Florida trip 2013 - Day Four

Bacon for Breakfast!
plus cantaloupe, oj, biscuits, sausage, cereal, etc.
(No one leaves the table hungry. Ever.)

WARNING: PLETHORA OF PICTURES BELOW!!!

 

We started Wednesday with a delicious breakfast. Eric and John went into town for some produce and something else, so I put on my running shoes and decided to run down the .25 mile driveway to the street. Nate & Neta said they wanted to go with me. They got about 3/4 way down and "can we walk?" I kept jogging and they did what they wanted as far as running.

When we finished, we broke out the sidewalk chalk and had fun drawing before the afternoon rain shower.

I traced Nate and then he colored himself in.

Nate & Graigry traced me.

Nate running his remote car on the track that Xela made.

Graigry on the rolling stool coloring his work of art.

I traced Neta and then colored her an outfit.

View from below the stool.

Neta rolling around on the stool.
It was one of the favorite toys, used better outside than inside.
It was much easier on the ears when they rolled around outside.

After Eric and John got back, we packed some Gatorade and a box of Twinkies and headed for the boat. It's another one of our favorite Florida activities.

Smiling in the sun.

Graigry and the view of the river.

Nate enjoying the ride.

Cruising the river with a gentle breeze.
The river is part of a nature preserve.

This is a nesting area.
John said that many of the birds have left,
but there were still a bunch of noise & white in the trees.

Sitting at the front of the boat.

He said he wasn't sleeping, but I'm not sure
how many of us believed him. :)

Everyone, who wants to, gets a turn to drive the boat. The kids love feeling the power and the occasional "need for speed" as John would say before taking it up a knotch.

 

Neta dawning the shades.

This one is getting to grown up
for her parents' emotional well being.
Good thing she's a good kid.

Graigry trying to see over the windshield and riders.

Eric took a moment behind the wheel on our ride back.

Mommy getting her sunburn on!



Going under a bridge and drinking a Gatorade.
I love his face!!

Uncle John stopped the boat at a wider spot in the river so those that wanted to could jump in and swim. Everyone, but Xela and I (and Uncle John) jumped in. We were in jeans and didn't want to have to wear long wet denim for the  next 45 minutes. They had a splashing good time in the clear, alligator free water.

Daddy walking on water
(or just jumping in to enjoy the 72 degree fresh spring water)

Nate takes a jump off the boat.

Graigry jumped in, swam around, got up, jumped in again.
A fish finally in some fresh water.

Swimming buddies didn't want to get out of the water,
but we had to move on.
I'm so glad my kids love getting wet.









Big sister with bundled baby brother.



Neta with her boating crown.

 

We spent maybe 2 - 2.5 hours on the boat. We felt the breeze, rode the wakes, saw lost of birds and turtles, and also got a quick glimpse of ...

... an ALLIGATOR!!!

 

There is always family fun in Florida.



Florida trip 2013 - Day Three

Being at John and Diane's home is one of the most enjoyably relaxing vacation we are privileged to experience. We always try do a few thing around their property to help out. Tuesday's project was clearing and chopping up a tree that had fallen after being struck by lightning. Eric was excited to use a chainsaw. Kids were excited to get the tractor and golf carts involved.

Ro and Uncle John going to feed the goat.

Sometimes, some of the kids aren't so excited about helping.

Riding the tractor with Aunt Diane.
(Nate & Neta are just a little to young to be trusted with the wheel.)

Nate's as tall as the tire.

Diane's tractor teammate.

Hauling a load full of whozits to the worksite.

Taller than a tractor tire.

Picking up kindling, putting it in the bucket, ...

...and hauling it to the fire pit.

Faces full of smiles!

Chainsaw needed a little more gas.
Eric still doesn't have the sawdust out of his socks
(and they've been through the laundry-permanent souvenirs).

The tractor helped move the tree a few times
so it was easier to chop into manageable pieces.

