Labor Day at Ichetucknee Springs

We had been hearing about this cool place to go tubing called Ichetucknee Springs.....it's OK if you don't say it right...we don't either.  The first thing you do is stop at a rental shack that's on the side of the road before you enter the state park.  I had 1 goal in mind.....NOT to be cold.  The others though, they just wanted to be IN the water not really caring that I kept telling them it was 68 degrees.  These were the tubes the kids and Paul got.

 This is how Callista felt when her bum first touched that 68 degree water.

 

This is Callista after a few minutes of settling in.

 Finally a smile!

 I was toasty warm in my boat...in fact I would have to purposefully dangle my feet in the water to cool off from the oppresive FL humidity,

 This was the first of the awesome wildlife we got to see.

 This was Chloe's reaction to the 2nd not so awesome wildlife we saw...a watersnake....she refused to stick her bum back into that water after we saw it.  We saw 3 of them total.

 This is the head of the Spring.....so crystal blue.. it was beautiful!

 There is another part of the spring that is super deep about 40 feet.  Paul was the only one brave enough to jump into it...he didn't stay in there long though.

It was a great way to spend off form our "Labors" and even though the water was cold, the kids said they'd do it again.

Happy Birthday Chloe

Chloe had a first this year on her 12th Birthday.  She's NEVER had to go to school on her birthday before because we've never lived anywhere where they started this early.  She thought it quite unfair, but, I'm pretty sure she thought it was a great birthday in the end!

She opted not to have a birthday party this year and instead wanted a trip to Universal Studios to Harry Potter World with her Dad. It did not disappoint!

 

 

 

As you can tell not only did she have school on her birthday, but also dance.  She was eager to get right to presents though.

 We couldn't figure out how to put candles in cake pops, so she just pretended to blow out the sticks...clever girl. 

 Chloe, we wish you a another year full of academic success, fun with dance, and most importantly the knowledge that you are a beloved Princess of God.

Happy 12th Birthday!

First Day of School

Can you guess what today was?

Our darling 2nd grader who is in Mrs. Fedorawhich's Class.  She also has her best friend Katie with her as well this year.

Our "cool" 4th grader who has Mrs Branz.  He doesn't have his best friend with him, but they still got to play kickball at recess today.  

Our beautiful 7th grader.  Her schedule is messed up, she has no classes at all with her best friend, and the bus driver is SUPER mean.......but.....she came home with a smile on her face and said it was "GREAT".  That's my girl!!!!!  See the positive......otherwise how can she possibly survive middle school?

Here's wishing you a fantastic 2014-2015 school year!

Cashiers North Carolina

This year for our summer vacation we decided to go for a trip to the Mountains.  We found a charming cabin in the Great Smokies of NC in a little town called Cashiers.  We had a fabulous time hiking to waterfalls, roasting marshmallows, renting a pontoon on Lake Glenville, and just being together.

Some rocks near Whitewater Falls.

 

 The kiddos at the Whitewater Falls overlook.

 

The amenities center that our cabin was associated with had a tubing track as well as mini golf.  We took advantage of both.

We drove the 1 1/2 hour drive to Asheville and spent a day at the Biltmore Estate.

The kids LOVED the firepit in the backyard.  Chloe's favorite question was "do we need the fire extinguisher?"

 We rented a pontoon boat on freezing Lake Glenville.  The water was a chilling 68 degrees, but that didn't stop the kids from tubing on it.  BRRRRRR!!!!!

 

 We found this charming ice cream shop called "Sweetreats" and it became Chloe's negotiating tool.  "Hey Kids...let's go try this activity".  Chloe would say,  "Only if we get Sweetreats after."

 My favorite spot of the cabin, the front porch swing and rocking chair.  There were many hours spent in these chairs reading and snuggling.

My favorite waterfall of the trip (we saw 11 total) was Rainbow Falls.  This very nice man took this picture for us and e-mailed it to me because at the bottom of these falls, I dropped Paul's i-phone into them after I persuaded him that I should keep his phone so he wouldn't get it wet.

It was a fantastic week.  I can't wait to do it again!

4th of July

This year to celebrate the 4th of July we went the Jacksonville's Suns game with our good friends the O'Sullivans.  Before the game...we had some festive snacks.

 Since we met them through our boys (Ryan and Ryan) playing baseball, we thought it fitting we go to the game with them too! They both have their baseball gloves in case an errant ball comes our way.

 Their beautiful daughter Morgan has Cerebral Palsey so we didn't sit in the same row, but they sat right behind us.

 What is it about little girls and cotton candy?

It was a great evening, the Suns won, AND the fireworks show at the end was spectacular.  

Happy Birthday to the USA!

Dance Recital

Just as Spring means Baseball to Ryan, it means Dance Recitals to the Shupe Girls.  This week was crazy with rehearsals every night.  Last night, it was all worth it as we sat and watched these girls perform their routines they have been working on since January.

Callista's costume was soooo cute.  It glowed in the dark and on the stage it looked electric.

Chloe's Jazz costume was fun and sparkly (itchy too, she claims).

Chloe's Tap routine was very sophisticated.  Her tap teacher brings out the best in all her students.

This male dancer needs to work on his technique or something!

I was just so proud, but promised Callista I wouldn't cry (she claims I cry at EVERYTHING!!!!)

Ryan presented the girls with flowers at the end of the night.  Now they get a week off, thank goodness!