The Cookie Jar

We lucked out this week and did not one, but TWO Friend Days! We typically go to the theater on Friday but this week we could only get tickets on Wednesday so we made the most of it!

Friday we decided to head down the back of our mountain to Dunlap to visit the Cookie Jar Cafe. Another family was able to join us in our fun.

This day was special because it was the first day for the animals to return to the Cookie Jar.

It was our first visit, so we weren't sure what to expect. Basically the cafe is in the middle of nowhere, on someone's farm and you can see animals and play either before or after you eat.

We let the kids play first and then sat down to a delicious home-cooked meal. We will have to go back with Daniel sometime and try the dessert!

The kids loved it. Isaac thought it was especially hilarious when a cow peed a bucket full right in front of him!!!

If you've been following along, here are our previous Friend Friday adventures this school year:
August: Coolidge Park
September: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Greenway Farms Picnic ⎮ Chattanooga Zoo ⎮ Big Soddy Gulf
October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Friend Day) ⎮ Charlotte's Web

November: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Pioneer Days at Audobon Acres

December: Christmas Cookie Party ⎮ Christmas Cookie and Bird Ornament Party

January: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ High Point Climbing Day ⎮ Challenger Center
February: Hidden Hills Farm Maple Syrup Day ⎮ Valentine's Party ⎮ The House at Pooh Corner

March: Hidden Hills Tractor Day and Cardboard Sledding (sans friends) ⎮ Cousins Visit the CDM ⎮ Cousins Visit the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum ⎮ Chester Frost (sans friends) ⎮ Frog and Toad All Year

A Year with Frog and Toad

*all photos of the play via the Youth Theatre at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre Facebook page

Less than a month after we saw The House at Pooh Corner at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, we had the opportunity to see A Year with Frog and Toad. 

I have to confess that this was the play I was looking forward to the most, and it didn't disappoint.

The Frog and Toad books are some of my favorite stories from childhood and I had been looking forward to reading them with Jack. Knowing there would be a play to go along with it, made this even better!

I didn't realize that this play was actually a musical, and it was by far my favorite production we saw this year. The kids did such a great job performing, and they really followed the stories in the books.

This was the first book series that I had Jack read aloud to me and he really remembered all of the little stories.

Jack's favorite characters were, of course, Frog and Toad, but he also loved how the character of the Snail was handled. It was a minor character, but she had her own song that continued through the entire performance as she kept showing up to let us know she was still making the effort to deliver the mail to Toad! She was my favorite character too!

We had such a great time and are already looking forward to next school year when performances will include A Wrinkle in Time and A Charlie Brown Christmas!

After the show, we had a chance to meet the cast and take a photo with them. I can't tell you how impressed I was with all of the kids in the show!

Now that our kids are old pros at attending the theater, they expected to go to lunch at Good Dog (like we did after the last play we saw) and then play at Coolidge Park.

Unfortunately the carousel was undergoing maintenance, but the kids still had fun climbing the big magnolia trees and chasing each other.

Before heading home, we decided the weather was perfect for a little cardboard sledding, so we headed over to Cardboard Hill in Renaissance Park and let the kids slide down all sides of this steep hill.

It was such a fun way to spend our school day!

Productions we have had the privilege of seeing performed this year include: Charlotte's Web, The House at Pooh Corner, and A Year with Frog and Toad . We can't wait for next year's line up.

If you've been following along, here are our previous Friend Friday adventures this school year:
August: Coolidge Park
September: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Greenway Farms Picnic ⎮ Chattanooga Zoo ⎮ Big Soddy Gulf
October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Friend Day) ⎮ Charlotte's Web

November: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Pioneer Days at Audobon Acres

December: Christmas Cookie Party ⎮ Christmas Cookie and Bird Ornament Party

January: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ High Point Climbing Day ⎮ Challenger Center
February: Hidden Hills Farm Maple Syrup Day ⎮ Valentine's Party ⎮ The House at Pooh Corner

March: Hidden Hills Tractor Day and Cardboard Sledding (sans friends) ⎮ Cousins Visit the CDM ⎮ Cousins Visit the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum ⎮ Chester Frost (sans friends) 

Fun Friday: Chester Frost

The boys have entered this stage of regularly hitting (punching) each other and I find myself constantly refereeing their fights that quickly escalate from playful to angry.

When I reach my limit with this and nothing is working, it’s time to get outside.

So we headed to the lake to throw rocks in the water and dig in sand (them), and lay back and stare at the clouds floating by (me).

Nature does so much to calm all of our souls.

We have plenty of playgrounds nearby, but sometimes you need to hop in the car and drive 30 minutes to the lake for a reset.

And I’m pretty sure we need to go camping stat.

The lake did the trick in redeeming our day. When the kids were good and sandy and starting to get hungry, I gave Daniel a call to make plans for dinner.

Since he was working at Chickamauga Dam that afternoon, we decided to meet in town for supper. So I took the kids to the library to wait for him to finish up a work.

It was a good way to end our school week! 

We normally try to meet up with friends on Fridays, but schedules don't always align. But we don't let that stop us from enjoying a beautiful Friday afternoon.

If you've been following along, here are our previous Friend Friday adventures this school year:
August: Coolidge Park
September: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Greenway Farms Picnic ⎮ Chattanooga Zoo ⎮ Big Soddy Gulf
October: Reflection Riding Center (Monday Friend Day) ⎮ Charlotte's Web 

November: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ Pioneer Days at Audobon Acres

December: Christmas Cookie Party ⎮ Christmas Cookies and Bird Ornaments
January: Creative Discovery Museum ⎮ High Point Climbing
February: Challenger Center ⎮ Hidden Hills Farm Maple Syrup Day ⎮ Valentine's Day Cookie Party ⎮ The House at Pooh Corner
March: Hidden Hills Farm Tractor Day ⎮ Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum

From America to Zanzibar at the Creative Discovery Museum

Sometimes you just need to change things up. It's been cold, but not snowy and the kids have been asking to go to the Creative Discovery Museum. So, that's what we did.

We saw the new exhibit “From America to Zanzibar” that shows how Muslims live in various parts of the world.

Jack did a building project in the Make It Lab, and Isaac wanted to paint.

The boys enjoyed digging for dinosaurs and figuring out ways to configure chutes and locks in the river play area.

And we couldn’t leave without beating on the drums and stopping to make life-size bubbles on the way out.

The CDM continues to be one of our favorite places in Chattanooga and it's the perfect place to visit if the weather outside is cold or rainy.