostriches, emus and rhea.
Water buffalo
Pot bellied pigs - so cute - I want one.
Giraffes. This was actually my least favorite art. I thought their enclosure seemed small and barren. The rest of the animals are able to roam free.
Indian brahman bulls.
Buffalo.
I saw this really interesting cow that I had never seen before. Then I learned it was a Tibetan yak! It was smaller than I expected.
White reindeer?
Jalen was pretty afraid to feed the animals most of the time, but he got brave enough at the end to feed these.
When I got bumped off the bench, a bunch of our food fell onto the floor. Several animals decided to go for the easy snack right under my feet.
Peacocks.
Feeding the sheep.
Little goats.
Lemurs.
We finished the day with ice cream and then headed back to Winthrop to pick up David and head home.
We had planned another activity for Friday, but decided we were too tired so we just stayed home and decorated eggs.
We tried something new this year and used rice and food coloring to make speckled eggs. It worked out pretty well. (Although I learned that less rice is better.)
David is always very particular about his eggs and is always the last one finished decorating.
But the finished product is usually pretty awesome (although the front two here are mine).
In the past, we've decorated a dozen each, but this year we toned it down a bit and David and I shared a dozen.
Candy.
Our Easter baskets were simple this year.
Only the plastic eggs got left out by the Easter bunny. There were a lot of them, but Jalen was disappointed that his decorated eggs didn't get hidden.
Baylie got up at about 5 a.m. and we made her wait until 6 to hunt. It was like Christmas.
The moon was still out!
David and I didn't get baskets, but we got this awesome giant egg filled with yummy chocolate and caramel balls. The chocolate reminded me of that we bought in Belgium.
Decorating lips with malted eggs.
Eating the chocolate bunny.
Wearing their best for Easter Sunday.
Easter dinner.
It has been a perfectly lovely week and it will be hard to get back to reality tomorrow, but it will be good to be on a schedule and start eating healthy again.
