Under water

Here are some photos I promised earlier. These are from the disposable water-proof camera that we finally managed to get developed.

These first few photos are from tubing down the creek behind our house. This was something we enjoyed often this past summer. Lucy saw this photos and shouted, "Havin' MUNA'S in the TUBIN'!" Please excuse my expanse of pasty white skin.

These are from the ocean on our trip. Eli's favorite thing to do was fall back into the waves.

Front Page News

(Under this post is another new post.)

A few weeks ago, we went raspberry picking at a local farm. A photographer for the paper showed up and took plenty of photos of us. The next morning, a few sections into the paper, there was a photo of Charlotte and Lucy. Several days later, up popped a picture of Elijah picking berries from the same day. And then today, there we were again. On the front page, at that!

Michael has suggested that perhaps it's been a slow news week. Or maybe their camera has broken and this is all they have...? :)

The Update-FULL update

Since our last update was so boring and empty, I thought I'd ensure this one was full of lots of new things. That's my excuse as to why I have taken so long to write again. And I'm sticking to it. :P

So what's been going on....Well, Elijah decided to start attending school again. This was a long, drawn out decision on every one's part. What he disliked about homeschooling was what everyone typically sees as the benefits of homeschooling! He loves a very structured environment. He loves having a strict line-up of school work, with detailed instructions and alot of what I call "busy work." He even said, "I don't like that we can just up and do whatever each day." What??? That's the COOL part!

I prefer to have a looser approach to schooling. I would have loved to follow his interests rather than stick to strict curriculum. I wanted to do hands on learning rather than text books. But he didn't feel comfortable with this. And to be honest, with 3 children, it was getting incredibly difficult to give him what he wanted and needed, along with what the girls wanted and needed, and still keep my ideals of homeschooling.

It was all dissolving right before my eyes. He was getting *less* than at home than he could have gotten at school. At school, he was getting *more* hands on activities and fun learning. At home, he was sitting at the table, reading textbooks and writing answers, with commotion all around him. While it was as close as I could provide to a structured environment like what he wanted, it was loud and busy and not conducive to learning. And since my reasoning for homeschooling (learning in a more "live" environment) was not what he wanted, I felt lost because now I could see little reason to keep him home.

So off he went. We've put some rules in place as far as after school activities and keeping in close contact with his teacher in order to stay a step ahead of some of the burgeoning social issues we were encountering last year. But he's very happy and I can tell, in my heart, that this is what's best for him.

Charlotte still stays home with me in the morning. She chooses to go to school in the afternoon for free time and "Specials" (gym, music, art, etc.) It's hard to let go of the image I had in mind of us as a total homeschooling family but this "parenting stuff" isn't easy. It's give and take. It's listening to my children and allowing them a voice in our decisions about them. Sometimes, they know better than me about themselves. Who woulda thunk it?

The update-less update

I wasn't able to update the last few days because my internet access was pretty much non-existent since my post about our Lost in the Hills experience. When I was able t0 get it to work, my computer would freeze up. I was able to get on for a few seconds at one point and wasted it on Facebook.

We had little planned for the trip home and to be honest, even though we had a great time, everyone was excited to get back here. We pretty much drove straight through although we drove a bit to the west so as to see some different things. It made for a longer trip but it was nice to not return the same way we drove down. Especially since I was driving for a good percentage and didn't want to drive anywhere near NJ and NYC. I can't stand busy traffic!

We made a few stops here and there. Here's a great tip: Don't ever spend your money at the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum. Instead, just read the book. It's a bunch of rooms with plaques on the walls with the same information you can see in those pages.

So anyway, we're home. We had a great time. I'm hoping we didn't bring home Swine Flu along with our shoes full of sand and Charlotte's pockets of rocks and seashells.

Home Sweet Home

We’re home! I’ll update soon but as of right now, I’m enjoying my bed and having my own bathroom.  (Why did so much of our trip center on funny / embarrassing / unfortunate bathroom incidents?)

S.O.S.

If you don't hear from us in a few days, send out a search party for us. We are somewhere on a dirt road high, high in the hills of Tennessee. Also, send a formal complaint to the Garmin GPS company.

WHERE ARE WE???

See? This is how scared we are.

P.S. We made it down. It seems few people around here have running water because at the bottom of the hill, there was a rundown shack advertising hot showers.

Day Eleven: Swim with the fishes

Today we headed back to Atlanta to go to the world’s biggest aquarium. We saw whales, sharks, octopuses, and jelly fish. We touched rays and starfish and anemones. The size of the tanks was amazing. There was even a tunnel where we could walk through with millions of gallons of water and thousands of sea creatures directly above you. It was pretty amazing to see a manta ray and a hammerhead swim over us.

Our tent site was right near a lake and we had friendly ducks come to us for food. We saw several herons out on the water and there was a goose that must have been the campground Welcoming Committee.

Once back in our tent, we played the Story Game where we all took turns adding a sentence or two to an ongoing story. It involved a bear and some wizards and ended with a walking butt who had 87 arms. Don’t ask.

Day Ten: "Sock Man? I need socks. STAT!"

We were hit by a thunderstorm during the night. With lightening, thunder, and pelting rain, our tent leaked and the sides caved in from the wind. And yet, all three kids slept right through it. I guess that’s a good sign that they are wearing themselves out with fun during the day.

After drying out our tent and packing up, we got on the road for a long drive. We were heading towards Georgia for a stop at the Coca-Cola museum. Along the way, we drove past The Sock Man. 4 packs for $10. AND he delivers! Can you even begin to imagine a scenario that would necessitate the speedy delivery of your socks?

The World of Coca-Cola was *So. Much. Fun.* After looking at the history of the soda from it’s very beginnings to its rise to pop culture, we were able to see rooms full of Coke products and memorabilia. It was really amazing to see some of the failed products they had as well as some of the strange products they sell around the world. We were also able to see a bottling plant in action which the kids were fascinated by. The kids loved the 4-D movie with moving seats, blasts of air, and sprays of water all timed to coincide with the content of the film.

This is the couch from the American Idol 2005 season.

Waiting for the 4-D movie.

The finale of the tour was the “Taste It” room where we were able to taste nearly 70 drinks produced by Coca-Cola from around the world. This was such a blast. The drinks included juices, flavored waters and carbonated beverages. Some of them were great. Mike and I really loved Bitter Lemon from England. Charlotte loved a type of Ginger Ale from somewhere in Africa. Eli’s favorite was Coke. The worst flavor of all is called Beverly from Italy. This bitter drink is made from the rind of the grapefruit and while it’s first taste is deceiving, it’s after-taste leaves you wanting to scratch out your taste buds.

Tastes from Europe:

Across the street from the museum, we played at a park and then we hit a Jamaican restaurant for dinner. Our camp site was in Stone Mountain Park which is a beautiful area right outside Atlanta. Tomorrow we’ll be visiting the largest aquarium in the country.