May represented a number of short trips in the Charlotte area.  Benjamin’s PSB Select Team had a tournament on the north side of town one day.  Actually, that was a source of a bit of frustration, as he played on a team hosted in Matthews/Indian Trail, but did not play a single tournament in that areas.  Oh well, we had a good time watching his games.  On this particular day, we needed something to do in between a 4 hour “layover”. So went to the Lazy 5 Ranch.  The youngest children had never been, though the older ones had been many years earlier.  The trip was replete with the opportunity to feed by hand many different animals, including giraffes, zebras, pigs, and various kinds of deer, including many that jumped up against the van with their hoofs.  Well, I guess we wouldn’t have claimed to have a scratch free vehicle, but now our ride is much more in the “Mom My Ride” category.

Donna also took the children over to a strawberry patch one day as well.  We definitely don’t pretend that homeschooling is the best answer for everyone, but this is a fringe benefit of homeschooling in that one can take a field trip at any time of the day and seek to avoid the normal rush of going during a busier time.

Finally, our day trip list wouldn’t be complete without a picture of a Frisbee golf outing at Hornet’s Nest.  At last count, our family has now played 4 courses in Charlotte, 2 in Columbia, and 2 in Colorado.  The favorites at the point are the one in Frisco, CO because of the view, Hornet’s Nest in Charlotte because of the difficulty, and “The Cousin’s Course” in Columbia (not sure why, but maybe just because they get to do it with their cousins, and that’s a good enough answer).