Gaahh!! I hate driving in Georgia.

We've traveled a lot. We've probably traveled more without John than with him. But today has got to be the all-time record for misery in the car. One child was loathe to leave Vero Beach. It was not the 5 year old! If you happened to be driving through Orlando around noon, you would have seen us on the side of the Florida Turnpike, with that same child doing push-ups. (Again, not the 5 year old.)

And then leave it to Georgia to have so much freeway construction going on that we had an extra hour of driving.

Luci added an extra 30 minutes onto that by having to "go potty" three extra times. Why did I ever potty train her? I guess it will be good in the long run, huh?

Ares 1-X Rocket Launch

We saw the rocket! What a wonderful thing, even from 58 miles away. Now, to make you all jealous: Luci and I rushed out of the pool to go to the beach to watch the launch. Bryan and JT missed it--they were busy with surfing lessons!

Here's the story: Ares1-X Rocket Launch and a photo from Fox News.

Tuesday at Vero Beach

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Birthday!

Luci turned five on Monday. She proclaimed it "The Best Day Ever."
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After Luci went to sleep Sunday night, JT decorated the apartment and I frosted the cake. We had cake for breakfast!


Luci went to a crafts class.

Campfire at night--complete with silly songs. I didn't know the boys were so talented at singing "A Tooty-Tah-Ta." I thought that was just a Luci thing. The campfire ladies also chose Luci to take part in a song, but then had her go find her mom or dad. Since dad wasn't available, I got to embarrass myself in front of the crowd. Unfortunately, no pictures of that disgrace survived....


Roasting marshmallows....

to make Smores! How did that marshmallow get on her temple??

Sunday at the Beach

What joy! This is the first time Luci has touched the Atlantic Ocean. She is jumping in this picture. You can see the reflection of her feet beneath her on the wet sand.
Why I should be more diligent with Luci about what she eats. We were playing bingo. Prizes were candy and little toys. This was taken about 10 minutes after she started eating one of those Halloween packets of Skittles. She went from calm to pretty wild in that length of time. Thank goodness her reactions seem to be short--she was calm three hours later. Bryan's reactions used to last three whole days! Check out the Feingold diet for help with ADHD-type behaviors.

Good thing I brought the things for Luci's birthday cake with us. Naturally colored icing, courtesy of India Tree food colors. Not such a neat icing job, but cute and just what she asked for: "banilla cake, banilla frosting and PINK dots!"

Yes, we're on our way...

Isn't that the song from Disney's Brother Bear? We will be at Vero Beach tomorrow--with our Disney Vacation Club. We've been planning this since we knew for certain that John was going back overseas--so, since the end of June. We are so ready for time off from everything! Yay! When we got across the Florida line this afternoon, the temperature went up 8 whole degrees! I am not kidding. So looking forward to a whole week of no school, no schedules, no whining (at least from myself).

The Pumpkin Patch

Luci and I went to McGee Farm today. Luci was thrilled to ride on a hay wagon. She went a bit nutty as the tractor rolled into sight. Luci also painted her pumpkin and milked a "cow." Other shots in the collage are of JT swinging Luci around--that one made a neat shadow--and Bryan putting the new license plate on the van. Double-click on the collage to see it larger. (oops. It might not enlarge for you--it didn't for me.)

Heard and Seen Recently

A couple of days ago, at dinner, one of the boys (who shall remain nameless, but his intials are J.T.) was going on and on about what he "needs" us to get him. I said, "(nameless son), it's not all about you." Whereupon Luci pipes up, "Yeah! It's all about ME."

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Bryan has been wearing a bracelet--you know, those rubbery things that are so popular now--that says, "Army Strong." He's had it on since John's trip started up again at the end of June. He says it is in support of his Dad.

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JT has been practicing his paint ball moves in the field out back. He's ready to take us all on when John gets home.

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John told me I could go look for a camera for my Christmas present, so I did. I now have a very nice Nikon D3000. John is so good at picking out gifts. Here's a photograph that I took today, after about 45 minutes of learning how to use the camera. Luci is trying to blow the fuzz off of a dandelion.

You might be Homeschooled if....

