Of Tidepools and Everglades

One of the things we love about Vilano Beach and St. Augustine is that it is so much more than sand and water. Don't get me wrong . . . there is, indeed, lots of sand (Stayc can attest to that), and lots of water, but there is so much to do beyond the beach and the pool.

One of the kids' favorite things to do is visit the tidepools. They are about a mile down the beach from our condo, so we have to walk to get there, but it is well worth the hike (and the journey itself is part of the fun).

The tidepools only manifest themselves at low tide (natch). Then the beach is one huge landscape of sandbars and shimmering pools of clear water. The silty sand is perfect for drip castles, and the kids could seriously spend hours making them (and did).

During the week we were at Vilano Beach, low tide was rather early at about 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. This turned out to be really nice because our long walks along the beach to the tidepools were untainted by both a too-hot sun and crowds of beachgoers. We had the entire beach nearly to ourselves.

 

In addition to the tidepools (and the shells and sharks' teeth, which I mentioned in the previous post), there is another side of nature to explore at Vilano Beach, as it is located on a thin strip of land situated between the Atlantic Ocean and Florida's Intracoastal waterways (like much of the Atlantic coastline). There's beach on one side, and if you're lucky, Everglades on the other.

This year, we decided to explore to the north a bit more and found some lovely nature reserves just 10 miles north of us along A1A (these we drove to, not walked :). There were all sorts of trails through the Everglades leading to the Intracoastal.

Since we didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into, we were not exactly dressed for a major hike through the Everglades (hello flip-flops and swimsuits). So we took a short one mile trail out to the water. Next time, we'll gear up with tennis shoes and bug spray and explore more of the trails and scenery. You always need something to keep you coming back for more!

Welcome to Summer! or A Florida Adventure

Let the summer begin!!!!! Well, at least let the blogging of summer begin, because, let's face it, summer is nearly over. What better way to relive it than through my blog!

I like starting summer off with a bang, something to let us know, "YES, this is really summer!" Also, since Stayc left in June to go to China for three and a half weeks, we needed to get some vacation time in before he left. We decided that a week in St. Augustine, Florida soon after school ended would fit the bill nicely.

We loved our stay in St. Augustine last summer, so I contacted the people whose condo we rented and we got the same place as last year on Vilano Beach. It's the perfect size for our little family, there's a great pool, a Publix a couple of blocks away, it's just minutes away from Old St. Augustine, and the beach is right out our back door. It's perfect!

Vilano Beach is also just slightly off the beaten path, and home to so may private residences, that it is perfectly isolated and uncrowded. It's really hard to beat.

We brought boogie boards like last year, but we splurged on a nicer one this year. Next year we'll buy a second nicer one and the kids won't have to take turns.

 We also brought a beach umbrella this year, so even though Stayc was ready to go in by 9:00 a.m. (not kidding here), I was good reading a book under my umbrella for half the day.

We fall into a rhythm at the beach. Stayc and Lutece go for their early morning walks while Phoenix and I sleep in a little longer. After breakfast, we all go out for a morning walk on the beach. By 9:00 a.m., Stayc is ready to go in, and the kids and I stay out on the beach for another couple of hours. The kids go into the pool and swim before lunch. After lunch, we rest, read, watch cartoons, and then head out for our afternoon adventures around town. In the evening, we go out on the beach again. So lovely!

 

We were luckier than last year, and we found numerous fossilized sharks teeth on our walks along the beach. Lutece got really good at picking them out of the sand and came home with a pile of them.

That's why in nearly all of the pictures I have of her, she's looking down. Gotta keep your eyes open for those sharks teeth! We loved our week in Florida . . . more to come.

Odds & Ends ~ Spring Edition

As I close out my reminiscing of spring for our family, there are, as always, random odds and ends that didn't quite make it into a post:

1. Phoenix got to go on an overnight field trip with all the 4th graders at his school. It was put on by 4-H in conjunction with the University of Kentucky. He had a blast.

It was a rainy couple of days, but they still managed to have lots of interesting classes and fun activities . . . including KP duty (see top) and a class on native Kentucky mammals (above).

I attended the overnighter as a chaperone and, along with two friends (other moms from Phoenix's class), was in charge of a large cabin full of girls. I also had a blast!

2. With the days getting lighter as we moved toward summer, Lutece had problems getting to sleep at night. She decided to sew herself a sleep mask to combat the issue.

She actually used it for a couple of weeks at the end of the school year.

3. With summer in our sights, I loaded up on new books at the Scholastic Educators' sale. I use these books as summer reading prizes for the kids. Every time they complete a library reading log, they can choose a free book from our selection.

Those library reading logs also get put in a raffle to win some prizes from the library. After 8 years of trying, Lutece finally WON the library's raffle! Woot! She and Phoenix promised each other they would split the prize if either of them won, so they each got half of a $25 gift card to Joseph Beth Booksellers. Eighth time's a charm!

4. All the schools do award programs at the end of the year, and the kids were both recognized for various awards they'd earned throughout the year. Lutece was pleased to receive the Poe Award for Creativity from her Language Arts teacher who said something to the effect of, "Lutece is the most weirdly creative student I've had in a long while." Compliment? We'll take it.

It's not surprising to receive a creativity award for language arts, but we were a little surprised to find that she'd ALSO won a creativity award in Math. She had made a wacky little Powerpoint presentation to explain a certain math concept. Maybe that was it? Our crazily creative Lutece.

She was also recognized for winning the District Science Fair. She racked up the awards this year.

Phoenix also had a good awards showing. He was also recognized for his wins in the Governor's Cup competition, but the real surprise was that he won third prize in his division in the school's Art Show. I didn't even know he'd entered. He won a ribbon and a large basket full of art supplies, which he used all summer long. Awesome!

