the fountain of youth...for the birds!

our favorite new adventure in st. augustine was our visit to the fountain of youth! most of this attraction was just as cheesy as we expected, but it was neat to see the grounds where the europeans first set foot on our country. we were offered a taste of the water (full of 42 minerals!), but brian and i declined. nana & pappy will attest that at least 40 of those 42 minerals are SULFUR! the actual history lesson about ponce de leon discovering la florida was pretty interesting, but what we will remember most is the peacocks! these beautiful, loud birds roamed the fountain of youth grounds, and boy, were they a show! as we arrived, a colorful peacock was doing his mating song and dance around a (single white) female, but i was too slow to get it on camera... then we turned around to find a white peacock walking on top of one of the buildings! i had never seen a white peacock, much less one on a rooftop! later, nana bought some peanuts for ethan to feed to the peacocks. ethan stood still and allowed the peacocks to eat the peanuts right out of his hand! he just giggled and giggled as their beaks brushed against his ticklish palm. he even chased a few around the yard, trying to convince them to eat more peanuts. he was so cute. :)





caroline fell fast asleep during a very very cheesy planetarium exhibit at the fountain of youth. that was worth $7 admission just to put her to sleep... and pappy wasn't too far behind her- ha! i was happy that she was finally getting a nap that afternoon, but i hated that she was missing the amazing sight of the peacocks! i could not believe that she was sleeping through their incredibly loud mating calls. after about 20 minutes, she woke up just in time to see a quacking duck fly across the path. if she had not been in a semi-sleeping state, she would have quacked back at that duck for sure! a few minutes later, she was back to her normal self and was squawking back at all those peacocks! she would have tried to ride one if we'd have let her run around! the picture below is a little tribute to caroline's experience at the fountain of youth... from sound asleep to a little confused to squawking at the peacocks!


here are two little video clips of ethan feeding the peacocks... you might want to turn your volume down for the second one! (and please ignore the shutter sounds and crazy videography in that one too... i was videoing with one camera and taking pictures with another while brian held sleeping caroline! i nearly strangled myself with all the straps around my neck! ha!)

clang, clang, clang went the trolley!

i guess we should all just assume from now on that it will take me at least a week after coming home from a trip to post pictures. :) my ideal would be to unload the car, walk in the house, upload pictures, and share all my memories that very evening! maybe one day that will happen, but probably not for the next 20 years!

the big excitement for ethan about going to st. augustine was riding the trolley!!!! i don't know if he remembered riding it last year, but he knew that it had wheels and an engine and somewhat resembled a train! so this boy was ready to ride!


on tuesday, the first day of our trip, we'd planned to be downtown most of the day, which meant we'd be on the trolley a good amount of time. so we all pumped ethan up about riding the trolley that day... a lot. well, i had not planned on it being 60 degrees, overcast, and WINDY! while our past experience with the trolley had been a shady and breezy haven from the sun-scorched streets of downtown st. augustine, the shade and the breeze were not welcome guests this day. it was COLD. and i was in capris and flipflops. poor ethan's goal was to ride the trolley as much as possible that day, and after about 5 minutes of chilled tourism, my mission was to get off that trolley as soon as possible to find a sunny place to warm up! by thursday, i got my wish, and it was nice and sunny and 80 degrees. that was more like it! we did ride the trolley a good bit more that day, so i think ethan got his trolley fill.


above, you see the trolley on one of the most beautiful streets in st. augustine, and really, anywhere. i love love love canopies of oak trees... especially when i am not responsible for clearing off the leaves. :) my favorite memory of riding the trolley this year was watching ethan enjoy it so much. as the tour guide highlighted historic landmarks of the city, he inevitably said "st. augustine" every 30 seconds or so. ethan noticed evvvvvvverrrrrrrrrytime! he turned to nana and exclaimed, "HE said st. AUGustine!" and 30 seconds later..."nana! HE said st. augustine AGAIN!" he had everybody around us laughing.


i was really counting on caroline falling asleep and resting a little on the trolley this year, but uhhh, who was i kidding? she takes after her momma and does not want to miss a thing! caroline thrilled on having the wind blow in her face, and she also loved smiling and waving at everyone. here are a couple of shots of her as we rode. brian thought i was NUTS for putting my favorite hat on her on an open moving vehicle on a windy day, but it was worth this picture, i think. :) and for the record, we still have the hat. :)





well, i have plenty more to share, but it's already past my bedtime... so stay tuned for more adventures from the old city!

seeds lead to roots

well, vacation laundry is just about done, and i can't wait to post pictures from our trip. but until then, i thought i'd share what we've been listening to while i fold laundry... and in the car... while the kids play...and, well, whenever we can! seeds family worship cds are wonderful and encouraging and beautifully written. they are scriptures put to great, great music. there are 4 different albums available, and i have downloaded 2 of them from itunes. we have the "faith" and "purpose" cds so far. by the 3rd day that we'd listened to them, ethan was walking around the house singing, "he is a new creation, he is a new creation". his other favorites are "treasure" and "whatever you do" on seeds of purpose and "the light of the world" on seeds of faith. my choice picks are "grace" and "hey man" on seeds of faith. the true testimony to these albums is that brian can listen to them and not get tired or annoyed by them. imagine that-- a kids' cd with the daddy stamp of approval! a friend of ours (an adult, though quite the kid at heart) described the songs as "rockin'". i really have a mission to get all my friends with children hooked on these cds! :) our babies' brains are SPONGES-- God has created them to amazingly soak up whatever they are hearing, and i can think of nothing better for them to be soaking up than the Word of God!

2 timothy 3:14-17
but as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
you can download these scriptures set to music from itunes individually or by album. if you are not an itunes user, you can also order them from cbd or download them from their website. our main local christian bookstore did not have them in stock when i called (to save you local folks a trip). i just wanted to get the word out about these cds if you have not already heard of them. and if you have, shame on you for not telling me about them earlier!! :) (just kidding...)

what is your family listening to right now? please share!

we're home from the old city!

we've spent the past week in st. augustine with brian's parents, and boy, did we have a great time! we saw some of our favorite sights of the old city, and we also had some new adventures along the way. one of brian's friends at work generously loaned us his canon rebel xti...this was so much fun! i can't wait to share all the pictures we took! at one point, i was videotaping with our camera and snapping pictures with the xti... i just about strangled myself with all the straps around my neck! haha!

it's good to be home. there's laundry to do and lots of travel stuff to unpack, but i hope to post some pictures tonite or tomorrow. so check back soon!

our top 10 disney adventures

here's a recap of our most memorable disney attractions. we highly recommend these for a date night at disney!

10. wishes: magic kingdom fireworks
9. christmas candlelight processional (epcot)
8. riding a segway at epcot
7. kilamanjaro safari (animal kingdom)
6. turtle talk with crush (epcot)
5. animation academy (mgm)
4. christmas festival of lights (mgm)
3. rock n' roller coaster (mgm)
2. soarin (epcot)
1. expedition everest (animal kingdom)

aw man, making this list makes me want to go back! what are your favorite disney spots?