Mystery, Memories , and Military Don'ts!

Have ever wondered why, when your about to go on vacation, you can't wait for it to begin? And when reality has hit you and it's your last day of your vacation, you hurry up to get things pack, and ready so you can hurry back home and get back to routine? Weird!!! Anyone every think that way? Maybe it's a safety switch in my brain that turns on, otherwise I would stay on vacation FOREVER!!! I was thinking about that this morning. We had fun. ALOT of fun. So much fun, that I'm not sure what to say, and what pictures to put on the blog. SO, I guess the easiest way is to list some highlights, and pictures with it. Here goes:
During our drive to Fort Clinch, we saw a rocking chair that was 30 feet tall and a gigantic orange that was about 15 feet tall. While we were at Fort Clinch, it rained almost everyday we were there. However, it gave us a chance to test out Rocky's weather worthy material. He passed with flying colors. But it did get pretty windy...EXTREMELY windy one night. We were very concerned about the awning,but it was fine. Dan didn't get much sleep that night.



We went to Fort CLinch and learned some interesting history about the fort and Fernandina beach, and we went to the historic part of Fernandina Beach. Dan even took me dancing on our last night there. We ate dinner at THe Florida House, and they "tried" to teach us how to do the Carolina Shag. IT WAS FUN. However, Dan and I can not help our friends learn this dance , due to we had to switch partners EVERY time we learned a new move. HOW UNCOMFORTABLE. Hello, my name is Cindy. I have no idea who you, now, take my hand in yours, and lets boogie....VERY ODD FEELING. I was so concerned with trying not to step on the men's feet, that I completetly forgot the steps. Needless to say, Dan and I hardly got to dance with each other, at all. I even had to dance solo so other ladies could dance with a partner...yes, my husband Dan!!! He was BUSY with the ladies...HEEEE,HEE,HEEEE... AWKWARD!. But, most of the people we danced with were very nice, and even talked and tried to help Dan and I. You have to be smooth, one lady said. And smooth was not the way to describe how we were dancing. More like stepping on sandspurs barefooted. Ouch, ewww, . It was a hoot. But I have to say, I HAVE THE BEST HUSBAND IN ALL OF THE WORLD. Dancing is not on his... top things I want to do on vacation, and he was a trooper.




Our main activity was off-road biking. Yes, we bought 2 off-road bycicles, and wore our helmets bravely, and went for it. WHAT A BLAST. We finally found something Dan enjoys doing that does not require us to leave the state. YEAH!!! We did a total of about 12-15 miles Dan said during our entire vacation. Our friends Ed and Sue were with us at Fort CLinch, and shared in the excitement. The trails were definetly more challenging at Fort Clinch, and it was exhilarating. Nothing like a few bike rides up steep sand dunes and backwoods trails to remind you just how out of shape one has become. UGGG! GET PEDALING!!!!NO PAIN NO GAIN!!!! We also went to the beach.
The mystery of the holes in the sand was solved...CRABS! We went boogie boarding with Ed and Sue and tried to recreate Fort CLinch with our sand castle skills (lack of) but it was fun. Swimming, bonding, YEAH!!!. Oh, and found out, thanks to 2 kind spectators on the beach, that we were swimming with SHARKS!!! Yes, SHARKS!!! They actually were VERY CLOSE, VERY CLOSE, to Ed and Sue. These sharks were in the shallow part of the surf too. Sue mentioned after that she thought she saw them swimming around when the four of us were trying to see how far our boogie boards would bring us to shore, but was not sure if that's what she saw. Well, it was. They were baby sharks, only about 3 feet long. TO long, for my comfortor. Here, let me dangle my limbs off my boogie board for you...hungry for a mid-morning snack? We saw 4 sharks at the next campground too. It was our last morning, and decided not to go swimming. But we watched the pack, move it's way down to a group of about 12 swimmers. Um, Hello, Mr. Lifeguard, do you mind ....DO YOUR JOB, SHARK! SHARK! get out of the water people! The lifeguard didn't seem to be concerned...He was swimming in the area we first noticed the sharks, and DID NOT get out of the water. I guess these were friendly sharks...Humans are friends, not food! Sure!

We also went to the Museum of Science and History, the Maritime Museum, Jacksonville Landing, and tried not to go completly insane while driving around downtown Jacksonville looking for these places. Lesson learned...CHECK YAHOO MAPS AND DIRECTIONS BEFORE LEAVING HOME.

We drove our car onto a ferry and road across the St. Johns River. FUN!!! That was a first. We had a wonderful meal at Singleton's Seafood Shack which was next to the ferry entrance.


