New Clothing Shopping

Today was the end of Sodapalooza, which we honored with a somber moment at the local Race Trac by holding up our plastic cups in a toast to a summer filled with Arnold Palmer's half-and-half tea and lemonade.  We made our way over there, and then to the library to pick up a few new books.  Madison was delighted to see a graphic novel she was after:

Madison really likes Raina Telgemeier.  In the car on the way home from the library, she was already digging into this book.  She reads them over and over again, a pretty obvious choice for a book if you want to get her something for Christmas.

Today we also made time to go to play tennis.  Mommy came with us to check out Madison's progress, and was quite happy to see how well she's been doing.  We started out a little slow, but soon enough there were a few volleys back and forth where Madison was hitting the ball just right over the net, over and over again.  She's doing well with that.

Part of the deal with tennis practice - which she really enjoys - is that we go to the pool afterwards to cool off.  Tonight we did just that, heading to the pool for a quick swim.  Madison was practicing a bit for her snorkel run upcoming.  Yes, she'll be using her snorkel again pretty soon.  But beyond that, we largely play catch or splash each other or do flips in the water, or jump around like breaching whales, or breaching appliances at least.  Whatever makes the biggest splash, that's what breaches!

We were in Cumming earlier today, starting out there with a chiropractor appointment.  It didn't take long.  We always go into the family room, and one by one we get the massages and the back work.  Madison loves it still, giggling all the way through.  Even though she's older, she still laughs heartily at the whole process, and the sound of popcorn in her back.

Afterwards, we went over to a consignment shop to see if we could get a credit for some of Madison's older costumes.  And that answer was a resounding yes.  We got a huge amount of credit to the store, and immediately spent all of it on a whole lot of clothing.  Madison and Mommy spent a really long time at the store (with Daddy sort of standing by!), and they were both looking through shoes and shirts and pants, putting different things together to see what would look best.  All in all, it was a huge amount of stuff with labels from big important clothing lines that usually cost a lot more.  But in the end, it didn't cost us so much as things were on sale and at the consignment shop to begin with.  And with the credit applied towards what they girls racked up, it didn't cost us a thing.  We still have a credit there in fact.  Mommy did really well there.

We went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch today, and that place was slammed.  It was 2:00 pm, and still the place was hugely crowded.  We still had favor and found a seat, and got our new traditional fare:  grilled nuggets for all three of us.  It's our new food of choice, as the three of us enjoy those the best.  And for dessert, we dropped by the Dairy Queen there, which of course is the most inconvenient Dairy Queen in the world.  Nevertheless, our hunger was strong for a Blizzard (or in most cases when served there at that location, a half of a blizzard with the bottom half completely regular ice cream).  We got our Blizzards, and of course the person giving them to us had no idea which flavor was which.  In the end, they were decent:  Madison tried the mint chocolate, and Mommy had her Heath bar flavor, while Daddy opted for the Guardians Awesome Mix.  These are usually really good at the Gainesville Dairy Queen.

It was a nice day together, wasn't it?  We got a lot done, and had some fun together as well.  In the evening, we watched the greatest Spider-Man movie of them all, "Spider-Man 2."  Madison still likes "Homecoming" the best, but this movie was good enough to get Madison wanting to watch "Spider-Man 3" tomorrow night as well.  We're definitely in a "Spider-Man" mode this week.  We have the Infinity figures up there on the mantle, with spider webs all over the front yard...

...okay, we didn't do that part.  But we did have to do some clipping today.  We have those caterpillar nests building in a few branches of our trees in the front.  Daddy got on the ladder, and we were cutting off some of the branches that were covered in those caterpillar webs.  We did a pretty decent job getting as many of those as we could, but the neighborhood is definitely facing an invasion of caterpillars.  Go down "Jot-em-Down Road" and you'll see a few houses that look pretty scary, with ginormous web nests hovering just over the road, as if there were some huge spider within ready to pounce.  Just thinking of how many of those caterpillars are inside gives you the heebie-jeebies!

Madison the Co-Writer

Although we go on for another week technically, this was the last written message for the series "Superflix," which was a nice little gem.  Our message was based on the movie, "The Incredibles," which just might be Daddy's favorite message.  Madison went for both services this morning as Joey spoke to the kids about the real messages behind the movie, showing a few clips to help illustrate the point.  It's been a good series, heading to the movies.

We went home this afternoon, time to get back to work a bit for Daddy.  He's still writing this new LEGO devotional, a story all based on the adventures of three characters that Madison has.  One of the characters was actually created by Madison down at LEGOland in Florida.  These are the three "mascots" of our series, "Master Builders," and will be again in a few weeks.  They do the races on the screens, and they show up on the booklet covers and screens.  And now they'll be the three main characters of the devotional story, where kids will go on an adventure - while learning a bit from the Bible.

Ole is the name of the character at the front.  I'm not sure where he came from, actually.  Maybe a camping set?  But Lily is the one behind him, and that's the one that Madison made at one of the parks.  Jamie Lynn is our favorite though.  That's the alien there, the one hanging upside down from beneath the sign.  Jamie Lynn was named by Madison, and we thought that name was hysterical.  I mean, we were expecting something like "Quarg" or "Snarfblat."  But when we asked her for the name of the alien, Madison said - with some authority behind her voice:  "Jamie Lynn."  Apparently there's a girl named Jamie Lynn that was in her class.  And the funny thing is that Madison likes Jamie Lynn, so this isn't exactly an insult.  And the more you think about it, the funnier it is:  a space alien named Jamie Lynn.

So we started to write the devotional, but Daddy wasn't really feeling anything about what to write so much.  That's when Daddy asked Madison what she thought we could write for a devotional.  She asked for a story, so the two of us started to think of a story that could be written.  And that's when the two of us began to do an outline of a story.  Yes, Madison gets credit for helping with the story of this devotional, this adventure through Bricksburg, Middle Zealand, the Pirate Islands of the Caribbean, and even Cloud Cuckoo Land.  It's going to be lots of fun.

Tonight we were reading from a new book, one with Elsa and Anna in it again.  There's the Arendelle Cup, a race with sleds.  Tonight we met the competitors as they arrived in Arendelle.  It looks like it might be a fun book - Madison and Mommy were enjoying it as Daddy read the first few chapters.

Oh, and for our movie of the night, we went with "Tron:  Legacy."  Madison requested this one, mainly because we have the Infinity figures of Quora and Sam.  Now she knows the movie they came from.  She likes this movie better than the "Tron" movie we watched yesterday, more than likely because of Quora, and the new graphics.  Daddy still prefers the old one though, maybe partly because of nostalgia.  Anyway, we were on the grid a few hours, watching lightcycles do their battles, and recognizers... recognizing.  For a bit of extra fun, we went to a video online to go on the Tron Lightcycle ride at the Disney Park in Shanghai.  They're building it at the Magic Kingdom soon, and while that will be amazing to experience, the sacrifice is pretty heavy:  they're getting rid of the Tomorrowland Speedway.  This is one of Madison's favorite things down there right now, so it will be a thing we'll have to do one last time in an upcoming trip. There are other rides we sort of missed that opportunity with, including the "Universe of Energy" and the "Maelstrom."  At least we got to see them at one point, although Madison probably has no memory of these.  But she can say she did them, if anything.  And whatever is replacing them should be good, hopefully.

