Weeks in review

Ok, I have been sadly lacking in the blogging arena. I mentally blog all day long. I have had great titles like, "To train up a tomato" the best of both worlds, child training and tomato staking ! I guess you would have had to read both of those books to get the title.




So what have we been doing??

Sewing Club


We went camping a couple of weekends ago at Fernadina Beach. On the road again!


They had their Shrimp festival (ie. a craft fair with a pirate theme)












and a civil war reenactment at Fort Clinch. So, we pulled into the KOA friday evening and to our surprise it look liked Bike week at Daytona. A veterans biker club was having their reunion, live band, outside bar, AC/DC and ALL!! Quiet hour was moved til midnight for the weekend. All in all it was ok, nothing too offensive happened, we just looked REALLY out of place. The kids were disapointed that I didn't let them swim in the pool, however I saw all the biker fun happening in the pool the night before~~eewww~~~




Well we did the pirate festival, and then off to Fort Clinch for some good ol' yankee history. The Union army was in residence. The girls met nurses, cooks, soldiers and got to shoot off the cannon.

I soon realized we were within minutes of Cumberland Island, GA. The Island is renowned for it's wild horses. Well Maddy was excited, and so I said , yes I will take you all. So Liv Maddy, and I took the 45 minute ferry to the VERY primitive island. You must walk miles to get anywhere, carry in all your supplies (bottles of water, chairs, clothes, first aid kit....) Well loaded up like a pack mule, the park ranger said we had two docks to choose from to disembark. The first was the hour long park ranger led ruins tour, the second was Sea camp which led to the ocean (like a 2 mile walk) . Well you KNOW I am a homeschooler because I drug my children for some more learning! We were the only ones in the group under 50. I must say my kids must be used to it because they didn't even think to complain ,well that came later... We did see lots of cool horses (some a little too close for comfort). At the end of the tour the kids then wanted to go to the beach (at the other dock) like 4 miles away. Then the whining and moaning and complaining began. "It's hot....how much further...mom will you carry all the bags...remember the pack mule reference) We needed one of those horses! We made it and Liv (the complainer) survived.

On Mothers Day the girls made me breakfast and I caught Liv and Ethan tag teaming the laundry.













The end of a long mother's day!! They look beat, hmmm????
Fishing in the Pool, Ethan?
Now that is HOTTTT, we are in the pool almost every day... Friends feel free to drop in for a swim..

Dollywood

Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains

On our way home from DC we came down 81 through the mountains and into Tennessee. We decided to stop and stay in Gatlinburg. We had never been to Dollywood and wanted to see their Christmas event. Well we woke up to a cold front and snow up on the mountain. Our kids have never seen snow, so this was a BIG treat.

Letters from the Road

Hi everyone, we are in Washington DC and having a great time. We left Thursday morning and after a rocky start (we stopped like 5 times before Daytona Beach) we finally got into the traveling groove. We made it to North Carolina by midnight and slept for a few hours and then pulled into DC Friday at 10:30 AM. Needless to say, Mike was beat, but we were meeting my sister for some sightseeing. So we made the mistake of driving into DC and trying to park. We found a spot at Arlington, but it was raining/flurrying and my kids already had colds and to get to the monuments it was a 3+ mile walk. Well we ended up caught in rush hour traffic and sat on the freeway for 2 hours with starving exhausted children & hubby. Yes fun times!! I think Lyndsay was thanking God for birth control at that moment.

Well after a good nights sleep, Lyns, Liv , Maddy and I took the metro into DC to do some sightseeing. Mike and Ethan hung out at the camper. Ethan was still coughing pretty bad and I think Mike was looking for a little peace and quiet away from 4 girls ;)
I didn't realize we were in town for Veterans day weekend (duh) so we got to see the Vietnam Memorial Parade, and the ceremony at the wall. It was pretty heart wrenching to see all the veterans tracing names and crying at the wall. We got to pray and be a part of the ceremony at the Vietnam Nurses monument which was really touching. They had a thousand flags set up on the mall and you could walk among them. We also went to the Natural History Smithsonian and I could spend weeks in there. All I could think about was how cool it would be to do unit studies on this and that then visit. One big visit is too overwhelming for me, so I know the kids weren't soaking it all in.

Sunday, Mike, the kids and I all road the metro in and toured the Air & space museum, the National Archives and the Renwick art Smithsonian. Once again you need hours to tour each Smithsonian, which we did not have. The National Archives was amazing. I remembered going as a kid, and it is no less awe inspiring. The domed room that they are housed in is dimly lit and marble is everywhere. Maddy was so funny when she walked in. She said, I am so excited and gasped... She insisted I take pictures with our flash off since there is no flash photography to prove that she was there. When we left she told Mike she was going to be famous at coop because she saw the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and our Constitution. I was so proud that she thought it was fame- worthy to be in the presence of the documents that ensure our liberty. Well after that we had to trek 14 blocks to the Renwick Smithsonian because they were having a Going West exhibit of pioneer quilts. We had 1 hour before they closed so we sprinted most of the way, poor Liv! But it was sooo worth it. The quilt were amazing, I could not even fathom how they hand quilted them. I couldn't even do some of the designs with a machine. Unfortunately there was no photography so I have no pics to share, but lots of great ideas. Liv and Maddy loved it and I think are inspired to create a new flag quilt. I found at the end of the exhibit why there was no photos, they had a nice big pricey book with all the quilts. Well since we made a pact this trip on no souvenirs, or eating out (ouch) I had to pass...

anyway that is our trip so far, pics to follow... Mike and Maddy are visiting Gettysburg today, Liv has an ear infection so please pray for the kids health while we are travelling. The cold (40's) and wet weather is not helping.

We leave tomorrow for Monticello ~ Thomas Jefferson's home

The Camper Is Back In The Driveway!

Oh, goody. I am so excited to hit the open road again. We are off for the month of November up the east coast for some more American History adventures. Now if I can just pack without over packing like last time.... Debi come help me....

We will be leaving Wednesday, and I will try to update my blog, maybe. DC, Monticello, Gettysburg, Williamsburg and the mountains are on the itinerary for this trip.

Thunder Hole Acadia National Park

Cadillac Mountain Acadia National Park

Whale Watching & Seals

Liv got seasick, but in the open ocean the swells were pretty rough. Lots of puking going on. My idea of 4 hours of fun!! And we didn't even spot one whale.