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)

Miscellaneous January

These are just some more misc. pictures from January.

I caught Levi putting together this kitten floor puzzle we have from when the girls were little. He really likes floor puzzles, so when he remembers we have them, he goes to a corner someplace and puts one together.
Working hard....almost finished!

Whoo hoo! He finished! Great job, Levi! :-)

Another day, I heard my boys and one of the neighbor boys making a lot of racket outside, so I peeked out the window to see what was going on. They were taking turns running and jumping onto then off-of the trampoline we got Levi for Christmas (so he'd stop jumping on my couch!!).

Indy is running to the trampoline...

Then off he goes!

You can see Levi in the background of the others, with his arms of victory in the air. lol

And, there goes the neighbor!! (Please don't get hurt!! )

I finally stopped taking pictures through the window screen and went out the door. They were only too happy to show me their accomplishment!

Indy

Levi

Neighbor (Yes, I know his name, I'm just not telling you. ;-) )

Then, a couple days later, I found yet another Like Father, Like Son picture. Here Nicky and Indy are actually sleeping after church!! Too funny!

Trust

I've been thinking the last few days, about "trust" as it relates to me and God. It's funny how something will strike a thought in your mind about something and one thought will lead to another and then another and then another. Then, pretty soon you have this whole conversation (or speech) going on in your head about a topic. Well, at least that's how I think a lot of times. I don't have time (nor desire, I guess), to talk out all my thoughts with an actual person, so I end up doing these thought "trains" in my mind as I go about my daily life. Is that weird??

Anyway, about trust.... I was praying about a particular thing that I'm trying very desperately to let go of and let God handle. I keep handing it over to Him and then taking it back. (I think I do that a lot!!) I was so upset that I'd taken it back once again that I cried out to Him asking "Why?? Why do I take it back over and over?? Why can't I just let it go??" I reasoned that I have worries about my kids and I let them go easy enough, why not this?? Then I realized that with the kids, I KNOW I have no control. I KNOW God is the only one who can handle that. But, with this other thing, I have this illusion that I have some control, so I continually take it back. I realized that it's easier to trust God with stuff I know I have no control over anyway, so why not just hand it over. But, with the stuff that I think I have some control of , I keep trying to take it back again and again.

So, what's the upshot of this thought train, you ask? Well, frankly, I don't know. I guess it's just me rambling and thinking aloud. Is there an answer? Of course! Just trust God. But, alas, it's easier said than done. So I will continue to hand my issue over to Him again and again until I can get it right and maybe I'll trust Him a little more each time until I finally let go. I guess that should be another New Year's resolution! :-)

New Year, New Goals

Happy New Year!

I have been playing on Facebook for a year now. It's ok, but man, do I miss blogging. So, one of my New Year's resolutions, I'm going to try to blog more often. I really love doing it and love looking back on my daily life, but it's so easy to get sucked into FB when all your friends hang out there. So..... I'm going to try very hard to start blogging again. We'll see...... :-)