Christmas at Tara

Tonight we went to the Annual Christmas Lighting at Tara.  It was actually re-scheduled this year due to bad weather two weeks ago.  The kids had a great time wandering around and checking out the Christmas decor.  

This year they gave out cute shirts to the kids.  They say  "I got tangled up in lights at Tara Plantation."

Logan turns 9!

Ok, so this post is 4 days late, but I am sure he will forgive me.  Logan celebrated his "Golden Birthday" last week.  I can't believe he is already 9 years old!  Where does the time go?  If you ask Amy, she will tell you that Logan has celebrated his birthday 4 times (or are we up to 5?), but here are some adventures from his actual birthday. 

He requested to go to Disney - and since our annual passes are about to expire, we thought it would be a good opportunity to go.  Unfortunately, Mike had to work, but we had a nice day anyway.  We let Logan open his presents at breakfast.  He had asked for a YoYo and ended up with 4!  (We told him there was one from each of his family members.). 

We went to EPCOT and then the Magic Kingdom.  We basically let Logan pick all day which rides to go on and what to do next.  Believe me - this boy likes to be "in charge".  He was considerate of his siblings as well.  

Here are a few pics of his special day.  HAPPY 9th BIRTHDAY LOGAN!  I love you!

You Know You are a Homeschooler When. . .

Ok, there are no pictures to accompany this right now, and I PROMISE to get pics of Logan's 9th Birthday up soon, but I had to write about my excitement today. 

My Mom called and said she had a dry erase board from a drug rep and wanted to know if I wanted it.  I said sure - a little hesitant about what "drug" would be represented ;).  So she brings it home tonight and it is the coolest thing ever.  

It is a dry erase AND magnetic board and comes with a magnetic pen holder, magnetic stapler, magnetic staple remover and built in post it dispenser.  There IS a logo in the bottom corner, but that is easily covered up by all the "magnetic accessories".  

Sometimes it is the  little things that make me HAPPY!  

Forever Florida

It seems we are taking field trips nearly every week, but I guess that is just part of the fun of homeschooling.  This week we went to this place called "Forever Florida" on the Crescent J Ranch.  There is a link over on the side bar.  

A homeschooling Dad was re-shooting the photo advertising for the Ranch, so he needed "models".  They invited anybody in our homeschool group who wanted to go for free.  We got to take the Eco Tour and get a free lunch.  It was a really cool place!  The kids had a lot of fun and we got VERY close up to FL wildlife.  At one point we were 5 feet from an Alligator (standing on the ground next to the water where he was swimming) - a little too close for my comfort.  

Growing Up too fast!

ACCK!  My son has braces.  Ok, so it is only 2 brackets on his front two teeth, but I feel like Daddy picked him up for the Orthodontist a little boy and dropped him back off a "big kid".  EEK!!  I am feeling rather old.  Just for the record - he thinks they are VERY cool! 

Green Meadows Farm

Last week I took the kids to Green Meadows Farm.  Somebody from our homeschool support group organized a field trip and we had quite a good turn out.  The kids had a great time - we got to milk a cow, hold chickens & ducks, pet all kinds of animals, take a train ride, ride some ponies and go on a hay ride.  Ella's favorite part was holding the baby chick and riding the ponies.  Spencer liked the chickens - he even held a rooster.  Logan enjoyed holding the duckling and the Easter Egg Chicken - who lays colored eggs.  

Race for the Taste

Last weekend Amy & I ran in Disney's Race for the Taste 10K.  It wasn't a FABULOUS race, but we had a good time.  We had actually run 10 miles the day before, as part of our marathon training, so we just "took it easy" on race day. 

The kids participated in the kids race and had a great time.  Here are a few pics from race day.  

Gotta brag on my Spencer

So today I was having a hard time getting Spencer motivated.  He was supposed to be working on his math in my bedroom (he needs the quiet).  When I went in to check on him, he had all the kid's DVDs in a pile on the floor.  He said he got bored of the math and was alphabetizing the DVDs.  I wasn't sure WHAT he was doing, but I told him he needed to finish the math before finishing his "project".  Two minutes later he handed me a perfect math test.  

A little later I went back in my room to check on his "project".  He has all the DVDs perfectly alphabetized (to the 1st letter).  I don't think I should complain about him alphabetizing movies starting with "The" with the "T's".  Do you?  AND I think that should count as his "Language Arts" for today!  

Hope you are pleasantly surprised today too! 

Lots of Dots!

Here is Ella in her new "Lots of Dots" outfit from Gymboree.  I know I am a bit biased, but isn't she so cute?