We said our prayers and went to bed earlier tonight, trying to get things lined up for the upcoming week.  Getting up early for school should be brutal!  Hopefully we can get in the good habit of going to bed earlier, getting enough sleep, and being well rested for a great year at school.

Game of Forks

Daddy had plans today, so before going off to do any of this, we did tennis this morning, followed by a trip to the pool.  In regards to tennis, she is doing really well.  She's really swinging well, and returning serves over the net and not out of bounds.  The more we do, the better she gets.  After that, we were at the pool for a bit, swimming with the snorkel, or throwing this sponge ball back and forth.  Madison likes to hit Daddy with it.  The pool has been nice, and this morning there was no crowd at all - we've been timing it right for a while where there aren't so many people there as we swim.

Today Daddy drove down to Atlanta to spend some time with some high school friends, pretty much playing the new Nintendo Switch the entire time.  The picture above is comical, as it was taken at a restaurant that seemed to really like distributing forks to its customers.  Inside the folded napkins were numerous forks, which added up pretty quick when Archie there spilled some water and we needed to use more napkins, which gave us more forks.

Anyway, it was a fun afternoon.  Madison spent the day with Mommy coloring and counting down the hours of summer break.  It won't be long before she's back.  Daddy got back later on, just in time to read some more from our devotional for Superflix.  We've got one last service tomorrow for the series, and soon enough we'll be doing the LEGO series, which Madison is looking forward to, of course.  It was one of her favorites, but we also have been talking about some future series for next year, and let's just say the topic of HEROES will be present once more next summer.  But we might be seeing some classic fairy tale characters as well, which would be fun, especially with the angle that Daddy is hopefully able to work with:  Descendants.

Daddy and Madison have been writing on this LEGO devotional in the meantime, or at least mostly Daddy.  Madison helped with the initial idea, of course, and it's coming along just fine.  Just at the last possible moment.  These things take time to spit out, time after time.  The writing wears you out!

The significance of the Nintendo Switch is that we'll be probably seeing more of it soon enough, maybe for Christmas.  Daddy feels bad that Madison hasn't been exposed enough to Mario, Zelda, Star Fox, and other characters of the Nintendo universe.  This system looks amazing, and even has a Street Fighter game on it as well, so it could be our next step at the house.  Until then, we've got plenty to play with the X-Box.  In fact, Madison is quite happy currently building things in Disney Infinity.  Older games we've purchased have been fun too.  She did a lot of playing games today, and a bit of piano too.  Classes will be starting soon enough.  The school year is looming, like a tsunami about to wash over us.  Sleeping late will be missed, as will that wide open schedule.  But there's value in it all, and it's not a miserable experience at all for Madison.  She likes school, piano, ballet and the other things she wants to go to.  We are thinking of one more thing this fall, but we just have to see if we can squeeze it in.  She enjoys all this stuff, but those days of rest will be important for her too.

It'll be a wonderful year, and we'll be careful not to overdo it with the schedule.  There's that balance and fine line, and we're hopeful for a great year, with growth, rest, and lots of fun.

Brea-DUH

One of the gifts we got for our wedding was this bread maker, something that Mommy was using today to create raisin bread.  It turned out well, and the device still works after seventeen years.  Daddy's friends gave this to us, and it was somewhat of a joke item as well as a practical item of course.  The joke was related to a trip we made a couple years beforehand, one where we drove up to Minnesota on a road trip.  On the way, we saw the House on the Rock in Wisconsin, plus the Mall of America, the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices, an Egyptian restaurant, and of course that glorious huge majestic sphere, the Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota.

The Twine Ball would become a theme for a while for us.  The gift you see above was literally wrapped in a ginormous twine ball itself as a wedding gift.  And Daddy's groom's cake for the wedding date had a small gazebo on top, and inside that gazebo was a twine ball too.

But what is the significance of a bread maker?  While visiting the Twine Ball, the obvious thing to ask is, what else is there to do here?  It's located in the tiny town of Darwin, Minnesota.  There's a gazebo, and a twine ball inside that, all under protected glass.  And besides that, there was next door a place called "The Twine Ball Inn."

Only it wasn't really an inn that you could spend the night at.  And when we were visiting, there wasn't much of anything in there that suggested that it had anything to do with the Twine Ball (capitalized because it is that important).  It's my understanding that a museum has sprung up since then, which might be interesting to visit.

Anyway, we went inside the Twine Ball Inn, which was basically a small local restaurant that served all kinds of breakfasts, including homemade bread.

One of us made the mistake of telling the waitress that we'd like to try some of their outstanding homemade breads.  And the waitress was quick to jump on us, correcting us by saying, "Brea-DUH.  Just one bread."

Reprimanded, we did what anyone else would do in that sort of situation:  we cracked up.  It was kind of strange and kind of funny and kind of local, and exactly the sort of thing we made this road trip for.

As for the twine ball itself, it was a sight to behold.  Obviously, we wouldn't have really known about it or cared about it if it weren't for the Weird Al song, "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota."  And we weren't expecting much from it.  It's just one of those things where we were just happy to be there.  You can't touch the twine ball itself, but you can see it through this thick plastic under a gazebo.  It's not the largest ball of twine in the world, but it is the largest built by one man.  And that's an important distinction, because if you get a whole town doing something, it won't take long to make a ball of twine.  But Francis Johnson, who's very name I shall never forget, built this twine ball all by himself.  And he died because of it too, apparently.  From what I remember, the fibers in the twine were something he breathed in consistently enough to possibly cause lung issues for him.  Still, this was his thing, his mark on life, his memorial and his legacy.  People will know this guy because of a big Twine Ball, and perhaps he did more for the town of Darwin, Minnesota than anyone before, or possibly will ever do after.  It's what sends geeks like Daddy hundreds and hundreds of miles on road trips to one tiny destination in Minnesota, versus any one of the other thousands of tiny towns scattered across the country.  There are places in Georgia that Daddy has never been to, but that Twine Ball sent us all the way up there, calling to us.  Of course, again, we did a whole lot more up there than just see a Twine Ball.  The House on the Rock in particular was a destination that changed our lives - it was the tackiest, most awful and yet most glorious destination of them all.  It is clearly an acquired taste, and speaking of that, we must get back to the bread maker.