We were at that for about an hour or so, then John called it quits. Eric wanted to keep cutting and moving, but John's arm was bleeding from getting attacked by a branch and Aunt Diane had tripped over a tree root sticking out of the ground and had twisted her ankle. The majority of the kids had started "we're on vacation...can we go swimming?" complaint/requests. The owner of the tools had spoken so kids got a drink, jumped in their suits and were ready for the pool.

My little fishes playing in the pool.

Heading for the hoop. And it's a ....

Slam Splash!!
Graigry had a "ball" playing with this water hoop,
coming up with all sorts of tricks.

Neta ready for take off.

Xela and her "steam"boat.

It's two of my flying fish!
(one of my favorite pool pictures!)

After a few hours of swimming, we came in and they played the Wii for a few hours before dinner. We don't have a Wii, which is a good thing because I don't feel so guilty when they spend that much time in front of a monitor. They are pretty good at taking turns, but sometimes there were your occasional squabbles. I took a bit of a nap on the couch while the kids played. Neta was apparently playing with my hair while I slept. When I finally decided to function, I took a turn on the Wii playing archery and did a fairly decent job, if I do say so myself.

Florida trip 2013 - Day One & Two

I was able to get a full week off work and we went to Florida, via Tennessee, to see Walker cousins and Uncle John and Aunt Diane. Xela and Aurora got home from girls camp on Saturday around two and we left just before six, after we had cleaned out and loaded the white van (it had been used to bring the ward girls home from camp).

We ate walking tacos for dinner, in the car, and headed for Tennesee. Keri and Gene live about half way to Crystal River, Florida so it makes a good stopping point. We got there around midnight, Indy time, watched two episodes of "Ironside" and when Keri and Gene got home from Walmart, we had ice cream, read scriptures and everyone went to bed.

Visiting after Monday breakfast.

Sunday we went to their branch, which is always an interesting experience. Keri taught the Sunday School lesson and I enjoyed her perspective on the priesthood. We had taco salad for lunch and then it was a quiet time: kids watched a movie and Eric and Keri talked which Gene and I were in and out of the conversation.

Before...

After! Kaleb made a cousin sandwich,
that doubled as an air mattress roll ride.

Monday we had breakfast, loaded the van, visited/played a little more and then we were on the road around noon. A nine hour drive ahead of us, which is made a lot easier with DVD players made for cars.

Enjoying lunch while listening to a cassette:
"You Only Live Once, but if you live right, once is enough."

The cassette mentioned above is something that Eric listened too long ago and really liked it. We hadn't listened to it in a LONG time and I thought the kids, and Eric, would like it. They did. The kids listened to it twice in a row.

They played a few things themselves before we got to the official Georgia boarder and then we stopped at the welcome center for a pit stop and a quick energy release. "Run down the hill kids!"

Running, kind of, up the hill after going down.

Nate playing in the grass after his run.

Aurora getting to the top of the hill.

After the quick run, it was back in the car and on down the road. One of my travel activities is to bring pipe cleaners. The kids enjoy creating different things. Xela, who had the calendar at this point, took a few pictures of their creations.


Graigry gave his glasses a make-over.
He had the pipe cleaners on his glasses until Sunday.

Notice Aurora's pipe cleaner flower on the screen.
She did drawing and coloring as well.

Glasses and a crown.
Nate is king of the front bench.

We stopped at McDonald's for a quick drive-thru dinner and finished our trip to Florida. I had put Pandora on my phone and we connected it to the van's sound system. We selected a family radio station and listened to what came up. Sometimes we sang with it, sometimes we gave it a thumbs down and moved on. It was fun to have a family sing-a-long in the car, with songs like BINGO, Lion Sings Tonight, Twist & Shout, and some Disney songs. We were blasting the radio as we drove down the dark street, turned on Citrus Avenue and into the Eagle's Nest. Singing with the family was my favorite part of Monday.

We got to John and Diane's around 9:30, exchanged hugs, got kids in bed and called it a night. There was work and fun to be had the next day.


The girls prep the Blue Room for bedtime.