Elections and The Raft

Last week we visited the local McCain HQ.  We took a tour and learned about what they do there - which is basically make phone calls.  The kids thought it was interesting.  We are continuing a month long unit study on Elections.  

The week before last we rowed "The Raft" and the kids made popsicle stick rafts.  We FINALLY got around to floating them last week.  

Trip to Japan!

So, I didn't actually take the kids to Japan, but we did go to EPCOT so we could get a look at a bit of Japan.  I wasn't planning to go, but a friend needed to be picked up at the airport, so I thought we would combine the trips and do something fun.  We had a GREAT day - especially for something unplanned.  EPCOT was pretty empty (although a bit hot!).  We also spent some time over in the Magic Kingdom and caught the afternoon parade.  Fun day!

Grass Sandals - Japan

So we are back in the swing of things.  It was SOOOO good to get home and hug my kids.  We are rowing Grass Sandals this week for school.  Today we wrote Hikau and made Japanese Hats.  Here are the kid's poems:

Logan

Volcano

Lava Steamy Hot

Boulders Crush and Bang Loudly

Rushing and Screaming

Spencer

Sharks

Big Chomping Sharp Teeth

Do not chew; Only tear to eat

They can eat us - YUM!

Ella

Seahorses

Spikey on Seaweed

Nice Cute Float Underwater

Happy Smiling Good

HOME!

I will post more later with some picture from the past 39 hours (the amount of time it took from when we left the hotel in Eilat until we pulled into our driveway in Vero.  WHEW!)  We are exhausted, but VERY happy to be home safe and sound.  There is nothing better than hugging your kids and getting kisses from them!  

Thank you for your prayers during our journey. . .more soon. . . 

SCUBA Diving in the Red Sea!

I am SO tired and it is late - so this will be relatively short, but I HAD to post. Today Dan, Amy & I went diving in the Red Sea. Dan arranged our dive yesterday with a woman who spoke limited English. She said something about bringing our passports because of going to Egypt, but we just thought we would be in Egyptian waters and needed the passports "just in case". Um, not so much. We actually started at a dive shop in Eilat, where we checked in. From there we got into a "bus" (and I use that term loosely) for a 5 minute drive to the border. Then we walked through the border - all 7 checkpoints! We had a guide to lead us, but it was still CRAZY. THEN we got our equipment from a dive shop in Egypt and got on our boat.

Diving in the Red Sea was SUPER cool. I was so amazed by all the fish and colors. We rented a digital camera and got some decent pics. I will post a few now, and maybe some more tomorrow.

The picture of me sitting on the sea wall gives you a glimpse of why the Red Sea is called the "Red" Sea. At sunset, the mountains reflect into the water giving it a reddish hue.

Finishing up in Jerusalem and driving to Eilat

Today we packed up our stuff at the hotel and then headed back to the Garden Tomb. We had a very productive time, wrapping up nearly all of our taping.

After that we went back to the hotel for checkout. We headed south and stopped back in Ein Geti at our favorite "restaurant behind a gas station" for lunch.

It was a LONG drive (about 4 hours) through the desert, but we survived. It was very interesting terrain, but (even with the a/c) it was also HOT. At one point - after putting on sunblock, Amy & I were using tissues to cover our shoulders that were still in the direct sunlight.

We arrived in Eilat - on the Red Sea - about 5 PM. Check in took about forever, but it was well worth the wait. Our rooms are SUPER nice! Dan & Amy are on a top floor in a suite that is bigger than Mike & I's first apartment. I am not sure what one is supposed to do with a hotel room that huge, but we think it is fun. Our room is REALLY nice too - not nearly as large, but recently renovated with a balcony overlooking the Red Sea. (It also has a huge bubbly tub - YIPPIE for me!)

Dan went out to get our dive for tomorrow arranged. He is SO excited! We will be gone on the boat all day. Poor Mike will have to find a way to entertain himself - don't worry - he will be just fine. Our boat will take us over to Egypt and we will get in 2-3 dives. Should be fun!

We ate dinner down on the promenade that runs along the Sea. Did you know that even in the VERY southern point of Israel, you still can't get pizza with meat on it? I was excited to see a Pizza Hut from our hotel room window, but sadly disappointed that I couldn't get bacon or ham on my pizza. We skipped it and went to a place that had some yummy chicken and steak.

BTW, It is HOT out there - even late at night. Oh, I did see a temperature gage when we first arrived an it said 34 degrees (that is in C. We decided that translates to about 1,000 degrees F - lol!). Speaking of hot - I almost forgot to explain our last picture. It is what happens to Mike's gummy worms when they get left in the hot car!