Ahhhhhh!

That is the sound of relaxing.

And, that is all I got to say about that.

Except, please note how un-crowded it is on this beach at this time of year!

I do believe that I have uncovered one of Florida's best kept secrets....THIS is the time of year to head to their beaches. I know all the Florida residents just want to keep this information to themselves, but that is just not nice of them!


It is so relaxing that Paul is even enjoying himself....and he's not exactly a beach man.


Look, Isabel ran for the surf and didn't not run slap into 20 other people!

The boys enjoyed boogie boarding without thought to mowing down 15 innocent bystanders!

This is the life, folks!

See how clear the water is. All you South Carolinians, that have never been to beaches other than those on our coast, take note! You can actually see your feet in this water. And, once I saw the big fishes swimming near me, I wasn't so sure I cared to have the water so clear! Maybe our brown water is best. Ahem.

Fun Day!

And, look! The water is green and blue....not all brown, people!

We topped off the day with a lovely bubble bath is the jacuzzi tub!

What could be better, y'all?

Yes, We Are Homeschoolers.

And, like most homeschoolers, we can't just take a vacation. Oh, no! We have to find some way to incorporate at least one day of school on the road! I think it's mandatory or something. Thankfully, my kids don't groan about it. They'd rather do a vacation/field trip than sit at home and do the regular stuff. They don't know that other kids just take vacations.....and we don't need to inform them. Got it!



So, we started our week long vacation Field trip in Ponte Vedra to visit Auntie Fran and Uncle Dave....with a side trip to St. Augustine. How can you be so close to this country's oldest city and NOT take the kids to see it? That is what I would like to know. We started with a tour drive-by the oldest house and several other oldest places. Because admission to those places is not cheap, people! You can see that put my whole heart into this, right? We ended up at the visitor's center just to see what tours would cost the least and pack the most punch. And plus, the principal was tired of driving around.

That is when we got the best news of all. Of course, being the amazing homeschool mom that I am, I totally already knew that it was National Park day. And, that meant FREE admission to the Castillo de San Marcos. For all you laypeople out there, that is the Fort. And free Fort = school day + happy principal! YAY!

The kids got to see reenactors.


And, guess what! They have a totally cool workbook that you get to study while you are there. AND, it is free too! And, that meant Mom the teacher didn't have to come up with anything on the fly! Which is good, because she's on vacation you know! Ahem.

Don't go feeling bad for the kids. The workbook was a lot like a scavenger hunt and the kids actually enjoyed most of it. At the end, they wrote a short essay to turn into the Park Rangers. That is when I snapped these pictures of them being sworn in as Jr. Park Rangers! They got patches and everything....which I am sure they will treasure forever and ever. Or maybe not! Whatever.

Parker already gave one of his badges to Claire. She was quite miffed that she wasn't old enough to do the activities for herself!

Okay, so Isabel was actually proud of these things.

And, here the little monsters are in front of the oldest school house in the USA....which I also would not pay to see! What can I say, I'm cheap.


And, we ended the weekend with the loosing of the loosest tooth in the country!

Thank Goodness!

Perspective

Today is the Prayer Meeting over at Not A Significant Source. I'm headed over there to pray for the needs of others and would love it if you would join me there. My prayer requests? My sister is having some surgery on Friday and I covet your prayers for her swift recovery. Also, if you read here often, you know that my husband was rear-ended last week. Well, he walked away from that with minor damage to the car, but not-so-minor back pain. Odd, how just a little fender bender isn't so easy to recover from. He is headed to physical therapy today for the first time. Please pray that he is healed soon and that the insurance is resolved easily.

Yesterday I got a video in an email from an acquaintance. I often will just delete these forwards and go on with my life. But, I did watch this video yesterday, and I'm glad I did. In life, we all have our own tragedies. Things that mold our lives and make us who we are, for better or worse. Sometimes it seems that we are hit over and over with nothing but tragedy and we tire of getting back up, dusting off and setting out again. I know I have personally had some times in my life when I didn't even want to get back up. But, I did. And my hope is that I gained some perspective for surviving those moments. Actually, I know I gained from those times. Gained much.

