Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens

Monday morning we visited Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens. One of the big attractions was a new baby giraffe that had just made her public debut over the weekend! So cute.



The landscaping at the zoo was fantastic, and we loved the statues of animals placed here and there throughout the grounds. It was a LOT of walking, but at least there was a lot to look at!

Katie arranged the group photo below when we were checking out the pink flamingos.

Natalie loved seeing all the different flowers as we walked by. Here's one of her favorites, the black-eyed susans.

It was terribly hot and humid, and Colin and Natalie started to lose interest somewhere near the Asian Gardens. They went back to the car with my mom while Dad, Katie, and I checked out the elephants before joining them.

All in all, a fun (although sticky) morning at the zoo!

Mom and Dad had to go back to the airport that afternoon, and we spent the time packing and buying snacks and drinks for the drive home Tuesday morning. We really had a great vacation. We'd never done a roadtrip vacation with the girls, and at only 4 hours from home, Jacksonville was a good place to start. Lots of neat attractions, easy to get around, and easy to get back home when we were ready.

(Not that I'm ever really ready to go back to work after vacation, but you know... )

Historic St. Augustine

Sunday we headed to historic St. Augustine, the oldest city in the US. We started off perusing their visitor center, and taking a photo of this interesting fountain right outside.


And then we were off to what Colin and I were possibly most interested in seeing on the trip, Castillo de San Marcos. This fort is comparable to the two in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which Colin and I have also toured. Built to defend Spanish interests in the new world, it changed hands several times during our nation's history. It was extremely fascinating!

The only way in is through a series of drawbridges over the moat. How cool!

Katie and I enjoyed the views from the top of the fort.

Mom and Natalie had originally stayed downstairs touring the courtyard, but Natalie wanted to go upstairs and catch up with the rest of us. The stairs are a recent addition -- that used to be a ramp to push your cannons up to the top. That must've been HARD work!

The girls really enjoyed checking out the interesting displays, especially the cannons!

Back down in the courtyard, several of the rooms were open for display. This particular room had a scale model of the fort, where Katie had a good time pointing out everywhere we had been so far.

It was quite warm out that day, but the fort was a great tour!

While in St. Augustine, we also toured the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. I didn't take any photos in there. Trust me, there's a lot of weird stuff and you may not want to see it. Some interesting things, but some truly bizarre.

Anyway, after that, we went to a nearby playground to hang out a bit before lunch. It was good for the girls to have the opportunity to run around before getting back in the car.

After some play, we had a late lunch and headed back to the hotel for a nap. Colin wasn't feeling too well, so we spent the afternoon with my parents, watching a movie and preparing dinner in our room. It was nice to relax after all the morning activities!

Personal feelings on St. Augustine: Not really for families with small children. Everyone at work raves about how much they love it. I can see how it would be nice for a couples getaway, or for the antique-hunting crowd. Maybe we can go back in a few years and experience more of St. Augustine when the girls will be more interested in what the city has to offer.

Museum of Science & History

Saturday afternoon we ventured out to Jacksonville's Museum of Science and History. It starts off with a walk through the human body...


My dad and I thoroughly enjoyed that part. After coming out the other end, they had a nice display on fish and wildlife in Florida (some living, some not).

They also had a big room of animatronic dinosaurs. Katie hated it. Natalie loved it. I had no idea I'd be in Jurassic Park at the museum!

Of course, it had a fun play area for the kids, this one set up as a big tree house.

And then, as we were about to leave, out of the corner of my eye I spotted this giant fountain that I hadn't seen when we drove in. I knew we had to check it out!

And on the way back to where we'd parked the car, a big sea turtle provided the perfect photo opportunity!

We had a pretty fun time and enjoyed getting out and seeing more of the city. We went out for pizza for supper and then retired back to our rooms to prepare for the next day's trip, St. Augustine.

Jacksonville Beach

Saturday morning's weather looked grand, so we headed east to the beach!!!



After getting whacked by the first big blast of salt water, Katie wasn't so sure how much she actually liked the surf. Natalie, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind a bit! Mom and I picked her up time and time again after getting bowled over.

Katie made it her mission to pick up as many shells as she could possibly find. She did a fantastic job!!! After a while, she decided to venture back into the water as long as she had someone holding each hand.

Eventually, Natalie got into the shell collecting as well. I'm mostly putting in this photo because I know it's one of Jennifer's favorites. :)

And then we had a good snack to end our morning at the beach!

