Fun Day

Today we went to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History

We watched the IMAX movie "Journey into Amazing Caves"

It was an awesome experience and the first time that we had seen an IMAX movie.

The screen was five stories high and 72 feet wide.

Then we went home, went and did a little shopping, and visited with family who stopped by.

It was a fun day

Road trip from Florida to Georgia

Last night we packed up all of our clothes and got luggage loaded into the van. I still wasn't feeling 100% and was really tired so I left the packing to Rod and the kids.

This morning I got up and repacked the van so the rest of the luggage could be added. Got waterbottles filled, kids fed, odds and ends gathered and then we headed off to Georgia.

We had made the decision to take the scenic route along the beach with a few stops along the way.

We stopped at Daytona Beach and Cocoa Beach just so we could say that we had been on the beaches there.

Then we drove way out of our way to a lighthouse that we had seen a sign for. We didn't realize that it was that far out of the way until we were almost to it. It was really tall and neither of us felt like climbing the 200+ stairs to the top so we just took pictures of the kids in front of it.

We passed the Disney Cruise Ship

We also saw a lot of damage still evident from the last hurricanes

and a lot of scenery

and pretty much enjoyed the day.

When it was nearing dark and we hadn't made the 5 hour drive to the Georgia border we decided that we needed to get moving.

Last day in Florida

Today is our last day in Florida.

I went with Mom to drop the baby off at his visit.

Then the two of us went out to breakfast and had some good conversation.

Went back to pick the baby up.

Stopped by Sam's Club on our way home.

The kids had one last trip to the pool.

Rod had one last trip to the hot tub.

We went to Bible Study at the church which we really enjoyed.

Then we headed home to pack and het ready for our road trip.

ACTION Presentation and the Waterpark

This morning I woke up SICK. Well really I woke up in the middle of the night with a fever close to 103. I took tylenol, a cool shower and laid with my wet towel on the bed trying to cool down. I was hot and miserable. Add to that the fact that I could breath and was coughing. YUCK!

The kids had a presentation at the Lakewood Clubhouse and I was not going to miss it. I got up, took more tylenol, wet washcloth, did hair and headed off with the family. Since I was sick I even got a coveted ride on the golf cart, however, because I was sick I did not get any pictures of them.

After the presentation we went to the waterpark. When we arrived we were the only ones there! We had the entire pool, waterslide and spray park to ourselves.

The kids had a blast. They went up the stairs and down the slides.

They spalshed

They floated (you can click on this photo to watch the slideshow)

And I slept

Then it rained and the kids still had a blast, well Tete ran to the canopy cause she didn't want to get wet. You can see the rain in the picture if you look close enough.

SEAL Museum and the Beach

Today we decided to head back to Fort Pierce. Rod really wanted to go to the SEAL and Underwater Demolition Team Museum. Destini and Makkiah weren't feeling well so they stayed home with Ahma.

The rest of us loaded up and headed off.

It was really neat. We walked through the entire history of the SEALS. I'm not a big history person but even I enjoyed it.

Outside they had different vehicles that have been used by the different teams.

The museum was right near the beach and we hadn't seen it yet so we headed over the boardwalk to the beach.

It was beautiful. The water was so blue. Very different from the west coast beaches.

The kids enjoyed running in the water and collecting shells.

I got some great pictures of Rod with Cavelle

and the other kids as well

As we headed back to the van we saw a "Wisconsin beach" as the kids called it -

Afterwards we headed home to go swimming

Presentation and lunch

Today we had a busy morning. We got up, did hair, got everyone dressed and headed off to church.

The first church was in Lakewood called The Crossing at Lakewood. This is a second location of the church that my Mom attends.

The oldest five kids did a 15 minute presentation and got a standing ovation. The group really seemed to enjoy it.

Then we left and headed over to the The Crossing in Vero Beach which is the site that my Mom attends.

The kids did a presentation there also and once again got a standing ovation.

After the presentation was done Rod went to teach the youth and I helped out in the nursery with Ladaria.

After church was over we went to lunch at Sloane's. They have a buffet style lunch and it was good.

The babies weren't very impressed though.

Cavelle thought he would eat some grass instead....

and was not happy when he was not allowed to eat it

McKee Botanical Garden

Today Mom took the kids to the pool while Rod and I went to the flower garden with Cavelle

We took some pictures

Found lizards

snakes

and slugs, just the things that boys love!


And yes we even saw some flowers

Sebastian Inlet

After we finished at the treasure museum we met Ahma and Papa at the park in Sebastian.

We had lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips and lemonade

Then we went down to the shore to explore

After exploring the shoreline we walked across the street to the Military Memorial and took a photo with the Navy plaque

And I had to take a shot of the guy mowing the shoreline

Mel Fisher Treasure Museum

Today we went to the Mel Fisher Treasure Museum. The kids all thought it was really cool. Destini had just finished reading a book about the shipwreck Atocha that all the artifacts were from so it was even educational for them.


They got to watch a lady in the workshop clean a silver medallion from the items that were salavaged



They got to hold a gold bar. Boy was that thing heavy!

And there were cool pirates to get pictures taken with:

Manatee Boat Tour

Today we decided to head out to Fort Pierce to the Manatee Place. The 1pm tour was full but we were told that if we had at least 5 people they would go out on a second tour. Well we had that so we paid for our tour and headed off to find some lunch.

Fort Pierce is a small town place and we walked two blocks to downtown and found a small greek place to eat. The kids enjoyed it and by this time there were a few sprinkles. It was still pretty warm outside so we didn't think anything of it.

We headed back to the Manatee Educational Center where the kids spent some time learning about manatees.

Soon it was time to load up onto the boat. It was us, the kids and another family of three people. So we had a private boat tour for the most part. It was great.

They stopped several times as the dolphins splashed and jumped around us. The kids really enjoyed watching them.

We did see one manatee but he was to quick for me to snap a photo. We did get to see a crane take a bath though!

The tour guide explained how mangrove islands are made.

We saw pelicans and other birds.

And then it started to rain.

At first just a little.

Then the sky opened up and it poured!

We had fun even if we did get a little wet!