Tree Plantings

Today we had to take a 30 minute break from "regular" school so we could go outside and watch the city workers plant two new trees in our front yard median strip. It was actually pretty cool. There was a bunch of Mexican guys out there working hard at digging the holes (with a backhoe) planting the tree straight, filling the holes back in, watering, and finally tying the trees to 2x4's.  They didn't look too impressed when we broke out the camera, but once they realized we were just curious and not "observing" them, they relaxed and even smiled at the camera a couple times.  Once the workers were all done and gone, the boys each "claimed" a tree.  They asked if the could climb them and of course, I told them "No, but maybe your kids can."  They weren't happy.  :-)

Watching the planting of "Levi's" tree.

Levi supervising the planting of "Indy's" tree.

Checking out his new tree. 

Isn't homeschooling wonderful???  :-)

Recently Overheard...

The competition between boys, mine specifically, is just amazing....and non-stop!! lol  Today we were in the car and I heard them talking kinda like the teacher in Charlie Brown, "Wa-wa-wa", but then it finally penetrated my brain and this is what I hear:

"A motorcyle beats you."
"A police car beats you."
"Well, a fire truck beats you."
"A monster truck beats you."
"God beats you."
No response.

LOL!  It was so funny.  When we were in Joann Fabrics today, the cashier told me that according to statistics, one boy is like 4 girls, meaning I had the equivalent to 8 girls with me!  That sounds about right!  They are certainly busy and noisy and rough and messy, but boy are they a joy!  So grateful for my rambunctious boys!! :-)

Recently Overheard...

So Levi puts a cotton ball in his belly button this morning and says, "Hey Mom, I've got the hairiest belly button in the world!" LOL Ahhh, such is my life with boys! :-)

Summer, 2011

We've had a VERY busy summer this year! First, in June, Savannah graduated high school....Whoo hoo!! Also in June, we had Vacation Bible School at our new church. What a blessing and sooo much fun getting to know people better. In July, Ashton went on mission trip to Jax with the youth group and had a wonderful time. She got to really know some of the kids better and develop some real friendships. She also got to see the world from an entirely different perspective. They worked with inner city kids doing block parties, Bible camps, and even street prayer walks. She was so blessed and grew so much spiritually. Later in July, we went on vacation to Charleston to see the Yorktown, which is a WWII-era aircraft carrier and Indy LOVED it! It was fascinating! We walked through the whole thing and were pooped when we finished! We also got to see Ft. Sumpter and downtown Charleston, rode a ferry, and visited a plantation. It was a lot of fun and very educational. After that, we went to NC to stay with mom and Richard and Leslie were there, too. We had a great week with family.

Unfortunately, Mom got sick and ended up in the hospital for a week or so. Thankfully, Richard and Leslie were able to stay with her for some extra time and when they had to go, I went back up with Savannah and the boys. We stayed for two weeks to help her recover. Speaking of Savannah, she moved up there with mom. Wow. One kid gone. Seems weird around here without her. Too quiet....yes, even with 3 others still here. So, now I'm home and we're back to school and regular routines. We start golf, football, and scouts soon. Savannah is up in NC looking for a job, which she will hopefully find soon, and helping mom do stuff around the house and driving her to dr. appts. She's my eyes and ears while I'm down here, so that's a huge help.

Well, that's a run-down of our summer. Sorry I've not put up pictures, but right now I'm just too busy. I'll try for next time. :-)

