Spring Break #7 - Assorted

At least two nights got down around freezing. The kids did great and had no complaints about the cold. The good news about the cold weather was that the bugs were close to non-existent.

Evenings around the fire we were serenaded with Natalie and Julie duets on guitar. Also, Elliot got his first knife. Very exciting. Nata was super helpful each morning as she cooked oatmeal for us. A picnic table is the perfect height for a six year old to cook at.

 

We also met Gaston the French Canadian farmer/spy and three other local kids: Kamin, Dylan and Kiersten who had all suffered various injuries including a double toe amputation after a sawmill accident. Very exciting storytellers these local kiddos.

Spring Break #6 - Mothman!

 

We met several interesting people in the campground. Our neighbor Greg and his wife were among the most intriguing. They spent the last month camping across Florida gathering pictures of moths. They put up a sheet with lights to attract the moths. The kids were fascinated and one evening when The Mothman was out visiting friends, they went and got some pics of their own on his sheet. 

Did you know that there are 10,000 types of moths but less than 1,000 types of butterflies? That may be roughly true. The Mothman told us a lot of things. 

Spring Break #5 - Wakulla Springs

 

We took a very cool boat tour in Wakulla Springs State Park. We saw 20 gators, lots of birds and turtles and even three manatees.

Spring Break #4 - the ocean

 

We made the kids first trip to the ocean and spent the day at St. George Island State Park. It was windy and cool but that didn't stop us from making a sea shell covered turtle and gator with a perimeter wall in the sand.

Spring Break #3 - leon sinks

We met a new friend, Micheal. He and Elliot shared morning snack of champions - root beer and flaming hot cheetos. Michael's dad was kind enough to give us some "lighter wood" to start our fire. It was amazing.

We also went for a hike in the Leon Sinks and saw some cave crawfish, a swamp, and crazy big sinkholes.

Spring Break #2 - Ochlockonee Arrival

We were all pretty excited to be out of the car for a while on Monday morning. 18 or so hours of driving over two days can wear on you a bit but the kids held up great. The sight of deer and white squirrel within minutes of arrival set us off on the right foot.

 Ochlockonee River State Park is located a the confluence of the Ochlocknee and the Dead Rivers. The better beaches were on the Ochlockonee so we played there mostly. We took a hike inland on the first day but recent rains had left the trail very wet which led to wet feet and grumpy hikers for a bit. The coldish, tea-colored water was less of a deterrent to playing in the water than one might expect.

Spring Break #1 - Huntsville

We took it on the road again this year. Our first stop was in Huntsville. We had breakfast at Mullins, saw our old house, hiked at Monte Sano State Park, and indulged in just a touch of nostalgia for our old hometown. It was neat to take the kids for a short hike on our old mountain biking trail.

Getting BBQ in dothan, al

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Picnic in waukalla springs

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Base camp established. Almost.

On the road! Florida swamps here we come.

Classic penicillin allergic reaction

Rash!!!!

Pizza on the grill

Kent was right as usual. Yummy and easy.

Animal Inside Out US Premiere

Julie and Suzy's work on Do Division Family Fun Fest made them some friends at the MSI. They were kind enough to send us passes for the opening event of "Animal Inside Out". It was super cool.

Gold Rushers after two big wins.

Elliot's first tournament got off to a good start. Tense win in second game.

Jules walking home.

Late season snow.

Igloo

Spring training begins.