U of M class, busy day

We have been trying to get Greta and Mickey onto the list and then into this one class for almost 2 years now! It is a very limited and unique offering from the U of M Dearborn. Offered through the Henry Ford Estate, at the Environmental Interpretive Center on the Dearborn campus, this is a nature study class for 40 children , 1st-4th grade. They get together monthly for 2 1/2 hours for intensive themed studies outdoors followed by lab time. Did I mention it is free???

Well, we got in through a series of lucky events and we begged the use of the in-laws' minivan yet again to take them to the class yesterday. The theme was maple sap tapping/syrup making. I dressed them for the freezing cold, snowpants, coats, hats, mittens, boots...and left them there! Bye! Be good!

So all I had left was Charlie and Casey and although drivng around relaxing and wasting gas and sitting on my duff sounded nice to me, and I just might have done so if they seemed sleepy at all, but the did not, and so I instead took them to the mall that is across from campus. It was kind of sketchy and different, full of stores that I wasn't familiar with, and I would say about 1/4 closed down, but we had a decent time. We finally found the miniture playscape and they had a good old romp while I sat for a few minutes. This vaguely crusty mall had the most tempting and fantastic food court! I was glad and sad that I had no cash on hand, and so we ate our sunchips and grapes from home.

When it was time to leave the mall and go back to the nature class, Casey decided he was too tired to walk and so I put him in the single stroller with Charlie! They didnt even seem smashed and it looked very cute. I wonder how necessary fancy double strollers that weigh 200 pounds and cost as many bucks are when they are this age...they seemed cozy and giggly in the one stroller together! If I wasnt convinced I was in this massive hurry I would have snapped a picture of the two of them in there...

SO we got back to the Environmental Interpretive Center and went in to get the kids, but all there was was a room full of non-welcoming vibed moms and their bored teens. Where were the kids? I had to wait another 45 minutes with these people! I tried to talk to them, I tried to discuss the class, but it was a true alien fest. Then one of the teen girls really liked me and Casey but this irritated her mom and so I left the room with my boys. Why did I hurry out of that mall like a crazy woman for nothing? argg

But close to 3 oclock (I was told 2oclock) we were allowed to go get our kids. I found them in a big lab room with lots of microscopes, all flush-cheeked looking into them and chatting and laughing and it was so cool. Their friend from Campfire scouts was there, and that was a neat surprise, too (and a possible future carpool option?!)

They told me they walked 2 miles, outside, tasted sap directly, tasted syrup, and looked at tree cookies (cross cut disks from young trees) under microscope. They saw all sorts of wlidlife on the trails and even coyote tracks! Yikes! I wish I could have went with them, but it is no siblings allowed and thats cool they did something on their own. They even got split up from each other, and, according to their conclusions, Greta's group got to do "way more cool stuff" than did Mickey's. But they both loved it and are looking forward to next month.

June is my turn to be an occompanying parent, which means I will have to find babysitter(s) for Charlie and Casey from about 11 to 3:30...

Once we left out of there, even though we were all dead tired, the novelty of the transportation made us feel obligated to have yet another adventure and so we went to one of the bigger local libraries. This one has a massive childrens' area where they can speak above a whisper, play and run and touch and do stuff. So we did. I can honestly say this is one of the best places where all four of the kids are having a super time, each doing what they really want to be doing, each excited, all four sad to leave to go pick up Daddy at 530.

Im still having a little difficulty adding pictures to this blog and trying to fit captions in, so here is just a whole bunch of pictures from yesterday! Enjoy! I need to go drag Greta out of her English Class (reading Harry Potter in bed by the light of the aquarium) and see if she would perhaps like some breakfast before I make lunch!