Wesley's Scout Camp

I should have Wes tell about his camp, but my time to blog is when the kids are all in bed. Maybe I'll have him add more later. Southern Florida had the 100 years of Scouting celebration at the Seminole Tribe Reservation. So they had a lot of fun activities to do there. One was this alligator wrestler. Wesley said that he kind of egged the alligator on with a stick and they did some tricks with it. He took several pictures, so here are a couple of them. Poor alligator. He is probably just wondering when this is going to be over with.
Wesley was able to throw tomahawks, and some other arrow contraption. He can't remember the name of it. But he had a fun time trying it out.

They climbed on the rope bridge and crawled through the spider web course on the ground. They had many booths with games and activities set up. They saw a couple of bands perform and saw an animal show with birds and other creatures. The camp went for 4 days, but our branch only went for one night and one full day.

This is a lake that is there with a view of the tents across the way. Wes said they also saw, but could not enter, the sacred burial grounds of the tribe. He enjoyed his time there. He learned a lot. I'll ask him later if he wants to add anything more!

A Beautiful Day at the Beach

Finally we had a beautiful day at the beach. It was very warm, with just the right amount of breeze. Wesley was at a scout camp, Brent needed to study, so the girls and I headed for the beach. We got there about 10 a.m. and found a good spot close to the water. By 11, there were tons of people there. The girls had fun. Janiel dug a hole and found water down inside. Each of the girls went back and forth from the water to me. I was actually able to sit under the umbrella. What a life. It is nice now that they are getting a little older and more independent. They gathered water, sand, and sea shells. Here Kara is bringing more sand.
Erin had a fun time just digging. She loved to dig a hole and fill it with water. Kara ended up getting a sunburn on that lower part of her back that is showing in this picture. I didn't think to put sunscreen on that part. I will now!

Ashleigh also had a great time in the sand. Many people were walking up and down the beach as my girls were walking back and forth. Most people smiled at their cuteness and waited for them to pass. The people strolling also had an obstacle course of sand toys as they passed our spot.

Janiel liked to take Ashleigh out to jump in the waves.

Erin is sporting her new swimming suit. What a cute babe! The skies were a beautiful blue!

Kara loved the waves. One would knock her down and another would bury her. But she would stand back up, smile, and go out for more. What a nice day. We spent about 5 hours at the beach yesterday (until two ladies with cigars smoked us out!!!).

More pictures of the Everglades

A monkey in the swamp! Many monkeys in the swamp. Wes, Ashleigh, Nate, Janiel and Chelsey. The tiny turtle was only about the size of a silver dollar.

Another smaller alligator.

Some of the beautiful sights of the Everglades.

A swimming alligator.

The Everglades

It was National Parks Week this week. The entrance fees were waived at all the parks. So I decided that it would be fun to go down to the Everglades. I invited our new friends to go with us. The forest was amazing. We only hit the top part that is closet to Naples. So we didn't even scratch the surface. We only had to travel about an hour. This is a picture off of one of the boardwalks. I decided that boardwalks in alligator infested swamps was the best way to go. I didn't really want to walk with them.This deer was just a feasting away. It didn't even seem bothered that we were there. It stood in the water and ate the green stuff off of the top.

The kids are taking a break in the Tiki hut. From left to right: Alex, Nate, Chelsey, Janiel, Ashleigh, Emily, Erin, Wes, and Kara. Quite a crowd. We have enjoyed spending time with the Adcocks. Brent studies with their dad. So Lisa and I figure we might as well spend time together. We have had a couple of adventures. Janiel likes to be with Chelsey and Emily. We are greatful to have them as our friends.

This is the backside of the kids looking at a huge alligator sunning himself. Good thing for the chain link fence!!!This is the monster that we saw. He was probably about 10 feet long. I wondered if he was alive, and just then he had the biggest yawn ever.
This only half of the yawn. I wasn't quite fast enough on the camera. The kids liked that.

The kids were looking in the water at some small fish. We watched some people launch their canoe and kayak. I'm not sure if I would like to navigate down the same rivers as alligators.

Kids love water. They are just drawn to it! We had to pull them away quickly.

Kara and Janiel are taking a break on the picnic table. They thought they were ready for lunch at 10:30. We held them off until a little later.