Oh, and our BIGGEST lesson learned... if you are ever in the quaint little town of Mayport Florida, DO NOT turn right at Wonderwood dr. This takes you to the United States Naval Base. We learned that the HARD way, and backed up traffic for a mile while the kind military police cleared us to enter the base only to make a U-turn. The military frowns on that and claiming ignorance as an excuse WILL NOT be helpful to your case and WILL NOT get the nice military personal inside the base to smile. OH WELL!! ATTENTION CIVILIAN!
Finally our way home included some interesting info. Did you know that Florida has a city named Switzerland. Yes you can get chocolate there, but it's from the one and only Jiffy store, and it was a Hersheys candybar. I don't think we were in Switzerland for more than a mile. ALso, we drove through Hastings, which is the potatoe capital of Florida. They had signs everywhere in town proclaiming this. But we didn't see any potatoes, but saw alot of corn. We are both eager to brave the elements again, both natural and cultural with the boys. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. SO, we are planning a trip the end of August.I wonder if the boys would do alittle Shag dancing with us...NOT!

VACATION TIME IS HERE....YEAH!!!!!!

HEllO ROCKY! Yes, I know, we are weird. We've named our camper Rocky. We plan on making many memories with our camper, so, we named it. How did you come up with that name, you ask? Well, the manufacturer is Rockwood.and I like the EEEEE sound on the end of words...Gramzie, Seanee, etc..and there you have it. Well, vacation time has FINALLY arrived.It has been a jam packed week and a half.And I AM SO READY for alittle R&R. As you can see, Haleigh has been helping me get ready for tomorrow. YEAH!!!!!! She is getting SOOO big, and, SHE'S TEETHING. Ouch!!!! She really likes to put things in her mouth now. She's discovered how to put things, like her toys, in her mouth. Yummy! She's SO ADORABLE


We are planning on taking ALOT of pictures. So, I will post pics from our trip. We are going to Fernandina Beach, Florida and staying at Fort CLinch State Park. Then we are heading to Jacksonville, FLorida and staying at Kathryn Abbey Park. It has miles and miles of biking trails ranging from beginner to intermediate. SO EXCITED!!!!!!! Anyway, Sean and Dan picked out a camera memory card thingamajig, which holds about 350 pictures. I think that will be enough?

Pop-Ups and PopPop's Surprise...Oh My!!!

To all our family and friends in bloggerville. Dan and I would like to thank you for all your prayers and we are VERY excited to announce that..."THE ONE" has arrived. Yes, you read correctly. We are the proud parents of a 2000 Rockwood Pop-Up Camper.YEAH!!!!! Rocky is 13ft 6inch long FHEEEWWWWW).Weight? 1,650 lbs..WOW. Anyway, we are extrememly ecstatic, overjoyed, ...yada yada yada. Rocky just fell into are lap very easily.

After our last adventure out in the boondocks looking at a overused pop-up, Dan and I were alittle discouraged. Yes, we were. AWWWWW. But after much thinking through, and realizing, this is not a need, but a want...Then, O.k. if we find one...good, if we don't...good. Either way, we will still enjoy our time together on our anniversary regardless.

Anyway, Kristen and Haleigh were watching our friend Charlene for the week. And one night we were over there talking about our last pop-up viewing. UGGGG. Well, Ruby, Charlene's mom, mentioned her friend at works sister had a pop-up for sale. So, a week later, we went to her house, and saw ROCKY. What a cutie. Rocky has been gently used and has had only 5 fun trips under him.He's in mint condition. He does smell alittle like moth balls, but that's o.k. Nothing alittle Clorox Cleanup and air freshner maybe won't fix. Apparently moth balls keep critters out of your pop-up. So, I guess I'd rather smell like my great grandmothers old house than have an encounter with a curious critter.

Now, I'd like to say I have pictures of Rocky to show all his wonderful details, but I don't. Living in the city limits has it's challenges and ridiculous statutes. The city does NOT want to see our little Rocky, parading itself proudly out in the front yard for all the world to see and know...."I'm home, I'm home". Nope, nope, nope.

SO, we closed Rocky up and parked him on the side of our house so the city officials would not develop an ulcer or lose sleep over the "EYE SORE" residing on Quail Roost Drive". But don't be discouraged. The next time we bring Rocky out for his bath, we will take pictures and let you see the new little bundle. Until then...

Sean, our oldest son decided to give Dan a father's day gift that will have to go down in the baby book for later. He wrote in the card something like this...for all the times you pulled out your hair over me and my poor decisions. I thought I'd give you some hair back...SO, Sean SHAVED HIS HEAD BALD!!!!! Yep, completely BALD!