Madison had bread from this bread maker, all these years later.  So did Mommy and Daddy.  It still works fine, and will continue to do so.  You could say, if it weren't for Francis Johnson, we wouldn't have a bread maker here, or one to talk about today.  If not for Francis Johnson, Madison wouldn't be eating homemade bread today.

Beyond the bread, today was an ordinary late summer day.  We had ambitious thoughts about venturing out and doing this or that.  But one of the battle cries of our late summer charge has been this: "We've done a whole lot this summer."  That's sort of a justification for just staying home, practicing piano a bit, cleaning up, coloring in things and drawing, playing videos games, and maybe watching a movie later on.  It wasn't a terribly active day for Madison, and with school coming up, and with so much being done earlier on, it's okay.  Just stay home, and have some bread.

Little Green

This is the book that Madison chose to get, of all the free books on the shelf at the library.  She didn't have as many choices as other kids that finished earlier, which is sort of disappointing, as the program isn't a race, and it kind of becomes one to get there early enough to get the best choices.  Still, this was an interesting choice of a book.  Madison chose it a few days ago as she completed her reading program.  She saw some words in Chinese translated at the beginning, and thought this might be something to learn from on the whole.

But upon reading it, there's something more to it of course.  This book is a story told from the viewpoint of a child growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.  It's written almost in a poetic way, and as you can imagine, isn't the happiest of stories.  Still, nevertheless, we've started reading a bit from this each night.  It's an important thing to talk about with China, something that really emphasizes how blessed and free we are here.  Of course, there are beautiful places to live all over the world.

But there's irony in the Tron movies we've just recently watched.  Madison wanted to watch those, about a world where red guards enforce compliance with a brutal efficiency.  It's easy to compare what's going on in this book to the world of Tron, as ridiculous as the comparison may seem.  And of course, the thing is that the events that took place in China are real.  And of course, they still happen to some extent, not just in China, but in many other countries around the world.

This book opens up all kinds of conversations about North Korea and other places in the world where freedom is certainly a lot different.  We don't read too much from this book each night, but just enough to get that taste of things, and how they were.

Fortunately, there are other books to be read, including the next book in the Inspector Flytrap series, which is significantly lighter reading material.

Speaking of "writing," Daddy is up against the clock with writing the latest devotional for KidPak, one that involves new LEGO characters Ole, Jamie Lynn, and Lily.  We were writing today, and writing quite a bit.  But also, there's prep for other things, like Summer Xtreme in Spartanburg.  It was decided, fortunately, that Daddy and a few others won't have to go this year, mainly because someone has to stay here to help with the kids we have here who are advancing to a new grade.  With vacations, open house at school, and of course Summer Xtreme, our workforce is pretty limited for that time, so Daddy is staying here to make sure things go well for the hundreds of kids that are in Gainesville.  Although part of me wants to go up to Spartanburg to say hello, it's good to stay here, especially to stay with Madison.  She's getting bigger, and these are the moments you cling to.

Back to writing... pretty busy here...

Eclipse Prep

It looks like we're ready for the eclipse!  This is the talk of the region right now, as a super-rare eclipse is coming to extreme North Georgia in about a month or so.  We have plans to go visit with Josh and his family, who's house will be in the totality of the eclipse for about two minutes and thirty seconds or something like that.  He's pretty close to the line there for maximum exposure.  We got our glasses in the mail today, specialized glasses for viewing the eclipse, in adult and kid sizes.  In the picture above, Madison and Daddy cannot see a single thing.  These glasses are so heavy in the front that unless you're looking at the sun, you can see nothing.  We did look at the sun for about two seconds, and sure enough, you can see the outline of it.  We'll have our glasses packed away and ready for August 21st.  The entire country will be seeing this thing, as the eclipse path goes from Oregon and travels east and south, eventually passing by our way early afternoon.  A lot of cars are going to be traveling north from Atlanta and points south of that, all in order to reach this total eclipse zone.  There will be tons of traffic in Clayton we suspect, and many places along 441.  But also on the way to Hartwell and along I-85.  We'll be off that main road a bit, but still, we'll travel earlier in the day to avoid as much last-minute congestion as we can.  Also, we're taking Madison out of school that day so she can go up to see this once-in-a-lifetime event.  Seriously, Daddy has never seen this before, and neither has Mommy.  Daddy saw an annular eclipse in the 1980's, and that was pretty amazing.  He had no idea it would be this long before anything similar would come by this way again.  So here we are, fast-forwarded to the future, and with Madison no less.  It should be amazing.

Schools are going to be staying indoors for extended hours, even outside the area of the totality zone. But again, we're not even going to try school that day.  You just can't miss something like this, and we don't plan on it.  Hopefully the weather is going to be okay, but other than that, we're ready to go.

Tonight was KidPak, a service Madison got to go to.  It was her last Wednesday night service for a while, as next week she has to get to bed early.  School is here next week.  But for now, she enjoyed our Superflix series dedicated to the movie "Megamind."  It's a movie she suddenly wants to watch again.  We do too, actually.  But Daddy did the message tonight, and it was great.  We had visitors, and visiting parents, and things went remarkably well, just like a Sunday morning service would.    It was great.

Earlier in the day, we took advantage of a coupon to the local Dairy Queen here in Gainesville, and got ourselves some Blizzards!  Yep!  Daddy got a Hawaiian Blizzard, which was just as tasty as he remembered it being.  Years ago, in the 90's, this was the signature Blizzard he always ordered.  I think it's been that long since he's last had one.  Yummy!

Daddy was working today, obviously.  Madison was at home working a bit too - she's been into LEGO building again.  She's built her own little church for her LEGO characters to go to.  She's built little top hats for them too, and a few other buildings to perch up on to of as they watch the movies that we watch too.

She did piano practice, of course.  And lately, she's been into coloring in some of the stained glass window pictures she got for Christmas.  She has plenty of angels colored in, spending a lot of time at the kitchen table, coloring in pictures, or making new ones herself.  It's almost like art camp at home lately!

Christmas Production Meeting Already?

Can you believe we were meeting about Christmas today?  Yes, we're talking about the Christmas production already.  There was hot chocolate, Christmas music, and we got the little Christmas hats for everyone to wear in the meeting.  And then we were off and running about possibilities for the main sanctuary performance.  We didn't nail anything down necessarily, but we do have a sense of the general direction, so that's a plus.

Tonight, Daddy decided to continue the tennis practice a bit, so we were off to the courts once more, practicing exactly like tennis champions.  It was just like Wimbledon, but at Riverstone Plantation's fabulous tennis courts.