Rough Road Trip

So, this past weekend, the kids and I drove up to NC for my grandmother's surprise 90th birthday party. No, we didn't shout "Surprise!" But, many of her family and friends met at a restaurant, which we had decorated earlier in the day, and she was ever so surprised to see everyone and realize they were all there for her. She has a sister, who will be 98 next month and she lives in a nursing facility. Her son, my mom's cousin, said that if his mom, Aunt Helen, was having a "good" day, he would bring her, but no one knew for sure whether she would be there or not. And, she WAS! Such a sweet picture of my grandmother and her sister (who had a stroke last year) sitting together and smiling at each other and trying to talk. I'm so glad she was able to come to the party. I know that meant a lot to my grandmother to have her there. Well, that took awhile for her to get past her sister and on to other guests. Finally, she headed over to my mom and my 6'8" cousin who were standing side by side with me, my kids, and my brother (who had flown in from Texas) hiding behind them. They both said, "Happy Birthday, Mamuz" and stepped aside. She saw my kids and you could see a little bit of confusion on her face, as if she was thinking she must be confusing these kids with some other kids, but they sure look like her great grandkids. Then she saw my brother and nearly started crying. That look alone, was worth all the hassle, money, and energy it took to get us there. Finally, she saw me and gave me a great big hug. She just couldn't believe we'd all come for her birthday. So precious. The party was very nice and I think she really enjoyed seeing all her guests and visiting with them (and being the center of attention!).

The next day, we were able to spend a couple hours visiting with my grandmother, aunt, and uncle and seeing their new house. It was a pretty nice trip. I also had a good bit of time to hang out with my brother, which so rarely happens.

So, finally, on Monday morning, we left NC heading home. We made pretty good time and were well on our way when, just south of Jax, my car began overheating on I-95. Ugh. Now what?? And, it was rush hour. We pulled over and let the car cool down for about 15 mins. I started it back up and began to drive slowly. The temp went up again. Argh. So, I pulled over once again to try to decide what to do. I do have AAA, so I could have called for a tow, if I really needed it, but I just wanted to get off I-95. I used my GPS to see what was at this next exit and saw a McDonald's was very near. We started the car back up and went straight there. I figured at least we could be in a/c with access to bathrooms and food and drinks if necessary, plus the boys could play on the playground. I realized Nicky had already gone to work, so I wouldn't be able to get hold of him. I called my brother to see what he thought I should do. Of course, he said to check my fluids, but when I realized it was about 10 mins. to 5, I panicked because if I were to find a shop, would they close at 5? Then I'm stuck til tomorrow? Even before I checked my fluids, I used the GPS to find a nearby repair place and right across the street was a mall with a Sears Auto Center in it. I immediately told the kids to load up and we drove right over there. Thankfully, they didn't close until 8, so I had plenty of time.

While I dealt with the car and repair people, the girls took the boys into the mall and they walked around the mall for an hour or more. Well, hey, that's right up their alley, right?? lol I was really thankful for them doing that. That helped a lot. I told the guy what I knew about my car and then I asked him, "You're not going to take advantage of me because I'm from out of town, are you?" He said No, which of course he would say, but then he told me that as a matter of fact, he wouldn't even charge me the usual $75 fee to just look at and evaluate the car. Wow! Thanks! I told them I was travelling and couldn't get hold of my husband, etc. The manager told me that they thought it must be my fan (which I knew was broken already), but they weren't sure. If I would rather, I could take it over to the dealer about 5 miles away, because they work on these every day. I asked for their number, and while they looked at my car, I called the dealer for a rough estimate. They really didn't want to give me an estimate, but I finally got one out of him and it was over $600. Yikes. I gave him my info and thanked him. I called my brother and asked what he thought. The dealer had a hotel right next door, but it would probably cost more to have them fix it. At Sears, there were no hotels even at that exit, but it might be cheaper. I finally got an estimate from Sears for $475. Cheaper, yay. The dealer's estimate was for the fan only. Sears' estimate was for the fan plus my thermostat, which they really thought would need to be replaced. I ok'd the work, which they couldn't do until tomorrow morning after they got the part.

