Guess what else! We were out of town. Can you believe it? Marissa was quite beside herself. : ) It did snow in Nashville, but most of it didn't stick. Besides, there's not much room for sledding in downtown! It was a great trip, even though we missed the snow.
The sub-committee meeting didn't go as well as it could have (they didn't just drop the bill completely), but there is some hope. The rep who introduced it, and who talked for 15 min. without saying anything whatsoever, is supposed to be rewriting it to present again in 3 weeks. I can tell you one thing~ the calls and emails make an impact. Every rep on the committee commented about the volume of response this bill created. They all said they received 3000+ phone calls, plus emails!! One rep said it paralyzed his office for several days. They were quite put-out with the rep who introduced the bill, and *strongly* encouraged him to work with the homeschoolers and find a solution! However, there were a few who still want control, so the issue is not dead and still needs to be covered in prayer. We were able to meet a few more reps not on the committee afterwards and talk with them about homeschooling and hear there opinions. They were supportive of homeschooling, and were hopeful that this bill will not be passed.
We were at the legislative plaza from 10:40-3:00, so that was quite a long day. I was very proud of how patient Marissa and Daniella were. We didn't get lunch until 3:00, which is actually 4:00 our time. It was snowing like crazy while we were walking through downtown, and there was a bitter wind, but I thought it was pretty fun!
Unfortunately, by the time we finished lunch and walked back the capital was closing, so we didn't get a tour. This is the girls at the war memorial in Legislative Plaza.
We drove back to the hotel, and James and I took a short nap while the girls read/looked at books. They were really quiet and sweet while we rested. We then headed to Opry Mills Mall. Those of you who live near big cities are used to these huge malls, but we are not. The place was huge and even had a sting ray petting/feeding tank. We opted out of it since we go to the aquarium every month, but it was cool. There were also several aquarium of tropical fish and 2 carousels in the mall. We treated the girls to supper at The Rainforest Cafe. What a cool place. Unfortunately, we didn't take the camera to the mall.
After packing up the next morning, we went the the Adventure Science Museum for several hours. The girls had a blast! It is well worth the money ($9 adults, $7 students). Marissa was a little grossed out by the human body section, but loved the physical science and music parts. : )
The synthesizer in the background of this picture was one of Marissa's favorite parts. Daniella loved this floor piano.This one is reaction time. She's stepping on buttons with each foot, and has one under each hand. The other person sends a light path, and she had 3 seconds to guage which path it was going on and push the correct button. It was tough!
There were lots and lots of cool things there. Marissa rode a bike to create energy to move an elevator up and down. They reflected light to a solar panel to create energy to make a toy airplane fly....They also have a "tower". You climb and climb up all these little passage ways, and have stops along the way, until you reach the top. Then you can slide back down. (and, yes, of course, I did it) It's way up there with a great view of the Nashville skyline at the top. I don't know if Daniella retained much of the science she encountered, but she had a blast, and got lots of exercise! By the end of our time there, there were only a couple of other families in the museum, and she went up and down, up and down that tower, then back out to another section that had tunnels and climbing things. She had the run of the place and took full advantage of it. LOL.
After we left the museum, we found a Dairy Queen, because the Blizzards were calling, then hit the road back home. We got in about 9:30 that night.
Yesterday, spur of the moment, after Ashley and Briana got home from praise dance practice, James and Briana went to the national park and went hiking. Briana had spring fever, and was itching to be outside. I'm so glad they got to go on a little "date". This trail crossed the creek numerous times over rocks and fallen trees.
Letitia
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