Journey to the Center of the Earth - Sort Of

Last Tuesday, Tay and her many third grade classmates set off for an adventure. The third grade field trip was a journey to the center of the Earth, or as far down as Inner Space Caverns in Georgetown actually goes...whichever came first!

She had her trusty class t-shirt (each class in each grade has a different color so the teachers can keep up with them; Grande sponsors them so there's no cost either - I thought that was an awesome idea when we moved here) and shorts laid out for days before the BIG day. She planned what she would pack in her backpack as they had been encouraged to bring books, electronics and games to keep them occupied during the trip.

She took her iPod, DS, a stuffed lemur (they all look alike so I can't remember exactly which one this was but, trust me, they all have names) and a few other toys so she was set. She even had a bag of Baked Lay's Southwestern Ranch chips and an orange Gatorade to go along with her PB&J sandwich and carrots. Life was good, I'm here to tell you!

She also had a disposable camera to capture moments from this special day (I've been a bit under the weather this week so I haven't gotten them developed yet). So as not to use one of her pictures, she brought me my camera as soon as she was dressed and requested that I take a "before" picture. I kid you not. Couldn't even make that up if I tried.

Cracked me up to no end but I, of course, obliged. Even took two. See for yourself.

Can you tell the child was a wee bit excited?

She had a blast and, while I had offered her $5 for the "reasonable priced gift shop" we'd been made aware of, she decided a trip of this magnitude called for some extra effort. So she picked up a few extra chores and scored an additional $3. Nothing like a whole $8 to make a 9-year-old's day, right?

I must say that the gift shop actually WAS reasonably priced. They also allowed the children to "pan for gold" and they each brought home a pouch of rocks. Unfortunately, none of them found actual gold...

We got home and she showed me what she purchased from the gift shop. She didn't have a penny left over but she did get a rather large keepsake. See for yourself. 

Her spoils from panning for gold on the left and her big purchase on the right. Isn't it cool?

And, yes, she also asked me to take an "after" picture to document her joy. So, of course, I took two. Because if one's good, two is great! At least in my economy :-)

This brings us to the conclusion of the photographic evidence I currently have about field trip day. Next up - Field Day, at which Tug of War is apparently the signature event.

Who knew? Well, not me...at least until last Friday...and, yes, Tay will be wearing the same trusty class t-shirt but I promise I washed it. And even dried it.