The Road Trip
I still have a few blog posts that are pre-move, but I was really eager to share this video from our road trip to UT. I'll write more later, but for now, here is a little glimpse into our lives for the last week. Enjoy!
Day 39: The Fourth of July
On the Fourth of July we brought the kids to Macklay Gardens, a beautiful State Park in Tallahassee with fun things to do. First we hung around on the playground...
Then we went to the lake. Jack stayed busy catching fish.
"Wook! A fish!"
Cat swam around and made some new friends. She's such a social butterfly.... err... fish.
I had so much fun hanging out with this guy for a while!
And Eliza mostly hung out up on the shore with Mema and Papa.
When we left the park, we went to Chick-Fil-A where the cow was wearing an Uncle Sam hat and greeting everyone in the restaurant. And that afternoon, Ben took C & J to see Cars 2 at the movie theater before coming back to Mema and Papa's house for a big cookout. Then we ate cupcakes for Cat's birthday that week and opened a few presents before watching the fireworks in Mema and Papa's neighborhood. We had a really fun day!
Then we went to the lake. Jack stayed busy catching fish.
"Wook! A fish!"
Cat swam around and made some new friends. She's such a social butterfly.... err... fish.
I had so much fun hanging out with this guy for a while!
And Eliza mostly hung out up on the shore with Mema and Papa.
When we left the park, we went to Chick-Fil-A where the cow was wearing an Uncle Sam hat and greeting everyone in the restaurant. And that afternoon, Ben took C & J to see Cars 2 at the movie theater before coming back to Mema and Papa's house for a big cookout. Then we ate cupcakes for Cat's birthday that week and opened a few presents before watching the fireworks in Mema and Papa's neighborhood. We had a really fun day!
Day 37: Zerin's Birthday Party
While in Tallahassee we got to help celebrate CJE's cousin's birthday. Happy #3, Zerin!
The kiddie pool was a big hit...
as was the slip 'n slide. Cat was pretty fearless when ever it was her turn...
while Jack was a bit more cautious.
The kids and uncles all had a good time with the water canons. (I don't have any pictures of the kids vs. adults battle that ensued after lunch, but trust me when I say that it was epic.)
Blowing out candles on tractor cupcakes. What a day!
Mmmmmm......
Eliza had a buddy in Papa all weekend. He didn't seem to mind. :-)
When Eliza let Papa go, he took the kids on a wagon ride, with the birthday boy getting to hang out in front with Papa.
Eliza got her turn with next, kept safe by Mema.
Thanks for inviting us to your fun party, Z! You'll love being 3.
The kiddie pool was a big hit...
as was the slip 'n slide. Cat was pretty fearless when ever it was her turn...
while Jack was a bit more cautious.
The kids and uncles all had a good time with the water canons. (I don't have any pictures of the kids vs. adults battle that ensued after lunch, but trust me when I say that it was epic.)
Blowing out candles on tractor cupcakes. What a day!
Mmmmmm......
Eliza had a buddy in Papa all weekend. He didn't seem to mind. :-)
When Eliza let Papa go, he took the kids on a wagon ride, with the birthday boy getting to hang out in front with Papa.
Eliza got her turn with next, kept safe by Mema.
Thanks for inviting us to your fun party, Z! You'll love being 3.
Day 36: Wakulla Springs
We spent a long weekend in Tallahassee to have some more family-and-friend time before heading out west. On Friday afternoon we headed to Wakulla Springs State Park because, after all, once those Utah folks find out that we're from the south, they're going to be asking us when the last time we saw a gator was. We wanted it to be recent.
Our good friends Tim and Cassie came along with us to the Springs, and their daughter Lana joined us on a 3-mile boat ride down and up the river.
During the boat ride we saw about 6 alligators, 7 manatees, several turtles, various varieties of fish, and some really cool birds. A summary of the birds we saw, to the best of my recollection: a baby blue heron (they're not blue when they're babies, did you know that?), a "Water Turkey" (the Anhinga earned that nickname because it swims but doesn't have oil on its feathers to repel water, so it spreads its wings out to air-dry them), Common Moorehens (which our guide kept calling "the birds with the candy corn beaks"), an Osprey (and its nest - really big and on the highest limb of a tall tree on an island in the middle of the river so that it can see its prey), an egret, an ibis, lots of ducks, and a partridge in a pear tree. Okay, okay. We didn't actually see a partridge. Or a pear tree.
There are some really cool things about Wakulla Springs. It's huge, first of all (among the world's largest and deepest freshwater springs). The water flows up and out of an underground river at a rate of 40,000 gallons per minute. The underwater river and its caves and caverns may reach as far as Georgia, but its source remains a mystery. It is almost 200 feet deep at its deepest point and the depth in one cavern exceeds 300 feet. Multiple prehistoric animal remains have been found at the springs and in its caves, and fossilized mastadon remains can be seen near the spring when the water is clear. And last of all, several well-known movies were filmed there, including The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Airport 77, and several early Tarzan films. Most of them were filmed right around this part of the river:
Of course, since the water is flowing from an underground river, it is really cold. It stays around 70 degrees year-round. Chilly, Jack?
But that didn't stop the kids from having a good time in and around the water.
The girls even braved the cold long enough to swim out with Tim to a platform in the river so that they could get a closer look at some manatees hanging out up there.
Our good friends Tim and Cassie came along with us to the Springs, and their daughter Lana joined us on a 3-mile boat ride down and up the river.