Luci-isms

Vamplier--Vampire
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Glip Gloth--lip gloss (and no, she does not lisp at all)
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Jacklyn--one of those pumpkins that makes a face like this:

Science Experiment--From Alpha Omega Publications

This fun fall science experiment that teaches children how to see the rainbow in a leaf. An easy project that only requires simple household materials, this leaf chromatography experiment reinforces why leaves turn different colors in the fall and other fascinating photosynthesis facts found in LIFEPAC® and Switched-On Schoolhouse® sixth grade science lessons from Alpha Omega Publications®. Plus, your child will also gain a deeper understanding of God's marvelous design of a leaf.

Materials:

Assortment of green leaves

Small jars (baby food jars work great)

Jar covers, aluminum foil, or plastic wrapRubbing alcohol

White paper coffee filters

Shallow pan

Hot tap water

Tape

Pens

Plastic knife or spoon

Kitchen timer

Scissors

Notebook

Procedure:1. Gather two or three large leaves from several different species of trees. (Maple trees and other trees that have dramatic fall color changes work best). In a notebook, designate a page for each of the leaves and record the different colors you see in each of the leaves.

2. Cut two long, thin strips of coffee filter paper for each jar. Use half of the coffee filter strips to label the jars with each tree's name and location.

3. Tear or cut the leaves into tiny pieces and put them into separate small jars.

4. Add just enough rubbing alcohol to cover the leaves in each jar. Carefully chop or grind them into the alcohol using a plastic knife or spoon. NOTE: Isopropyl rubbing alcohol can be harmful if not used correctly. Read label warnings and directions carefully.

5. Loosely cover the top of the jars with lids, plastic wrap, or aluminum foil.

6. Place the jars into a shallow pan filled with one inch of very hot tap water.

7. Allow the jars to stand in the hot water for at least a half hour (longer if necessary) until the alcohol has become colored (the darker the solution, the better). Gently swirl each jar every five minutes and replace the hot water if it starts to cool.

8. Uncover the jars and remove them from the water.

9. On one end only, label the remaining coffee filter strips with each tree's name and location.

Then, place the strips into the appropriate jars, so one end is immersed in the alcohol, and the labeled end is wrapped around a pen suspended across the top of the jar. Secure the piece of paper with tape.

What you'll observe: The alcohol will slowly begin to travel up the paper, bringing the colors in the leaves with it. After an hour or two, the colors will travel different distances up the paper as the alcohol evaporates.

Depending on the type of tree, your homeschooler should see different pigment shades of green (chlorophylls), yellow (xanthophylls), orange (carotenoids), and red (anthocyanins) from the leaves.

10. Remove the strips of pigmented paper before the alcohol reaches the top and allow them to dry. The finished paper strips are called chromatographs. Tape them to the pages of your notebook and record your observations. How many colors are visible? Could you see the same colors in the leaves before the experiment? Based on your fun fall experiment, which tree leaves do you think will turn the brightest and least bright this fall?

Retail Therapy

Oh, my goodness! I had such a nice time today. Luci and I ran off to Huntsville to the Build a Bear Workshop. The boys were supposed to be doing their schoolwork while we were gone. Suffice it to say that they are doing their schoolwork now. Luci and I had a grand time chatting about lots of things (almost all of her choosing, of course--there's only so much you can talk to a four-year-old about). After choosing the perfect (purr-fect?) Hello Kitty and a camouflage bear for JT (we named it Daddy Bear, of course), Luci and I had lunch in the food court. She loves the mall. Any mall. But this one had escalators and an elevator (which our one-story mall does not) and she was in hog-heaven.

5 Reasons to Love Halloween

5 Finally, a no-cook holiday. Woo-Hoo!

4 Raiding--er...inspecting your kids' candy.

3 Calling your sister's kids "little devils" won't start a fight.

2 Cobwebs are considered decorations.

1 Three words: chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.

taken from First for women, 10/26/09

Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

Today is the Harvest Moon Festival in China. Luci fell asleep before the moon came up tonight. Luci's nightly ritual is to blow kisses to the moon for Daddy and catch the kisses Daddy sent up the night before. (Another thing to help with Daddy's deployment.)
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We skipped the real moon cakes and had moon pies instead. Moon cakes are an acquired taste.
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This website has some interesting tidbits about the Moon Festival. Here is a real moon cake recipe and here is one place for ordering, if you are more adventurous than we are.