See how happy we all are that it is summer?
Actually – we are still doing a little bit of school, and they have been more than agreeable to do yard work and building projects. Nigel has even drawn up building plans to turn the swing set into something of a water park. … to be continued, I am sure…
rhubarb?
Since we got off the cruise a few weeks ago the kids tossed around ideas to generate income for another cruise.
Bake sale? That’s a lot of brownies.
Garage sale? Great idea – but we have no good stuff.
Mom work more? Sure – but then we’d have to hire a maid and a cook.
Produce stand? Hmmm – this one has merit.
For the last five (?) years John has had a garden. For the most part it has done very well. We’ve had plenty to eat, some to share, and a bit to freeze. With a little effort, we can expand this garden; and with the kids’ help, they can sell the additional produce.
John and the boys built a stand to ride in the tractor cart, and built a standing sign out of a plastic saw horse.
They built a box, too.
And they made $5 on their first day, and two more the second day.
We may not earn enough for a cruise in this decade, but I think it’s a great experience just the same.
Every so often (once a year?) the kids 0-5 are invited to join the choir or praise team in leading a worship song.
Praise Him, Praise Him, Let all the people praise Him.
Not sure why these iPhone pictures are so grainy… but you get the point.
(That’s Stewart.)
As our vacation started to wind down, we repeated days at Busch Gardens and SeaWorld, and had one last day at “home” before hitting the road Friday evening.
Wednesday, we went back to Busch Gardens.
This ride is called Cheetah Hunt. It launches you from 0 to 30 in two seconds as it launches you out of the station. It later does a launch to 60 mph. It is a very long ride that runs the expanse of the park and is designed to make you feel like a cheetah hunting for food.
They were testing Falcon’s Fury which was behind schedule for opening. (I’m rather grateful…) It drops you to the ground as a falcon diving for food.
We watched veterinary surgery on an African bird.
Traveling the world animal and ice skating show. You had to see it. It was pretty cool.
John showing the kids how injection molding works.
Thursday we went back to SeaWorld. The weather was spotty. It was our only day to really contend with the weather. (A bit on Wednesday). We also had to deal with the dreaded… SCHOOL GROUPS. I’m so glad we had been there on a quieter day, Sunday.
It was really windy.
A habitat for injured pelicans.
She almost climbed out of the stroller trying to get to the bird! She LOVED animals!!!!
Petting and feeding sting rays.
We also did a super cool 3D, 360 degree movie called Turtle Trek. We followed a turtle through it’s life span in about 4 minutes…
A BEAUTIFUL dolphin and diving show. It was one of those things that you can’t capture pictures to do it justice.
We went back to Antarctica to see Puck and his friends.
and here’s PUCK!
The threat of thunderstorms and the spotty rain really messed with our touring. We did get to do a bunch of the smaller rides.
Friday we stayed at the house.
I took a nap from 12:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M. so I could help with driving in the later hours of the night. We left around 5:00 P.M. on Friday which is a ridiculously foolish time to leave any southern city. It took ForEvER to get out of Florida. And it took a FULL 24-hours to get home. Far worse time that we made on the way home. But it was a super good vacation, even if I was ready to chew off my arm by the time I got to West Virginia. 😉
A day to do nothing. We did nothing with gusto.
After Daddy brought Katriel out of the pool she had a lot to say about it. She grabbed his leg and screeched and pulled on his shorts in the direction of the pool. For real. It was funny to see her so adamant to return to swimming!
Interestingly enough, she wasn’t as adamant about sharing a snack…
But she was consistent enough to get one. ♥
Then she got her big brother to take her back in.
These are the kind of photos that keep a tired mom going.
See – I DID get in the water! I also managed to read an entire book this day, as well. A WHOLE BOOK.
After Katriel’s nap.
We went to an Early Bird Dinner at Black Angus Steak House. This is becoming a tradition for us.
We also went to DownTown Disney again. Johanna still wewwy needed a lot of things.
John went into the Ghirardelli shop to get himself a coffee. The waitress paused to assess him and ask, “Because you aren’t hot enough?” It WAS about 82 degrees as 6 P.M. Every other guest in the store was ordering ice cream.
Katriel was very interested in a balloon a little girl had. And the little girl gave it to her. ♥
I wish we’d had a few more of these nothing days to enjoy this trip around…
I hadn’t been to Busch Gardens in almost 20 years. I remember it being a beautiful place and was thrilled to see that was still the case. It is also known for its roller coasters and they did not disappoint. They also had a bazillion (or slightly less) rides in a Sesame Street themed area that Johanna, and even Katriel, got to enjoy. In fact, they had more rides in their little Sesame Street Safari of Fun section than all of Sesame Place does.
They also have animals. Lots of them. Here is our hungry alligator saying hi to lots of hungry alligators.
We had gobs and gobs and gobs of fun, and the weather was AMAZING. Wow. We were there from open to close (10 A.M. – 6 P.M.) and did not do half of what they had to offer. I’m so glad we had an additional day to look forward to at this park. I am sharing about 5% of the photos from that day. We had a blast.
Oh – and check out this sign! I wish we had this kind of parking around town!
Dayspring Disciples 