{All In a Day} American Presidential Experience 2012 - Charlotte, NC

Oh, the things that we do for our children...  :)

I'm not one to take sides for the purposes of both this blog and sweet B's love of all things presidential...  If you remember, this past summer on our Road Trip, we made stops at both the Birthplace of President Clinton and a favorite "hangout" of President Bush, The Coffee Shop Cafe, near Crawford, TX...  BUT, no matter who you vote for, heading into any large city (with 3 little children in tow) on the day before a large political convention is set to kick off there, is just nuts...  I admit it!

Again, the things that we do for our children...

Knowing that B would love a chance to pose behind a mock podium, sit in a replica of the Oval Office and tour a model of Air Force One, we headed north up I-85 to check out the traveling exhibit, American Presidential Experience...

I will say that I never felt more safe...  The police presence was cuh-razy...  There were groups of 10 police officers every few feet!

We parked and made our way into the tent...

We delivered some "speeches" from the podium...

checked out some special cars...

and took a seat behind (a replica of) the famous desk...

I enjoyed the exhibit featuring the china used by several Presidents and really loved having James K. Polk, Leapfrog's favorite President #11, represented!

We saw replicas of gowns worn by some of the First Ladies...

and a great interactive exhibit showcasing speeches made by many of the former Presidents.  B loved listening to their voices...

While waiting in (quite a l-o-n-g) line to tour a replica of Reagan's Air Force One...

the little ones enjoyed both the hands-on "Talking Heads" exhibit...

and the "Presidential Chairs" exhibit.  B thought that the replica of George Washington's "fan chair" was pretty neat...

Once we finally arrived at Air Force One...

the little ones tried out the seats...

and checked out the "President's Quarters"...

With that, we politely bid goodbye to the Obamas and went on our way...

Overall, a really fun "experience"...for B, especially!

{Summer FUN} Parks, Presidents, and Potties...

...yes, you read that right!

Sooo, today was potty-training day for little M...

and while M and I were at home doing this...

(teaching Bitty Baby Betsy how to potty)

Hubby took both B and L off to do a little of this...

this.. 

and this...

They headed to Spartanburg and stopped at one of Hubby's old college hang-outs, the Beacon Drive-In, for lunch...

After lunch, they headed over to Cowpens National Battlefield...

where they got to explore...

play...

and learn...






B earned another Junior Ranger Badge...

and they got their Passport Books stamped...

The last stop on their Sunday adventure was at Andrew Jackson State Park...

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...


Using the recommendation of 2 different friends from college with (at the time) 5 children between them, I used this book to train B and have since used it for L, too.

At first I was very skeptical, but the method used in this book, that was published before I was even born (in 1974), has now worked on all 3 of my little ones.  By lunchtime yesterday, M (who had woken up in a diaper) seemed like a pottying pro!


After a little more than 6 1/2 years, it feels really good to take "diapers" off of our grocery list!

{Summer FUN} Out & About in Athens

 Today we decided to take a little day trip to Athens... On the way, we stopped at the Hartwell Dam and walked across part of it...

As we headed in to Athens, I drove the little ones around my old stomping grounds...  We checked in on my old houses...  Yes, I do lay claim to every house that I ever lived in...  AND, yes, there are a lot of them out there...  My mom used to say that as soon as she had the window treatments complete and the yard landscaped, my dad would decide to move...

We bought this one and moved here from sweet little Washington-Wilkes when I was in 5th grade, but only lived here for about a year and a half...

while we were building this one just one street over!!!  Believe it or not, we moved into this house before the front steps were built...  I need to find that photo...  It was a trip now that I think about it!  My mom had to keep the front door bolted so that no one walked out and fell a whole story down.  That would've been bad...bad...bad...  It seems that the brick mason was there a day or two after we moved in...  I remember my mom being really perturbed at the builder about that one...  I mean NO front steps...you walk into this house on the 2nd floor!!!

After my dad moved his office out of our house and no longer needed the extra space at home, we moved again my senior year of high school!  It's hard to believe that we really only lived here for about 2 years before my parents moved up to NC permanently...

Don't get me started on how many houses they have owned up there!

After our mini "Tour of Homes", we headed downtown to grab lunch and split a milkshake at The Grill...

make a stop at the double-barrelled cannon (the only one in the world)...

and swing by both my middle school and my high school...

Before embarking on our stormy drive back home, we had to swing by the Tree That Owns Itself...

I love to reminisce and it was so fun taking my little ones along on my trip down memory lane!