5. MY end-of-year award was a new car.

After researching and test-driving what felt like every car on the market (but was really only a moderate selection) for a couple of months, we finally decided on a 2015 Subaru Outback. Then we found a dealership that would sell it to us for the price we wanted to pay.

On the first day of summer for the kids, we drove down to Louisville together and picked up our new Subbie. Love it!

And then we proceeded to drive it all over the country and put 7,000 miles on it within three months. I STILL love it! Let's hope I can say that in 10 years.

All in all, a good spring.

The End of Spring

At the end of last spring, we went on a few fun family forays (alliteration intentional, thankyouverymuch). Oddly enough, even though we had a few days tacked onto the school year to make up for snow days, they also gave the kids a couple of days off for various reasons.

On one of these days, we went strawberry picking at a farm/orchard in Versailles. The strawberries were absolutely delicious, but definitely not cheap. Ack.

Another day we went out to Anglin Falls in Berea for a hike. The kids love hiking there because of the huge boulders near the falls.

There's always an element of danger.

It also gave Stayc a chance to try out his new GoPro camera. How Stayc loves his electronic gadgets.

Finally, on Memorial Day, the kids insisted we have our own Memorial Day Fun Run, so we walked to the Arboretum and ran a mile . . . then hiked around some more . . . then walked home. The kids were tired!

Which means success for us, the parents. Tired, worn-out kids = kids who sleep well.

While we were at the Arboretum, hiking around the wooded area, an older Chinese gentleman asked if we could take a picture of him and his wife for them. They were in the US visiting their son who is a student at UKY. Then he asked if he could return the favor by taking a picture of us. Uhhhh . . . sure.

So he took a picture, then another, then three more, then even more. He kept making us switch up poses and positions. It was sooooo Chinese! We finally had to gently tell him that we had enough pictures and that the kids would not pose for any more :).

All Things Musical

It may have been a musical year for the kids, but that doesn't mean they enjoyed it :). Actually, Lutece seems to enjoy music quite a lot. She has continued with piano of her own free will and volition (mostly). She continues to perform in recitals and festivals, and we enjoy hearing her play.

She also continues to play trumpet in her middle school band, which she also enjoys. She has set a personal goal to make it into the district-wide middle school honor band this year.

She also managed to get herself into a sixth grade Columbian dance troop (headed by her Spanish teacher, who is, you guessed it!, Columbian).

They performed at a big Latino festival in our city for Cinco de Mayo. I *think* she enjoyed the experience, but she just recently informed me that she did not want to do it again this year. Sounds good.

Phoenix does NOT enjoy all things musical (much to Stayc's chagrin). But he was required to perform in his school's final Spring show, and if you can find his sweet little face in this picture, you win a prize :). Stayc finally let him quit piano this summer, which has made our lives SO. MUCH. EASIER. (We weren't actually forcing him to play piano, it was just an expectation to practice every day that Phoenix never challenged. When we gave him the option to not do it, he jumped at the chance.)

Nevertheless, we are just as proud of him. He has other interests. Also, he has to play an instrument in the school band this year, so we still win :).

Spring Sports

Continuing with all things Spring, the kids both played sports during April and May (and into June in Phoenix's case). As usual, Lutece played soccer.

She was on the same team as last fall and enjoyed herself. Stayc acted as Assistant Coach and also enjoyed it. He had a hard time giving up control in the fall, but I think by the spring he was accustomed to it and relieved to not be the one in charge.

Lutece is now in the 6th through 8th grade range, so she was one of the smallest girls on the field (if not the smallest), but her entire team was fairly young, evenly divided between 6th and 7th graders, so she fit in nicely. It was a fun season.

"Fine, I will fake smile for you. Just take the picture!"

Phoenix, on the other hand, begged me to play baseball in the spring. I conceded with some reservations (he IS my child, after all, so I know very well his history with organized sports). As I feared, when it came time to go to practices, he whined and fussed and didn't want to go, and, yes, I forced him to follow through.

"Did you take the picture? Have you taken the picture? I can't hold this smile for much longer."

Fortunately, things got much better. He got to know the boys on his team, he had a great coach, and he improved considerably as the season wore on.

"Ok, now you're just making me angry. Take the picture, will you!!!

The whining ceased and we all had fun going to the games. A note about his coach: He was a college senior at UKY who volunteered because the league didn't have enough coaches. He played Eastern Little League during his youth, and his father had been the President of the league for many years. His parents both came to all the games and rooted for the boys by name. He was a fantastic coach and had a lot of very involved dads as assistant coaches. We couldn't have asked for a better team this year.

Phoenix got to choose his own number. Don't even ask me. I have no idea.

All in all, a good year of spring sports for the DuBravacs.

Easter Bags & Easter Buns

Oooo, I took a nice two month hiatus from blogging again . . . and I'd aaaaallllmost made it through the spring. Drat!

We arrived home from D.C. just a day before Easter Sunday, which meant I could keep Easter fairly low-key this year. Luckily, I'd already made and purchased all the goodies for it. No procrastinating here! Gotta keep the anxiety at bay :).

The kids have been needing new church bags for a while, so I made these simple lined tote bags using this awesome tutorial. I love the stuff on Purl Bee. So classy. Then I filled the totes with some churchy things. They each held a notebook, a pencil and pen, a pencil sharpener, a pack of coloring instruments (pencils for Phx, markers for Lutece), a pack of gum, and a book (that was the one non-churchy item).

Aaaaaaaand the Easter baskets held the candy.

Because it's just not Easter without it . . . no matter what anyone tries to tell you.

I thought the hot cross buns were good, but the kids were not as excited by them. Fine. Next year I'm sticking with something more recognizable and easier to make . . . like candy.