Vacation 2010 - Day 5

Day Five was a highlight for everyone... except me. I try really hard not to be a stick in the mud, but there are some things I just cannot do, know matter how hard I try. This day was one of those times.





We ventured out to a natural spring that has a unique swimming hole. When we got there, the water was breathtakingly beautiful. The pictures can't do it justice! The first thing everyone wanted to do was jump off of a concrete platform into the water. I decided to sit out the first jump to see if everyone else survived... Just when I was thinking about jumping, I noticed that everyone was coming out of the water with blue lips.

Sooo, instead of jumping in, I thought I would ease down the steps and get in that way... big mistake. I have never felt water that cold before in my life (except for a tall glass of ICE water). Steve kept prodding me to get in and with 100% determination, I could only make it to my hips. When my legs turned completely numb, I decided it just wasn't going to happen. Then I looked around and noticed that all the women my age were fully clothed, sitting in the shade, watching everyone else. Hmmm... I felt vindicated that at least I was willing to give it a good effort.

Here are videos of each person jumping:
Steve and Kaylee

McKay

Griffin

Owen

The next part of the day that was terrifying for me was when Steve decided that we should all go tubing. We had brought some tubes and at first I was up for it, but then I started noticing a few things. There was only one part of the river we could go in and float, and it had a bit of a current to it. I told Steve I didn't want to actually GO anywhere on our tubes, I just wanted to sit and float "yea, yea" was his reply. We had the foresight to tie our tubes together before we started and into the river we went. We gently floated, then we floated a little faster and finally we took off. I was yelling to Steve that I didn't want to GO anywhere and away we went. Unbeknown st to me, as we passed the last group of people on the river, Steve overheard them say "I wonder where they're going? Don't they know..." and that's the last he heard. Finally, I was truly in a panic. We couldn't even see around the bend in the river where we were headed and so I gave Steve my best 'you're in soo much trouble' look just as our tubes came untied from each other. Steve hopped out of his tube and started pulling us back upstream. This was fine and dandy until I noticed that every few feet he pulled us upstream was immediately met by the current dragging us right back to where we started! That was it, Momma Bear officially came out and you probably saw this coming... I had to get in the freezing water and help him pull us to safety! Needless to say, we got to safety! My body was frozen and numb up to my shoulders, my nerves were frazzled and spent and Steve was given the evil eye for the next hour or so ( I think I showed great restraint that it only lasted an hour). Despite the danger I felt, the kids seemed oblivious and enjoyed our little jaunt down the river.

I learned several things from this outing:

• If I ever go to a Spring again, it better be a HOT spring
• My Hubby is up for anything and if it feels like danger to me, it's an adventure to him
• If I ever get on a tube again, it's only with the knowledge that I'm going to GO somewhere and I'm going to know beforehand where that somewhere is

Vacation 2010 - Day 3 and 4

Day three was the family's favorite day... we went to Wild Adventures in Valdosta, GA. I know it seems like a crazy place for a Theme Park to be, but in just telling about it - I'm giving away it's secret! It was the most family-friendly park and it's just slightly smaller than Six Flags. We went during prime summertime season and we literally only had to stand in ONE line... the bumper cars. There was a little old lady running the bumper cars and with each group she would stop and talk to them and then she'd point out a target for all of us to try to bump. She was too cute. I highly recommend this park to everyone.

The roller coaster in the picture is the one that sent Steve over the edge... or at least his stomach! Poor guy... poor ride operator!


Day Four was probably my favorite day! We just were! We stayed at the campground and had a relaxing day. Steve even got a nap!

The boys got to play their first real game of Paintball and I'm not so sure they'll be ready to play again for awhile! Check out Griffin's bruise:






We had another injury and it was poor McKay. At our home, she is the one prone to ant bites and mosquito bites. When we first got to the campground, all of us kept getting attacked by these little yellow flies that bit like huge horse flies... everyone but McKay. She thought it was funny that they kept leaving her alone. Her pride finally got the best of her. She put on her bicycle helmet and "something" bit her by her eye. The next morning this is what she looked like:

Here's McKay being very brave in her canoe...

Kaylee enjoyed catching minnows:

Owen just liked sight-seeing in his boat:

And of course Griffin just wanted to fish:

We took several books from the Library and one was full of "Scary but True" stories, the kids couldn't put it down.

All in all my favorite day and I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my Birthday, relaxing with my family and just being...

Vacation 2010 - Day Two

Day two started out very relaxing... until we couldn't get to a piece of the camper we needed. Steve had to literally climb under the bench seat and all I could do was laugh and grab my camera... you can imagine how much he appreciated my helpfulness!

The campground was so family friendly! We were able to keep paddle boats at our campsite to use whenever we wanted... the morning of day two was spent in the boats.

How many people can we fit in a two man boat???

After an afternoon of shopping, we returned to an evening in the paddle boats. Griffin spent most of the vacation with fishing pole in hand. He reminds me so much of my brother, Grant and how much he loved to fish. We spent some time talking about Grant and the different fishing techniques he used. I wish my kids could have known him.

Looks like Steve had a little fish envy... I'm just sayin -

I was very impressed with Owen's kayaking skills. I didn't even know he had any, but he learned them in Scouts!

McKay was thrilled to show me how to steer a paddle boat... "Mom, you do the opposite of where you want to go!!"

Steve looking a little disgusted again...

