Vacation in Pensacola: Fort Pickens

So I was driving and Dave was resting... I said something about exit 57.  A little while down the road Dave must have woken up and said Oh we just passed exit 57, what was there?  I said never mind--- but he kept pressing me.  Finally I had to spit it out, all the while wishing he had just left me well enough alone-:

Who in the world wants to have to admit such a sickness as this....

But because I generally feel I am pretty honest with you guys on this blog I shall share it with you all.

I have a sickness while I am traveling.  I is called

"IFEELTHENEEDTODOEVERYTHINGUNDERTHESUNSICKNESS"

It is very difficult to recover from, there are no 12 step programs and the sad thing is that often GREAT good comes from it! 

Oh yes, I said I would be honest.  On exit 57 there is apparently a store that sales THE BIGGEST GUMMY BEARS IN THE WORLD.  Now who on Earth wouldn't want to see that!  I have since found that they sale them online so we didn't miss much! 




photo credit to Vat19


They are 5 lbs and equal to 1400 regular size gummy bears.


Anyway-- after passing up this GREAT GEM.... we headed out from our hotel to do all the things in Pensacola that I couldn't pass up doing! 

We went to the bluffs on the scenic highway-- which ended up being a TON of steps/ boardwalks and piers that went on for ever and Dave and I were VERY sorry that we started it in the first place because what comes DOWN... well in our case it had to go back up to get back to our van!  :0)

Next we headed to Pensacola Beach across Gulf Breeze Island to the outer barrier Island to Gulf Islands National Seashore.  IT was so beautiful... white sandy beaches... dunes, waves crashing onto the shores, salt air, practically NO one there.... we went to the far end of the island to FORT PICKENS.  It was a fort held by the Union during the Civil War-- after the Confederate fired on Fort Sumptner they attempted to take over Fort Pickens but the Union held out and because of keeping the fort, they basically stopped the Confederates from gaining control of Pensacola Bay--which was a big deal Naval wise.

The kids explored (literally crawled down hallways, and went in dark rooms and tunnels with a flashlight-- it was hilarious!  They had a TON of fun and kept exploring for over an hour! 

The fort was also used during World War 1 and 2 for defense against possible invaders, but was shut down and then reopened in 1976 as part of national park. 

Vacation.... we're on vacation.

Whenever we go on vacation Dave sings and does this little dance.. I kid you not.



I'm on vacation! I'm on vacation (sung to the little diddy La cucaracha, la cucaracha)--whilst doing a little dance.

Well by the way do you know what the ACTUAL lyrics to that song are.. just a little tidbit of information for ya!






La cucaracha, la cucaracha    (the cockroach, the cock roach)
Ya no puede caminar             ( Now he can't go traveling)
Porque no tiene, porque le falta  (Because he doesnt have, because he lacks)
Marijuana que fumar.                 ( Marijuana to smoke)

Ya la murio la cucaracha    ( the cockroach just died)
Ya la lleven a enterrar       (and they carried him off to bury him)
Entre cuatro zopilotes         (among four buzzards)
Y un raton de sacristan.      (and the sexton's mouse.)


Okay... so now that you KNOW that!  ANYway, so Dave sings this little song and we head out on vacation.  This vacation went pretty darn well as far as preperation, packing, and the carrying out of the actual LEAVING ON SAID VACATION.  We  hit the road and everyone was in good moods, traffic was in our favor, all was well.

We opted to go through New Orleans as I have never in my life been... we checked to make sure they were not playing at the Super Dome-- they weren't and down I10 we headed.  As we got into town headed to the French Quarter we noticed little girls in short sparkling outfits and lots of batons... not a good sign!  The farther we got into the town the more orange blockade signs we saw.  We were one street away from Canal and realized that the parade MUST be close to starting because they werent allowing cars to turn left anymore.. so we hightaled it.  As we stopped at the next light two blocks down we realized that cars were reversing out of the intersection between US and Canal... As soon as our light turned green we got across the intersection... and barely made it out!  Whoo!