We all had a wonderful time. The weather was pleasant, and the breeze off the Atlantic kept it comfortable. I enjoyed watching the surfers, my dad got a kick out of watching a crab wandering around nearby, and we all loved the waves and the sand. In retrospect, we should've spent more days at the beach... Maybe next time. :)

Hands-On Children's Museum

The weather looked suspect when we woke up on Friday, so we scrapped any plans for the beach that day. Once we got everyone up and going, we decided to head to the Hands-On Children's Museum.



Colin wasn't sure we were at the right place, and I will admit, the exterior was a little... tacky? But once inside, we knew we would be spending all morning playing!!! They had a little bank, police station, voting booth, pirate ship, play area, post office, fire station, trains, basketball court, puppet theatre, performance stage, cafe, and tiny Winn Dixie! Wow! Natalie's favorite was most obviously the slide, though she did get away from that to enjoy some other items as well.



The girls enjoyed the fire truck and equipment that was their size.

The post office was a big hit, with a table to color and stamp your own items to put in the mailbox.

One last trip into the ball pit before we left...

For a reasonable price, it kept us entertained all morning. It was also small enough and with an open layout so that we could watch the girls bounce from station to station easily and didn't have to run to keep up with them.

We enjoyed lunch out at Panera, then had a good nap. By afternoon, the sun had come out, and we spent our afternoon in the hotel pool followed by supper in our room. So, although it started off a little slow, it ended up being a great day. :)

We're Outta Here!

Oh, I thought I'd never make it to vacation. In the week or so leading up to it, we dealt with various infection, afflictions, rashes, and other issues, not to mention my Major Problem at work. Making it through Wednesday at work seemed like a major accomplishment!




And Thursday morning, we were off! Colin's mom came to sit with the girls while he and I drove to Enterprise and picked up our minivan -- a maroon Nissan Quest. We packed up, loaded the girls, and took off! The drive went well enough, especially after our lunch break when Colin surprised the girls by setting up our new portable DVD player. They happily watched our Tinkerbell movie the remainder of the drive. :) We picked up my parents at the Jacksonville airport and loaded them in the van as well. Then we went on down to our hotel, Homewood Suites by Hilton.



After getting ourselves settled in, our afternoon/evening was not too eventful. We cruised around the area and found some supper, then went and got a few groceries. My parents hung out with us until it was time for the girls to go to bed. This brought on a new adventure: 2 girls on one air mattress! They have their own rooms at home and have never had to share a bed, so the idea of sleeping together turned into one big party. It was a major ordeal to get them to sleep the first night (and only improved slightly in the remaining nights). Here's a photo after they woke up one morning:






Note on the hotel... We really enjoyed Homewood Suites. They have probably the best free hotel breakfast I've ever had, and on Monday-Thursday evenings, they have a "light snack reception" that includes complimentary drinks and enough "light snack" to feed an army. You wouldn't need dinner after attending that! We observed it but never partook, and I'm a little sad about that. Also, this is the first time we've stayed in a hotel with both girls, and we were really happy we spent a few extra bucks to stay at a place with all suites. It made naptime and bedtime go more smoothly when they could sleep in the living room and Colin and I could still watch TV, read, pack, sleep, etc in the bedroom. We brought the air mattress and it worked better than putting them both on the sleeper sofa. The kitchenette was also a major bonus. For less than $50 at the grocery store, we prepared 3 suppers for ourselves and also had a ton of beverages and snacks. Well worth it!!!

My Current Project

Here you can see my next project, construction of a community collection center (CCC). We currently operate 5 of these facilities where citizens can drop off bulky waste that won't be picked up curbside. This new CCC will replace the older, smaller one on the same property. The old one has room for 5 roll-off containers to place waste into. This one will have 16 roll-off bays! It also has a more functional layout and will be more user-friendly for both the citizens AND the employees that drive the trucks to move the containers around.

There is still much work to be done, but when it's complete, citizens will approach from the right (west) on the picture, loop around the CCC on the east side, and enter near the bottom left (north end -- where you can see the concrete foreman standing in the photo). After checking in with the attendant at that point, they can pull up to a container, unload their waste, and then exit toward the south (top of the photo), back onto the same road they entered on. We will also have room for white goods storage and a collection area for batteries, and the project includes paving of the access road and many stormwater improvements.

This has been a long time coming. We began talking about it in 2005. In fact, it was one of my first projects when I started this job. With the engineer, we began design in 2006 and permitting in 2007. Seriously. Permitting took about a year, which is a ridiculously long time. Then there was some question as to whether or not this would be too expensive to construct, so after going through a long process to add funds to our budget, we were able to go out to bid at the end of 2008. We issued a Notice to Proceed to the contractor in March 2009. We've had ups and downs since then. Boy howdy have we had them... in the middle of one right now but I won't go into it. I almost live at the site. I'm out there every day, sometimes all day, but it's necessary to keep things in order since my budget won't allow a full-time presence by the engineer. Suffice to say, I will be thrilled when this is complete and open to the public!!! October can't come soon enough. :)

Go Tigers!