Actually, they are nice tennis courts, come to think of it.  I mean, it's not like there's that much to a tennis court, but these are kept in nice condition.  Additionally, there is decent lighting at night, although we've never played that late at night before.   Occasionally, we'll see tournaments there, usually in the cooler hours of the day, or in the more temperate dates of the year.  The last few times we've been there, no one else has been there at all.  We've been playing tennis all by ourselves there, and it's been a blast.  Madison occasionally hits "home runs" that launch the ball way off course, so there aren't as many apologies we'll have to make there!  But she doesn't do it that much, as her skills are getting better.  She may start out a little off, but after some adjustments, she swings straighter and more directly, surprising Daddy with some well-aimed lasers that get us both laughing.  She's really competitive too, keeping score as we go.  Daddy insists that this is just practice, but regardless, she's quick to point out if this was a point for her, or a point for Daddy.  She doesn't beat herself up for bad shots or bad serves or misses, so it's a nice time out there.  And the weather has been perfect as of late, where the sun is creeping behind the trees, casting long shadows across the court.  It's wonderfully pleasant, and of course there's the promise of the pool afterwards.

Yes, we hit the pool after tennis, the logical next step for those who have worked up a good sweat.  The pool has been a little more empty lately - I guess everyone's getting ready for school and so forth.  Madison and Daddy enjoyed some pool time, and a bit of training with the snorkel too.  Madison likes it a lot:  she made it all the way across the pool swimming face down, breathing through her snorkel as she swam.  She's got the hang of it much better now.

After the pool, we were back at home for Taco Tuesday and some more Agent Carter.  We're almost wrapping up this series as well, although there are ten episodes now instead of eight for the first season.  This has been Madison's favorite character still, and a show she can't wait to see what happens next with.  At the pool, she was talking about it with the lifeguard, who had no idea what she was talking about!  Regardless, she was quick to let him know about it, and how he's missing out if he hasn't seen it!

We finished "The Gauntlet" tonight before bedtime, reading about the fall of the Mandarin, which brought the story to an end.  It was actually a pretty decent book, although a little preachy at points, and perhaps a little unbelievable in other areas previously discussed.  Regardless, it had characters that Madison enjoyed hearing about.  Obviously there was Tony Stark. But this other character named Saoirse is a fun one that Madison loved hearing about.  We're glad she turned out okay, but in this style book, there wasn't an expectation otherwise.

It was a good day today, a productive one and a relaxing one at home.  A perfect summer vacation day, really.

Just five more months until Christmas!

Daddy's All-Star Tennis Camp

Daddy's All-Star Tennis Camp started today with a visit from a highly trained professional (me), and about 45 minutes of fun at the tennis court.  It was one of those deals where neither of us felt like we had the energy to do it, but nevertheless, we got out there, and sure enough, it was a lot of fun.  Madison did the best I've ever seen her today, hitting it back in a volley that lasted about fifteen to twenty hits.  It was fantastic.  We went through about two basketfuls of tennis balls, serving and getting into set position and hitting the ball back a little more horizontal, versus the home run balls that we occasionally launch.  It was a fun little exercise, anyway.

We went over to the library after this, as Madison has made it to the end of the Summer Reading Program.  She got a free book, but in truth, she was more excited about some of the books she checked out.  Already on the way home, she was reading a few new ones.  We spent a while there, and there was also the mandatory Sodapalooza visit nearby.

There was a bit of lawn work today, and a bit of piano for Madison.  Eventually, we'll record her version of "Amazing Grace," which is coming along well.  Just another week or so, and I think she'll have it nailed down.  Presently, she can do the whole bit, although it's a bit choppy in places as she hasn't gotten completely comfortable yet.  It's understandable, as there is a lot of movement with multiple keys on the right hand, all simultaneous of course.

Agent Carter is back on tonight, and our daughter is addicted.  "Who's your favorite three characters from the show?" she asks.  This is her favorite comic book world character, not quite a superhero, but a great character nonetheless.

Tonight, we continued reading from the devotional - entries about the movie "Sky High."  We also read from "The Gauntlet," which seems to be wrapping up.  There's a big confrontation with the Mandarin coming up.  I wonder how that will go?

Superflix: Sky High

This morning, Daddy spoke at KidPak, and it was a message about the movie "Sky High."  We made this worksheet above for classroom filler - it uses a comic book illustration we found online and a word search we made up as well.  The comic book illustration looked fantastic - it really made you wish they did a Sky High comic for a bit.  As for the message, it turned out pretty well, and was relevant, as we are about to face a new school year.  Hopefully it was received well, but it felt pretty good.  I might post it here, in fact.

We did do the "Post-It" game, where teammates had to put a whole lot of post-its on their captain's clothing before a timer ran out.  The girls team won this time, through a devious little trickery.  But all's fair in love and war, and they came out winners in the end.  It was fun though.

It was a great morning for us, and then we were home for the afternoon.  It was late when we got home, and we had plans to do this or that.  But in the end, we just stayed home and played video games.  And watched another episode of Agent Carter.

And that's okay.  It's summer break, and we've been busy lately.  A day of rest is just fine!

You've got Moxie!

Have you ever had this drink?  My first taste was in high school.  They had it at Betty's Country Store up in Helen, and we all thought we'd try it out.  It tasted like carbonated cough syrup, with a taste that lingered in your mouth a little bit more longer than you'd really wanted.  But tasting bizarre old sodas was our thing for a while:  it's how we discovered the wonder of Jolt Cola.  Before there were energy drinks, there was Jolt Cola.  Daddy is personally responsible for keeping them in business.  I can instantly recall the taste of Jolt Cola, which seemed to go perfectly on our lunch breaks in Helen.  We'd have that and some Italian food from the place down the street.  Garlic rolls and Jolt Cola.  I can't even imagine doing that now.  Anyway, all these old sodas show up over time.  We talked about Dr. Enuf, but did we mention celery-flavored soda?  Yeah, that's about as awful as it sounds.

But how about this Moxie tonight?  How was it?  Actually, it wasn't bad.  Perhaps the taste has changed somehow?  Whatever the reason, the three of us actually didn't mind the taste of Moxie tonight.  We might even get it again, at least for the bottle caps.  We had that with some Philly cheesesteaks, which Mommy makes so well.

We had rainstorms today, piano, and Disney Infinity.  Madison and Daddy were leveling up the remaining characters that needed to get to level 20.  Surprisingly, there are still things to do and look for in this game.  Madison had been enjoying it still.  It's been years since we first started collecting all those discs and people.  Now it's been a year since they broke everyone's trust and pulled the plug on the game.  But at least we have a lot of memories and still are having a bit of fun with it.

Madison saw a bit of origami this morning, and she's been trying to make an origami X-Wing fighter. She didn't do too badly, and she's learning the value of those crips folds.  It's an art you have to be really patient with, and she actually enjoys it.  Today there was a collection of various origami creatures lined up, watching the television with us.

And what is on television.  Agent Carter, of course.  Expect that title to show up for the next several days, as we binge-watch the remaining episodes of season 2.  Madison is absolutely hooked!

Descendants 2

This was the big event of the night, something we were actually able to see on opening night.  It was like the live plays they show on television, where everyone is seeing something for the first time.  Everyone who's interested, of course.  In this case, "everyone who is interested" would be a whole lot of people around Madison's age.  This is the sequel to "The Descendants," which is called - appropriately enough - "Descendants 2."

