wordless wednesday

this field trip rocks

Carly's enrichment class (ACT) has been studying inventors and inventions. Their teacher arranged a field trip downtown Memphis to the Gibson Guitar Factory to actually see an invention being manufactured.

The gift shop was full of gorgeous instruments including 2 Les Paul's with price tags over $10,000. The kids enjoyed walking down the isles and looking at all the different shapes, colors, woods.

We got outfitted with our safety goggles and were ready to head into the factory. Sad news: no photos allowed!

This is one of the best field trips I have ever been on. First it is the ACT class which is smaller (smart kids that have gotten a teacher recommendation reduces the number of trouble makers) and most kids had a parent. My friend Stacy drove so I didn't have to worry about that. Carly was with 3 really good friends and they got along the whole trip. It was well organized. We were the only group there.

And, it was really very interesting.

Some things Carly told about the trip:

1. This factory only makes electric guitars.
2. There are 2 other Gibson Factories to make the other types.
3. These guitars cost 3 to 5 thousand dollars.
4. Lots of people work on the guitars.
5. It takes months to make a guitar.
6. The job she would want would be the tester.
7. or maybe the painter.
8. The job she would not want was the lady who used a straight razor to clear the varnish off the edges.
9. If a flaw is found in the guitar along the way, it is taken to the bandsaw and destroyed.

the story of paul

4th Grade Chapel Program

Each year, Carly participates in a chapel program. In previous years, each class was responsible for a program, but this year, the whole 4th grade came together to put on a program. Before it was also held in the chapel but this year it was in the sanctuary of the church. That was a big deal to the kids. They go to the chapel every week but the sanctuary made it seem even more of a production!

Carly's Bible and music teachers wrote, directed, organized it all. The program was about the life of Paul. There were drama scenes, music, and singing. The kids got to request what they would like to do. Carly wanted to be an instrumentalist. "I do not want to talk" is what she told me when I asked her what she wrote down on her form.

They did a fabulous job. It was wonderful to see some talents that I had not had the chance to see before.

One day, I am going to figure out how to take photos in a stage situation where I am not close enough for a flash and there is not much stage lightening. If I slow the shutter down to get enough light then they are blurry!

bouncy balls

Carly has been a little obsessed with bouncy balls lately. She recently gathered every ball she could find in her room and put them in a special bag and started calling it her bouncy ball "collection".

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Last weekend, Aunt Kacy was here. Carly was showing off her collection. Aunt Kacey announced that she had a bouncy ball "collection" when she was Carly's age. She told Carly that she had a great game for her to play with them. She needed some containers, sticky notes, and a pencil.

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They headed to the entry hall to set up the containers, label them with the correct point value, and to develop a variety of other scoring rules such as "if the crazy purple ball goes in a container it is twice the points". Since the initial lesson there have been many bouncy ball games. There have been changes in rules, scoring, containers and participants.

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I didn't get a picture of Aunt Kacey and Carly, but the other night, Carly's friend Miss MM spent the night.

And guess what they ended up playing...bouncy balls!

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trick-or-treating

{the cheerleader that fell from the top of the pyramid}

{Kenny's new addition to the fun}

{friends}

{more friends}

{out and about}

{on the hayride}

{peace, love and happiness}

{the counting and trading is off and going}

{it was a good night to be a dawg}

pumpkin carving

{pumpkin carving time}

{miss mm joined us for her first pumpkin carving experience--

she wanted to know if it was suppose to be like that on the inside} {icky pumpkin guts}

{concentration!}

{master carvers with their masterpieces}

the saga continues

Friday, we went back for Carly's week check up. The orthopedist gave Carly's foot a good luck and decided she needed a cast. He was concerned that the boot was not giving her enough and said he really wanted to give her all the opportunity we could for it to heal. That was when he mentioned the word surgery and that was when I became a fan of the cast. So, to the next room we moved where Carly picked lime green. She got a little walking shoe to wear on the cast so she can walk around on it - no crutches. She hasn't slowed down except by the doctor's orders that she spends some time with it propped up. Last night she even managed to get it all muddy while trick-or-treating - if your going to break it in, might as well be while you're having fun being a kid!

3 days down

The way we calculate it, we have 28 to 42 days of recovery time.

Today we finished up day 3. I'm exhausted.

We have:

• had visitors
• received good mail from cousin JC
• talked on the phone

• made whole tray of these super cute yarn pumpkins

• Wii playing
• TV watching
• Reading
• Coloring
• Thank you notes written

• Snacks {does extra calcium really help?}
• Pen Pal note written
• Homework finished
• Book report worked on
• Games on my phone
• Texting

• board games
• new card game learned
• new magazine
• sudoku puzzle worked
• words found

I. Heart. Fall.

[Carly and Miss MM at the church's pumpkin patch]

4-6 weeks

Thursday afternoon we were over at a friends. The girls were all a little silly. We thought they were all tired from a week of achievement tests and being cooped up due to rain. I went to get Carly because we needed to go. They were all sitting quietly like they had gotten into something. Carly told me she had hurt her foot. I brushed it off and told her it was time to go. She was limping but I still told her to get her shoes. When she continued to limp {badly}, I told her to let me see it. A large knot had already jumped out on the side of her foot {not good I thought}. I half carried her to the car. Kenny was home when we got there. His assessment was the same as mine "not good".

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They had been playing keep-away/chase with the dog while they scrambled across the furniture. Carly jumped off one of the chairs and landed partially on the Wii fit platform. She didn't want to tell us because she knew she should not have been playing on the furniture in the first place. But, none-the-less, it was a silly accident while kids were being kids.

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We made a couple of calls including the after hours nurse at the pediatricians office {it was now 5:30}. Her recommendation was the after hours orthopedic clinic in Memphis. Initially that sounded like overkill and out-of-the-way but I am so glad we just went. Of course the facility is nice, the wait was not too bad, there was no H1N1 patients, and they took care of it right then, no referral for the next day.

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Carly had her first x-rays. Dx = complete break of the 5th metatarsal {way up in the middle of her foot} Rx = a boot {especially to the swelling goes down}, elevated, iced, and check up next Friday to make sure there is no displacement once the swelling goes down. Healing time= 4-6 weeks.