The next three pictures show Steve and Griffin getting bites at the exact same time...

Finally, a smile from Steve...


And I had to end with this last picture... there is a fountain to the right of the picture. The kids thought it was HILARIOUS to position the boat, with me in it, so that I would get wet whenever we went near it.... I didn't find it too humorous!

Vacation 2010 - Day One

Our Family vacation this year was in Madison, FL. We left on Sunday, June 20th and headed south. We try to keep Sunday as the Lord's Day and decided it would be better to travel on Sunday than to "play" on Sunday. The first hour of the trip was uneventful.



Then... the van started having some issues. We noticed that the engine was straining quite a bit and it didn't seem to want to pull the camper. After a few hours, it was time for lunch and just as we were leaving the Interstate, Steve saw some black stuff coming from under the camper. We pulled into the restaurant and Steve checked the tire... the tread had come off completely. We were right across the street from WalMart and so we figured we could go and get a new tire. We went in and ate lunch and as we came back out to leave, the van wouldn't start! It was very frustrating because we checked the tires before we left and Steve turned the van in for a check-over to make sure it was in good traveling condition and yet... there we sat. We started calling mechanics and we had several strikes against us... it was Sunday and it was Father's Day. We found a wonderful man, Mr. Bill who offered to drive to where we were and help us. In the meantime, we said a prayer and that the van might start so we wouldn't have to pay for towing. When Mr. Bill got to us, he decided we needed to go to his shop, which he opened just for us and yes, the van started and we were able to drive there:




The next problem we had, was that the air conditioner went out as we were driving to Mr. Bill's! He was kind enough to open his cool office for us to hang out in.

Everyone looking thrilled...

McKay wanted to be Mr. Bill's secretary and answer his phone every time it rang...

Our goal this trip was to make the best of whatever happened and I am so proud of everyone and their attitudes. We were in Mr. Bill's little office for FOUR hours and no one complained!!

McKay wasn't enjoying the air conditioning after a while and luckily had a sweat shirt, and no she wasn't playing on Mr. Bill's computer, just wishing she could.

The girls drew Mr. Bill a picture to thank him for all of his help. In the meantime, Steve and I were wondering which child we would have to sell to pay off this bill that we figured would be astronomical!

And here is the culprit... a spark plug cover had a hole in it! They also discovered the fuel filter needed changed, we can't believe the people in GA didn't discover all of this. Mr. Bill helped us change our tire and then we were off!

While we were in Mr. Bill's a huge rain storm hit our travel route. Thankfully, we missed the rain but were greeted with this beautiful rainbow... a reminder of the Lord being aware of us. Before we started our trip, Owen said a prayer that we would have safety... we felt this safety all along our route:

It could have been worse...

we could have broken down on a small back-road in the middle of nowhere, with no air conditioned office to sit in. The tire could have blown and caused us to jack-knife on the Interstate. We might not have found someone who was willing to open his shop and help us and then only charge us $200. We saw so many blessings despite the inconvenience we encountered.

Twelve hours after we left home (it was only a five hour drive), we pulled into our campground and set up in the dark. We all headed to huddle house for dinner and finally climbed in our beds at 1:00 am. The kids all slept in until 10 the next morning and we finally got to explore the campground:

Stay tuned for day two....

Holy Kiddos....

June has been the month of... kids, starting with the newest kids in our family:




























Our "inside" cat gave birth to five kittens! It has been so fun watching her be a good mommy and watching the babies develop. If anyone is interested in an addition to the family, we can fix you up!



The other exciting kid we've had around is... Jarom. Jarom is my friend Shana's little boy and I watched him for a week while his Dad was in California. I forget how much work it is running after a little one, but we had plenty of giggles in the process. The kids had a great time with him and were great "big" brothers and sisters!








On top of all this excitement, we've had several friends over for play dates. It has helped the summer to zoom by and the kids have been having a great time.



Our guests this day were Houston and Ivey! I got out a brand new loaf of bread, a new jar of applesauce and a brand new bag of chips. I was shocked that seven sandwiches about wiped out the loaf of bread and there wasn't anything left of the other items, either! I don't know how my Sister-in-law feeds her crew of nine kids!!






Our next adventure is leaving this week for Valdosta, GA! We are camping and seeing as it was 105 degrees here this week, I'm sure it will be sweltering in South Georgia! Looking forward to fun with the family!

Facebook, why hast thou forsaken me?

My last post was March... and it's all Facebook's fault! It is so easy to add a picture and a line to Facebook. Then when I think about my BLOG I feel like it's redundant to comment about the same things I've mentioned on Facebook... ugh. My kids have been very disappointed in this dilemma and since I started this BLOG for them, I'm committed to do better!


The other day I took note of the random activities going on about the house:

Kaylee was helping me cook,





Owen was busy vacuuming up a trail of ants that had gotten into the house,





Griffin was busy learning a new skill on the computer,





And even Lilly was busy feeding her new babies,




So let's see... the only person missing was McKay. What productive thing was she up to??

Dressing up and putting on my makeup,




Our garden has been giving us a lot of enjoyment. Kaylee has especially been interested in the green beans. We got our first batch large enough for a meal and Kaylee helped me pick the beans, snap them and cook them... the only problem, she doesn't like the taste of them! She had high hopes that they wouldn't taste like the ones from the can... after two bites, she decided they are still yucky! The rest of the family fought over the last helping!