Christmas 2008

Family, masks & snorkels, body surfing; yes, Christmas at the beach!






For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)

I wish we were home for Christmas...

They say home is where the heart is, I beg to differ, home is where all your stuff is!
Living in a glorified hotel is rather glamorous and liberating from the everyday humdrum, but yet limiting when it comes to one of Mason's favorite pastimes; being CREATIVE! Especially at Christmas when we normally make all of our presents for friends & family. Here was a small (albeit unhealthy) project that didn't require unrealistic shopping/tools/prep/space; White Chocolate & Peppermint Spoons.

What does a 8 y/o boy want for his birthday dinner...

We did say "Whatever you want for dinner" but c'mon, a TV dinner? As you can see, the boy won out.
Well at least he kept to his ice cream cake tradition!

Happy Birthday Mason! Since you refuse to stop growing up and stay being our baby, may Jesus our Lord and Saviour give you His wisdom and may you grow in His love each and everyday.

Dancing with Flamingo's

In celebration of Mason's last day of being 7 years old we went to Seaworld today, those flamingos are real and they were loud!

And just when you thought they are too old (and too heavy) to be carried...

Oh it's difficult to have a December b-day, no matter how hard you try, it always ends up so Christmasy!

Orlando Science Center

We spent over 3 hours in this really cool kids museum today. The OJ factory and virtual flight simulators were huge hits but I can't tell who had the most fun, the little kid or the big kid! http://www.osc.org/

Happy Thanksgiving!

A very joyous one was spent in Jacksonville with my brother Austin and his family & friends today. I have so much to be thankful for, thank you God!

Be joyful always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances.
1 Thessalonian 5:18

Flock of Seagulls

We were feeding the seagulls but after reading through some of the stories here, I don't think we will anymore!

http://www.guy-sports.com/humor/stories/strange_seagulls.htm

Space Shuttle Endeavour

Tonight was our first shuttle and wow, was it ever a spectacular sight! Mason and my view point was on the beach about 10 miles away. while Jon was up close and personal, (he took the video) The shuttle’s safe return home is currently scheduled for no sooner than Nov. 29.

Happy Birthday Jon!

Don't consider yourself to be 37, instead call it 18 with 19 years of experience.
Happy Birthday honey!

My BIG Backyard

This is it folks, our BIG backyard! To clarify; that is our building directly behind Mason, however our particular condo unit is not ocean front but rather ocean view so don't start getting all excited, it is at least a 2 minute walk to get down to the beach!

Close Encounter of the Bird Kind

After church today we headed over to the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne where we came across this little cutie hanging out on the gabby post beckoning a certain 7 y/o to stop and chat awhile. The boy happily obliged and a kodak moment presented itself to mom. After this pretty good profile shot I shouted out to look my way and smile at the camera and would you look at this; they BOTH heard me!

No squirrels, how about a peacock instead?

Everywhere you look there are (Blue) peacocks. Have no idea why and from what I have read and seen so far they look to be a permanent, free-roaming population.

Rollerskating...

Hey, it's almost like iceskating except you don't need a parka, gloves & hat!

Don't like the weather? Go to another beach!

We started out at Paradise Beach. A beautiful beach, but rather overcast & windy today and deserted except for the surfers.

So we packed up and headed south over to Cocoa Beach where not only was the sun shining but yea, we made friends with a couple of h'schl families who were there too!

What are the chances...

I never thought this plate would see the light of day as it has been garage decoration for the past 6 years and what a fluke that the packers missed it and Jon plucked it from the wall and tossed it into the back of the car. Pure joy was mine when the good folks at the DMV said I could use it till the new one comes in. Not only do I get my old plates back I also got my old drivers license number back. Yea, I don't have to memorize a new one!

A dream realized...