The kids showed back up and began asking questions.... Are we staying here over night? Where are we going to stay? How are we going to get there? When can we eat? How are we going to get back in the morning? Man, hard questions. I told them not to worry that we'd figure it all out, one thing at a time. One other question I was asking that they didn't even know about was How am I going to pay for this? I knew I didn't have that much money in the account. And, what if it came out more?? After I ok'd the work for Sears, I asked them where there were any hotels around here and they said there weren't any at this exit....of course. I again used my GPS to find hotels, while unbeknownst to me, the repair guy was on his computer finding me hotels. They finally found a couple at the next exit and then I asked if they had any idea how I could get there, since it was like 3 miles away. I knew I could walk if necessary, but I really didn't want to walk my kids along I-95 for 3 miles. Then one of the other guys told me he would take me and the kids to the hotel in his truck. Wow. I was stunned. When we finally got there, he waited to make sure I could get a room, before he left. So kind. In the meantime, I had called my mom (since I couldn't get hold of Nicky) and asked her if she could put $600 into my account for me, just in case I needed it. She could....whew! We walked across the street to Arby's for dinner and took it back to our room. In the morning, we had a full buffet breakfast which was included with our room. Thank goodness it wasn't just cereal and bagels. The kids ate a lot and the older 3 even each took a piece of fruit for the ride home.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I have a cousin and aunt who live in Jax, but I haven't talked to them for awhile. My cousin works, but my aunt is retired. So, I called my mom to get their phone number and asked my aunt if she could come get us and take us back to Sears in the morning. She could. Whew.....again. She came after rush hour, so we got back to Sears about 11. When the manager saw me, he said, "Oh, I was going to come get you." I was again stunned and told him I had been able to get hold of my aunt to bring us. I thought that was so sweet. After a few minutes, he told me that the thermostat had indeed been broken, but after further review, they didn't think the fan actually needed to be replaced. It didn't come on like it was supposed to, but they thought it was a wiring problem, which could wait til I got home. They didn't replace the fan, only the thermostat and radiator cap, which was also broken. I said, "Oh, ok. So how much did that cost?" They pulled out the paperwork and said, "$106." I couldn't believe it! $106?!?!? Amazing! I was sooo relieved. I paid and just before I walked out, I asked them what I should do if it started heating back up again. They said just pull over and wait for it to cool down....... Then I asked if I should carry a gallon of water, just in case. They guy said yes and I asked where the nearest Publix was so I could get a gallon of water. While he was telling me how to get there, the manager (a sweet old black man) brought me an old coolant container that he'd filled with water. He handed it to me and told me to keep that in my car and I didn't have to go to Publix.

They were all just amazing guys. I think they kept thinking about their own wives and kids on the road alone. Oh, and when I was in Palm Beach, I got a call from them, yes, Sears, asking how the car was doing and if I'd had any trouble. The guy asked me how much longer I had and when I told him about 2 hours, he told me to call if I had any problems. Again, stunned. Man, A++++ service! You know, I was on the south side of Jax and if I was 2 exits further, I would've been in a loooong stretch of road with no exits nor help. I would've had to call AAA and been stuck in the middle of nowhere. God let me break down right near that exit. I could've been anywhere else, but He led me there. I wouldn't have fared as well anyplace else. Those guys couldn't have been more helpful or kind and for that I am extremely grateful. The dealer would've replaced anything they could get away with and I would've had a huge bill. Plus, I can't help but think that the dealer just wouldn't have had the empathy the Sears guys had. I really believe God put me right there to take care of me and the kids. We're working on a nice card for them and I'm baking cookies to send them all. I want them to know how grateful I am for their above and beyond the call of duty kindness.

So, if you're ever in Jax and have car trouble, go to the Sears Auto Center at The Avenues mall. You can't beat the service! :-) God is good.

It's Dynamite!

Tonight, the boys were watching America's Funniest Videos, which they often do because they think it's a hoot, and an interesting video came on. They were watching this video and I'm standing behind them watching them watch the video. I wanted to see their reaction and see if they figured anything out or if I was going to have to face a barrage of questions at the end. It was a video a mom had taped of her two sons, about the same ages as my boys. They were in their back yard and the older one was holding a clean, unused "feminine hygiene product that has a string" across his flat palm, with the string dangling off the side. The mom asked the boys what that was. Here's the exchange:

Mom: What is that?
Boy: It's dynamite.
Mom: It is?
Boy: Yeah.
Mom: Where did you find it?
Boy: Over there, by the fence, on the ground.
Mom: Was it in anything?
Boy: Yeah, it was in some kind of wrapper.
Mom: Oh. Well, what do you think we should do with it?
Boy: (After thinking for a second...) Give it to the police.
Mom: Yeah? Well, maybe we should put it away now so no one gets hurt.