Anyway, the kids got to see a little and I get to say I have been there!  From there we headed to Pensacola...checked in at our hotel and went to eat at Steak and Shake--- yummo!

Weekly Wrap up--

Well this is a week full on NON accomplishment, we did zero school, we are getting ready for our trip and just hanging out at home. We vegged out!

The kids and I went and saw The Best Christmas Pageant Ever done by the A.D. Players which was awesome!  Go see it if you can!

I took Kate to see We Bought a Zoo last Saturday for a sneak preview-- it is a great movie! There were a few cuss words, disturbing artwork that is appropriate in content (the boy just lost his mom to cancer) and otherwise it is a pretty great movie! I wouldn't take a young child, but Kaitlin was fine seeing it and even Matt would have been.

Monday Kate had choir and her choir Christmas party but I had to take her guinea pig to the vet--- 124 dollars later... YEAH, we have meds for the little rodent. I really am done with pets- Have I said that enough but keep getting them? ARRRGGG.



Wednesday Emily and Matt had one of their last practices for the church Christmas musical-- it will be on the 18th and it is very cute!

We are packing and leaving early tomorrow morning!!! Whoo hoo. If only I could leave without packing! It is the bad part of a vacation! We are pretty much right on target of our budget but just barely grazing by with no extras... I thought we would have more to play with but we ended up buy clothes and shoes-- you know those needed items!   But it's all good they would have been bought sooner or later, right?  We are going to have so much fun and I am very excited!!! 

Tonight is Kaitlin and Kirsten's choir performance---

she is in the back row on the left side (looking at the picture), 2nd girl from the boys

SHE did beautifully--- Kirsten did too, but I don't have pics of her on my camera---I was taking pics with Amy's!

 

and that about wraps up our week!

PS... did I mention we are leaving Saturday morning!!!!

the picture where we tell the kids that Lego Land Florida exists...

wordless wed

BELATED----Happy Birthday Kaitlin

My girl turned 13 a few days ago... I will admit that this birthday got me.

We are opting to not refer to her as a teenager-- we prefer to refer to her as a young lady or young woman. We are going to VERY slowly work into a few more privileges but I do mean slowly.

I don't really think privileges need to come with age as much as they need to come with maturity and timing, but we are working on things and teaching and training.

She is doing wonderful at choir, she has a concert on Dec 2 and is participating in a regional competition in Jan.

Kaitlin is still a lover of animals! She currently has three geckos, two hermit crabs, a drawf hamster and a new guinea pig she got for her birthday.

She is still drawing and her ability amazes me....

Kaitlin is growing up... I can't stop it! I don't want to really, I want to see the woman she becomes. However I will forever miss the baby, toddler, 5 year old, 7 year old, 9 year old, 11 year old etc that she was....

Advent: 2011

Advent begin last night... I felt frustration because I have none of my Christmas stuff out and we are leaving for vacation so we will be gone on the road for two Sunday's.  Sigh....

but it's all good.

I worked it out.  I ordered a magnetic advent set (yes, you lose some of the loveliness, but hey hotels and candles don't always go well together!) from CBD catalog.

So we "lit" our first candle last night, we sat downstairs with moms tree and twinkling lights

and it was peaceful.....

I read the first day of our book for Advent, Jothams Journey--- out loud.

next the kids got to open their first ADVENT package----

a Lego City Advent Calender that will start on Dec 1

So we are definitely doing it differently than last year, but its just how things are working out this year-- an 11 day trip in the middle of December kind of throws everything out of whack let me tell you! 

I don't know if I will do a trip on these dates again....

a gratitude post

a little worrying-- but the worry was over what I should do not over the actual reason for the situation in the first place

but mostly I just calmly dealt with the situation and wondered what I should/ could do...

We moved out of our rental property on September 30 and the landlord has 30 days to get your deposite back to you... well our landlord who is the sweetest "old" lady in the world has recently become extremely ill-- like deathbed ill and her son has taken over the properties.