School's out, School's out...umm...YEAH?

Summertime is officialy here for the boys according to the Citrus County school calendar? UGGG. I mean Yippy, Horray, Yeah...Lord help. O.k. pardon the sarcasim, but, gone are the days when a simple, ordinary, plain, boring to adults, cardboard box would easily entertain my children. Oh I miss those times. They have moved on to the more advanced "boxes" now, which have all the frills, chills, and whatever my teenage boys are looking for . The graphics on some of the video games they play are extremly realistic, too much at times in my opinion. They would literally sit there in front of this "box" for hours, no days, if there dad and I let them. Whatever happen to having to use your imagination to entertain and occupy ones self. Now it comes in convenient "boxes" sold by the hundreds, at Walmarts around the world for various amounts of money and it will do the imagining and entertaining (if you can call it that) for anyone who brings it home...How can you compete with that? whinning? We used to, when we homeschooled, we would do school during the summer as well. Only during that time we would do something called unit studies. Pick a topic...Pop-up campers. Then we would find spelling words, vocabulary, history, etc...that related to the topic. It was SOOO much fun. We really had fun. Not to sure if that would fly this summer. One of my custormers was telling me that when she lived in India, they went to school ALL YEAR, Yes, even during the summer. YIPPY....Get the Uhaul ready. WOW. I think they still do that today as well. They go for a certain amount of time, and then they would get a few days...not weeks off. They even went on Saturdays.
Regardless of what is ahead, I do have hope that all the previous hours the boys have sat in front of the "box" hasn't completely turned them into couch potatoes...because, in celebration of the last day of school, Sean was telling us about an experiment that involved Mentos candy and a 2 liter bottle of Coke. Apparently, when you put the mentos in the Coke bottle, something AMAZING is SUPPOSE to happen. Are attempt was... It was a flop..no go...etc...However, what seemed like a failure was a success after all. We bonded,had fun actually together, and looked forward to conquering this scientific mystery some day together. Be afraid little mentos...we will meet again, ready to conquer and watch you explode or whatever your suppose to do...AHAH!!!!!
Finally...Dan and I are going to look at a Pop-Up camper tommorrow. We looked at one that we thought for sure was going to be "IT",but when we go there, "IT" needed ALOT OF HELP to be camping ready. But, we both determined,it's o.k. we will just keep looking. The next day a friend told us about a coworker's relative that had one for sale. So, we are going tommorrow to look at it...we'll see.

Growing Spurts, and Life Lessons

HELLO EVERYONE!!!! Look at little Haleigh bug. She is growing and changing everyday it seems. I can't keep up with her with my camera. She is 10 weeks old now. O.K. 2 and 1/2 months old. Question?...When do you start to refer to your children and grandchildren in months and years instead of days and weeks? Oh, you want to know how old she is.Well, She's alittle over 70 days now. Or how about her mommy...7029 days old now. AWWWWW! We'll keep how old Gramzie is to myself thank you...Something about answering in weeks just makes Haleigh sound so little. But no matter what I say, whether in days or weeks, the inevitable still happens...Babies grow up to be toddlers, then school age, then teenagers, then adults...
even wives and mothers too. How did that happen...so quickly too.

I enjoy seeing my daughter interact with Haleigh and love all over her. It's precious to watch. She's such a good mommy to Haleigh and Jared is a wonderful father and husband. God's grace is sufficient, thank you Lord for Your plan for our lives.I have to be honest though, I truly thought God had NO clue what He was doing when Kristen and Jared told us they were expecting. I kept thinking about how it was for Dan and I, and I don't want them to struggle like we did.Oh, the stories I could tell...We'll save those for later perhaps. But,once again, I'm reminded that He...God, the creator of the world, the one and only God who loves me,my family, and this world so much that He gave His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us so that we could have eternal life in Christ for those who believe.,He DOES have a plan, even if it doesn't make sense at the time, and if I would only learn to trust Him more, His character, and keep my thoughts focused on Him and His word(BIBLE), I would begin to know Who He really is, and finally understand more about His grace and mercy.
Do I want my family to struggle? Of course not! You don't ever want that for you family. It has me wandering though...Dan and I are going to be celebrating, rejoicing, etc...this summer 20 years of marriage. Yes, 20 years...it doesn't seem that long. The odds were against us. He was 18 and I was 16 when we married. 19 and 17 years old when we had Kristen. I was still in highschool! He worked a long and hard job for hardly nothing. At times we had only $10.00 a week for groceries,on a "good" week it would be $20.00 for groceries and household supplies. And don't get me started on our Maine experience. UUGGG UGGG UGGG UUGGG UGGG. Seriously! Looking back now, I honestly don't know how we made it. Dan and I both agree, back then, we had NO clue what love was. We've grown to love each other, and we're growing more and more in love with each other the more we learn about each other.We were not thinking about LOVE back then. It was the other L-word. The hormones were ragging, need I say more...Moving on. It would be great to not of had to struggle the way we did. And I'm sure there's others out there that struggled in worse circumstances than what we did. Still, why must there be hard times? I've been thinking about that question alot lately. And I think the lightbulb is finally going off at the moment in this brain of mine. If we (I) never have any hard times, then how do we (I) ever learn, and growup (in character)as individuals and as a couple. If there are never times of uncertainty, doubt, and fear, then how will I ever learn to truly trust God with my whole heart and life? Not just in my life, but in Haleighs, Kristens, Jared's...my WHOLE family.I'm still struggling, believe me... I can only hope and pray I'm learning through this process...

