Snorkeling

Allison

took the boys to a snorkeling activity offered at Battery Worth on Fort Pickens. They met the Rangers there and were given instructions and then allowed to snorkel and net the wildlife. The boys caught a collection of hermit crabs. Some of the other varieties of wildlife that was discovered by others today were shrimp, blue crab, minnows, ghost crabs, cone jellyfish, etc. Afterwards they had lunch @ Langdon Beach and then swam in the waves. The water was beautiful and they all had so much fun. It was a hot day. It was a definitely an activity to repeat. (And Yes, I totally stole this post from Allison's Blog. Thanks Girlie! hehehe)

Hiking and other Adventures

I went to Utah... it was awesome possum.
I got to go hiking in Logan canyon and we went to this place they refer to as the Wall of China. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

The bottom of the trail

A little Climbing to make it more adventurous.

Just a Neat View

A really cool outcropping on the wall- it was almost a circle.

Dragonfly Art Gallery

We went to the dragonfly Art Gallery to look at some local artists work. There were alot of different mediums there. They had woven art, watercolors, carvings, chalk, and photography. Jessalyn found a dolphin watercolor that she really liked. Jeffrey was very attracted to one of a camel caravan. The activity went right along with the boys Webelos artist badge. But we will definitely visit again as they typically change the display and feature room every month. What a neat find here in our little town.

Swim Lessons

I signed the kids up for swim lessons at UWF. Jack Jack did a parent/ child class that was pretty fun and Jeffy and Jessa did regular swim lessons. On the last day, they went off the diving board in the deep end. Jessalyn went twice but Jeffrey was afraid to go and only went once after they relented and let him wear a life jacket. hehehe. But now he likes it and when we were at a friends pool he went off the diving board numerous times. It is weird for me because I don't ever remember NOT being able to swim. I was born part fish I suppose. :) Will said he doesn't remember either. It was always just something we did. But my kiddies are getting there.

Golf Lessons

Jeffrey has started Golf Lessons and he really likes them. He was selected by the coaches to receive a set of Acculength golf clubs because they felt he showed alot of potential and gave a good effort. These are really neat because they are the right length and adjust with your child as they grow. My understanding is that when Kids use clubs for adults that are cut down it effects the flexibility and can change the swing. Supposedly these change and fix that problem. We are very proud of Jeffrey and his new sport interest! Here is a video I made during one of his last practices.

More Sun and Fun

So, I am sure you all get tired of the same ol beach photos over and over but we do have a great time at the beach. We went again and played in the surf. There were alot of surfers out. I had fun teaching the kids how to body surf and "catch the wave." It was a fun afternoon. I had to laugh though because afterwards, Jeffrey realized he had not gotten any sunscreen on his legs so they were tender and burnt. Myself, well, without another adult, I sprayed myself and let the children help. OOPS!!! I am one stripped momma. Seriously. I have striped legs, striped arms, and the top of my back was sprayed well. However, the bottom half of my back was not so fortunate. I will be nursing a burn for the next little while. Jessa could have used more sunscreen on her face but it wasn't bad. Jack was the lucky one. He came away without a burn.

Graduation.... Again

Woot! Zack and I both graduated. So glad to have one more step completed.
Stacy also graduated with us. However, we didn't get to sit next to each other. Sniff. We got separated right before we walked in.
Due to concerns about the Swine Flu, they did not shake hands with the graduates during the ceremony. So silly if you ask me. But I really didn't need to shake their hands to make the day complete anyhow! :) Z and I were the only ones to throw our hats. Everyone else missed out on the fun, sorry for them! hehehe!

Jack's Flintstone Car

JAck loves his new wheels.. hehehe. Too Cute. Many thanks to Maureen Stuckey. Jack LOVES it!

Jessalyn is 6!

My sweet baby girl is 6! Can you believe it!?!
Wow.
She is still our cowgirl. She sure loves her horses. So for her birthday this year we took 5 of her friends and we on a trail ride up in the state forest. It was alot of fun. Jessalyn's horse Storm had a colt you will see in the pictures. It was named Squall.
At the end of the ride (about 45 minutes) Jessalyn's horse decided to follow her colt off onto the road instead of following the other horses back to the corral. That was a lil adventure for her. But she had a great time and was thrilled to be able to share it with her friends.

Birdhouses!

