MATH!!!

The boys really love the geoboards that we sometimes use with our Saxon Math. It is a really good curriculum because it is very "hands on" and they do not have to write in order to learn math concepts (for this year at least). Here is Cooper doing his skills assessment for the geoboards.
Hard at work!!
The boys had to copy a pattern that I had given them (colors and placementof the bands) in order to complete an assessment portion in our math book. Carter is hard at work trying to copy the pattern. We had a really fun year in math and I think boys both learned a lot!
Carter made a cross on his geoboard after his assessment. He was very proud of it because he said that he made it to remind him that Jesus died on the cross so he could go to heaven. He can be so thoughtful and contemplative at times. I love when he does that!

GIRAFFES!

O.k., this post is a little on the adult side, so no children viewers (or readers). Anyway, we are at the zoo and are excited about the prospect of feeding the giraffes. Well, we get to the top of the giraffe exhibit and I quickly realize that the giraffes are not hungry. We are in the middle of giraffe mating season with ALL of the boy giraffe parts showing for the world to see. See below for more:)
So, with everything "hanging out" and twenty or so people gawking and talking about what is going on, the boys begin to ask questions like, "Why is his peepee hanging out?" and "Why is he trying to jump on the other giraffe". So, what do you say to that? Well, needless to say, at the Jacksonville Zoo, we had our first foray into what it takes to make giraffe babies. See below for more:)
So, here are the giraffes, that sparked our "birds and bees" conversation or "Giraffes" conversation. If you are wondering what we told the boys, call me and I will be happy to talk with you about it:):):)

MORE JACKSONVILLE ZOO

Tony is such a great dad. Carter wanted nothing to do with feeding the Lorikeets. So, Tony got two birds on him and then coaxed Carter over to hold the nectar. He was still a little scared, but he liked it!
O.k., here is our second (of three) peeks at animal parts during this visit to the zoo. The boys and I were totally entranced with the baby chimpanzee breastfeeding. The baby would nurse and then walk away and then come back over and nurse some more. It was fascinating.
See below for description!
We all thought that it was really neat that the bird above was named Cooper's Hawk. Cooper made sure that I took a picture so that he could show everyone that he had his "own" hawk. We always knew he was special!

JACKSONVILLE ZOO

Isn't this funny? This bird was sitting on top of a roof sunning himself and I had to take a picture. He looked like he was trying to flash us!! That's what was in my mind, anyway!! This was not the only peek we got at animal parts on this day. See the GIRAFFES post:) HAHAHAHA!

Tony, Cooper and Carter having a great day at the zoo. We all love it when we can spend more time with Daddy! The boys really liked the elephants. They can now tell you that African Elephants have ears that are shaped like Africa and that you can tell the difference between African and Asian Elephants using their ear shape!!
Here are Carter and Cooper with the Jacksonville Zoo Mascot, Jazoo!
Our two monkeys with one big ape!

STINGRAYS!

On a whim, we decided to go to Jacksonville Zoo. It was a really great trip for all of us. We arrived as soon as they opened at 10:00 a.m. and we did not leave until 6:00 p.m. that night. It is a very large zoo and we covered the whole of it!! One of our favorite attractions was the stingrays. It is the newest exhibit at the zoo.
Cooper is the bravest four year old I know. He had no fear about practically falling into the tank to touch the stingrays. He was very excited and in true Cooper form, he liked that they were slimy:):)
Carter, Carter, Carter!!! The tank area was a little fishy smelling and Carter was a little apprehensive when we arrived at the stingray tank. He decided that he was not going anywhere near the water, though he did enjoy looking at the stingrays from a distance. True Carter personality!!
Here is the brave beast again. Tony had to hold Cooper down so he wouldn't fall into the water. He begged to go back to the tank throughout the day.

SAVANNAH KIDS DAY

We decided to go to the Annual Savannah Kids Day this year. I was interested in going for the education activities and *hopefully* find Summer Camp options for both boys. This picture is of Cooper in the Army's Hum-V at Kids Day. He was very interested in all of the equipment and definitely wanted to try on the gear, as you can see:)
Here are the boys at the Savannah Roundhouse Museum's craft table. It was a really neat educational activity. They were given wood shapes and asked to create a train with their pieces. When the project was completed, they were able to decorate their creations. They loved it!!
Well, as you can tell, Cooper (face paint and all) had a great time at the JEA Kids Day. Tony had bought both boys a dinosaur at Target and Cooper has his in a death grip, even in his sleep.

BASEBALL

We have missed the entire month of April and are well into May on our blog. However, we have been soooooo busy:) This picture is of Carter when he tried his uniform on for the first time for Pooler Baseball. He was very excited!
As you can see, Carter wanted Cooper in the picture to celebrate his venture into "real" baseball, as he calls it. They are sooo funny. They love smiling for the camera.
This is Carter on first base after his first hit in real baseball. He is very serious when he plays baseball. I have had one grandmother who comes to watch her grandson, Carter - yes, another Carter on the same team, that she enjoyed watching our Carter because he was so into the game!!
Carter played left field for the Pooler Athletics this year in the 8U division. He really wanted to play a base, but since this was his first year he was in the outfield. He was also one of the youngest kids on his team.