Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

This weekend, the kids and I drove out to Daytona Beach to visit with my family. Joshua was very excited to see a real lighthouse. Daniel was pretty tired by the time we got there. He had only taken a 15 minute nap in the car, so I wasn't sure how well he was going to tolerate such a big outing.

The kids were pretty excited to climb up into the lighthouse.

The spiral staircase was very fun to climb. There are 203 steps.

The top of the lighthouse was beautiful. The kids loved looking out over the water looking for pirates.

This is a view of the top of the lighthouse from the viewing deck.

Daniel is pouting because he wanted me to carry him. I had forgotten that the "grumpy threes" follows the "terrible twos". He's so moody lately. Once we were heading down the stairs he was happy again.

Megan was yelling down from the top of the lighthouse trying to get Nana's attention.

The kids each enjoyed banging on the big bell outside one of the buildings. There were quite a few Coast Guard pictures on display and that always excites this crowd.

There is a really cool exhibit about the actual light that lights the lighthouse. Joshua thought the different refractory lenses were cool to look at.

The kids had a great time. We'll probably drive up to St. Augustine to check out that lighthouse sometime soon.

Making Daniel Beautiful

Today, Megan made Daniel beautiful by brushing his hair and putting on some pretend make-up.

Indian Trail Lunch

While Grandma, Daniel and I were at Green Meadows with Megan's class, Grandpa and Daddy were helping out with Joshua's class Indian Trail Lunch. The kids were all given Indian costumes to dress up in for the day.

The had many games to play - riding horses, using bows and arrows, and tomahawk throws. After their games, the kids foraged in the woods for their food (snacks that the parents had packed and sent in).

Back at the camp, the kids had lunch and learned about the Indian lifestyle. Joshua tells me that this was is best day of school EVER.

Green Meadows Petting Farm

Today, Grandma, Daniel and I chaparoned the Pre-K field trip to Green Meadows Petting Farm. Joshua's class did this same field trip last month, so last night he was coaching me on what to expect. We all had a great time and came back exhausted. I took over 100 pictures today on the trip, but I'm only posting a few. At the end of the day, the kids (and grown-ups) were allowed to pick a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch to take home. We love pumpkin patches.

One of my favorite parts of the day was watching the kids run around the chicken coop trying to catch chickens. Megan did not catch this chicken, someone else was holding it and passed it off to her. Megan held this chicken for about a half a mili-second. It's a good thing I had the camera at the ready!

The kids got to ride horses again, and were thrilled!

The goat feeding frenzy was pretty funny. Daniel kept giggling when the goats were licking his hand.

Megan drew quite a crowd of goats with her goat-feed.

The kids (and grown-ups) really enjoyed themselves. Through-out the day we also took a hayride, a trainride and saw many, many animals.


It was so nice to be able to visit such a hands-on learning place. The kids all listened well and were very respectful to the animals.

We voted.

Daniel came with me on Friday to the library to early vote for our county. Keith wasn't able to come with us Friday morning, so he voted this morning. Daniel and I walked down to the park with him. Daniel had a wonderful time and earned another highly-coveted "I voted" sticker.

Fall Party

Last night, we went to some friends' house for their annual fall party. It was a quite a happenin' event. The kids really enjoyed the silly puppet lady.

The bubbles were a huge hit. Each of the kids played with a juice-box sized container of bubbles.

Megan and Daniel sitting quietly listening to the puppet-lady.

Daniel, me, and Keith hanging out on the hay.

The kids all took a hay ride around the area. I was really surprised that Daniel climbed up there with the big kids. He went along with no problems at all.

There were pony rides. Each of the kids took a couple of turns riding the ponies.

It was a great party with great food and great friends. We were home early and the kids were in bed by 7:30pm.

FLEC Fall Festival

The kids' school had a fall festival this weekend. This is one fund-raiser that I can really get behind. We purchased a bunch of tickets and then used our tickets to pay for food, drinks, rides and games. The kids loved the drummers. These drummers had such enthusiasm, Megan was grooving to the beat.

Each of the kids took a turn at playing mini-golf. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous that the golf course was set up so close to parked cars. But everyone managed to keep their ball on the green.

Joshua was sure to inform the game-keeper that the putters were not the right size for him. He did his best, anyway.

Megan was thrilled at the opportunity to ride a horse. Her little pony tails were just flopping in the breeze.

There was a small area with games for the little ones to play. Daniel enjoyed fishing while Megan was on the horse.

It was a really great idea for a fund-raiser. We enjoyed hanging out with friends from school. And Grandma and Grandpa came out to check it out, too. The weather was great the whole time we were there. However, just as I was pulling out of the school parkinglot to head home, the skies opened up and a heavy rain began to fall.