Wordless Wednesday

Just another day in paradise.....

Feeding a turtle at the Shell Factory in Fort Myers.

There is no shortage of nature preserves in this area of the country. We have seen so much in our few days here. It's interesting when we come upon a raccoon or oppossum, the kids skip over them and usually say something like "We have those in Pennsylvania." The alligators are especially interesting to us. Today we had an opportunity to feed alligators.



Enjoying Florida oranges and orange ice cream.


This is our last day here and tonight we are hoping to get one more chance to see a sunset on the Gulf of Mexico.

Beach Day!

Here are some random pictures of us at the beach today. Just for fun.


Learning how to use a boogie board.

A little alcove on the beach with picnic tables where we set up and had lunch.

Too cool for words.

Aaaaah! She's turned into a mermaid!

Visiting Florida

Just another reason to love homeschooling. We are visiting family and have the opportunity to see, touch, taste, smell and hear what life is like in Florida.

We got to touch alligators.







My aunt has citrus trees growing in her yard. (This is a lime tree)




She also has tiny lizards running around her yard. Can you see the one in this picture?


We saw the sun set on the Gulf of Mexico last night. Unfortunately, the batteries in my camera were dead last night and this was the best picture I could get tonight.


We are here for a few more days. The kids can't wait to see what we will experience tomorrow. This is homeschooling at its finest. Once again, they are learning so much - where Florida is on the map, what the state capital is, and how the flora and fauna are different from what we have at home in Pennsylvania. I could have handed them a book on Florida and asked them to learn the contents, instead this is a learning experience they will remember for many years to come. I realize not everyone has the resources to have experiences like this for their kids. However, I encourage anyone who is presented with an experience opportunity to embrace it and enjoy witnessing the learning that happens.

Niagara Falls

Isn't it amazing how when you return from a vacation, even if the vacation was only a couple of days, that it takes time to "recover" from it? We went to Niagara Falls, Canada two weeks ago for four days and I feel like our household is just now getting back to "normal". Weird.

Our vacation was great. It was sunny and 70 degrees the entire time. We stayed at Embassy Suites that overlooks the falls. The price of the hotel was a little more that what we might normally pay, but we got so much. We stayed in a suite that had a living room area, a small area with a microwave and refrigerator and a bedroom. With 3 children, that was nice because the oldest slept on the pull out sofa in the living room. Plenty of room for everyone.

The hotel included a breakfast buffet that was out of this world. There were omelet chefs and you could get eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, fresh fruit, yogurt, etc, etc. We took the kids to eat breakfast around 10 or 10:30 and that lasted through lunch. For dinner we went to a local grocery store and got frozen dinners and stuff for salads and sandwiches and sat in our room looking at the falls while we ate. Since we did that, we didn't feel the need to go up in the Skylon Tower and have dinner. That was $35 a person!

Yes, we did go on the Maid of the Mist. "Maid of the Mist" sounds so delicate, but it was quite the adventure. Despite the perfect weather, when we got to the base of the falls, the boat rocked and we were pelted with rain. My 4 year old son will tell you right out that he hated that ride. The rest of us loved it. My daughters brought home their blue ponchos for souvenirs.

We also got to see a rainbow on the falls every day.

We had plenty of opportunity to stand and look at the falls and just marvel at the enormity of it all. We were reminded of God's power every time we stood there and heard the thundering of the water pouring over the edge to the depths below. In his own words, my 4 year old son explained to the rest of us that God spoke the falls into being because that's all God has to do if He wants to make something.

I could go on rambling about this trip. It was one of the best vacations of my life and it was one of those where I didn't want to leave. So I'll just add a few more pictures here and stop typing.

Hubby got a picture of me doing what I always do - taking pictures.