handsful

Finding crabs along the Matanzas river

We took a day trip to Washington Oaks Gardens this weekend, and I thought I’d share a few pictures. This park has two sides – a garden side and a beach side. The garden side is bordered by the Matanzas River. Abbey visited this area during one of her Marine Science camp days last week, and was very anxious to show us. Marley missed out, because she was out of town with a friend. We sure missed her.

We saw more wildlife than I cared to…including a black racer snake that crossed our path. Thankfully, I was up on a brick platform and I don’t think snakes can climb stairs. Can they? We also saw lots of different species of crab (they’re finding them in the picture above), banana spider webs EVERYWHERE, and large carp in the pond. On the beachside, we enjoyed climbing on huge rocks along the beach. It was interesting to see how the waves have carved and molded the rocks over the years. It was a fun day…hot, but fun!

Payton on the beachside

Ethan is laying on top of the rock, sticking his head in the hole made by years of water!

The result of this was Ethan in drenched clothes for the rest of the day.

Abbey finds a “recliner” to have a snack

Randy takes very good nature shots!

Out of the blue, Payton comes up to me yesterday and says this…

“You always think that bad things are gonna happen to someone else. Unfortunately, we’re all someone else to someone else.”

Then, he grins at himself and walks away. Did he NEED to tell me that? Quite profound for an almost 9 year old.

Before

After

After hating the bright yellow paint in the girl’s bathroom for months now, I decided yesterday was the day for change! I can’t blame anyone else for the offensive color…I painted it, and the light pink in the shower room about a year ago. The yellow just turned out way TOO yellow and made the room dark and glarey (is that a word?). So, I got a lighter yellow and got it done in 4 1/2 hours! The after picture washes it out a bit, but trust me…it looks great! Next room to paint? Nursery!

This morning, Abbey began a 2-week Marine Science Camp through our local public school district. What is quite normal for a rising 6th grader in private/public school is very new to her! She was up at 6am, so I could get her to the bus stop at 7am. I sat in the truck and we waved to each other as the school bus drove off. I’ll admit, I had to have my sunglasses on so she couldn’t see the tears! I pick her up at 3:30, so it’s a long day (for both of us!)

This camp is so cool, she was very excited (though, she did report a few butterflies on the way to the bus today!). Mornings will be for classroom instruction, and afternoons for activities. She will experience so many new things! Kayaking, snorkeling, fishing, canoeing, shell identification and collecting, and a trip to a local attraction called “Alligator Farm”. They’ll be in the river, in the intracoastal waterway, YMCA pool, the beach! I’m very proud of her because she went into this camp by herself, not knowing anyone. I can’t wait to hear all about it!

**UPDATE: Randy picked Abbey up this afternoon. Oh my, the girl was absolutely glowing when she came in the door! First thing she said (before hugging the breath out of me) was “Mom, I had a great time!!” This is going to be SOME week!!

Also, we got our July DTC Secret Pal present today! Look at this adorable Chinese baby doll!!! She’s a rag doll, so Lainey should enjoy plenty of good hugging and squeezing. And, it’s washable (how great is that?!). Thanks, SP!!

Here’s a picture of Randy with our crew of kiddos! He’s holding a collage photo that I made for him, with myself and the kids in the middle and then individual pics of the kids all around. He loved it! He also loved his Atlanta Braves plaque, that will go on his “Sports Wall” in the office. My kids are so blessed to have this guy for their father! Next year’s Father’s Day picture will have 1 more child piled around that chair! Come on, Lainey!!

Tomorrow morning at 7am, Abbey will board a bus and ride for almost 3 hours on her first, official Jr. High field trip with our church. They are going to a Disney water park, Blizzard Beach. She is very excited! Her Mom and Dad; however, have mixed feelings! We’re so glad that our wonderful church has such cool things for Jr. Highers (6th-8th graders) to do. I guess the nervousness comes from having her SO far away and responsible for things she’s not used to dealing with (sunscreen, handling her money, etc.). It will be so good for her, though! Not to mention, she’ll have a blast. They’ll be back to the church that night at 9pm. It’ll be a great day for our Abbey-girl.

We have our photos developed through the website, www.shutterfly.com They are having a pet photo contest. I’ve entered the above photo of our dog, Jack. If you’d like to vote for him, go to this link:

http://photocontest.shutterfly.com/action/photocontest/vote?entry=195517

Feel free to pass the link to others, we’re hoping he makes the Top 400 photos. Thanks!!