First Trip to the Theater

We went to the theater yesterday afternoon to experience some of Eric Carle's classic stories live on stage!  Mermaid Theater of Nova Scotia brought blacklight puppet versions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear Brown Bear, and Papa Please Get the Moon For Me to the Walton Arts Center.  The first two stories are some of Luci's favorite books...we read them ALL THE TIME!  In fact Luci was narrating the show to me before the puppets would act it out.  She had a blast.

I apologize for the quality of the pictures ahead of time.  We were in a dark theater balcony and all I had was my phone but I couldn't not document Luci's first live show!!!  So bear with me and here we go...!

Before the show...she was so excited!

Puppeteers showing the audience how the caterpillar eats the fruit.

Luci is transfixed!

The Brown Bear puppet

Luci at home after the show...she passed out on the way home!  Too much fun!!!

Harvest Time

Today was Luci's Harvest Feast at school!  This is always such a fun time!

This year her class was responsible for making the pumpkin pie.  They made several at school Monday but didn't quite get enough made for every class in the school so Luci and I made one at home Monday evening for her to take to school this morning.

She was very excited that I would be joining her for lunch.  When I arrived each child was dressed as either a pilgrim or a Native American...Luci, appropriately, was dressed as a (WILD) Native American!

So excited to have Momma join her at school!

Everything tasted so good!

Happy Harvest Time to one and all!

My wild child appropriately dressed!

Showing her serious side...kind-of...if she can keep from laughing!  

Happy Halloween!

"I be a bullafly!"  Luci has been talking about dressing up as a butterfly for weeks and the night finally arrived!  She was so excited and couldn't wait to visit everyone in her costume!

We only visited family to trick or treat this year, but she didn't know the difference and she truly enjoyed being the center of attention...as always!

Enjoy the pictures!

Thinking since she has wings, she can fly...

I landed it!

"Trick or Treat...Smell my feet...Give me something good to eat!"

Trick or Treat, Pops!

Pretty proud of her loot!

 

 

 

 

Taking a break to swing.

Trick or Treat, Grandpa and Grandma!

Notice her mad sorting skills!!! (And yes, she has developed an aversion to pants.)

Pumpkin Patch Outing

This past weekend we visited a Corn Maze/Pumpkin Patch/Petting Zoo Extravaganza!  The weather was beautiful...blue sky, sunshine, gentle breeze, etc...

We started out at the petting zoo.  Luci got braver as the time went on but at first she would take my hand and make me pet the goats and sheep or make me take her hand to feed the goats hay.  She eventually got to where she would do it herself as long as I was right there with her.  Where did this timid girl come from???

Momma, you do it!

Now I'll do it, but you hold my hand!

Then we went to the corn maze.  Luci had fun telling us which path to take.  We completely disregarded the map, but who needs a map anyway?  She lost interest pretty quick since a field of corn is just that...a field of corn.

Then we headed for the "cow train".  Cow train translates to "torture ride for adults".  The train was made up of several plastic drums with people size holes cut in them; wooden cow heads and wheels attached; hooked together and pulled by a small tractor.  Luci liked it and I was happy when the bumpy ride was over!

 

Waving to no one in particular...watching the tractor that is pulling us!

We ended the outing with a visit to the pumpkin patch where Luci picked out a Luci-sized pumpkin.  It's not really fall until you head to the pumpkin patch!  Check...done!

Got my pumpkin!

Trip to Woolum and The Narrows

We visited a very special place on the Buffalo River this past weekend, Woolum and the Narrows.  It was a first visit for all of us except Jason and he had only accessed this point by boat, never by vehicle.  We did have to access this point by truck because the water levels are too low to float there.  We drove to Woolum, which is a mid-point on the Buffalo, and then did a bit of light rock climbing to reach the location known as the Narrows. 

Isn't that a gorgeous view???!!!

 The Narrows is a rock bluff that overlooks the River on one side and the fields next to Richland Creek on the other.  It is beautiful and VERY narrow...as the name implies.  We were safe, no matter what the pictures look like.  However, Jason commented as we left the area that Luci is probably one of a very few 3 year olds to have set in that spot.

Luci and Jason enjoying the view

My curious girl wants to look over the edge...Notice that Grandma has a tight hold on Luci!

Chuseok and a new hanbok

We received the most wonderful surprise in the mail a couple of weeks ago...a new hanbok straight from Korea!  September 11-13 was the Korean holiday of Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving.  It is typical for Korean families to buy new traditional clothing for this holiday so a Korean friend did just that for Luci.  It is absolutely gorgeous and should last her for several years!  We absolutely treasure anything from her birth country so this was an especially nice treat!  Thank you David!!!

Beautiful hanbok...height is VERY deceiving!  She is standing on a 9 inch step stool!

This is more like it...here she is standing on the floor.  Still lovely!!!

To read more about this Korean holiday, visit the following websites:

Korea Tourism Organization
A Multicultural Thanksgiving

 

Kiawah Island/Charleston Vacation: Part 2

The last part of our week in South Carolina provided us with many wonderful experiences...just as the first half did!  We spent more time on the beach and saw a few more sights as well.

Luci had an encounter with some seagulls too!  Those birds definitely recognize snack food when they see it.  Luci has some goldfish in a bag and they literally swarmed her!  Check out the video below.  Hilarious!

We took a sunset cruise out of Bohicket Marina and Luci got to drive the boat.  We saw several dolphins up close and a beautiful sunset!

Below are pictures of the Angel Oak; a HUGE live oak estimated to be over 1400 years old.  It provides over 17,000 square feet of shade and it literally the biggest tree I have ever seen.  It is protected but if it wasn't it would be a kid's climbing paradise!

We had a fabulous time and as always the week went by entirely too fast!  Now to sail back to the real world...

Kiawah Island/Charleston Vacation: Part I

Luci has been waiting for our beach vacation for the past 6 months.  Every time we get in the car she says we are going to the beach...I honestly think she had given up on us ever really going.  I mean, how do you explain to a 3 year old that you are going to the beach at the end of July?!

Well, we finally made it!  We left Arkansas Friday morning and headed to Augusta, GA to spend the first night at Ryan and Sherri's house.  It was a LONG first day and we finally made it about midnight.  Luckily the 2nd day's drive to Charleston was going to be short so we could spend some time Saturday morning visiting instead of getting straight back in the car.  Very nice!

We made it to Kiawah Island, SC late Saturday afternoon and immediately hit the beach...had to prove to Luci that we weren't lying! 

Sunday was spent at the beach as well with a side trip in to the local marina for a dinner of seafood...delicious!

We headed to the South Carolina Aquarium on Monday.  Fun times!

Up close look at the lobster tank!

 

Chasing the pigeons outside the Aquarium...what is it about Luci and chasing birds?!

 Tuesday was rainy so we decided to spend the afternoon at the Children's Museum and then walked around the streets of Charleston admiring the architecture. 

Painting at the Children's Museum

One of the many beautiful churches in Charleston

 I'll update on the remainder of the week in a later post!  Enjoy the pics!

We have succeeded in wearing out our sweet, tireless Luci!!