Family Trip to St. Augustine

Remember back in July, when my husband and I went to St. Augustine for our anniversary? Remember how I said we both loved that place so much that we felt like we simply must take our kids there some time? Well, last Thursday and Friday Kate was out of school, and even though Ryan was not (his college holidays don't really match up with Kate's school holidays, except for Thanksgiving and Christmas) we decided to go for a couple of days.

We had a really fun time. Our plans didn't really work out like we originally planned (sometimes they don't), but we still had a great time together. I wish Ryan could have been with us. Maybe we'll go back again another time :)

Here are some pictures from our trip:

More Fall Pictures

a crisp 65 degree fall morning

Butterflies and Fall

The weather here has definitely begun to feel fall-ish. The temperature this week has been just perfect for getting outside. We have such hot summers here, that unless you have a pool, you pretty much stay indoors with air conditioning. So this week has been a nice respite from the hot temps.

Today we were able to enjoy one of my favorite pastimes... nature study. I think that has to be one of my favorite things about homeschooling. I love just being able to take as much time as we want to enjoy God's marvelous creation, especially on days like today! Today we chose to watch the butterflies. After lunch we spent some time just watching them fluttering around the yard. I have Lantana planted in flower beds in my front and back yards, and this flowering plant is a haven for the butterflies. Will brought out his net and decided to capture one to study up close.

It's Fall Around Here

Finally...

It's beginning to feel like fall around here.... The weather is nice. We are enjoying being outside more.

This is my favorite time of the year! I love to see the leaves changing color... getting ready for winter. It won't be long and we'll be going home for Thanksgiving. I love getting together with family for the holidays!

my "pumpkin" I found on clearance at a Cracker Barrel Country Store last year

The home school group visited a local cotton field last week. The kids all picked some cotton, and they have to do some research about cotton (whatever they want to know about it) and be prepared to share what they learned when we meet next week. We will take a tour of the local cotton gin next week as well.

They all thought it was great fun picking the cotton. Of course, we were only there for probably 30 to 45 minutes, at the most! Some of the adults began telling the kids of stories told to them by their grandparents about being in the fields all day picking cotton. I can't even imagine! 

We visited our county fair last week. It is very small scale, nothing compared to the national fair we visited a couple of weeks ago! But it is always fun to walk around enjoying the displays, meeting friends, watching the entertainment, seeing the livestock shows.

And of course, the food! We have local organizations (like the Lion's Club, Kiwanis Club, and many others) that set up food booths. One of my favorites is funnel cakes from the Lion's Club! I like them so much that I sent my two oldest children over to pick up a couple of them after supper last night! Lol. We live close to the fair grounds, so it was very convenient!

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know how much we like to watch for birds around my house. We'd been hearing this one in the woods behind the house for a few days, but we hadn't seen him. Then Friday morning (I think it was Friday...) my son and I were sitting on the couch reading, when all of a sudden he popped up off the couch and excitedly announced that there was a red-headed woodpecker in the backyard! Of course we dropped the books, picked up the camera and headed outside to try to capture the bird in photograph. It's very pretty, as you can see, and we hope it will stay around for a bit.

This last picture is of a type of crab spider. It has made a web between the crepe myrtle tree and the house.

Very creepy looking to me. I think all spiders are creepy looking, but I do appreciate their God-given job of helping to keep the insect population under control! We have several spider webs around the yard and as much as I dislike spiders, I try not to disturb them.

So... What are you doing to enjoy your fall?

Catching Up...

Ok...I'm so far behind on my blogging, I'll never get caught up. So I thought I'd share a few highlights of what we've been up to...

Most recently, we've celebrated a couple of birthdays around here... Will turned 11 and DH turned 41. Since both their birthdays happened to fall on a Wednesday, we decided to go out to eat with friends after church. However, I (the one who usually always has her camera with her) forgot to take it along, both nights! So no pictures to share (except the one I did take at home). In addition to eating out on his actual birthday, Will also celebrated with a party here at home with some of his friends. This year we (or rather I) opted to forgo the usual theme party (which as you probably know, quickly adds up to be quite expensive) and had a variety of foods along with a cake I made myself. And the kids just played... with no organized activities. And I must say they all seemed to enjoy themselves very much! And so much less stress for mom!

He prefers brownies to a cake

the kids playing at Will's party

He didn't care that the icing barely concealed crumbling cake layers (lol)

We also enjoyed our church's annual fall festival on the Saturday morning of Will's birthday party. After the fun and games and hayride and lunch, the children were all given a pumpkin and a carving tool set...so my kids and some of their friends decided to carve their pumpkins at the party. They had fun and the pumpkins turned out quite cute, I think!

My family joined a new home school support group this year, as our local group has pretty much disbanded. There seems to be fewer and fewer of us in my county who continue to homeschool. Most are opting to send their children to the local Christian school. I can't complain, since that is what we did with our oldest child when he was in 9th grade. He is very competitive and into sports and our homeschool group has never been big enough to support a sports program. I love living in "SmallTown USA," but there are definite downsides to rural living... so we sent him. He did very well academically, socially, emotionally...I just missed him...alot! And now our daughter wants to go next year, as she will be in 9th grade.

Needless to say, I really want to continue to homeschool, but I also know how important sports are to her. In the meantime, I joined a larger group in another county (still it's not big enough to support a sports program), hoping that she will enjoy other activities and make new friends. Recently we took a field trip with this group to an orchard and enjoyed a corn maze, a hayride and a pumpkin patch!

DH is off work this whole week and oldest son is home from college...yaayy! We won't get much school work done these next few days, but that's ok...we enjoy having the extra time with them. We'll be heading out to Alabama in a few days to spend Thanksgiving with our families. We're all looking forward to that! I am thankful for the time we will have with them. I am thankful for so much! The Lord has been good to me; I am truly blessed!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, surrounded by those you love most...Blessings!

The Calendar Says it is Fall...

The calendar says it is fall here, but the weather doesn't seem to agree. But then again it rarely does in south Georgia.

We spent the latter part of September putting in a swimming pool. The above ground type. We did all the work ourselves and it has taken us quite awhile. But it has been a worthwhile project for our family to undertake. It has been so good for us to work together! We're still not completely finished. The pool is up and it is filled; the deck is built, except for the rails around it and the steps to get up onto it. But the children have managed to improvise (lol). And they are enjoying it despite the fact that even though it still feels very warm outside, the temperature of the water is only about 78 degrees F. Sounds warm enough, but although 78 degrees is warm in air, it is not so warm in water.

So, I've only had a dip in our new pool twice. And I think that is going to be it for me this season.

But I imagine the children will probably continue to enjoy a few more afternoons in it!

Daughter and Son taking a turn using the tiller to prepare the ground for leveling

Father and Son, "shooting measurements"

Working together