Happy New Years Eve!

And no better way to spend it than at the beach, especially since Santa left a surfboard under the tree!

Boys and their toys

War of the RC helicopters!

Alex, I'll take 'What Is Pearl Harbor Day' for $1000

Answer...Mason's birthday!

Best place to spend your last single digit b-day? Why the happiest place on earth, Magic Kingdom!
Now about that last single digit b-day...How can I explain being so happy and proud of each step you make towards independence and then eventually adulthood, while simultaneously being so incredibly sad about my baby growing up?

Armadillos and their foot fetishes...

This little guy loved my toes! Didn't take it personal though, according to the zoo keeper at Brevard Zoo, their armadillos like to lick toes. Ok, but it freaked me out, I didn't like it at all!

Yes, that is a Puffer Fish.

Good for your fish tank, but not for your dinner table...It was however the only thing we were getting from the Indian River, one puffer fish after another.

Bones!

Tonight was the final performance of Bones, a Kids Klub production that told the story of the prophet Ezekiel and his vision of the Valley of Dry Bones.

Mason played one of the Israelites, Rabbi Levi, what can I say, proud stage momma that I am, he was wonderful in his role!

No pic's due to the lack of lighting but for Ezekiel's 3rd vision, several of the kids wore black outfits that were embellished with white skeletons, the rest of the kids wore white gloves, all the lights went off and all the black lights went on and it was the most amazing choreographed scene, this really was a cool play!

World's Largest Logbook

Mason became a Young Eagle today and had his name permanently entered in the World's Largest Logbook!

38 years ago today...Happy Birthday Baby!

What do you get a guy who has the perfect wife and child? Easy, have him take his first vacation day in over a year, make him his favorite breakfast of bacon, eggs & fried potatoes, then head out for a midday round of putt putt golf.

The nice thing about putt putt is a 8 year old can and will beat the pants off his parents.

Then finish the afternoon off eating a delish lunch and b-day cake on the pier followed by a show of local surfers catching some waves!

How much can one owl eat?

Mason dissected and identified the contents of an owl pellet with some of his h'schl buddies today...his pellet contained the remains of a shrew and a rodent.

St Augustine...again

Can't help it, we adore St Augustine and when we had the opportunity to camp with some h'schl friends we jumped at the chance. Campground was Anastasia State Park. Now folks I have camped at some really outstanding parks but this one makes my top 3. The beach is breathtaking and just an all around beautiful place to stay. Can't wait to go back!

Mason with a friend walking the moat at Castillo de San Marcos.

Jon & Mason wading at the beach at Anastasia State Park.

Jon & Mason atop Fort Matanzas, this was a first for us, we had never been to Fort Matanzas. What a best kept secret, we will go again.

Raising a well-rounded, self-sufficient man...

Mason has the part of Rabbi Levi in the latest Kids Klub production, "Bones" and he wanted to help make his costume. Sure thing! Sewing teaches a skill that all boys need in their repertoire.

Dog Days....

Mason has been patiently waiting for the new Wimpy Kid book to come out and we havn't heard a peep from him since he got his copy.

Violin

After requesting violin lessons for the past 5 years, Mason is now getting his wish and he started lessons with Miss Holly this month. According to her...he just may end up being pretty good at it too. See good things do come to those who wait!

Hair today... gone tomorrow

It was all Mason's idea...but I think it may have had much to do with his hair always getting tangled up in his goggle & mask straps. No matter, handsome with or without the locks!

Leaving New Hampshire...

Our last day in New Hampshire was also the warmest. As we headed home on the Kancamagus Highway we stopped for a fun game of putt putt that made everybody happy... The kids were sooo hiked out!

World's worse weather!

Mt Washington New Hampshire, Aug 23...Started out sunny and warm, turning into cool and misty, followed by foggy rain which morphed into downright rain, ending with sunny but slightly overcast skies and warm/cool breezes.
That was some crazy a** weather is all I can say but in the end perfect for a hike!

It's My Birthday!

And I got to spend it with my favorite people in the whole world!

The day started out with breakfast in bed and ended with a 'feast' at Medievel Times. Halfway through Mason leaned over and whispered in my ear that this was my best birthday ever! Well what's not to love, you get to eat with your hands and watch men fight...

Two of the most impressive things for me about the entire evening was the level of expertise these people really had. These folks display some really excellent horsemanship both in terms of riding, and how well the horses were trained.

The other thing I thought was pretty impresive was the falcon trainer. He put on a display of how they train the falcon and what it was used for back in medieval times.

As the competition progressed, our knight was really kicking some butt. When they got to hand to hand combat, our knight got the sign to ‘take a fall’. While we were disappointed that he didn’t win, we were proud of the effort he put forth for his Lords and Ladies seated at Table 10 in the Black and White section.