We were concerned as he was not really taking care of things as they should be taken care off.

We have attempted to be in contact with them but trying to be tactful of his mom who is literally no longer able to speak with a breathing machine-- LIKE i literally check the obituaries every other day to see if she has passed away (morbid I know but what's a girl to do?)

NO, for a little money I would simply let it go but this was a substantial amount of cash, well over a thousand dollars, which to be honest... we need.

So anyway we were patient, discreet and understanding and TRULY wanting to be patient, discreet and understanding!!! but also truly wanting our deposit back if you know what I mean... I was unsure what would happen if she did pass away---?

I didnt want to file legal paperwork- I did not want to just forget about the money so were were just in limbo... waiting on the son.

Well I recieved a text this morning that he has mailed the check!

Thank you GOD. I am proud of the way Dave and I have responded to this. The kids and I have all prayed for both Mrs. Martha and her son. It was a learning experience of real life and a "what can you do situation" or better yet "what should a Christian do" situation...

I believe we handled it properly and am so happy that it is done and over!

I am glad for the money but truthfully I am more glad that the situation is over... does that make sense?

quick thought

Our pastor said this during our Wed night Bible study...


If you are busy giving God the glory, you won't be busy saying woe is me.

I like it.

:0)

I love this family!

Cant it just be easy?

so I am on day 11 of daily meds for my headaches and the side effects are pretty awful, not sure I want this instead of headaches. I feel pretty bad.

what's a girl to do?

I am in contact with the doctor about the side effects and she is aware and has lessened the dose and has me taking them till Monday and will reevaluate whats going on then-- I also have another appointment on the 18th.

I am so weary of putting these drugs into my system that I KNOW do horrible things but yet I can't really live with the headaches either.

Please pray for something to give.

I would like to get back to some normalcy-- I would like to just feel like doing stuff with some consistency. I would like to not have headaches...

on the flip side I think the meds must have a weight suppressant of some sort because I do feel as though I am "hungry" less, now if only I was feeling better so that I don't eat out of boredom from just sitting and feeling bad--- which IS happening sometimes (although truthfully NOT that often, so that is great!)

Bloggy catch up...

I cannot express my gratefulness that it is now November! For one, I DETEST the holiday of October-- we are one of the non celebraters....not. at. all.

I feel grieved most of the month to be honest... just a heaviness in my spirit. it is in every shop, comerical, show, radio station.... it is everywhere devouring the wonderfulness that is fall. the leaves turning, the hot weather fluttering away, the jeans being dusted off, the flip flops being stowed away (okay that is pushing it).... but really I just wish it didn't devour the whole month! I with it was all cutesy costumes and without gore... and I wouldn't mind as much...

Being at the parents house they had bought candy to give out but after gore doorbell number two they shut off the light and we ate the candy our self! :0) Yeah.

SO anyway---- on to our NOVEMBER... whoo hoo! I have yet to snag me some pumpkin patch pics.. might just not do it this year! The kids DO. NOT. COOPERATE. very well and I end up not happy so much.

I might not be much of a celebrater ( I think I might be making up some words and verb usage this post) of October but November and December are my MONTHS! Bring it all on! The smell of cinnamon pine cones, wreaths, glitter, bells ringing, music, wrapping paper, hot chocolate, turkey and dressing....yes. I. say. YES.

I also am a fan of daylight savings time being OVER.  I mean I love long summer days but I am also over it by now... when it is 7:00 o'clock and I am gearing up to get the kids settled down with baths and on the way towards bed I like it to be DARK OUTSIDE!  Plus when I cozy next to hubs with a movie or show I like it to be DARK OUTSIDE....  so it is always a bonus for me when we hafta change our clocks!

