I survived!

OK - I survived the fourth grade trip, although I did have a headache when I got home - LOL. I had four kids in my group, including my son. 3 were boys, 1 was a girl, but she was a total tomboy and could probably beat me in a fight. She was a scrappy little thing. Overall - the ankle-biters did OK, but there were several times during the trip I prayed for valium and self-control. I did learn that no ten year old can actually shut up for any length of time. The noise level was tremendous!

To start off with, I rode the bus for an hour and a half to Harrisburg. On the way there, one little ten year old girl told me that she was so happy her mother broke up with the guy he was dating because he was a d***head! I was stunned, but very calmly looked at her and said, "Good to know!" It was the best response I could come up with on the spur of the moment. What do you say to that???

I got a picture of the kids with the Liberty Bell. What was funny is they had their heads pushed up inside the Liberty Bell. Not exactly picture of the year, but totally representative of the day we had. I actually really like that picture, but as I was taking it, wished I had a heavy metal object to strike against the side -- NOOO -- Just kidding, I banished that thought as soon as it turned up! ha ha

The kids were very good overall and we had lots of fun. Towards the end of the day, as they were giving each other piggy back rides in a museum filled with glass and antiques, one of the boys in the group leaned over to my son and said, "She kinda gets cranky without her coffee!". Kids that age have NO filter between the brain and mouth, nor do they have a volume control. He got the "evil eye" but no head thump from me! Filled with self-control, I smiled and calmly said, "it's time to go downstairs and play with the statue of Ben Franklin." Luckily, the statue is HUGE and the kids had a great time standing between his legs joking about getting peed on.

The best part was later that night when I thanked my son for letting me chaperone his group. I told him I really appreciated spending the time with him and for letting me meet his friends and classmates. He cuddled up next to me gave me a big hug. That was more than worth it.