Madison cooked up a few things of popcorn, and Daddy bought the soundtrack, and we were set.  Madison was thinking about this one for a while today, really looking forward to it.  There was even an after-party, a half-hour special after the movie that featured the actors from the movie.  Madison loved watching all of it, another late night for us here.  She said she enjoyed the movie, but not as much as the first one.  I think that's the general thinking here.  And based on the popularity and amount of people that watched tonight (I think some resource measured around thirteen million viewers), it seems as if there'll be a "Descendants 3."

Until then, there's the soundtrack to get used to over the next few months.  And perhaps another book.  We see that third book still out there, and might be picking up that soon, although Christmas will be here before you know it, and that might be something fun to tell Santa about.

Daddy was working the rest of the day, writing a devotional for Master Builders, the idea that Madison helped out with.  We're on only day five, but starting is the hardest part sometimes.

This morning, Madison was at the doctor's appointment for a regularly scheduled check-up.  But the issue of her skin was also brought up, as she's had a lot of breaking out on her forehead in particular.  A new prescription and cream is being suggested, so we'll go with that next, hoping it clears things up by the school year.

Other than that, it was a day to play piano, fold origami, and play LEGO Avengers.  Madison is Agent Carter on that game, along with her sidekick Angie.  There wasn't an "Angie" in the game, so Madison created that character.

School will be here soon.  We got the pencils and some index cards, so the whole list of school supplies is officially marked off.  We're ready to go there, at least with our supplies.  Mentally, it's still seeming too soon.  But yeah, soon enough we'll be running around with ballet, piano, and who knows what else.  Glad to do it too, as she's really enjoying all of it.  Being a taxi driver for your children is a calling you just answer, because you know that investment is so important, because you're taking her places, farther than ever.

Get in the Habit

We saw a play tonight, the first performance of a production called "Get in the Habit" that was playing at the Cumming Playhouse.  This was pretty much Madison's first introduction to the whole idea of what a nun is, and all the related nun jokes that followed.  It was a nice night, although a pretty late one.  The play started at 8:00 am, and went on until a little after 11:00pm, so as you can imagine, we were all pretty wiped out coming home.  Madison was so tired, she told us not to worry about reading before bedtime.  Let's just go to sleep!

Intermission was fun, as you can see here.  The play was at the Cumming Playhouse, which was an old school house.  We sort of made our fun in the various rooms:

You can see Pastor Lance and Josh were with us tonight.  I don't know the other two that are with us here, but I think they're a bit overdressed for the play.

Here's Josh's date.  Madison thought this was funny. On the other side of this room was a big chair, and a really big Santa there.  Usually Santa is in the chair, but I guess he's just being nice letting other folks have a seat.

Meanwhile in a classroom nearby, Josh is getting into a hearty debate with a few of the students that seem to be hanging around after class.

He had them speechless at one point.  The old school stuff in this place was fascinating to look through, old documents, desks, and tools used in teaching.  You really had a sense of history here.  They even had a bunch of models of the churches of Forsyth County, all lined up on shelves on one wall.  You can see a few of them behind this picture of Daddy and another girl we ran into.  I guess they're praying?

Anyway, it was a fun night.  We did a lot of work today, writing and setting things up for Sunday.  There was still a bit of cleaning up to do around the house, and Madison had some piano to practice.  She was working on origami a good portion of the day too, attempting to fold an origami x-wing fighter.  Lately, we've been watching a few videos online, how-to videos that show you how to make certain things - like flowery ninja stars, for example.  And so on.

Anyway, it was a pretty full day, with a big production at the end.  We're blessed to have Madison get out to see actors on stage, as well as movies.  With our season tickets for GTA coming up, that'll hopefully continue as the fall season begins. 

Little Church

We had our small groups again tonight, and this week we continued the themes we explored in the movie "Big Hero 6," as a continuation of our series, "Superflix."  It was a really fun night, with all kinds of games, and even this craft we picked up on the way back from Florida.  It was a little church that folded out to a bank with a slot in the roof.  It was white, and we had a bit of a contest to see who could decorate theirs the best.  Madison made a prototype earlier, a small church she decorated with colored pencils and some "Big Hero 6" stickers that Daddy had made the previous day.  It turned out great, actually.

It didn't rain today.  Yeah, I know!  We're in a serious drought all of the sudden, two days straight of no rain at all.  We shouldn't joke about that, because who knows when we'll get rain again.  The point is, we've had rain this summer, and a lot of it.

Madison was working on piano today, leading up to her next year's worth of classes.  They start soon, along with ballet and yeah, fifth grade.  It goes by so fast.  We want our little girl back so much, and yet years from now we'll want this little girl back too.  The point is to enjoy the time we have together, whenever and wherever it is.  We've done as much as we can, certainly.  But there's still so much left to do, and that's not a stressful thing really.  It's just a hope for the future, and more happy memories.

Daddy had a doctor's appointment this morning, which was basically a "helping verb" visit.  That is to say, this doctor referred me to another doctor.  So look at the sentence, "They will help you."  We can't get to the "help" verb without the "will" part.  Today was the "will" part, which seems useless, until you add the "help" part that comes later.  Yes, there's a referral soon.

Madison's Summer Reading plan continues.  We've been including our nightly reading with the book lists, as we're all technically reading these together.  This book we're reading now, "The Gauntlet," has been pretty good.  The bits about Tony Stark actually caring that much about the environment seem to be a stretch for his character, and more of a ecological/political statement.  And there's an injury and subsequent surgery that sort of stretch the level of believability, even for a comic book character.  But otherwise, Madison and Mommy and Daddy have been enjoying the nightly reading.  It's fun to see the Mandarin in action, and also fun to see the character of Tony Stark in action, versus the full on arsenal attack of Iron Man.  It's certainly a Marvel world though, between video games, movies, television shows, comic books, and now novels as well.  We just don't see that much with DC, although Wonder Woman might be the start of something good for them.  We'll see though:  it was good, but one movie does not a trend make.  DC has a lot of catching up to do.

But I digress.  It was an average summer day, one that goes by entirely too quickly.  Tonight's classes were the highlight of the day, I suppose.  It's great to have this sort of opportunity for Madison to go to a church - and really want to go.  She loves KidPak, and really pays attention to the messages and has a good time while she's there.  Church is good.  Even a little one!

Agent Carter

Madison has been really crazy about Agent Carter.  We've gone through these episodes of Agent Carter (season 1) very fast this week, and tonight we wrapped it all up with the season finale.  She loved it.  She uses Agent Carter in the LEGO Marvel game, and compares other characters to Agent Carter.