Katie is playing basketball through the Y this summer and we had our first game on Saturday. I'm the assistant coach for her team this season, paired up with our neighbor Cherie who did such an excellent job during soccer. As usual, the first order of business was selecting a team name. The team voted on Katie's suggestion, Tigers. I guess it was better than the alternative, the Alligator Hippos (well, when you ask 3 and 4 year olds, that's what you get sometimes!).

Our warm-ups consisted of bounce passes, dribbling, and shooting. The ref talked to Cherie and I and told us that at this age, they sometimes blow the whistle on traveling and double dribbling, but they are loosely enforced and never cause a loss of possession. The baskets are 6 ft high, and really, the only rule is to keep all the kids going the right direction. Since we can only play zone defense, Cherie came up with the brilliant idea of bringing her painter's tape and making 5 X-marks on the floor in a 2-3 zone. Unfortunately, it worked a little TOO well. Sometimes our players were so focused on standing on their X with their hands up that they forgot to try and get the ball from the other team!

It was a lot of fun, though. We have an enthusiastic group of kids of all ability levels. One is a little guy with Down's Syndrome, and he is just as sweet as can be. His mom said she hoped this would be good for him because he loves to watch basketball. I think it will be. Cherie mentioned to me afterward that it's good for all of us that he was placed on our team in that she and I probably have the most patience for him. As sad as it is to say, even at this age, a lot of coaches are the hyper-competitive dad type who may not be willing to take the time to work with him. Not us. We look forward to learning with all of our team members this season!

And Katie did very well. She was a little unsure at first and didn't know if she wanted to do warm-ups. She definitely didn't want to start. But when she did get in the game, she was focused, always going the right direction, and even scored a basket in the second half. We were so proud of her. :)

Say What?

As I was cleaning up after supper the other night, which usually involves me sitting down and scrubbing something off the floor because Natalie is a terrible mess, I heard Katie sigh and say, "I can't wait to be a mom. Then I won't have to do any work!"

EXCUSE ME!?!?!

If only she knew... That's why things seem so easy, so effortless around the house for her... I'M the one doing all the work! I don't have to tell my audience (you guys) that -- you're all moms. You know. But, wow, did that really make me feel like no one notices all that I put into it! I know, I should cut her some slack. She's 4. She doesn't realize all the work that goes into being a mom and keeping the house up, as well as having a job outside the home. Talk about feeling unappreciated, though.

And I'm not alone. I told this tale to my friend Itza, and she'd just had a similar experience with her son. He's 14 and he still has the same mindset as Katie, that he can't wait to be an adult so that he won't have to do anything. All this after Itza reminded him to mow the lawn... I say that at 14, if that's all he has to do, he should consider himself lucky! How funny that even though he's 10 years older, he still has the misconception that adults don't do any work. :)

Ironing

Ha! I had a feeling my love of ironing would draw a comment!

Yes, it's true, and I never would've imagined it myself, but I love to iron. I talk about it as though it's drudgery, but I find it's the complete opposite. I get to sit (yes, I adjust the height of the ironing board down so I can sit on the bed) in peace and quiet after the girls are in bed, no distractions, just me and my thoughts and the gentle hissing of steam every so often. My smooth, repetitive motions quickly make a visible difference in removing the wrinkles from the clothing, and I love the satisfaction of seeing the results right before my eyes. So often I feel like I'm working, working, working and never seeing any results. This is one place where I DO see them!

I've heard other people talk about washing dishes in the same manner -- they secretly enjoy performing the task. Not me -- I'll take ironing any day! I confessed this to my parents once and found out my dad feels the same way. :)

Holiday Weekend, Part 4: Back to Reality

Today is Sunday of our holiday weekend, and it was pretty much a regular Sunday. The girls and I went to church while Colin took advantage of our sunny, dry weather to start painting the Princess Fort. Yes, the photos I posted are the last you'll see of it in its natural state! Anyway, after church, the girls and I got groceries, and with the exception of Natalie biting Katie's hand in the dairy aisle, all was well.

The girls napped well, but unfortunately, I didn't get the chance today. I checked email, did laundry, cleaned and oiled my work boots, washed dishes, and folded more laundry before everyone woke up from their nap. In other words, mostly stuff I should've been doing Fri and Sat when I napped instead! Colin got the fort primed and started painting it, but it needs to dry before he can put another coat on. It's looking good! We stayed inside this afternoon and had a giant Play-Doh party until suppertime. It was more relaxing than being out in the sun, and the girls still had fun, so that's a good thing.