The day I met Jon (back in January of 96) he confided to me his goal of one day working at Kennedy Space Center. Fast forward to October 2008...God has answered our prayers and Jon's dream has come true. Tomorrow Jon badges in for his new job with Boeing at KSC!
After a 3 night and 4 day, 2 car caravan we made it to Cape Canaveral in one piece. There were some highlights though...Saturday night was spent with Beth, Clairia, Damian and Jacob, unfortunately no pictures but those kids were sweet!
Sunday we made a pit stop in Washington D.C. and checked out the National Archives and saw the original Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Monday we made it over the Florida state line and spent the most lovely evening in Jacksonville with my brother Austin, his wife Rosario and their daughter Dorany.
Today, our last day traveling we did the tourist thing and stopped in St Augustine for some Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" action and then headed over to Castillo De San Marcos, the oldest masonry fort in the US.

And so here I sit, 1200 miles south of where I sat 4 days ago, really nothing much has changed, same computer and all...I am just warmer now!

So long 21 Sunset Drive...

Yes, I am going to miss this house but not those leaves!

Signing out for a spell...

as we leave for a more southern exposure; and not a moment too soon, there was frost on my car this morning!
Goodbye Connecticut, I really enjoyed living here spring, summer and fall, the winters confounded me though. But thanks to all my friends and family I made it through 10 of them!

Pumpkintown

And now see the Marvelous Mason the Magician make this candy disappear!

Goodbye for now my friends...

Goodbye Molly...

We knew that we would be saying goodbye to our family and friends as we prepare to leave CT but never did we think that would include Molly who is our furry kid.
Over the past couple of weeks Molly seemed to have lost her appetite for the commercial stuff we were putting in her dish that she normally loved.
Since it happened right after taking her to the vet for a well kitty check up & shots in preparation for the move I contributed the loss of appetite to the stress of that office visit & shots.
Other than the loss of appetite you would never have known anything was wrong with her until Monday when Molly had obviously taken a downward turn. She went to the vet today where they told us she was in renal failure.
Goodbye our sweet Molly Kitty, we love you.

OK, I admit it...

in the state of Connecticut I am a registered Republican. But I deserve the opportunity to defend myself. The only reason why, is so I can vote in the primaries.

Why the confession? Well it's closing in on Election Day and I am finding myself every day in discussion with friends and family over the candidates.

So while loathe to bring politics into my innocent little blog I am here to declare my REAL affiliation. The Libertarian Party; GO BOB BARR!

For more information on the Libertarian Party go here:
http://www.lp.org/platform

Is the Libertarian Party perfect? Of course not, no political party is. But I do believe in and share the viewpoint of the majority of their platforms.

And now for a couple of my broad and shallow personal views on politics in general…

Smaller Government and Lower Taxes. Our government under both Democratic & Republican leadership has grown into a disgusting, bloated conglomerate of entitlement services and excessive spending.

I believe in a market driven economy, not an over regulated one where taxpayers bail out every failed institution. The taxpayers should not reward failure, and we should not punish success.

Abortion. Personally, I believe every child is a gift from God. Even so, this is a private matter between a woman and her physician, NOT a matter for the Federal Government to legislate OR for the tax payers to fund.

Gay marriage is purely a personal and religious question; this is NOT a matter for the Federal Government to legislate.

HEALTH CARE. As a moral and prosperous society, we do have an obligation to care for the indigent. However, if I choose risky behaviors, then the tax payers should NOT have to burden the financial responsibility of my health care costs. And think about it, do you really want the government to be in charge of your health care?

Personal Choices & Freedom. Really, I don’t need a NANNY STATE telling me how to live my life as in what to eat, drink or smoke, who or how I will educate my child, who I have to associate with or hire, seat belts, helmets, right to bear arms, blue laws, etc…
We have been turned into a nation of children looking to the Government to not only provide for but also to monitor our every move.
Happily, the Government is obliging, catering to the lowest common denominator.
The current entitlement mentality does not encourage self sufficiency but breeds dependency which is only good news for the dumb ass!

Do I have more views? Of course, but no time to write a book now, a few paragraphs will have to do.

