Camping

We have had a fun filled March packed with visits from friends, lots of field trips, fiestas, and just busy bustling days! That's why when friends invited us to go camping, I thought that we already had too much on our plate. I'm so glad that I didn't turn down the opportunity. We decided that we'd go for just one night. That one night was packed full of so much fun that we can't wait to go back again.

We camped at Kelly Park which is just about 45 minutes directly North of our house. Kelly Park is in Apopka, Florida, and is also home to Rock Springs. We were able to stay on the same site as friends (Andrew's piano teacher, fellow homeschool friends, sweet Christians who love Jesus, and just some really REAL and genuine down to earth fun people). They were camping with another family. We fell in love with that family too, and we thoroughly enjoyed our trip. The fam we met up with is an avid Boy Scout family, and they provided us with lots of entertainment around the campfire. They did songs, story telling and skits. The led us in an old fashioned water balloon fight (no worries, the water balloons are biodegradable these days), they lite up the fire with lots of colors with a special trick, and they had just about everything a camper would need plus more to share with us!

The kids favorite part was floating down the GOD made lazy river in the Springs. The families were generous and shared inner tubes so we didn't even need to rent them. Even Lizzy joined in the floating, but the 72 degree water was enough to keep me watching from the coast. I couldn't capture the beauty of the springs (or all the freakish rednecks camped along the edge of the water either) so you're just gonna have to make a stop at the springs yourself to see the beauty!

Mat and I kept thinking...we LIVE here! It was an amazing trip...one that we will be experiencing again one of these days...and hopefully with the same 2 wonderful families!

The kids were wiped slap out when we got home. Poor little Lizzy fell asleep with food in her mouth on the way home. She drooled the food out of her mouth. She woke up when we got home, walked inside, and fell asleep just inside the house on the school room floor for well over an hour! I was pretty tired myself, but I managed to get Andrew to swimming practice where he swam like a tired fish for a half hour. We all enjoyed an early bedtime!

Shirtless

Andrew cracks me up b/c he has to be fully clothed at all times. It's even an ordeal to take his shirt off at the swimming pool...that is until the other night. He had his first sleepover. His friend took off his shirt and put on PJ pants...and that was what he was going to sleep in. Andrew wanted to be cool too so he took off his shirt and slept in PJ pants.

We got home from the YMCA, and my shirt smelled like burnt oil from our extinct dryer (a friend gave us a 2 year old Maytag dryer for FREE - praise Jesus!) so I took it off. Then Andrew followed my lead. He took off his shirt too...and it has remained off for the afternoon.

Of course, sweet little Lizzy couldn't be outdone so she promptly said, "My shirt smells too. Please take it off." So she went on to nap shirtless :)

My Little Stinker

Being a Mommy brings me so much joy....and adventure. If you've been following my blog, you know how active I keep our schedule. I love it, the kids love it, and it typically helps keep the kids having fun instead of creating mischief...at least that's what I would hope. This month has been filled with mischief.

My little girl is proving to be all sass. She doesn't like to sleep, and the moment she senses or hears that it's nap time, she runs and hides. I'm not talking about hiding around the corner. I'm talking about hiding deep in the closet buried under clothes. She is SILENT, and it's very difficult to find her. She's done this at the store a few times, but at the store it's even more difficult to find her b/c she likes to hid deep in a clothing rack. The people at the store always think it's funny, but when you lose your mind in panic in search of your child, it's NO laughing matter.

She is also trying to skip her nap time. She can get into and our of her pac-n-play with ease now so I can't go to a friends house during nap time (if I intend for her to sleep). I do put her in her crib at home, but she uses nap time as play-in-her-crib time or make the most horrible poopoo time. And when she thinks her quiet time should be over, she hollars, "Mommy, I want you!"

She is very shy...or coy one. I'm not exactly sure. I know it takes her time to warm up around people, and sometimes even I have a difficult time getting her to do something cute b/c she gets embarrassed. She LOVES to sing...LOUD...especially when we are on the way to the YMCA. She sings the YMCA song to the beat of a different drum...and makes us all laugh hysterically!

She loves all things dress up, playing with girl friends, loving on babies, and her favorite thing to do is harass her brother. She likes to play "house" where she has even started putting herself in time out!

Elizabeth woke up from her nap one day screaming. You would have thought she was dying the way she carried on. I rushed to her room to find her holding her finger up in the air. She said, "Mommy, a bugar" through her tears. So stinking dramatic! And then there was the morning where she woke up super early screaming for her Daddy to come take care of a bug in her room. I rushed in there only to find that the "bug" was a pair of Minnie Mouse ears (too giant for any bug). I picked up the ears, & she said, "oh, that's not a bug." Duh! She kissed me and went back to sleep. Gotta get that girls eyes checked?!

The other day we were sitting at Toyota waiting to buy an over priced key, & Lizzy told a grumpy old lady that she looked funny...fantastic and excruciatingly embarrassing. Other people there started to giggle, but I wanted to crawl under my seat. I think we redeemed ourselves. The old lady finally warmed up to us, and we had to wait so long that they took $50 off the price of the $100 key...ridiculous, but it was the best spend 45 min. I made over a dollar a minute :) I still feel bad that Lizzy told her she looked funny :( She did that another time when we were at a restaurant. An Asian boy had died his black hair blond, and she said (in the boy's face no less), "Mommy, that boy does look funny!" I wasn't as embarrassed that time b/c he had to know he looked silly. Instead, I sneaked a laugh or two while trying to explain that wasn't a nice thing to say.

I know I'm carrying on and on about Lizzy's antics, and while I could go into Andrew's antics, I'll save those stories for another time. He's grown out of some of them...fortunately. Being a mom to these two kiddos makes for a home filled with laughter (and some frustration). There is certainly never a dull moment!

March thus far...

Today, I am tired. It has been a stressful, busy, fun month filled with decisions and lots of time with the kids by myself.

March has to have been the most difficult month of school so far. Both Andrew and I are tired and all we want to do is go play. So we went on a lot of field trips.

We went to Ponce Inlet Lighthouse on the coast, and we go to play at the beach too.

We went to Barberville - a pioneer settlement about an hour from home.

We went to Epcot - to discover the flower and garden festival.

We went to Animal Kingdom - to learn more about animals.

We went ice skating with a sweet group of homeschoolers.

We had a fiesta with authentic Mexican food.

We painted lots of pictures and watched lots of Popular Mechanics for Kids videos.

We even set up a big tent in our living room and did school in the tent. We also had a campout, & Andrew & Lizzy had their first friends sleepover in the tent.

And I have ideas for more field trips this month already:

We are going strawberry picking.

We are having a field day on St. Patrick's Day.

We are going to the Shakespeare Theater to watch a play.

We are going to Gatorland Zoo.

We are going camping at a park with springs where we can tube with other homeschool friends.

We are going to meet some firemen with other homeschoolers.

We are even going to make a trip to Atlanta where we will have to go to Stone Mountain! We will also get to visit dear friends!

I'm so blessed that we started homeschooling in kindergarten. You may think we're slacking with all our field trips, but you wouldn't think so if you spend a day "schooling" with us. Andrew is so brilliant, and he so enjoys school that we've already finished most of his curriculum by doubling up on school most days. And when we take trips, we always learn valuable information! We started school August. 2, and we will have fulfilled our 180 days by mid April. I'm not stopping for the summer. The fun will just continue!