Upward Soccer

This year the girls are playing Upward Soccer again. Emma is on a team called the Tigers with her friend Mandy, who goes to our coop. The twins are on the Ladybugs. Pete coaches the Ladybugs. The girls love to play soccer! Kelson likes to go because he gets to play with his cars in the dirt. He told me the other day,"They have really good dirt here." I believe him. When we get ready to leave his is a mess! It has been very humid, even in October. The temperature last Saturday during the games was in the 100's with the humidity being so high. They had to shorten the games so the kids didn't get overheated. The girls like playng on Saturday because they get a slushy to help cool them down. The twins team is so cute. They really like each other a lot and spend more time talking than playing. Oh well, Pete keeps telling them it doesn't matter if you win. It matters if you had fun or not.

Recycle Man

Everyone in our house has chores to do everyday. One of Kelson's chores is to take the recyclables from the house to the recycle bin outside and once a week take it to the curb for pick up. Here is a picture of RECYCLE MAN!

Mark Schultz concert

Since the girls were little we have always listened to Mark Schultz. His songs have really spoke to my heart during difficult times in my life. The girls have wanted to see him in concert for a while now. So when we found out he was coming in concert we bought tickets. The seats were upfront, three rows from the stage. When the music started you could feel the beat of the drum resonate in your body. The opening act for Mark Schultz was Point of Grace. Emma really like their music. During intermission they had a goal of people sponsoring 75 children through World Vision. Emma had sponsored a child in Nicaragua a couple of years ago. She has enjoyed writing Maria Louisa and sending pictures back and fourth. Hannah and Kristen really wanted to sponsor a child of their own so we let them each pick a child. Hannah picked a little girl a year younger than her that lives in Ethiopia, Africa. Kristen pick a little boy her age from Zambia, Africa. Both children live in villages with HIV Aids. Hannah and Kristen were so excited and have already started drawing pictures and writing letters to their sponsored child. Because they meet their goal, anyone who sponsored a child got to go backstage and meet Mark Schultz and Point of Grace. They talked to us, played more songs and the girls got their pictures taken with them. We didn't get home until 11 pm. The girls thought it was AWESOME and so did we!

Kelson's 4th Birthday

This year we didn't celebrate Kelson's birthday on his actual birthdate. The girls and Pete and I went to see Mark Schultz and Point of Grace in concert. Kelson hung out with Stacey, our babysitter. They went to get his birthday cake and went to get something to eat. Stacey asked Kelson if he wanted to get something to eat. He said,"Yes!" She asked him what he wanted to go eat. He said,"Food." How cute! We celebrated his birthday on Sunday. This was the first year Kelson didn't have a construction vehicle birthday. This year he had a Rescue Heroes birthday party. He was excited when he saw the table decorated in the morning. He kept asking when he was going to eat his cake. After church we ate lunch and Nanny came over and we ate cake. Then he opened presents. He got a Rescue Hero Firetruck with a man and woman firefighter and Police Helicopter. And a forklift that makes sounds. Hannah and Kristen got him a walking, talking dinosaur. Emma got him a Lightning McQueen MAC truck. Kristen also wrote a song for Kelson and played it on the piano.

Cumberland Island

On the Saturday before we left we took a ferry from St. Marys, Georgia to Cumberland Island. We learned about the history of the Carnegie family who owned the majority of the island. When Lucy Carnegie died she willed the island to the federal government. Now the majority of the island is a state park. Lucy had horses delivered to her island when she lived there and in her will she stated they must remain wild. The horses had just had five baby foals. One of them especially liked Emma (see photo). We were the first to walk the beach and found a huge conch shell completely in tacked (see photo of Emma), saw horseshoe crabs, shells we've never seen before (see photo of Hannah) and two sand dollars (see photo of Kristen). Kristen was especially happy because she promised to find one for MeMe. The girls completed a booklet with information about the island as part of the ranger program and received real ranger badges. The girls said after finding the BIG conch shell and sand dollars that it was the best beach they had ever been on. They felt like they were Nim from Nim's Island because there was no one around. It was an awesome day! We will definately go back.

Fort Clinch, Amelia Island

We took the children to Fort Clinch and learned a lot about the Civil War. There was hardly anyone there since school just started so we had the place to ourselves. The man in Union uniform met us at the storage building and showed us around. He really played the part, showing us what hot uniforms the government issued because they didn't know how warm it was in the south because in the north it was cold. Showed us how they made shoes for the soldiers. He let them taste hard tack. He was so much in character as we were leaving he asked us if we had a pass to give the man at the gate. We of course had no idea what he was talking about so he took us in the officers quarters and took out an old writing box with quill pen and wrote on an old official pass with the names of the people in our party so we could leave the fort and not be shot upon, as that is what they would do to the Confederates if they came near. The girls remarked about how fun it was and how much they learned. It's times like those that make me realize how much homeschooling really pays off. They didn't just read about it in a book, but also experienced history. They touched, saw and in some cases smelled (the prision) what life was like back in those times. How hard it was being a solider and what it meant by the saying,"Don't let the bed bugs bite."

Vacation at Amelia Island

We had a great time at Amelia Island in August for 10 days of nothing but fun in the sun. We took the family to Amelia Island by way of the Mayport Ferry. Their first car ferry ride. Kelson especially loved that! The condo we stayed at was right on the beach and the pool was at our back door. We enjoyed morning and evening walks on the beach, playing in the pool all day. It was great with no cell phone, no computer, so no emails which means NO STRESS! My mom came and stayed with me when Pete went back to work during the week. We visited Fort Clinch (see other posting for details). During our vacation we saw so many animals up close and personal. Everything from a sandflea(see photo), sea turtles laying their eggs, snakes, baby possums, six deer of which four where fawns, spiders and many other animals. One night at the beach we found a sea snails (see photo). We took him back to the condo in a bucket and the kids watched it and sketched it. Then we let him go. The kids said it was the best vacation they ever had. Just being in one spot and only going on two discovery trips. We played Monopoly and other board games while Kelson was napping. We watched Swiss Family Robinson (the old version) of which the kids thought was GREAT! We had a surprise visit from Pirate Pete after reading books about pirates. He came with treasures for all!!!