Now, first, I must say, I can't believe that mom could have that whole conversation without even cracking a smile. It was hilarious! The kid was so concerned about the dynamite. So, after the video is over, the scene pans to the audience who were all laughing and clapping. I'm thinking, "Oh boy. What are the boys thinking? What are they going to ask me? Man, I hope I don't have to start explaining things." etc. About that time, Levi pipes up and says, "That's not dynamite, Dummy. That's a candle!" I about busted out laughing. It was sooo funny and Indy didn't even disagree with him!! They're so cute! Such innocence. Too bad it doesn't last longer.

Cub Scout Campout!

Last weekend, we went camping with our cub scout troop. And, boy, was it cold! I, personally, woke up quite the unhappy camper since I was freezing and my mattress deflated and I was sleeping on the ground with a very sore back! Ugh. But, the boys had a blast and Nicky even went, which was a lot of fun for them to have their dad there.

One of the dads had these military hand warmer thingies that were fascinating to the boys! Here Levi is warming his hands with his.

Here's Levi and one of the other boys walking around the fire pit.

The pack was working on a sports badge this weekend, so they played soccer, kickball, volleyball, horseshoes, and golf. Here, it takes 5 boys to set up one soccer goal!! lol

Levi has the soccer ball! Go, Levi, go!

Now, Indy has the soccer ball! Go, Indy, go!!

Ok, Indy's taking a break! That's too much running for him!! lol

For each sport, they learned the rules and some skills and then actually played it. They had to do an individual sport, too, so they did golf. But, since none of the adults really know how to play it, they asked Levi to teach the pack how to play. They even gave him a headset attached to a big megaphone speaker. He thought he was the king with that on!! lol

Here, he's talking about the goal of golf (to get it in the hole) and what the clubs are called.

Here, he's letting them hit plastic practice balls with drivers and irons.

Here, he's teaching one of the boys the proper way to place his feet, while Daddy looks on. Oh, and club placement, too.

He had them all lined up, just like his Coach Derrick does at practice, while he walked back and forth, observing. Though, I think he should learn to walk BEHIND the golfers, not IN FRONT OF them!! lol

Indy set up cones for them to practice putting into. We only had 3 putter, so they made 3 lines to try it out. Since Indy's played some golf, too, and also knows some stuff, he was able to "assist" Levi while I took pictures.

After golf, they learned about horseshoes. Funny enough, the cubmaster didn't really know how to play, so Nicky stepped up to teach the boys the rules and how to play. They all learned and had fun playing.

Indy was the only one who made a ringer!! And he was so proud!! Daddy was proud, too!!

We had a lot of fun at our campout and in 3 weeks, we get to do it again!! Oh, yay. :-) Though I love camping, they may camp me out!!

Our 22nd Anniversary

On January 27, it was our 22nd wedding anniversary. We went out to dinner and Nicky bought me some fancy nail and hand cream sets. As he said, frivolous stuff I wouldn't buy for myself. I thought that was nice. Anyway, since it was on a Thursday, and he'd worked all day, he was pooped, so we came home after dinner.

But, the next morning, we took the boys and went over to Fairchild again. I know we just went, but my pass expires soon and Nicky's never, ever been there. Which, I find hard to believe since he's lived here his whole life, but I guess it could be possible. I knew he would like it because he likes plants and gardens outdoors stuff. And, he did. Plus, I worked really hard to get some good pictures. I took a ton, which of course becomes annoying, but here are a few of them.
Nicky with the boys on the tram.
Here's a good one of us by a waterfall in the rainforest garden area.

I was going to take one of the boys and Nicky and someone walking by offered to take one of the four of us, so we let them. I thought it came out pretty darn good! It's weird for me to take "family" pictures without the girls, but I guess I better get used to it, right? It won't be long til they're moved out and on their own and I can't not take pictures of us because they're not there. But, it's still weird. Doesn't look right.