Take a look at this video. Be sure to read the words while listening to the song. I deleted my music player so nothing would interrupt you while you soak this in. Yesterday, I gained a different perspective while watching this. It reminded me that even when it seems that all is lost, there is still Hope. I can not imagine the life of this family, but to go on and write this Hymn and then dedicate their lives to missions bringing others to Christ. Wow! I pray I always have that kind of Faith and Hope. In the Midst of tragedy or not!

This Is Why God Gave Me Sons

Ever wonder why you ended up with the kids you got?

Not me.

I know why God gave me these sons.

Because he knew. He knew that when the car battery died for the fourth time this month, that I would sigh and make the call. Again. He knew that even though I went to Sears last week, and bought a battery charging thingamadoodle, I would still sigh and make the call. Again.

It's not because I am afraid to do man work.

I mow the grass, y'all. That does count.

I stay alone for a night every week,

sometimes two, as hubby works out of town often.

I do not have to have a man hang a picture,

change the vacuum cleaner belt or mow the grass.

Not that it isn't nice to have one that does all those things.

Plus also he cleans up vomit, and I hate to do that.

But, that isn't the point.

I have a deep fear of doing things for the first time. I like to have someone that knows what they are doing, hold my hand the first time.

My excuse when I made the call this time? I can pop the hood, but I can't find the whachamacallit to release it so I can lift the hood.

Yes.

I am hopeless. It's sad, but true.

Go ahead and feel bad for my husband. And, my father-in-law. They routinely rescue me....at least it seems that way this month!

Which leads me to why God gave me these sons.

Because, when the car died for the fourth time this month, I would sigh and make the call. And, my husband would sigh and patiently assure me he would be there soon. To pop the hood and hold my hand. I love that man.

But, my sons would, without so much as a word from me, get out of the car, pop the hood, release the whachamacallit, hook up the charger and tell me to start the car. All while I sat there in disbelief, wondering when they grew up. Well, and I took a few pictures real quick once I snapped out of shock.

They told me to start the car, Mama!

And, I did! Then I sighed and made the call. To their daddy to tell him that he was not needed. He said to tell his boys we was glad they manned up!

I guess there are some new heroes in town. But yes, don't get your panties in a wad, I will learn to jump the car myself one day soon. Just so I can if they aren't there to save me. And, so I can teach my girls that they can take care of themselves too. If they have to.

And I will thank God for sons that take care of women! I'm sure it will get them in trouble with some enlightened, feminist one day. But, I don't care!

And our weekend ended with a bang!

We had a great weekend at my parent's house.

We were there to celebrate my niece, Brianna's, Sweet 16.....and meet her notboyfriend.

Which is what you have when you are not allowed to have an actual boyfriend....but you really do. Hmmmmm. I wonder if my sister has thought this through. I'm fairly sure that Brianna and Scotty have figured out how to pull one over on her.....then again, she obviously knows that. And is living in denial. Or she's just letting them think that she is. Or not.

Are you as confused as I am? It's making my head hurt.

The twins got to sleep-over with the twins from Significant Source, and SS and Darling Daughter got to experience what quadruplets would be like! The boys loved it...and everyone else survived it!

But then, the weekend ended with a bang. And it wasn't Significant Source or Darling Daughter banging on the door trying to return my twins! Although, I totally wouldn't blame them after they woke up to 12 year old boys covered in magic marker this morning! Don't ask.

It was a bang on the head. Our first really big bang. And it caused a really big bump!

But, I can't wrap her in bubble wrap and I can't stop her from walking, so I guess we'd better get used to this!

*sigh*

Casey

Casey Morgan Princess....ummm, I mean Prince.

This is Monkey. She usually lives here. But, don't check in on her there right now. She's been visiting me again, and her mom hasn't had time to update that blog since the last time she visited! That is because, that angelic babe up there....yeah, is not so much the angelic as she is the MONKEY. And, the Monkey doesn't give her Mom much time to breathe these days, let alone update a blog. I can vouch for that, I've seen her in action and lived to tell about it!

We had a lot of fun having Monkey and her mom at our house for a long weekend. Well, except for the broken toe part. And, maybe Claire didn't enjoy her exuberant goodnight kisses so much.....

'cause they weren't so much about being kissed goodnight as they were about being squeezed half to death! Ahem.

But, she didn't seem to mind having her hair washed....


Or her cup held up for her.....

Or her face wiped....repeatedly!

Because, Casey is a little mother hen.....and well, Claire is used to that!