Someday, Madison will be just like Agent Carter, or at least that's her goal presently.  Of course, not really.  But she has been hooked on the show, so much so that we've been binge watching season one this week.  In our defense, we did start the season before we left on vacation, so it's been a while since we started it.  Also, there are only eight episodes in a season, so it's not like it would take that long to watch the entire thing.

Regardless, she likes Jarvis and Agent Carter, and can't wait to see what happens in season two.  Daddy likes season one the best, but we'll see after watching it again soon.  Yes, we have season 2 now:  Mommy got that for Daddy as an anniversary present of sorts, both seasons of Agent Carter.  Too bad there aren't any more seasons.  This was one of those bad decisions made last year.

Anyway, Daddy was back at work today, with meeting after meeting.  We were planning out the college for the students coming in, while of course tackling what we'll need to do for Wednesday night and this Sunday.  Daddy is speaking to the kids this Sunday, so that will be nice.  It should be a great day over all.

Today was a good day too though.  We had Taco Tuesday once more, and once Daddy got home, we had ourselves a creative team meeting.  It was great - so great.  Daddy was trying to think of what to do for a devotional, possibly doing a story for the LEGO themed devotional in a couple weeks.  We haven't written page one yet.  So Madison and Daddy had this creative team meeting, and started planning out a story, writing it all out, or at least typing it all out.  Anyway, the point is that by the time we were done with our meeting at home, Madison and Daddy had come up with an interesting story that uses the some of Madison's LEGO characters, inserting them into Bricksburg from "The LEGO Movie."  We'll see how it comes out, but we have a good start, that much is certain!

The weather - can you believe it?  No rain today.  A day without rain.  We've had so much lately, and that's a great thing.  Apparently, we're still in some odd level of drought though.  This is simply because the lake is not full yet.  It's getting there, that's for sure.  The drought is going on - and this is a funny reason - because we're currently in a "dry season."  Tell anyone around here that this season we're in right now is a dry season, and they will heartily - and rightfully - laugh in your face.  It has done nothing but rain lately.

And we're not complaining one bit.  Or at least this family is not.  We need the rain, first of all.  That much we acknowledge.  The other thing is that the rain passes by.  It's loud and nearly violent at times.  But it passes, and it stops raining for the rest of the day.  And all along the way, the cloud formations are dramatic, majestic, and awe-inspiring, particularly around sunset.

Tonight we continued our reading, in the devotional, and with the current battle against the Mandarin.  he seems to have the upper hand, but he's certainly been outfoxed by Tony Stark thus far.  That trend will no doubt continue, and it has been fun reading about it.

Enuf Said!

Wow, did we sleep in or what?  Madison is getting older, obviously, and one of the sure-fire signs of a kid getting older is this chief complaint about going back to school soon:  getting up early.  She wants to sleep in, and that used to be not the case at all.  Of the three of us, Madison was always up and joining us in the bed, or playing with LEGO bricks in the playroom, or watching a movie downstairs.

We did do some work today, certainly a bit of unpacking and cleaning up.  Daddy had some work to do for the newer series and a bit of Summer Xtreme.  And Madison did some with her piano, and reading as well.  She's still got four books to go for the Summer Reading Plan.  Right now, she's finishing up Princess Labelmaker, but she's also been reading the Babysitter's club as well.  These are bigger books, so yes, she's not reading as many total books.  But as far as total pages to, she's definitely reading more than she's ever read before.

Early this afternoon, we went to go see "Spiderman:  Homecoming."  It was actually pretty good, although I place it third in ranking, just behind the first two Sam Raimi movies some time ago.  Since then, Spider-man has appeared in six films (if you include the Civil War movie last year), plus this one.  The slippery slope is in effect though, as anyone can see when watching a Marvel movie marathon as we did - the mature content and language progressively increases along the way.  It's odd, because it is in fact a PG-13 movie, and yet it's marketed for kids way younger than that (as you can see in the picture above).  As always, some of the content went over Madison's head.  But it's unfortunate that you have to go to that lowest common denominator sometimes.  Again, the movie on the whole was great, as were the villains in it, and of course the presence of Stan Lee.  Great to see him as always.  And great to see Tony Stark once more!  How many movies has he been in until now?  Something like eight, if you include that cameo at the end of "the Hulk."  Anyway, here he is again.  Tonight we were reading about Tony Stark and his ongoing battle with the Mandarin (or "Mandy") in the book, "The Gauntlet."  It's been great reading so far.  Madison and Mommy sit on the bed and listen to Daddy read the devotional first (this week is all about "Big Hero 6" characters), and then we read a chapter or so from the latest book.  This one has been engaging, as he's been on the receiving end of a surprise attack, and not working with a full suit. In fact one suit has been a medical suit, not really meant for combat.  The other suit is the party pack, which actually sounds like a lot of fun.

After the movie today, we did some shopping.  Back-to-school shopping, to be more specific!  Yes, it's July, so it must be time to start shopping for school supplies.  Does that last sentence sound absolutely ridiculous or what?  Nevertheless, it remains true:  we had a list we printed from the school, and went out to a few locations near the theater to find some items for Madison.  She got her new book bag for the year tonight, and this is somewhat of a controversial decision.  At least to Daddy it is!  The problem:  the new book bag doesn't have any character on it.  No Moana, no Spider-man, no Elsa, no princess, no superhero - nobody!  It's just got a nice decorative floral pattern on it!  Ah, our little girl is growing up and getting more "mature" book bags!  When did this happen?

I'm joking a bit of course.  But then again, perhaps I'm crying on the inside!  Anyway, we did our shopping, getting all the erasers, pencils, notebooks and so forth.  We're ready for school as of tonight.  Some things we had at home, so we didn't have to get the entire list.  But we're good to go!

Speaking of "good to go," we went to eat tonight at Cracker Barrel, which was nice.  Another monumental storm came through, blowing horizontal rain and shaking the normally solid street lights and signs as if there was an earthquake.  It was a gully washer!  We watched it roar by from within the quiet safety of our Cracker Barrel.  It was a nice meal, and afterwards we did a bit of shopping.  Mommy had some gift cards, so she got herself some clothing items.  She likes the clothing they have there.  Daddy and Madison got some candy, and even a few drinks that you don't see everyday.  Including this drink here:

This is Dr. Enuf!  Daddy hasn't seen this in some time.  I remember first trying it in 1997, I think.  We were on a road trip when I discovered it, a road trip to Minnesota.  There was a convenience store in Tennessee, and it had this funny title for a drink, "Dr. Enuf."  It tastes a little like Sprite, and perhaps a little like ginger ale, maybe.  It's an odd lemony mix.  The drink is okay - Mommy didn't care for it that much, but Madison and Daddy like it.  Tonight, we had that one when we got home.  There's another drink you'll have to see in the next few days.  That one should get big laughs.