This is the boardwalk that we saw the huge alligator off of. We also saw two swimming the water. We also saw a turtle. On the other boardwalk we saw two snakes, a small alligator, a tiny turtle that was the size of a silver dollar, the deer and many beautiful and amazing trees and flowers.

Kara Shaking It

Kara is pretty talented. She can shake her booty, smile, and chew licorice all at the same time!!! I'm not sure how to rotate the video, so you will just have to enjoy it sideways. Sorry.

Fifth Day of Adventure---Spring Break:Sea World

This is part of the dolphin show. It has some acrobatics too. I have only seen it from up top. Last time we went Kara was asleep in the stroller so I had to sit at the top. This time Erin fell asleep, so I sat at the top again. But Brent and the kids had front row seats. They were kind of on the side. So they got splashed with a little water. They thought that was great. Being on the front row, they had a great view of the underwater swimming. Dolphins are beautiful and amazing animals.
This dolphin was extra long and dark. We don't know if is a special kind or not. It was still amazing in the air and the water. This is the one that got Brent and the kids wet.This time we were able to see a show with Elmo and some of his friends. It was really cute and Kara especially loved it. She kept waving to Elmo like she was the only one in the crowd. So sweet.

Some of the kids, Wes, Ashleigh, Kara and Janiel felt like posing for a picture with Shamu. Ashleigh, Brent, Erin and Janiel went on a lobster ride that went up and down and up and down with lots of bumps in the middle. Wesley's stomach can't handle that kind of torture. Kara was too short again.

Kara enjoyed some licorice while waiting for the others on the ride. She loves to be happy.

Janiel, Erin and Brent enjoyed spinning.

Here is Wesley and Erin on the whale ride. Ashleigh and I are in the seat in front. Brent had the camera ready, but didn't take it in time to catch us. You know that whale ride can be pretty fast!!!! Kara keeps saying when she gets bigger she can go on the whale ride. She is still a couple inches too short. Bummer.Here are some more of Florida's beautiful and amazing flowers. These were growing on a tree.

We are all lined up and ready for Elmo's show. It was a hot day and we were exhausted from the heat.

I really like the way that the aquarium causes a cute silhouette effect. I think this tank was full of tropical fish. The girls all love the animal and could stand there for a very long time.

Fourth Day of Adventure---Spring Break:The Hilton

We wanted to use our pass again to Sea World, and thought it would be better to stay the night. Well, by moving, we earned a lot of reward points on our MasterCard. We decided to use our points towards a hotel stay in Orlando. So it didn't matter if we stayed in a $40 hotel or a $150 hotel. It would use the same amount of points. So we went for the higher one!!! We had a grand time staying in luxury. The kids had a blast. Our room was in the part that points to the left. We played in the pool for the afternoon. They had a fun family pool with a slide for the kids. It also had a lazy river that was a lot of fun. The kids had a lot of fun in the pool. Nice for free.
Erin and Ashleigh like just wading around. They both went down the slide as well. Brent caught them at the bottom (most of the time). Erin thought she was going to drown once when Brent didn't get there in time. But she went again and was very brave.

Our kids: Janiel, Kara, Erin, Ashleigh and Wesley hanging out in luxury. They were waiting to go to the pool. They had fun riding on the elevator: up 12 floors.

This was the view out our room's window.

Third Day of Adventure---Spring Break: Stawberry Picking

We decided to go pick some strawberries. Boy were they good. They were so sweet and ripe. Yum. Just typing about them makes me want to go get some more. The kids had a fun time, too. Janiel and Wesley are picking some of the sweet berries. They had some growing like you see here, but also some that grew on the ground as well. Those on the ground were the larger berries. Erin has her basket in hand. They thought it would be a great idea to use their Easter baskets. I did too. We took home about 10 pounds of strawberries. I froze 3 gallon Ziploc bags full and made two batches of strawberry freezer jam and still had enough to enjoy from the fridge.

Wesley is taste testing the goods. They passed his inspection.

Kara loved picking and was good at spotting the nice ripe ones. Some of them were too ripe and were squishy. The fruit flies were quite plentiful.

Ashleigh was very careful in picking the strawberries. She liked the little red ones.