Climbing at Whitewater

A couple of weeks ago we went to the U.S. National Whitewater center in Charlotte. If you haven't been...GO! It is the perfect place to go with a family. It isn't jut a whitewater rafting place. It was a little to cold for us to go rafting, but we were able to watch a team practice kyaking. Very fun.

The boys loved climbing on all of the rocks.



Jacob made it to the top!


Brady climbed this rock and watched the kyakers for about two hours. Glad I brought my book!





Tod took Jacob on one of the mountain biking trails. He loved it! I was a little worried that he wouldn't make it, but he and his el-cheap-o bike made it out in one piece!! I rode the trail around the white water route. So beautiful. The fire department was doing rescue training at the center and it was fun to watch while on my bike ride.



After our biking and climbing adventures Tod and I sat and had a couple of cold beers and the boys enjoyed a Sunkist and a Sprite. We watched some kids do the free fall jump and decided to come back when the Zip line was open.

I think we wore Brady out!!! He sounds like a cat purring!!

Chaperone

Today I chaperoned Brady's field trip to Black's Farm. This is a local pumpkin/apple farm. The kids love it. They have a corn maze, hayride, a house made out of straw, farm animals, and there is always free ice cream at the end. To me, a trip to Black's Farm marks the beginning of Fall. We have done this trip annually since Jacob was 3 years old.

Today is also the coldest it has been in a very long time. I didn't dress appropriately. Brady had on two shirts and a jacket. I had on a short sleeved shirt with a fleece. Burrrr.

As we gathered around to listen to Mrs. Black explain about the farm and what all we are going to do this morning....it started to rain. Not a downpour, but that annoying rain when you are not sure if you need an umbrella or not.

Our group was the first to do the hayride. I must say that the hayride was the warmest place on the farm. We were all sitting so close I'm sure we generated enough heat to power the tractor. Brady LOVED the hayride. He squealed when we dipped and swayed from side to side. He didn't even care it was cold and rainy. Unlike his mother.

The morning was actually fun. Watching Brady with his love of farming equipment was so much fun. While all the kids were watching the pigs, Brady was admiring the combine harvester. I may have a future farmer on my hands.

One of our last stops was the barn. On one side the kids got to jump on a hay "trampoline", and on the other side of the barn were horses, goats, chickens, and a giant white turkey. In the middle they had hay bales set up for us to watch a puppet show about being a good friend. While we sat to watch the puppet show we all ate our free ice cream. Brady had his favorite - chocolate, and I had mine - vanilla. This was going to be the highlight of my morning. Nothing beats dessert BEFORE lunch! On about my third delicious bite of ice cream....the smell from the animal side of the barn waifed through the rest of the barn. Gag! Cough! Blech! The overwhelming stench of farm animals does not blend well with my vanilla ice cream. This may destroy my love of vanilla ice cream. The next time I eat my much desired vanilla ice cream...I may not be able to devour it because I will recall the powerful smell of poo.

Brady had a fabulous time at Black's Farm. On the way home he said, "Maybe next time we can ride in the combine harvester!!" My thoughts were, "Next time?! Next time?! I'm cold, wet, and cannot get the taste of vanilla poo out of my mouth! Next time?!" I said, "I hope so! That sure would be fun!"