The Snarl, Jumbo, and Lobster Girl

The movie theme at the church was not only downstairs - it's upstairs as well.  So much that Daddy and Josh went up there dressed as a superhero, and a bag of popcorn.  You can see Daddy in the photo above, ready to pop in, or at least butter some folks up.  Or something.  We decided that if Josh was a random superhero, he'd have to have a name.  And being beside him, Daddy needed to have a name as well as some sort of sidekick.  Thus, the Legend of The Snarl and Jumbo came to be!

Right.  Anyway, back to KidPak today we came, and here we were for the second Sunday of the new series, "Superflix," which is a superhero-themed movie series.  We look at movies, and see Biblical lessons within each one.  Today's was more obvious than others.  It was a strong message movie in "Big Hero 6."

Today was fun.  The kids got free candy from upstairs to go along with the movie series that they have going on up there, "Let's Go to the Movies."  That title is a mouthful, but so was the candy!  Madison got some Spree candies, and some Raisinets too.  We might save those for a real trip to the movies later.

Here she is with her friend Emma again.  She had a great morning again, returning to worship, returning to KidPak and all the fun we set up for the kids.  It was a fantastic morning at church, with a powerful message about serving others, about sacrifice, and about no greater love.

We're letting a friend borrow those lobster claws for an upcoming production, so Madison was wearing them out after church.  We were on our way through the parking lot when a desperate mother came back to the church, wanting to get inside the locked doors because she left her purse inside.  It was late, and pretty much everyone was gone.  But no worries:  Madison, Lobster Girl, saved the day.  She still knows the code to get into the building, and used it to open the door for this helpless civilian!

Afterwards, we did a bit of cleaning up, settling in, and then a quick trip out to see about a new backpack for the new school season.  Unfortunately, the one backpack she was after was gone, and it might be difficult to get - it seems as if the Moana and Heihei backpack is a popular item.  Online, the cost of this thing is nearly double.  Reminds me of the Mal costume a few years ago.  Sold out everywhere except a few bums online who want to sell it for much more.

One thing we did find though was a Halloween costume for Madison.  We don't even know the character yet, but it's the daughter of Ursula from the upcoming movie, "Descendants 2."  Her name is Uma, and she dresses like a pirate.  Madison was looking for a pirate costume, and this was just the thing for her!  She tried it on when we got home, and was looking all nice and fancy.  She loved it.  She's wanting to go to a certain pirate party upcoming, and this also works in October.

It was a Marvel night tonight.  Madison wanted to watch more "Agent Carter," so we watched three episodes straight, and then it was bedtime, and time for more Tony Stark with the book, "The Gauntlet."  Appropriate ending for a superhero themed day.

One final note that slipped my attention.  This is the eight-year anniversary... of this blog.  Wow.  Just wow.

Riders

Here we are, just getting started pretty much on our long journey home.  This is a picturesque rest stop somewhere near Jacksonville.  We stopped a few more times than usual on the way home, mainly because the thinking is we'd be able to be just as quick along I-75 northward as we were going southward.  It was a Saturday, so the traffic should be lighter, right?

Not really.  Guess where the trouble started?

Yes, Henry County, the traffic capital of the world.  This is in fact Henry County's chief export:  relentless traffic.  If you're looking up synonyms for "Henry County," you'll actually find the word, "traffic."  People spend more time in Henry County than others in Georgia, mainly because they have no choice.  When you account for all roads and traffic, the average speed in Henry County is roughly fifteen miles per hour.  On the interstates, the average is about four.  Even downtown Atlanta has better traffic, probably even with the I-85 bridge out.

Despite the delays there, and a little in Atlanta, we got home eventually safe and sound.  It was a smooth trip up until Henry County in fact.  We had a stop at our Chick-Fil-A in Cordelle, the one next to the rocket there.  As it is "watermelon country," we tried a watermelon mint lemonade there, and it was absolutely delicious.

Another stop we made was at the book store.  It's a Book Warehouse, and another $3 Book Sale store.  We used to stop at these all the time, but eventually the lack of new stuff kept us from dropping by.  We haven't been in a while, so we dropped by one more time on the way home.  And... it has the same stuff still.  I mean, there were a few things we picked up, but mostly it was the same stuff.  We did get Madison a new Bible, one she was wanting.  It had a nice cover, and it was written in a language that children can understand easier.  That said, we couldn't resist picking that up for her.  She was grateful, and that's hard for a parent to resist:  a child grateful to get a Bible.

To help our journey home, we spent a lot of time listening to Riders Radio Theater.

This is a great radio program with skits and plenty of western music and guests.  The ongoing radio drama is hilarious at many points, and really helped us along as we drove northward.

Meanwhile, Madison was listening to Bethel Music and Hillsong.  Daddy got these for her before going on the trip, and she's been listening to a few tracks over and over again as she read and played games.  She loves the song "Oceans" so much, and "Lion and the Lamb," and another one "In Pieces."  You could hear her singing along in the backseat, and it's hard to hear something greater as a parent than your own daughter singing worship songs from the backseat.

We got home and you go through those same sensations:  what is this place?  It's only been a week, but it's seemed longer.  The grass needs cutting, which means it's rained a lot in our absence.  Other than that, things are all the same, aside from the piles of luggage and stuff we dragged into the house from the car.  It'll be an early night tonight - we're tired from the long day.  We read from "The Gauntlet" some more, and Tony Stark got the upper hand on the Mandarin, who tried a bit of cheating.  We also read some more from the Superflix devotional, part of the series we'll be visiting tomorrow morning at KidPak.

And after that we prayed, thanking God for a safe trip home, and a wonderful vacation.  It was a memorable one, something wonderful this summer.

MSC Summer Camp Day 5: Raptors

We dropped Madison off this morning for her final day of Marine Science Center Camp, and on the way home, we were eaten alive!

But not by this thing!  A few notes before continuing.  First of all, this is a big concrete dinosaur built in the 1940's as a part of "Bongoland," a small park named after a baboon that used to live there.  There were other dinosaurs built, and painted too (hopefully), because these looked pretty worn over time.

This triceratops here is in better shape, perhaps because he's located near the outdoor chapel area.  Yes, there he is, a triceratops, located nearby the chapel to let all know about the Trinity.  They should  call it the "Church of the Triceratops" or something.

No doubt you're intrigued, so let me explain what's going on here.  After dropping Madison off, Mommy and Daddy went by a historical location called Dunlawton Sugar Mill Plantation.  If any place is cursed, this might be it.  To start out with, there are mosquitoes galore.  Wear plenty of repellant if you can, because Daddy got eaten alive, and I don't usually get bitten at all.

The second reason for considering the curse would be the the false hopes that were placed upon this land time and again.  To begin with, it was a sugar mill, an operation that required lots of labor, and apparently much of it from slaves.  Noise and heat - and probably mosquitoes.  They lived on the edge out here in Florida, long before it was an official state, and therefore long before it could really be adequately protected from others.  The Seminoles were constantly raiding this place, and time and again it would burn down or in one case the owner was savagely killed.  One owner's wife hated the place so much she longed to leave, because they were even worried if there would be enough sugar for they themselves.  She never left.  She died giving birth to twins, who also died.

