Tree Hill Nature Center

Yesterday we took off for one of our day trips. I usually try to find things 1 or 2 hours away and after searching the internet I found lots of things to do. So we decided to try out a nearby Nature Center. It was very reasonable to get it. $4 for adults and $2 for children under 18. They had several snakes, turtles and bugs to check out. They had several areas for petting the animals like goats, bunnies and chickens. The center also had several nature trails. We walked down several of them and they were beautiful. Even the bigger kids enjoyed this place and the walks thru the woods. Aiden saw a snake by a creek and Megan decided to catch it. We could see it was a water snake not poisonous. Still I do not like snakes but we took a picture anyway. There are so many beautiful parks up here in North Florida. I have lived in Florida my whole life and never knew they were here. So it is fun to check out all the neat places up here. Next week we are going to go the Florida Museum of Natural History. It is free and has a butterfly exhibit. After that it will be almost time to go home and start our normal routine. And school starts again. Vacation is great but it will be nice to get back to our regular routine. 

My new Pedicure

*I had a picture taken with my phone but it was too dark!

About once a month I do something just for me. It is about the only thing I do that is solely for my enjoyment. I get a pedicure.While at the lake I have not gotten a pedicure it seemed pointless as I would be spending the month in the lake and not much else. Have you ever heard of the expensive pedicures that involve fish eating the dead skin off your feet? I have heard of it but never done it. Well yesterday I was sitting in my chair, sunning my self, watching the kids swim and all of a sudden all these little minnows started nibbling on my feet! It did not hurt just kind of tickled. They were cleaning my feet. So if you want a fish pedicure do not pay $100.00 just go put your feet in the lake.

The boys continue to catch fish. Our oldest son has been telling them to catch all they can and he will make them fish tacos next week. So they are on a mission.  Benjamin caught a Gar fish last night. They are usually hard to catch because they put up such a fight but last night Ben won!

Lake House Fun and Drama

Aiden and Lily love bubbles. So on a quick run to the Dollar Tree I picked up some bubbles. They played for hours. It is amazing that something so little can entertain them for so long. We have been doing Skype with their Mom the last few nights. She loves it because she can tell them goodnight and see them face to face. Their attention span is not very long though and after a couple minutes they are off playing.

After swimming all afternoon most of the kids look forward to coming in, getting a shower and watching some TV. We do not have cable at home so it is a real treat to get to watch whats on cable. I caught Megan and Seth watching TV together this afternoon. I thought what a sweet picture!

The kids have been catching a lot more fish. And Benjamin and Danny both caught little turtles last night. Sometimes when fishing the turtles will grab the bait and get caught on the hook. The boys quickly let them go. And Benjamin also caught a blue tailed Skink. These boys never get tired of being outside and watching wildlife. 

The other night Benjamin was running on the dock and fell off and fractured his wrist. We quickly took him to the nearest ER which was 20 minutes away. They X-rayed it and decided it was a fracture not a complete break. So he has a removable cast he has to wear for 4 weeks. So no more swimming for him this year. He has been really bummed about it but the last few days he has been fishing and catching lizards and having fun again. 

More wild life.

The kids had seen a water snake in the grass for a few days and it never moved once. So they got curious, very curious. Usually when we see snakes they are far away from the shore and very quickly take off. They are naturally scared of people and I am glad about that. But this snake just stayed in the grass. So my boys decided to try and catch it. Yeah I know not smart but they are boys. So they caught it in a large net we have. The snake had swallowed something because its belly was really fat. They examined it for a little while then took it out in the woods by the water. It was clear the snake was dying and it did the next day. Maybe it ate something poisonous?  We will never know. But it was a adventure.

Life is better at the lake.....

A few months back Kenny got me this Tervis mug that says life is better at the lake. And it really is true. Life is way better when we are at the lake house. Most likely because we are on vacation and life is much more slower and low key when we are at the lake. But some things never change no matter where we are. It amazes me how quickly the house can begin to look like a war zone. Clothes on the floor, underwear laying everywhere, shoes and socks not put away, towels left out wet, dirty dishes left on the porches etc.... I love vacation but I wish my kids would understand that your chores and expectations for the home do not change. We still need everyone to pick up after themselves as they do at home. So we did a quick clean this morning before everyone went out to the lake. Kenny says they just need a reminder of what we expect and I am sure that is true. So at least for the moment the house is picked up, floors mopped and bathrooms smell clean! No telling what tomorrow will bring.

Fort Matanzas

Today we went on our little day trip to Fort Matanzas. It was about an hour from our lake house. After arriving at the Park (no charge for entering!) and taking a potty break we watched a informational video about the fort. We got our tickets for the boat ride (also no charge!) over to the island where the fort is located. We had a little wait as the boat only arrives on the hour. The kids climbed down to the waters edge and caught crabs while we waited.

When the boat arrived we all got on started to go to the island. It was only a short 5 or 6 minute ride. They said sometimes they see dolphins but this time we didn't see any. 

The fort was small but really neat. There were 3 levels. And we climbed over all of it. They had several cannons used to protect the fort and a few watchtowers used for look outs. We explored for about 45 minutes then it was time to make our way back to the boat for the ride back to the mainland.

So if ever you find yourself near St. Augustine Florida and want a free activity for your family go check out Fort Matanzas. All the kids enjoyed it and said they would do it again. Also in the parking area they had picnic tables and lots of trees for climbing something my kids LOVE to do. They also have trails you can walk on. So we spent some time there before we took off for the lake house. 

No TV night.

We do not have cable TV at home so while we are on vacation it seems the kids watch a lot more TV. So last night I told the kids we would be finding something else to do after dinner. It was so peaceful. The bigger kids stayed outside and fished until after 9 pm. The bigger girls colored and did puzzles. And the little kids did puzzles and I taught Samantha and Katie to play crazy 8 and old maid. It was so much fun! They have all been staying up much later than normal and my goal for last night was for them to be in bed earlier. Lily especially has been so grumpy. She does not take naps anymore and usually goes to bed about 7:30. But while on vacation she has been staying up until 9. And she still gets up at her usual 6:30. So she was the first one in bed last night.

Samantha, Aiden and Katie love the rope swings in the back yard. They spend hours figuring out different ways to swing and ways to go higher. Lily does not want to try it, she was content to blow bubbles for hours. The water is still cold so they do not want to swim too long. Hopefully it warms up as the month goes on. Tomorrow we are going to a new fort that is about an hour away. It is a national monument so I was excited to find it. I  Googled different things to do in North Florida and came up with lots of choices. Can't wait to try them out.