American History Wax Museum

We just completed our 2nd year in the Unfailing Homeschoolers Wax Museum. The kids choose who they would like to showcase depending on the assignment. This year we were to do someone in American history.

The kids had to write a monologue to recite each time their "start" button was pushed. This brought their character to life. They also had to make a backdrop and an information board.

Alex decided he wanted to be John D. Rockefeller...


Micayla chose to be Elizabeth Dole....


They did a great job! It's always a lot of work but well worth it.

The guests bring their loose change to donate in each person's containers after the "figures" are done speaking.

This year the proceeds were given to Wolfson Children's Hospital NICU. They raised just over $500. YAY!!!!!

We were very proud of all the kids who participated. I always learn so much about people I've never heard of!!!

Wonder who we'll be next year??

Can she really be 11?

I can't believe it's already been 11 years. Seems to go faster and faster each year.

Some pics from her day... a SPA day at the house with some friends. Thank you Mom and Julie for staying and helping. Not sure I would've survived all those nails, toes and hairstyles!!




It was a fun day and she had a great time. She has some really sweet friends!!!! They each brought their American Girl dolls too and it was a lot of GIRL fun!! Good thing we sent the boys away for the day!

Love you baby girl. You're such a huge blessing in my life!!!! We're so thankful God blessed us with you!!

Mama and Daughter Get Away!!!!!

The beautiful Hampton Inn on the Harbor at Amelia Island!!! Beautiful!



We walked over to the marina to see the water and boats...



but we also saw this!!!!!


We named this cute little sea otter Amelia. We don't really know the gender but Micayla wanted to name it so it's a she!

We also saw this along with jumping fish! I couldn't get a pic of the fish... they were too fast, most likely running away from whatever wanted to eat them! But I was able to get a picture of this baby jelly fish.


Then we did some shopping in the historic district. It's so pretty and was just perfect for us to wander around. The hotel is right on the corner so we could walk where we went. Amelia Island hosts a shrimp festival every year and these little guys were all over. Micayla loved them so we had to take pics with them!



Then we did this...



We had a great evening... we ate at the Marina Restaurant. It was yummy.


Then we went back to our room and popped popcorn and had M&M's. We spent a couple hours having girl talk. We mainly spoke about different changes she'll experience over the next few years and how to deal with them. It's such a fun time and I just want to prepare her for the next part of growing up!!

The next morning we got ready to go SHOPPING!!


We painted our nails and headed out... gotta have pretty toes!


We saw more of these...



I told her she could choose one thing to buy. So after much shopping and deliberation... she chose this. I love it!


We saw one more of these on our way out of town after having a yummy lunch at Karibou Cafe.



I must say thank you to my Mom for making this trip possible for us. I love that she travels and accumulates lots of hotel points and doesn't mind sharing!!! Thanks MOM!!!! We love you and had a great time!!!

History Fair

We just finished a six week project we've been working on for school. The kids were in a history fair last weekend with our homeschool group. It was called a wax museum really. They were to choose who they would like to be, from any time period, and then research, memorize a brief monologue, dress the part, have props and a backdrop. It was a lot of fun and turned out to be a great evening for everyone there. It was fun for me to get to make their costumes! I haven't sewn in a while so it was rather interesting to do it without a pattern! We had a box of hotel sheets in the garage my mom used to make curtains so it was the perfect costume and backdrop material... free! Thank God John was home to help with the backdrops! He has a much better eye than I do for art work! They also wore a button on them and when someone came to them, they pushed the button to "bring them to life."

Each child also made a donation box for "visitors" to drop change or bills in to raise money for Haiti Relief through World Vision. We raised over $500 as a group! It was very exciting!!!

Here are a few pics!

Alex making his backdrop:



Can you guess???



It makes me want to sing the song... "D a v y, D a v y C r o c k e t t, king of the wild frontier!!"



He loved having his Dad's REAL powder rifle and big knife! We didn't tell the other mom's it was a real gun!

Micayla chose...







At her Missions of Charity...



She did a great job "coming to life" each time. She said the only thing missing for her was the wrinkles!

Can't wait for next year!!!

Homeschooling sure makes life interesting!!!

One day last week while we were doing our math, Alex got up to let the dog out. It was another beautiful fall day here. Sunny, warm and a slight breeze.

Alex walked outside noticing something down by the back fence. It went a little like this:

Alex: "Mom, come here!!!"
Me: "Alex, get in here, you need to get this math finished."
Alex: "Mom, there's a bird in the yard and it's hurt." (He tells his sister to get a box.)
Me: "Alex, leave it alone! Don't touch it! Get in here." (I walk to the backdoor, really not interested in this bird and just knowing Alex is trying to blow off school.)
Alex: "Mom... please come here. It's alive! We have to do something!!"
Me: (realizing math is losing it's luster) "Alex, don't touch it."

Meanwhile, Micayla is coming out with a shoebox with holes punched in the top.

Alex: "Mom, I don't think it's hurt, I just think it's stuck."

OH GREAT. Now all math is out of the minds of my babes and they are focusing on this bird. Alex pulls the grass weeds around the bird to get it loose.

Alex: "Mom, it's covered in burrs." (The soft, flat one's that stick to you.)

We examine the bird. He's in the box. The kids get out their winter gloves so they can hold it and start taking off the burrs. (There's one reason we need gloves in Florida!!)