Later on came Bongoland.  That's the natural direction to take an abandoned sugar mill, right?  Build giant dinosaurs, put a train in there, and have a working Indian village, and see how many tourists will come.  Apparently they did come, but not for long.

Today, Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens is actually a nice place to visit, once you've properly applied approximately fifteen gallons of bug repellant.  Volunteers take care of the place, although it's an overwhelming job.  There are many different styles of gardens, from Asian to fern gardens to rose gardens and more.  It was a nice little park, and with sufficient tree covering, there was plenty of shade.  Some of those trees were large and beautiful, with long arms stretching horizontally over the ground, draped with streams of dangling Spanish moss.

Ultimately though, it's all about these guys here though!

It was a nice morning trip, with a trip afterwards to the Marine Science Center one last time.  We were there for a family lunch together.

Earlier, we got a few items (including Madison's favorite Arnold Palmer half-and-half tea/lemonade), and dropped them off for today's lunch.  There was plenty to eat there, including watermelon that had been carved to look like a sea turtle.  Or, at least a sea turtle/gopher turtle combination.

Regardless, it was good.  We enjoyed a meal together, and then went in to a classroom inside, where we watched the premiere of a video actually shot at the Marine Science Center.  The kids, one by one, afterwards told us all what their favorite days were.  Madison's was not today, clearly.  On one hand, she enjoyed learning about raptors - not the dinosaurs.  A staff member was bringing into the classroom various birds of prey, and the kids were learning about their diets, habits, and general appearance.  Here's Madison and the other classmates watching a presentation with a live owl in the front of the room:

The other part of the day was the one she knew about ahead of time.  She was laughing about it, talking about the one thing she was going to have to do, and here it was:  dissecting owl poop!

It stunk.  But Madison, that's one of the things that poop does!  Anyway, she and the others dissected owl poop today, and one team even found the skeletal remains of an entire rat.  Their mother was kidding when she said how proud she was:  "I think I'll put this in a shadowbox, and hang it on my wall!"  Here's Madison waving hello as she looks for bones and fragments:

Madison's favorite day was the one where the kids went fishing, although she enjoyed the canoe trips as well, and the snorkeling at Blue Springs.  All the kids enjoyed something different, but all of them enjoyed the week as a whole.  If it is possible, we'll be back next year!

We got home, and started packing.  Already, we're supposed to be home tomorrow.  We'll be getting ready next week for a new series - lots to do there.

One last time, the three of us walked northward on the beach, and the weather was absolutely perfect.  The sea turtle nests were all intact:  none of the ones with the May ribbons on them were hatched, so we didn't really miss anything the last few nights.  The walk was very nice, with us getting our feet wet and just enjoying the perfect temperatures.  There was a larger cloud in the sky that was blocking out the sun for much of the walk, so there wasn't any of that Florida heat coming down upon us, and instead a nice gentle ocean breeze.  On more than one occasion, we all stopped and had a bit of a group hug, gazing out at the ocean horizon, or up and down the beach.  It's a pleasant place, certainly something good for the soul.

We went to bed early tonight, as it's going to be a big day tomorrow.  Obviously it was a full day, and just part of a very full and memorable week.  We're grateful for the time away, and although it was just a week, it seems so long ago that we left.  We'll be back soon enough though!

MSC Summer Camp Day 4: Springs

Each morning a beautiful sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.  The view from the condo is always a glorious one, as the direction we face is due east, out and over the seemingly endless horizon of gentle waves.  At least they were gentle this morning.  The storms lately have been intense at night, and last night's rains were longer and more sustained.  But it was all after hours, and none of it really interfered with Madison's camp this week.

Today we saw a big gopher tortoise crossing the road.  Its shell was bigger than a bowling ball, and it lumbered across the road slowly, stopping all traffic along the way.  It was great to see the respect everyone had for this creature.  It was almost like a turtle crosswalk, minus the signals and marking on the road.

We dropped her off this morning, a little earlier than usual because there were snorkels to gather and a drive to make to a nearby place called Blue Springs State Park.  Madison has been practicing her snorkeling to get to this point, and she did well, looking to the bottom to see various things down below.  But the water was pretty cold, she said.  How ironic, given that she loves to swim and the weather outside was very warm today!

So all the snorkel practice this summer has paid off.  Madison was off and swimming with the others, although she wasn't 100% confident in that buoyancy control jacket there.  She wanted a pool noodle as well, but that's okay.  She snorkeled and it was in the spring, and she had a great time.

You can see why they call it Blue Springs.  This water is pretty blue.  Or... it could be that all the people that go swimming there turn blue from the cold.  Take a look at Madison and some of the kids right after they first dove in:

Brrrr!  Still, it was a great time.  She was talking about this one for a long time tonight, and quite loudly too (because she was so excited).  She's been like that for the entire week though, talking on and on about all her various adventures.  And just when you think she's done, suddenly she remembers something else to say!  For example, did you know she went looking for more manatees today?  Here's a picture of one she found:

They explored an old house, a historic landmark called the Thursby House.  And they had a picnic lunch there as well at Blue Springs.  Here's the girls standing next to a tree that's been hit three times by lightning.

Don't worry.  No storms today.  All was calm, and the weather has been favorable for us, as it has been all week long!

Madison hopped in a canoe for her second part of the day, once again going out over the water, having such a great week.  She has been learning a lot this week too, and the experience alone makes it worth all the effort.

They were out looking for manatees, and yes, they found some in the middle of the springs area.  Here's a picture that one of the guides took:

We're grateful for the pictures the guides were taking this week.  Obviously we weren't there with Madison in this camp, but each day there's a staff person with a waterproof camera snapping away pictures of the group, and there have been a few of Madison that have been great to see.  She really looks like she's having a great time!

She wants to do this again next year if possible, and with all the education going on, it's not a bad idea.  We'll see how it all works out.  There's plenty of other educational opportunities elsewhere, although for Mommy and Madison, it's hard to resist the call of the beach.  Plus, the grandparents are here, and that's a big plus.

When we got home, we had a great big turkey dinner together, which was nice.  Madison was working on her artwork, drawing out dolphins, turtles, and other sealife.  She's drawing them all freehand, and coloring them in afterwards.  They're turning out well!

But after dinner, she and Daddy had time to head out to the beach.  We sat deeper in the waves, and let them crash over us, time and again.  The challenge was to stay seated in one place, and not let the waves move us.  That didn't work all the time - some waves came thundering in, we screamed and got soaked!  But it was fun.  It wasn't as fun for Mommy to deal with all the sand in the bathing suit afterwards, but for the time being, it was fun!

We went to bed tonight earlier.  We read more from "The Gauntlet," and a bit from our Superflix devotional.  It's been a great day!