And so I close with this appropriate and timely quote from a Founding Father;

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." Thomas Jefferson

non-Newtonian fluid

Which means the more pressure you put on, the thicker it becomes. Creamsicle manicure anyone?

Old Newgate Prison & Coppermine

Mason and I enjoyed a lovely afternoon with about 70 other homeschoolers at Old Newgate Prison and Coppermine. The mine maintains a year round temperature of 52 degrees, a temperature considered to be optimal for human health. The source of this informational nugget is based on records that Old Newgate Prison had a less than 10% mortality rate for prisoners who died from natural causes. Hmm, who knew?

Clawed Monet

Have an hour to spare? 'Scarecrows Along Main Street' in Old Wethersfield is a fun way to spend it. One of our favorites was this pun on Claude Monet's Waterlily Pond!

Pequots & Mohegans

We spent the afternoon at the fabulous Mashantucket Pequot Museum (cameras not allowed) before heading over to the Mohegan Sun for some lunch. There is plenty to see here but boy, was it ever difficult to get a shot without a slot machine or poker table in the background!

Old Sturbridge Village

A visit to the Blacksmith Shop at OSV, where anvils, hammers, tongs, flatters, and fullers was the topic of discussion.

I dare you to eat this hot cherry pepper...

Or as Mason says, "The things my dad will do for a hug & a kiss"!

Summer is not over yet!

So we took a tour of the Connecticut River to show Andrea some of the beautiful views. Mason & Jon hit the the river for some tubing fun, unfortunately my camera was not out when they went into the drink!

Andrea's here!

Her first CT excursion was to our local town beach, Sears Park on Lake Pocotopaug for a family picnic and a dip in the lake. She passed on the dip, too cold!

Tye Dye Masters

Friends came over yesterday and we spent a groovy afternoon trying our hand at tye-dye. 24 hours later we were all thrilled with the outcome; handmade individual works of art that we get to wear!

Lego Summer Camp

Last week (Aug 11-15) not only did Mason finally get to participate in his first camp but a Lego Camp! Everything about this camp was perfect starting with the venue at the Mystic River Yacht Club and it's inspiring views.

The camp was led by Jonathan of Play-Well Teknologies and he was an absolutely phenomenal instructor.

The kids built several projects and learned about so many concepts but the coolest part is Mason's new vocabulary which now includes words like perpendicular, polarity & elliptical!
Deb Adamson recently wrote about this camp in one of her columns which waxes much more eloquently than I ever could, read what she has to say about it here:
http://www.carthagepress.com/news/education/x81486215/Deb-Adamson-Playing-and-learning-at-Lego-camp

Hammonasset Family vacation

What a fabulous week! 8 days and 7 nights, (although we did sneak home 2 nights because of the rain), were spent with about a dozen other homeschool families and visiting friends. There was soo much to do! The beach, surfing, bike riding, crabbing, canoeing, crafts, a pinata, a talent show, the nature center, potlucks, Lenny & Joes, etc...Miegs Point Nature Center & the DEP sponsors this canoe trip down the Hammonasset River for $5 a person, pretty sweet! Ranger Russ was our guide and we had an awesome time checking out the egrets, cormorands, sand pipers, fiddler crabs and other assorted wildlife.
Our last day and we don't want to go home! next year we are reserving for 3 weeks!

Happy Birthday to me!

A birthday breakfast made by Mason personally was the best gift of the day, served in bed! (He made an egg burrito that was perfect!)
Downstairs was a beautiful presentation of a fresh picked beautiful pink rose and rose of sharon. And check out this ingenous nature flag, there are 50 'stars' and 13 'stripes'.

The Purple Farm & Lavendar Wands

For years now I have wanted to learn how to make these clever little "Lavendar Wands" and today I had my chance. The lavendar picking season is at its end so I went back the Purple Farm this evening after supper to pick some Grosso, I'll be busy this week doing you know what with it!