During the boat ride we saw about 6 alligators, 7 manatees, several turtles, various varieties of fish, and some really cool birds. A summary of the birds we saw, to the best of my recollection: a baby blue heron (they're not blue when they're babies, did you know that?), a "Water Turkey" (the Anhinga earned that nickname because it swims but doesn't have oil on its feathers to repel water, so it spreads its wings out to air-dry them), Common Moorehens (which our guide kept calling "the birds with the candy corn beaks"), an Osprey (and its nest - really big and on the highest limb of a tall tree on an island in the middle of the river so that it can see its prey), an egret, an ibis, lots of ducks, and a partridge in a pear tree. Okay, okay. We didn't actually see a partridge. Or a pear tree.
There are some really cool things about Wakulla Springs. It's huge, first of all (among the world's largest and deepest freshwater springs). The water flows up and out of an underground river at a rate of 40,000 gallons per minute. The underwater river and its caves and caverns may reach as far as Georgia, but its source remains a mystery. It is almost 200 feet deep at its deepest point and the depth in one cavern exceeds 300 feet. Multiple prehistoric animal remains have been found at the springs and in its caves, and fossilized mastadon remains can be seen near the spring when the water is clear. And last of all, several well-known movies were filmed there, including The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Airport 77, and several early Tarzan films. Most of them were filmed right around this part of the river:
Of course, since the water is flowing from an underground river, it is really cold. It stays around 70 degrees year-round. Chilly, Jack?
But that didn't stop the kids from having a good time in and around the water.
The girls even braved the cold long enough to swim out with Tim to a platform in the river so that they could get a closer look at some manatees hanging out up there.
It was a wonderful way to spend a hot July afternoon.
Day 29: Girl Scout Camp Family Day
Cat had her first bonafide summer camp experience in June. She spent a week at Girl Scout Day Camp and absolutely loved it, despite the bugs and the heat. It was a Rainforest theme and all of the 1st Graders were the Orangutans. She came home with fun Rainforest-y crafts and random knowledge and of course tons of fun camp songs, some of which I sung at camps as a kid. (Did anyone else sing "The Princess Pat" at camp?)
I brought J & E down to the camp on Friday afternoon for Parents Day. First, each group sang a song. The 1st Graders sang a 12 Days of Christmas song that started "On the first day of day camp the rainforest gave to me..."
I brought J & E down to the camp on Friday afternoon for Parents Day. First, each group sang a song. The 1st Graders sang a 12 Days of Christmas song that started "On the first day of day camp the rainforest gave to me..."
After each group sang their song, the 1st Graders did the closing flag ceremony.
All lined up and ready to go.
Cat with her buddies from her troop: Cailyn and Breiana.
Such a fun experience and I'm so glad that I could experience part of it.
Day 24: Father's Day
We had a pretty good, but low-key Father's Day in our house. I tried my hand at cream puffs and Cat made these little mints.
Eliza helped Ben open his presents... before he even came into the living room.
Here is Ben with his picture frame decorated by Cat, and his photo card of the kids.
Daddy = Jungle Gym
WE LOVE DADDY!
Project Update
While I wouldn't say that the 88 Days of Summer Project is a huge success,
I think it did reach the goal of helping Cat branch out of her normal activities and
try a few new things. Here is a sampling of some things she's done because of the project...
try a few new things. Here is a sampling of some things she's done because of the project...
Popsicle Stick Puzzle:
Cat made the puzzle, then Suz helped Jack put it together.
Coin Critters:
(See explanation here.)
Art project with random supplies:
Finished product:
Tangrams:
(I printed out all of the shapes and the puzzles from this website... so cool.)
Decorating the hallway with art:
Yep, she loved the tangrams.
Puppets and Background for Puppet Show:
Cooking with a great kids' cookbook from the library:
Making sand clay creatures:
Used this recipe... more on that later.
Learned the names of the states in the Southeastern Region:
She studied the left side one day, then filled in the right side the next day.
Didn't keep the one she wrote on, but this is what I made for the exercise.
Learned the names of the states in the Southeastern Region:
She studied the left side one day, then filled in the right side the next day.Didn't keep the one she wrote on, but this is what I made for the exercise.
Day 22: End of Swim Lessons
Cat finished her 2 weeks of swim lessons in the middle of June and she just loved it.
She worked on the front crawl, back stroke, side stroke, and floating.
She worked on the front crawl, back stroke, side stroke, and floating.
Day 21: Chick-Fil-A
My good friend Cassie was in Jacksonville for the week and we decided to meet up for a playdate somewhere in the middle so that neither of us would have to drive too far. We settled on a Chick-Fil-A in South Georgia, just over the Florida border... air conditioning, cheap entertainment, and good food. Yeah!
The kids were so happy to just play on the playground. They had a blast.
The kids were so happy to just play on the playground. They had a blast.
Then a ton of people showed up and we found out that it was all you can eat chicken nugget day! And they told me we could share, so all the kids reaped the benefits. (Even though none of them ate very much chicken because they were much more interested in playing.) And since it was such a special day, a special visitor made rounds as well.
I think Jack was more excited about seeing "Mr. Cow" than he was about meeting "Monkey George" at Universal Studios in May. He was hilarious... just following the cow around the restaurant (and even outside - scary!!) and saying, "Hi, Mr. Cow!" every 10 seconds.
We tried to get a picture of all 6 kids in the restaurant, but they were too wiggly, too distracted, and the little ones were too apt to fall off of little ones' laps. So the back of the SUV was a better option.
Eliza, Jack, Madi, Cat, Lana, and Jacob
Fun day.
Fun day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)