This morning started out with a "quick run" to Walmart and then Home Depot to get some new paint for Grandma's bedroom. (There's a story for ya! 2 actually... ask us later)
ANyhow, So while at Home Depot a lady asked Jessalyn if she had made her birdhouse. Jessalyn said no. The lady said, "oh, well you better hurry before they run out. I think they still have some. You get to use tools!" (Everybody now.... ooooohhh!) So we hurried over and Jessalyn made a birdhouse. The cool people at Home Depot even let us bring one home for Jeffrey to make.
When we got home, Jeffrey made his and they both painted them up beautifully. It was a fun little project to get our Saturday going. This afternoon we headed over to the pool at the college and played around. Jackson was not happy at all when we 1st got there. He wanted to leave. He didn't want to be in the water at all, even with a lifejacket or me holding him. So we let him just toss us the ball for most of the day. Then, about 20 minutes before we were going to leave, he decided he wanted to get in. He hopped into the pool and hung onto the wall by himself. I let him be for the most part and in a few minutes he wanted to be held in the water and was ready to imitate Jeffrey and Jessalyn swimming in the water. When we got home he told papaw he "went swim like a fish."


FYI
Home Depot has a free kids workshop the first Saturday of every month (9a-12p). Next month the project is a wheelbarrel planter. My kids are hooked and want to go every month.

Exploreum!

A Boy and a Girl in a Little Canoe

A boy and a girl (and a boy and a mom) in a little canoe with the sun setting all around. And they talked and the talked til the sun grew dim....

We took the canoe out on the lake and had a fun time. There were a couple of scary moments, like when we were focusing on getting to the ducks and not where we were going and we ran into some branches. And when Jackson decided to lean over the edge of the canoe to touch the water and we all but tipped into the water.

But we all survived without getting too wet and it was nice and peaceful out on the lake. It is so nice to have it right there and be able to just go when we get the urge. :)




And Thanks Papaw for letting use your canoe and for helping us get it up and down the hill to the water!!!

Splash and Play

We had a relaxing and fun day at the beach. We met some friends at the National Seashore and played for awhile on the sound side but my kiddos are too used to the white sand and waves. They really wanted to visit the "real" beach. So we parted ways and had even more fun in the sand and in the waves. The water was too cold for mommy. I was a big disappointment for not diving right in. Maybe next time! :)

So, I was looking through my pictures and found this one. Cracked me up! How old is she going to be again? 16? hehehe.


We had some beautiful sunsets and the kids took some great pictures. I think we have some mini photographers here!

Lumberjack Festival... Kindof!

So we saw a sign at the Junior College that said "Lumberjack Festival" and thought it would be kind of fun. Now, I am not sure about the rest of you but when you say Lumberjack Festival I have images of races to saw trees up into a cord of wood, cut down small trees quickly, and generally let manly men and women strut their stuff in a challenging and entertaining way. Welll... the version here did have a contest to chop down a sapling so that it fell along a string or as close as possible. But other than that, it was more of a forestry/ nature/ community open house. It was a fun activity for our Saturday though.

The Forestry helicopter was there, The boys are here pretending to scream as the copter comes crashing down since Jessa is piloting the craft.



Isn't Jack a cutie-patootie? Such a big guy now!


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This was the main thoroughfare, this local artisan made these way cool tire swings. Jessa especially liked the horse style one. Brandon and Jeffy look mighty comfy in theirs!

The Wildlife Sanctuary was here and had several birds that they brought out to show. It was cool to see them up so close.




There was a man there that made these baskets out of wood. He literally carved the thin pieces from a hunk of wood and created these very intricate baskets.The large carvings were completed before we got there.




There was bee keeper there and he taught us alot about pollination and bees and how the bees live and make honey. He was very interesting to listen to and you could tell he loved his bees!


Afterwards we went to have a picnic at Benny Russell Park. It was very fun. The Boys had a blast on the slide. They all piled up at the bottom along with some other friends they made. Kate was a big help as she followed the kids around the busy playground!

His first 3 Stitches

Caution: Graphic Photos...




Jack-jack. My ever curious Jack-jack is the first of my children to need stitches. (I am sure it won't be the last time.) Jack Jack cut his finger over at Dad's house on Sunday (3/1). I tried to get a photo but he was not very willing. Jack is really favoring it. He can not bend it and it has been swollen but looks much better today. He is wearing a splint to keep it straight and I found some Cars medical tape to wrap it with. Jack likes the Cars tape but hates having his bandage changed twice a day.