I love pictures like this of all the boys together. So precious.

Anyway, I kinda considered Nicky going with us to Fairchild as part of my anniversary celebration. Later that day was when we went camping with the cub scouts. He actually spent the whole entire weekend with us, doing stuff we wanted to do. That hasn't happened in a long time and since he's getting ready to start overtime, it probably won't happen for a long while to come, so I thoroughly enjoyed it!!

Chocolate Festival!!

On January 22, the kids and I went to Fairchild Tropical Gardens for their annual Chocolate Festival!! We were really looking forward to all the chocolate samples and stuff to eat! And, we did get some stuff, but we had a lot of fun just learning about the cacao plant and how they turn it into the chocolate we know and love! Actually, we've been studying about Brazil and the Rainforest the last few weeks in our homeschool studies, so this played right into it. I love when that happens!! They do have some cacao plants at Fairchild, but apparently, it's not warm enough for them to actually flower and bloom. So, the only place you can actually get the chocolate from is South or lower Central America! This lady told them the basics and showed them the pod and then gave them a scavenger hunt paper, which we followed and learned a lot.

On the left is the pod. Inside the pod are the seeds (center). They roast the seeds and then take out the "nibs"(right), which actually becomes the chocolate. It's a very long process, which I guess, explains the cost of chocolate. Of course, it's worth every penny, right?!? lol

This is the boys at one of the stations asking the question they were supposed to ask and writing the answer.

This is more of the pod, seeds, and nibs.

In totally unrelated news, on the 25th, we had our annual International Day with our homeschool group. Indy did Russia and Levi did New Zealand. They had fun and actually learned some stuff!! Surprise, surprise!! ;-)

"Is that embarrassing?" and "M-O-G"

Indy has been obsessed lately with discovering what is embarrassing and what is not. Whenever I make a mistake, he asks me, "Was that embarrassing, Mom?" or "Aren't you embarrassed?" and it boggles him when I say "No." He keeps trying to figure out what is and is not embarrassing and it's kinda funny. I'm wondering how long it will take him to figure it out. Probably once he does something and is embarrassed he'll know....just like the rest of us! lol

Today I heard Levi say "M-O-G!" I knew what he was trying to say, but was just a little confused. He meant to say "O-M-G"! Pretty funny. After a hidden chuckle, I told him that saying "O-M-G" was the same thing as actually saying it, so he shouldn't say that any more. He understood and agreed. But, it was funny when he said it with the same shocked tone you hear older kids saying it. :-)

Nike Missile Site

On January 19, we went on a field trip to the Nike Missile Site in Everglades National Park. It is a missile site from the Cold War Era that was set up for defense during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was fascinating! But, I must say, the most amazing this is that I've lived in South Florida my whole life and never knew this was even here!! So this was a really fun field trip for me!! :-) I didn't get the whole "Nike" thing, like the sneakers, but they explained it to us: The word "Nike" was from some Greek mythological story where the god was strong like fire, but flew (or something like that. I was trying to take pictures, keep the kids wrangled, and listen all at once, so I did my best.) Anyway, the tour guide said that that's where the sneaker got it's name from, too. If you're old enough, do you remember that the Nike logo used to have wings? That's why. Pretty cool, huh? I thought so!! lol

So, here we are at the missile site.

This is one of four hangers that they used to house the missiles in. The base closed down in 1979 and since then, has fallen into disrepair. But, the Everglades Park has acquired it as a historical place and is in the process of refurbishing it to it's original look, at least as best they can do. They said each building housed 4 missiles, which were manually rolled out on tracks and then lifted mechanically to aim and shoot. Isn't it amazing how quickly technology has changed in only 4o or 50 short years!! Now we have the Patriot missiles that are practically unstoppable!!

If you look in the very center of this picture, you see a yellow square thing. That is the escape hatch for the guys under this mound in the bunker. Indy thought that was really cool.

