Battle of Olustee

We recently attended a historic reenactment of a civil war battle held here, in N. FL, in 1864. This year marked the 147th anniversary of The Battle of Olustee. It was fun to see all the reenactors in their period dress and the battle itself. The kids enjoyed it and it was a nice afternoon out with the family.

Happy Birthday Sasha!

On Jan. 25, 2011 our fur-baby turned one year old. We were excited to celebrate her first birthday. I made chicken-flavored cupcakes for the dogs and they ate them very quickly. The celebration was small and quick, but special just the same. We are so happy to have her in our lives.

Happy New Year!

2011 is under way and things are going well so far. We have been busy with work and enjoying a mild winter in FL so far except for one really cold week. We have had our land in FL for a little over a year now and this month we celebrate Sasha's (our new dog) first birthday. I hope 2011 find everyone happy and healthy and brings much joy, happiness, and prosperity to all.

Christmas Parade

We recently took part in our local community Christmas parade. Our kids participated with the 4-H club they belong to. We had fun decorating the trailer and the kids enjoyed riding in the parade.

Kasey's Birthday

We were thrilled to celebrate our dog, Kasey's, 15th birthday. We are so happy to have had her in our family for this long and for the fact that she is still relatively healthy for her age. We celebrated with a beef-flavored cake for the dogs (I made brownies for the humans). We showed her the cake and let her sniff it, then we cut each dog a small piece. It was pretty uneventful, but fun. I hope to do it again next year.

Happy Halloween

We recently carved our Halloween pumpkins and displayed them. We all had a great time even though the job can be messy. We tried to roast the seeds and ended up burning them (UGH). I followed microwave directions and cooked them for too long. I can still smell burnt seeds.

A silly side story, our son had carved his pumpkin to look like a symbol from a favorite video game (you can see it in the pic above). Our new dog, Sasha, must have gotten the munchies because when we weren't paying attention she ate the middle of his design causing him to have to alter his pumpkin. So lesson learned, puppies like pumpkins.

Fall Fun with 4-H

The kids recently stuffed some scarecrows with their 4-H group. The scarecrows were placed in town and will be judged. There may be prize money in their future. They had a fun afternoon and, as always, enjoyed the company of their friends at 4-H.

Islands of Adventure

Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Kelsey enjoyed her Butter Beer!

Universal Studios

For the first time ever we decided to visit Universal Studios and Island of Adventure. All of the times we have visited the Orlando area, we have never done these parks, I am so glad we did this time. The kids really enjoyed the thrill rides and there was something for everyone. At IoA the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was magnificent! The atmosphere was fantastic. It really felt like we were in Hogsmeade village. All the shops were so cool and the butter beer was delicious. Pumpkin juice was really good too although, both were very sweet. The rides in the Harry Potter area were great and the castle was so realistic. There was a lot to see and do. We spent a lot of time in this area. The kids also enjoyed the Hulk roller coaster and a Jurassic Park water ride.

At Universal Studios we enjoyed the Jaws, the Revenge of the Mummy, Men In Black rides. We also enjoyed several shows and met a character or two. Both parks closed early this time of year due to a special Halloween party they have. We managed to see everything in both parks in 3 days (except for one coaster that was closed). We had a great time and will definitely be returning.

Hanging out in Central FL

After our work was done we decided a stop in the Orlando area was in order. We always enjoy our favorite campground in Clermont and, of course, all there is to do. Our first night we went to the Magic Kingdom in WDW to see the Main Street Electrical parade. It was really great and there were some new characters to see. Magic Kindogm is my favorite park.

Moving On

We left the Hollywood area and made our way across Alligator Alley to the west coast of the state and Naples. We didn't see much of Naples as we were there for work, but we did enjoy a pizza party on the beach one evening and got to enjoy a glorious sunset.
We hope to return to the area next year and do a bit more exploring and visiting come of the local tourism spots and beaches.

Keating Beach

While in Hollywood we had just one afternoon to go to the beach. The weather was great and the water was so warm. It rained for the rest of our time in Hollywood, but we really enjoyed this one afternoon.

Hooray for Hollywood (Florida)!

Hanging out in Hollywood for the weekend enjoying Topeekeegee Yugnee Park (T.Y. Park for short). This is our second time here and we really like this place. We enjoyed the water park and swim lagoon, the walking trails, and the dogs especially like the water fountain just for them. A couple more days here until we move across the state.

Sasha the wonder dog!

Our daughter has been working with Sasha to teach her some tricks. She is full of energy and will follow the kids in almost anything they do. So here she is in action. Enjoy!

A new hobby.

Recently our daughter has taken an interest in archery. We just got her a bow for beginners and a few arrows, but she is pretty decent at it. I hope she sticks with it, so far she has been practicing every day. She loves to try new things, but gets frustrated rather quickly and gives up. She seems to really like this, though.

Our Getaway weekend.

The view from our room.

Our Getaway weekend.

The lazy river.

Our Getaway weekend.

Fun water slide!