After bath, Katie went right to sleep and Natalie fought it tooth and nail, as usual. Once they were finally both down for the count, I ironed clothes, the most relaxing, theraputic part of my day. Now I'm here and starting to conk out myself... Better go before sleep takes over and I'm typing nonsense...

Holiday Weekend, Part 3: Happy 4th of July!

After an action-packed Friday, I was glad that Saturday started off a little more slowly. We started laundry, Colin worked in the garage, I hemmed pants (a necessary evil in my world), and the girls "helped" me and played well together. We also went for a walk around the neighborhood before lunch, so it was a fairly nice morning. The girls and I all had good naps, too, so you can't beat that!

We went out to play in the Princess Fort after we had a snack. Oh, the sandy joy of it all!!!

I love that photo of Natalie! You can see just how dirty she was after we got done playing in the sand.

Colin's parents came over while we were playing and brought giant pinwheels for the girls. That was pretty neat, especially when the wind finally started to blow.

Colin grilled burgers for supper. I'm not sure what he seasoned them with, but they were divine! We had a really good meal, topped off by my Red, White, and Blue dessert -- vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries and blueberries. Yum! I don't think Natalie had ever had a blueberry before, but she couldn't get enough of them.

The girls had to have 2 baths yesterday -- one to knock off all the sand before supper, and one to clean them up a little bit more from the sticky ice cream after supper. That's OK. They really enjoyed themselves, and isn't that how summer's supposed to be? Dirty, bug-bitten, but filled with laughter, shrieking, and lots of fun???

Happy 4th of July, everyone!!!

Holiday Weekend, Part 2: Movies!

As the girls napped on Friday, Colin and I discussed how Katie had never been to a movie at the theater, how she's done well sitting still for Disney on Ice and would probably be OK, and also how she's been talking more and more about movies lately. After they woke up, Colin surprised Katie with the news that he was taking her to a movie! The two of them went to Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and had a fabulous time!!! They even went out for ice cream before coming home. I'm so glad Katie got to enjoy herself at the movies on our day off.

As for Natalie and I, we went shoe shopping. Miss Natalie needed some new shoes, and we were able to get tennis shoes, play sandals, and dress sandals all in one stop. We came back home and played in the sandbox until it was time to make supper. Colin and Katie got back as we were eating. Colin joined right in, but Katie was still wound up from ice cream and didn't eat too much. Oh well... I guess I can let that slide on a holiday weekend!

Holiday Weekend, Part 1: Girls' Morning Out

Colin and I both had Friday off for the holiday. Unfortunately, he still had to go in for the morning to take care of a few issues. I'd already decided the girls and I were going to go out and have some fun.

We started off at the Y, which is something we normally do on Saturday mornings. This was mostly so I could work out, but also partly so I could shower and change and know that they were playing somewhere supervised so I wouldn't have to worry about them. We'd packed snacks with us and went straight from the Y to Target to do our weekly shopping. Another thing on our list was to fill our box for Operation Christmas Child (**see below). I knew things could get contentious if we were buying toys for a child in a faraway land but not for ourselves, so I promised the girls if they were good cooperators, we could go to the mall to play in their awesome indoor play area.

And they were great cooperators, so off to the mall we went! First the girls played with the small toys in the family bathroom as I brushed my teeth. Then we were out in the big play area for quite some time. After that, Katie asked if we could ride the carousel, something we've never done at the mall. I told her we only could if: A. Natalie was big enough to go, and B. I had enough money. I did have enough change, and Natalie was big enough, PLUS, as a bonus, parents can ride free when accompanying a child less than 42" tall. Woohoo! I stood between them and we all had a blast. After a little more time in the play area, we ate at the Chick-Fil-A in the food court and then came home. It was delicious, but perhaps the highlight of lunch was the toy cows that come with the kids meal. :)

We got home and started getting ready for nap just as Colin arrived back at the house. He was amazed at the action-packed morning we'd had! We all had fun, and although sometimes tiring to take both girls all over town by myself, it was worth it and a fabulous way to spend my day off from work.

**Operation Christmas Child is a mission project through Samaritan's Purse that our church participates in every year. Although the boxes are collected nationwide in November and distributed around the world for Christmas, our church has chosen to fill the boxes over the summer to remind us that missions projects aren't just for Thanksgiving and Christmas; there are people needing our assistance every day. Katie and Natalie were wonderful helpers in picking out toys and goodies for a girl, aged 2-4, that may not get any other presents. I hope this experience, and other ways that they've helped me, such as sorting clothes for donations and bringing items to the food pantry, will help them to see that you can do little things to make a big difference in someone else's life.