Shared heritage

This is a video of Sarah Palin speaking at Wasilla Assembly of God. I had to post it (thanks Brant) because it is her just being herself. It is shows the founder and pastor of the church which has ties to me. Yes, me. You see, my grandmother was under his leadership and worked in this church back when my grandparents homesteaded in Wasilla, Alaska. She helped with the childrens church and began the Women's Minsitry there. I bet Esther Tuttle, my grandmother would be beaming with pride over Wasilla Assembly of God making world news. I am so proud of the example of my grandmother and her realtionship with the Lord. It was amazing to listen to her former pastor who has stood as a man of God through out all these years pray for Sarah Palin and know how he has shaped her character as well.

Hunting armadillos

So sit right back and you'll hear a tale....

Okay, so it is not anything like Gilligan's Island, but it is almost as funny.

Monday we had a smaller group left camping. Just the Symonds and us. The girls had decided Uncle Aaron would be the best leader on a hunt to find some armadillos after dark. So they packed up their flashlights and loaded up into the back of a pickup. Off they went. They were gone all of 6.5 seconds and here one came mosing along up to the table where Samantha and I sat minding our own business. He was smelling those yummy grilled burgers we had just scarffed down. He did what armadillos do, he went sniffing around, and then stood up on his hind legs once trying to get Sam into his sights (we were told they have poor eyesight). So after this acrobatic dance of our little armored friend, we were disappointed to not have pics of the dance, this one will have to do.

Off Sam went to get the camera. Off the armadillo went in search for a quieter site. She returned camera ready and he was being standoffish. No good poses. So, I sneak around the back of him and at just the precise moment I clap, LOUD, like you want a light to come on with the old "clap on clap off gizmos" and stomp my feet and holler all at the same time...That armadillo hopped up and sailed right towards Samantha, which caused her to jump, scream, snap a pic of the tarp, and run. That poor little animal did not know what to do. He took off into the bushes, Sam and I doubled over grabbing our guts for laughing so hard. We cried. Had to sit, or else pee. And just about that time, here came the truck of kids and dads.

Out they jumped to tell us of their adventure. We tried to be happy for them. We tried not to brag about our own hunt. They were a little sad for missing out, but they had seen a bunny. Aaron was not to be outdone. He grabbed a net (yes, fishing net folks, the kind you use to get the really big fish in rather than crack the pole)and off they all headed again to find a poor unsuspecting armadillo who was just looking for a few crumbs left behind. Well, success came and he scooped one up, but like all the "big ones" it got away.

Thanks for reading, don't be sad, you too can go hunting for armadillo if the mood strikes. I say, invite the Symonds, it is bound to be more fun.

Florida Aquarium

We took the day on Saturday to go and visit the Florida Aquarium in Tampa since we had MOSI passes and it was free. The whole lot of us went. The kids wore their handmade decorated shirts. One of the best parts of the day was having the Dads along with us on this fieldtrip of sorts. It is a great place to visit and the kids love seeing all the life in the various tanks and displays. The touch tank of rays and of the cold Pacific waters with starfish and other anemone type animals was a favorite. The kids also had front row seats to the African penguin program. There was a spoonbill pink bird who thought she had found her long lost love in Aaron. They were doing the mating neck dance, and Aaron got away just in time. I think it was his bill on his cap that fooled that pretty bird. One of all of our favorite creatures was the sea-dragon seahorse. It was amazing. The underside of the ray was so cool too. The gills, mouth and teeth seemed to be smiling at us. Unfortunately, being around all the fish made all of us want to eat seafood, but we did not give in to this terrible idea, instead we went and ate sushi at KOBE.

Hives vs. Poison Ivy

For those of you that know me, you know I have bouts of hives for the duration of my married life, sorry honey, I know it is not because of you. But really, it has been some hard times of suffering. Itchiness untold. Scratching mercilessly. But, they come few and far between nowadays. Antihistamines help, but they have caused other concerns when taken for long periods of time, so I ingest them rarely.

So, now I have a sneaky tormentor who wants a challenge in the war of itchiness. Poison Ivy.

Yes, I must have found a non-friend while camping this past weekend, and it has taken up residence in the crease of my arms. Yes, the tender, warm area where it can flourish and spread. But, I am on the warpath. I have read 1,001 remedies and tried most of them in a short 24 hour period. I am just hoping none of the other less tolerant members of my family have to endure this adventure.

I will let you know which remedy works. I did wake up to weather in the 60's, it is a good day.

Top 3 S & O moments

Without a doubt,favorite moments would include marshmallows. Campfires cannot exist without stuff to make the s'mores. Every kid likes them cooked different. Most like graham crackers, but I tasted them with saltines and YUM! Olivia likes all her "pieces" separate. Steph likes it big and messy.


Camping also always means flashlights and mosquitoes. Those crazy kids played a flashlight tag like game called "THE HILLSBOROUGH RIVER MONSTER" and it was LOUD! There was not a person or beast in the park that did not hear the game. We all have the itchy bumps to prove we lived amongst the blood sucking insects for five days. We are keeping the itch stick close by.

Riding bikes would have to be in the count as well. We camped on a great loop for the girls to ride. After two days, Olivia again decided she was ready for her training wheels to go. I wanted success without drama. She wanted to keep up with the others. Uncle Aaron saved the day. I am thinking about making him a cape, SUPERUNCLE. She is great at it! With practice she will just get better.

There's no place like home

We got home today after a great long weekend camping trip to Hillsborough River State Park. We were there in January, but it seemed like the first time. We went with a group of friends and squeezed every drip of life out of our hours there. Either we are all getting old, or we get our fill of each other in the daylight hours, because this was the first time we did not shuffle a deck of cards or burn the midnight oil. Actually, we all just had good books to read.

There are many great pics (thanks Ms. Anita and Sam)and stories to be told, so I will try and get them out this week.

Wait until you read about the story of "hunting armadillos". It makes me crack up just thinking about it.

Look how time flies with these two girls.
2008

2006

Hopeless

Most days it is so rewarding to homeschool and to share the fun with the girls. This week is short since we are taking off to camp, so we did some fun coop stuff and made it a week of studying apples. Estimating, life cycle of a seed,equal pieces, plus a review of geography due to our book dominated the teachings for the week. How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman is a sweet read.

I am doing all I can to teach these little girls things that will make life better for them. Today our lesson was making an apple pie. (we are in the cooking phase I guess) They endured all the other activities of the day and finally got to make the pie. It was so fun. Collecting the ingredients. Peeling the apples. Stirring in the goods. Waiting for it to cool. Eating it!

I have done all I can do. I feel like Pioneer woman, Laura Ingalls and all the women in our family would be proud of us today.

So what have I done wrong to elicit this kind of afternoon, I ask.

My oldest one has picked all of the high tall Y shaped grass and is picking off the black seeds and the green seed pods and storing them for a future math lesson for Olivia. Which has more? is the question she will ask.

Then she comes in, and is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO proud to show me her petri dish with one of the hundreds of large grasshoppers from our yard, quarantined. But the amazing part was she wanted me to SEE that even when you pull their heads off, they will still jump around and move. It is pretty cool, according to her. Oh my!

Yes, I think the lessons in girliness; sewing, cooking and making a nice bed will be lost on this hopeless girl of nature.