jail birds and fancy birds

this was the first year for us to visit the old jail in st. augustine. i was always curious about the tour, and we thought the kids would have fun playing in the jail cells. plus, their pappy is a sheriff deputy, and caroline loves to say that "pappy shoots the bad guys." we're working on editing that exclaimation to be a little more accurate as "pappy catches the bad guys", but it's a work in progress... anyway, we thought the kids would love to see where the bad guys actually go. well, the tour of the old jail was a little more "guided" than i thought it would be, so we all the kids kind of melted down by the end of the tour. but we were able to see several interesting things before we skipped out early... we saw where two men were hanged, actual jail cells, and the sheriff's quarters. (how'd you like to live at the jail!?) we also saw these "jail bird cages" where they would hang lawbreakers in a tree for 24 hours. with no potty breaks. i think miss ida said that this is where the term "jailbird" came from, but i could be wrong. we were chasing three kids around, so the details are a bit fuzzy. but it makes sense to me. :) the kids loved playing in this cage. i asked miss ida if we could just keep them in there and come back in a couple of hours, but apparently that is only a part of the deluxe tour package.

here is our tour guide, miss ida. she carried that wooden spoon around the whole time. and i had to laugh because before our vacation, we altered our discipline tactics to include the use of a wooden sppon. and here was miss ida. at the jail. wavin' that wooden spoon around. as you can see, caroline was not too happy about the presence of the spoon. as she says at home, "no fanking with a foon! no fanking with a foon!"


ethan looks way too happy to be in jail. meanwhile, the girls are still thinkin' about that wooden spoon...



can i get one of these made for my house!? (ok, you all know i'm just kidding. in case a stranger is reading this blog, i do not punish my children with bird cages and stockades. but they may have just had somethin' goin' back then...)



this picture makes me laugh really really hard. apparently, i am being arrested for cutting off the sheriff's ear!



this statue is a life size depiction of the sheriff from back in the day. we were told that he was a very intimidating man. my kids didn't get that memo. :) i have another picture of ethan standing there with his finger up his nose.




one of our favorite spots in st. augustine is the fountain of youth. the whole "fountain of youth" part is pretty hokey if you ask me, but the grounds of this park are wonderful. it's shady and green, and there are peacocks everywhere. this was our final destination on the day that never ended around town. we arrived just in time for perfect photography lighting. while i fed amelia, brian took the following pictures of the kids. the first picture represents the typical scenario on our vacation: me nursing amelia (not pictured!), brian taking pictures, and kristie entertaining the older kids! i wish i was kidding. kristie really is amazing. :) the kids enjoyed climbing on the rocks and dancing around the statue.




and here we go...

to find this guy!

the peacocks here are just gorgeous. as you can see below, the kids were enamored with the beautiful birds. or they just liked climbing up on the fence...





this last picture is one of my very favorites from our whole vacation. seeing those two little girls walking toward the cross reminds me of what it is all about. the Cross. may our faces be ever turned toward it.