And, this is the bunker for one of the other hangers. We couldn't go in because, like all buildings of that time, it's full of asbestos and lead paint, which is peeling. But, we did get to stand outside and look in. Pretty cool. Not sure I'd like to be in there too long, since it was really, really small, but still neat to look at. They plan to clean all the bunkers out and make them so people can actually walk in. I can't wait to go back when they're done and see it refurbished back to it's original state.

This was the building where they did assembly on the missiles. Someone (the park doesn't know who), painted this missile on the side of the building. We took lots of pictures in front of it. Here, the tour guide is telling the kids all about it. Indy is in red and raising his hand. He loves anything military, so he just had a ball on this field trip!

Here's the boys with the park ranger, who got a kick out of Levi.

Well, since we were in the Park, we decided to stop at one of the boardwalks where they have areas to picnic and have lunch. After lunch, we walked on the boardwalk and saw this.....

and this.....

and this......

and this!!

Indy counted 22 alligators in this one area. There's only about 12 here in this picture. They are all "in" (near land and canals) right now because it's dry as all get out, out in the Everglades. When the rains come in late spring, early summer, they will all head back out into the wild. So, wintertime is a great time to get some close up pix of alligators!!

Army Fort

Indy is utterly fascinated right now with all things military. Today the boys were bored so they took all their little army guys and tanks and planes and stuff and rearranged the bricks to make a military fort. They must have spent two hours out there playing. It was really cool how they built the fort and placed all the things.

Setting it up...

More setting up...

Bridging the gap....

Part of the fortress...

So much fun! :-)

Basketball!!

Today was the boys' first basketball game ever. They've just started playing basketball, so they're basically clueless except for the few things they've learned from their coaches in the last two weeks' practices. I wasn't sure how they would do, but I was very excited to watch them play!

As it turns out, Levi's team tied with the other team. Funny enough, in the first 10 seconds of hte game, Levi scored for his team! They flipped the coin, the winning team tossed the ball into play and when the guy got the ball, just as he started to dribble it, Levi came from nowhere and stole the ball then dribbled down the court for a basket! No one could believe it!! So cool! But, it was so fun watching those little guys. They are soooo cute!! And, they were all so happy just to be playing! His team in Kindergarten and first graders, so they're all new at this. So fun.

Like the blue mustache? Ashton bought Levi a blue gatorade to drink during half-time, which he did, then got the mustache! lol

Dribbling the ball down the court.

Indy's game was right after Levi's game. He played really well, though their team lost. I think they all had fun. They all seemed happy afterwards, but I think now that they've played an actual game, they'll begin getting the hang of it all. So, I'm sure the games will only get better. Here, Indy is shooting for a basket. He's the blurry one in black.

Since they can only have five players at a time, some of the team must sit out on a rotating basis. They play three 6-minute periods during the first half, have a 5-minute halftime, and then do three more 6-minute periods. Here, Indy is resting during his time out rotation, watching the game.

Dribbling the ball, going toward a basket.

Overall, it was a very exciting game day and we all had a lot of fun! We have 9 more games to go and I know they will get better as the time goes by and the games will only get more exciting! So, stay tuned!! :-)

Climbing....

One day we went to a friend's birthday party at this kid place, like Chuck E. Cheese but not, and they have the best climbing thing that I've ever seen. You go to this place just for the climbing thing and the kids love it! And, we went during a weekday, so there wasn't hardly anyone there! It was great!

Here, Indy is riding this bar downhill. He must have done this 10 times or more! I think this was his favorite!

This is Levi (in green) and Indy coming out of one of the tunnels going down this soft ladder thingie. Man, trying to get them to slow down long enough to get a picture was very difficult!!

Now Levi is on this metal rolling thingie that went uphill. He kept slipping in his sock feet on this one, but finally made it up.

And, here's Indy climbing up the backside of this triangle mountain thing. I'm sure it was hard to pull himself up, but he kept doing it. I know I couldn't have done it!! (Well, maybe when I was 8 I could have!! lol)