So I realize we now have a bird and I don't want a bird. What are we going to do with this bird??

So I get on Google and look up wildlife rescue places in our zip code. I didn't want just a critter control person. I found an animal hospital, very close to the house. They are a wildlife drop off. Who knew???

So... we ended up taking the bird, who the kids named Lucky, to the vet. They cleaned it up and sent it off to a bird rescue who, if possible, will release it back out in the area it was found. Whew!

We did find out it's a Great Crested Fly Catcher. We did research on it when we came home so the school day wasn't a complete loss was it???

And just because I know you want to see...

Pumpkins!!!!

This past weekend we went to our local pumpkin patch where we go every year to carefully select our pumpkins for carving. Okay it's not really a pumpkin patch in the middle of the city, it's at a church. They put hay and pumpkins in their lot. It's the closest thing we're going to have to a pumpkin patch without having to drive 30+ miles.



Anyway... we brought them home Sunday and then waited until Tuesday to carve them. For one, Dad would be home (the only night of the week he's home this week.) Second, we learned very quickly living in a sub-tropical climate, that you should not carve a pumpkin too far out from Halloween or it will rot, cave in, and mold VERY QUICKLY. (I'll spare you those pictures.)

So... here are some pictures of our evening.



Micayla's is on the left, Alex's in the middle (he tries to make the mean one every year), and then Josh's on the right.



Alex and Micayla like to carve their names or initials in the backs of theirs. Just in case we happen to forget who made what!!! Josh didn't want to.



My favorite thing about pumpkin carving is I score the "lids" of the pumpkins and we put cinnamon and cloves on them. When they are heated from the candle inside, it makes the front porch smell really good!!!!!

We hope you have a safe weekend. For us it's just about pumpkins and candy!!

A Funeral

Have you ever had a funeral for a pet? Well, we did two weeks ago. I'm slightly behind in my blogging. It was a sad day for us as we buried Micayla's hamster, also known as Hamilton John Gentges. (I know, I know.) We called him Hammy.

She's had him for almost 4 years so it was slightly emotional.

Thankfully, she has wonderful brothers who were there for her since Dad was out of town. (Why does he get to miss these events???)

Here Josh and Alex are preparing the hole...



Micayla had decorated the box for Hammy. His full name is on the top.



We were so happy when her friends came over to bring her flowers and cheer her up!!! I was especially happy they were able to be there for the "funeral"!!!



All done and over!



So here is some dialogue we had after he died....

Micayla: "So Mom, do you think Hammy is in heaven?"
Me: "Well honey..."

Micayla: (looking at me with big sad eyes)....
Mom: "I think that God wants us to be happy in heaven and God made hamsters. So I believe if it makes us happy and He made it then it will be in Heaven."
Micayla: (big smile) "Thanks Mom. I think he will be there too."

Oh geez. I have no idea if pets are in heaven but I believe OUR pets will be!!! It makes me happy. I need happy thoughts right now so there.

Diamond D Ranch Field Trip

Today we had a field trip with our homeschool group to Diamond D Ranch. It was a beautiful day to be outside and we had a great time.

Waiting for everyone to get there...

They got to ride ponies, feed goats, rams, and catfish, see wild pigs, pet horses, go on an educational nature walk and ride upside down on a drum.

The ponies...

Feeding the catfish... Alex was SOOO wanting a fishing pole!

Then they fed the goats...

Then it was the cow's turn...


They loved the cookies... Check out that tongue....




Then they rode the drum-roll... I didn't get to take Alex's picture doing this since he ran ahead to be first... go figure!

Micayla and one of her best friends, getting ready to roll...


Upside down...

It was a great day. Micayla wanted to come home with a pony... of course!

Guess where we went last weekend.......

Any guesses????

Well, we took A and M to Disney World!! They have never been so we decided it was time to use their Christmas present from Grammie and take them to the place where dreams come true!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Mom!!!

It was so much fun. It was wonderful to see the awe and excitement through their eyes. They loved the wonder of it all and were the perfect age to go. Tall enough for the "big" roller coasters and still young enough to appreciate the magic of it all. This was taken after riding space mountain!! woo hoo!!!! Our favorite!

It was a wonderful two nights away from everything here at home and just a great time to focus on the younger two. Life has been slightly stressful so it was nice to be able to relax and have a little fun!

One of the best parts of the day at the magic kingdom was heavily pushing Alex to get his picture taken with the princesses!! He was so cute. Doesn't he look thrilled to have his picture taken!?

Again it was very relaxing. This was where John chose to spend most of his time while at the resort....

while the kids were doing this....

and this....

here at the resort pool...

it was absolutely beautiful! It had a waterslide and three other pools. The kids were in heaven. John was severely past due for some relaxation time and I was past due getting to have some FUN family time AWAY from the house.

We gave Joshua the choice to come with us or stay home. He surprisingly chose to stay home and Brandon came over and stayed with him. I just prayed they weren't having their own magic kingdom while we were away!! They did fine and I was very thankful for Brandon staying with Josh and making sure he got picked up and taken where he needed to go.

Anyway, I'll spare you the rest of the pictures! If you haven't been I hope you get the change to go to Disney World sometime. It really is a magical place!!! We can't wait to go back!