Los Flemings

The dynamic duo discovered the joy of stair climbing recently. I had run upstairs to the diaper pail and heard the rustling of a paper bag. The only paper bag I could think of was halfway up the stairs. Sure enough, I peeked around the corner and Ford (on the right in the picture) was five stairs up with Jack close behind. Everyone was fine (except for a few more gray hairs for dad) and the latest baby security device has been deployed.

It's been a busy couple of weeks here at Los Flemings World HQ. We're still recovering from camping two weeks ago at North Mills River in the Pisgah National Forest. The five of us were joined by Los Abuelos Fleming (Glenn & Maxine) for the weekend and got a drop in visit from Bunk and Jane.

It was a beautiful weekend, although a tad chilly in the mornings.





Sunday afternoon on our way home we had a nice hike along Slate Rock creek, where we came across a waterfall and some of the first spring wildflowers.

Last Saturday Sam and Dandy went down to Dillsboro for the Easter Hat Parade. Prizes are awarded in several categories including the biggest. Sam is with the winner of that one.

It was their first go and no prizes came home, but it did give them the chance to 'size' up the competition and get ideas for next year. The parade is always the Saturday before Easter, so if you're up for it, put on your thinking caps and get ready for 2011.

Sunday afternoon we made our first attempt at canoeing with twins. In an effort to not bite off more than we could chew we started small with a brief trip over to Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain.

For those of you from, or visitors to, Tallahassee, it was about the equivalent of canoeing on Lake Ella. (that's Sam in the background already on the water in one of the solo canoes).







It turned out to be a good starting point. Jack and Ford sat with Mame for a trip around and then got to play in the sandbox while Sam and I explored some more. A nice way to wrap up our Easter afternoon.

While Sam was off parading in Dillsboro with Dandy, we took Ford and Jack for a hike along the Big East Fork of Pigeon River in Pisgah.






We plan on hiking back to this spot one day to camp, there's a site to the left overlooking the bend.

Exhibition night at Evergreen is the opportunity for the students to show the projects they have been working on over the last trimester's expedition. The first graders studied how things work - basic mechanics like levers, inclined planes, and pulleys, along with simple and complex machines. They built little wheelbarrows and had a take apart day where they dismantled old appliances. For Exhibition Night Sam's station was the one demonstrating forces.

Unfortunately, Ford and Jack discovered the tupperware drawer and like to raid it on a daily basis. Fortunately, they have also learned not to get their fingers caught when the drawer starts to close.