The Hickory Horned Devil Caterpillar

Isn't she lovely! The picture does not do this baby justice, this particular Hickory Horned Devil Caterpillar was about 5-6 inches long, hard to miss. At the time we had no idea what kind of caterpillar this was so we only touched with our eyes but turns out she will become a moth with a 5 inch wing span.

We passed Miss Hickory on our way down to the spring, Blue Spring that is. A 72 degree pure, beautiful & natural swimming hole on the St Johns river. This park is popular and we heard they fill to capacity early and have to turn folks away on weekends. So Jon took Friday off and it was a perfect day to go. Hot enough day to enjoy some snorkeling in the spring but we didn't know to bring water shoes and the rocks were just too much for our softie feet so we didn't spend as much time in the water as we would have liked. Even so Blue Springs is an awesome state park and we are looking forward to returning. Maybe this winter...Blue Springs is a favorite wintering spot for manatees.

Weeki Wachee Springs

We made the trek over to the west coast to vist one of my old stomping grounds and I am pleased to say that even though the state of Florida has taken over, it's still as kitschy as ever! After catching The Little Mermaid show we headed down to the springs where Jon was brave enough to submerge himself in the 74 degree, beautiful & clear spring.

Fives times is the charm!

After scrubbing 4 times Endeavor finally made her way and Clairia finally got to see a shuttle launch. The kids stopped surfing long enough to watch, barely. Rather cloudy but there was no mistaking the shuttle and then of course there is the rumble, the best part in my book!

Happy Independence Day!

Our 4th of July started off with a driveway bang because way back in October as we made our way to Florida, a much anticipated shopping spree was put into action at South of the Border, hehehe, I can still see us trying to stuff already packed cars with our Ancient Chinese booty!

We ended our evening on Cocoa Beach with the real thing...and I am reminded of this classic yet timely quote from John F Kennedy; “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.”

KSC Space Campers

Thanks to 2 sets of very generous grandparents Mason and Clairia were campers at the Kennedy Space Center this past week. They absolutely loved it and want to go back again next week!


Turn up the volume for the short video, it's a catchy tune and in case you want to sing along here are the lyrics...Climb aboard the spaceship, We're going to the moon, Hurry up, get ready, We're going to blast off soon, Put on your helmet, Buckle up real tight, Here comes the countdown, Count with all your might! 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 BLAST OFF!

Want to feel young and active...

Take your grandbabies to the beach!

Uncle, Nieces, Nephew & Cousins

From left to right; Mason, Clairia, Bubba and Sadie, all relaxing after a long day on the road!

St Augustine, Jax, Orlando

We have been in Florida for 6 months now with no vaca so a little R&R was called for. A big plus...my brother and his family joined us for the 2ND & 3RD leg of the trip and we had a GREAT time! First stop in St Augustine was the San Sebastian Winery and yes you can bring the kids. We skipped the rather generous looking wine tasting at the end because we were driving but I highly recommend this free and very educational tour. A cool fact...The Spaniards made wine from Muscadine grapes 150 years before the first chardonnay were planted in California. Muscadine is the only grape indigenous to the United States and only grows in the southern half of it. The kegs in the background behind Mason in the above picture are aging port. But there is an interesting story to those kegs. A law put on the books (and still on the books today) meant to keep coopers in business was that whiskey makers were not allowed to reuse their oak barrels, so they sell them and wineries are one of their biggest customers. Next stop was the Colonial Spanish Quarter. Even though small compared to it's New England living museum counterparts, this little 1740's gem packed a punch. Check out the shelf suspended over the table, aptly called a rat shelf...not necessarily for rats though, all kinds of varmints were a problem. Cooking, if done indoors, was done on a fogon, a mediterranean-type stove. No chimney, you just moved a few boards on the roof to let the smoke waft thru.

Sunday we hit the Jacksonville Zoo for the day. We had heard that Jax Zoo was a biggun and that was no lie! Took a full 3 hours to see everything and we really didn't linger in any one spot or take any breaks.

Our budding cinematographer had 79 pics and assorted videos on his camera, very difficult to pick out just 2 but elephants and flamingos are always worthy of some extra exposure.

Sunday we headed to Orlando and spent the day at Aquatica, what a great waterpark, one of the best in our opinion. The day was beautiful, warm enough to spend most of your time in the water but not too hot to be miserable. Our sunscreen was right on too, after 9 hours of fun & sun, none of us took a burn!

Mexico!

Mason and friends celebrated their first Geography Club tonight, the food was scrumptious and to prove it there was hardly anything left over, those bowls had been all but licked clean. The highlight...a pinata of course!