I got my FIRST Gingerbread Latte of the S.E.A.S.O.N last night!  Oh. YES. I. Did.  So very exciting!  I will tell you they have gone up in price and I will not be getting many of them over the next few months unless I am gifted those purty little gift cards BUT still tonight's splurge was nice because I just had my oldest girlie girl in the van with me and we had a STARBUCK date after church!

Okay last catch up and there are PICTURES....the grandparents took the kids to the carnival-- one of our favorite season past times!  YOU know fall is in the air when you hear the Carnie yellin down on Spencer!

BTW... the best catch up of all is the ALL three of my children got baptized last Sunday and pictures are coming SOON!  :0)

Wordless Wednesday

Weekly Wrap Up: Day 52-56 Plus history wrap up Week 27

Finally.. starting to get into some tiny sort of routine or schedule! It is only a beginning but at least the ball is rolling that way!

We have done school EVERY day this week--- not TONS of course but we are moving along! We had a hiccup in math this week but are dealing with it and we have had some character issues pop up but we are dealing with those also!

Not by day but just overall of week....

Bible- We finished our Survival Guide and I am very excited that the kids are all three getting baptized on Sunday...we are also still working on our memory verse--- please don't judge me by this next set of pictures.. I allowed the kids to use the Nerf guns to "shoot" the reference for each verse we are learning... it got them into it.... I am sure there is something VERY fundamentally wrong with this...

Math- we did Math U See worksheets on Monday but this rest of the week we have done some fun math worksheets printed off the world wide web... math games, puzzles etc... all using the same skills as the MUS worksheets but just a little bit of fun! We are drilling multiplication facts, mainly for speed at this point and starting Emily!

English- We wrote paragraphs this week and continued work on topic sentences.

History- We are at War-- brother against brother...patriot against patriot... fellow country men against fellow countrymen. Yes, the civil war is at hand.

We learned about:
Sojourner Truth
John Brown
Election of 1860
secession
Confederate States of America
Confederate Acts
Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln's Inaugural Address
after math of address
Fort Sumter
call to arms NORTH and SOUTH
more secession
naval blockades
moving of confederate capitols
Jefferson Davis
length of civil war
Virgina split
and even more secession!

We have also continued reading Across Five Aprils

and played this new history card game I bought at The Children's Museum

Top Trumps Presidents

Science- we have reviewed most of this week but began reading our next lesson on Thursday and will do an experiment with Daddy over the weekend!

BTW... the MASS= how much it weighs was a topic of conversation.. mass does not equal how much it weighs but how much matter it is comprised of... just so you know I am teaching them accurately!  :0)

Our atomic model

Skills- haven't picked up much in this area BUT are hammering out chores and stuff right now. We did however use clay for art-- can we count that as skill--- AND we evacuated a building on Wed for a fire, does that count as skill? oh and the girls baked and embroidered with mom on Friday!


Art- studying Remington and started our clay sculpture and baked it and then on Thursday we used the hardened clay to make a mold in soft clay and poured plaster of Paris into that mold making our ART!  On Friday we painted it....

Composer-- still listening to Franz Liszt .. made a small lap book (really should be considered a notebook page!) of his life and accomplishments.

Matt drew this for me as we were listening to the music... VERY cute!  :0)

Stop with the worry...

There are three particular situations right now that I find myself worrying about... two of which DO not really even have anything to do with me but yet I am worrying about it.  I mean it touches and affects my life but I have no power over it.... does that make sense.  I really need to LAY IT DOWN.  I cannot continue worrying about things.... even if I DO have control over soemthing I still need to stop worrying.  So here are some scriptures that I am meditating on....

Cast all your anxiety on him

because he cares for you.

(1 Peter 5:7)

 

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

(Matthew 6:34)

Do not fret-it leads only to evil.

(Psalm 37:8)

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.

(Luke 10:41-42)

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

(Luke 12:22-23)

So do not worry, saying "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly father knows that you need them.

(Matthew 6:31-32)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:6-7)

The Lord watches over all who love him.

(Psalm 145:20)

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has

been pleased to give you the kingdom.

(Luke 12:32)

Don't be afraid; just believe.

(Mark 5:36)

When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

(Psalm 56:3)

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust

and not be afraid.

(Isaiah 12:2)

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.

(Psalm 34:4)

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything.

(Philippians 4:5,6)

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

(Psalm 46:2-3)

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever

trusts in the Lord is kept safe.

(Proverbs 29:25)

 

Stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the

faith of the gospel without being frightened in any

way by those who oppose you.

(Philippians 1:27-28)

Wordless Wednesday....

Give a goat...

So the kids and I poured over our World Vision magazine today and decided what we are saving for!  So exciting. 

The kids opted to save $160 dollars towards their "gifts".  They have 52 days to save!  We told them that they have to earn or donate the money themselves either by doing jobs, "saving" by not buying something or by giving money that is their own to give.   We wanted them to "feel" the give this year, does that make sense... so far our giving has been a family affair but with Dave and I footing the bill and I think the kids need to learn about sacrificial giving by actually GIVING something of themselves or giving up something they want.

(picture credit to world vision.org)

With the $160.00 the kids will give the gift of

13 animals (10 ducks, one chicken and two rabbits)

$25.00 towards helping a disabled person get a wheelchair or other need

2 soccer balls

and mosquito nets for a whole family

We reminders of what we are saving for and how long we have to do it on the wall and started our jar out with $3.00 dollars already! 

Weekly Wrap Up: Day 48-51 (the boring one with no pics)

I am not going to wrap this up by day but give summary's of where we are at in each subject... One reason is to put on paper where I think we are and what I need to focus on when I do lesson plans this week for the next 6 weeks. WE are completely OFF any schedule I had with packing, moving, unpacking, unexpected trips, migraines and camping. But it is all good right!

Bible:

We are still working through our Survival Guide book... we are almost done but behind on our verse memorization. the kids know them pretty well but are not doing well with reference. So this week we are buckling down and working on WHERE the verses they have memorized are in the Bible .

They are reviewing their cards, reviewing with each other and we have tried playing a few games to review. I gave a "verse" test on Friday and they have made a lot of progress!

We should finish this by the end of next week.  After that we will start our New Testament study--- which I am VERY excited about!  We will focus on the Life OF JESUS. 

I need to find new devotionals for the kids so am searching the wide world web for ideas.

English-

Matt and Kate are on lesson 14--- we will begin hitting this harder. I don't really care that we are behind but still want to just move through it, so I will do this 3 to 4 times a week instead of 2-3 times

We have started paragraphs and discussed main ideas and topic sentences.

Emily- likewise

All About Spelling:

We are on STEP 15. I would also like to keep this flowing so moving on! I have seen improvement in Emily's spelling but still not in Matt--- I am unsure what to do at this point (BRENDA- any clue?)

Math- we are doing review worksheets printed out from Math U See.com right now and will order their new books after November 1... we are also drilling flashcards (have been since before the move) and playing math games!

History--- this has been sooo put on hold but hopefully next week we will get back on track. We have finished Uncle Tom's Cabin and listened to Abraham Lincoln and the Heart of America by Jim Weiss. We are now starting as a read aloud Across Five Aprils and Kate and Matt will be reading My Brother Sam is Dead.



Other subjects:  any other subject has REALLY been put on hold as I have struggled to only do the basics if any..  but this week we started back up with our ARTIST study and COMPOSER study--

art:  We are learning about Fredric Remington and working on making a sculpture using plaster mold and then painting it...

Music: Our composer is Franz Liszt...(LIST- for those uninformed peeps who don't know how his name is pronounced--- I HAD TO GOOGLE IT.)   feel. so. uncultured.

Skills: we are still not doing skills but this week we are working on our NEW schedule, routines and chore charts for the new house!  Even when I don't keep a schedule or routine perfectly ... it is still there in the background... helping me keep things in check... so I am ready to get back to it!

This is blog worthy.....