Oh and finally...an update on the pop-up camper. We are still hunting for "THE ONE". Dan and I, surf the net everyday, sometimes twice dudes!!!!TOTALLY! We've had a few almosts... but they turn into not todays...we called a day to late...etc...UUUGGGGG. Oh well. I don't care if we are in a pop-up camper or out under the stars, I'm SOOOOOO looking forward to spending a few weeks, ALONE, with DAN DAN MY MAN. Until July 17th, we will continue to eagerly check -craigslist.com , and other various newspapers, for "THE ONE". We almost had one with the Florida Gator logo and colors, but I'm kind of glad we didn't get that one. Nothing against the Gators, but I'm not sure if that would of been a wise decision towing that through Georgia Bulldog country...

No Skateboards Or Video Games Today!

This morning, Dan and Alex, and I jumped in the jeep with great expectations of adventure, exploration, and deals of a lifetime which did not include skateboards and video games. O.k. we had to convinced Alex that it would be O.K. and he may be surprised what fun adventure awaits. He was alittle reluctant at first, but willingly got in the jeep after we announced we would be stopping at Walmart to get munchies later.So, we set out first to find "THE POP-UP" camper for our trip in July. Needless to say, after 5 different stops, yes, 5 different stops between 2 different counties, that "deal of a lifetime" apparently was not for us today. But that's o.k. We met a wonderful man who showed us some pretty awesome, way out of our league, top of the line pop-ups that even had Alex droooooooling over. He gave us some great tips on what to look for in quality,etc... when we find "the ONE". Over all, our day was not wasted. We had a relaxing time just hanging out with each other, and exploring. We were driving through Ocala, and a sign with a diving symbol caught my eye. It said "paradise springs". So, Dan graciously turned around and we drove back with great anticipation of what awaited us. O.k., maybe I was the only one, but I was trying to teach Alex that there are other things in life besides skateboarding and video games. We turned down the dirt road.Our jeep was filled with anticipation,excitement, where are we?,and can we PLEASE STOP AT THE OCALA SKATEPARK? Anyway, we drove over railroad tracks that were out in the middle no mans land, into an area occupied by some mobile homes, and horse farms. It was literally out in the middle of nowhere. We enjoyed the yard signs about their wildlife, and came to a house with a lawnchair positioned outside with a sign that read "register here". That seemed pretty strange to us for two reasons. #1. We were parked in the middle of someones yard. and #2. There was no water anywhere that could be seen. We did however see 2 divers with there gear getting ready to suit up when we first started down the driveway with the funny yard signs. So naturly we were quite puzzled when we "arrived" at "PARADISE SPRINGS" only to be greeted by a man and his son who appeared to have been swimming, but where...?


There was a tiny platform to the right of our vehicle. The man said we could go take a look, and there was... Paradise Springs. It looked small, but looks can be very deceiving. To the left, under the biggest elephant ear plants I have ever seen, was an orange marker in the water. You can't see it in the pictures, but underneath that marker was a 100 foot drop. When you get down there, there are several caverns. One particular cavern, if it was possible to drive a semi-truck down in that little blue hole, could occupy 10 full sized semi-trucks. Wow! The pictures really do not do it justice. The water was a beautiful shade of blue. The sign by the main highway was fixed onto their mailbox towards the ground. It was maybe 2 feet by 2 feet. I'm surprised I even saw it. I'm so glad we decided to turn around, and just go for it. Who knows what we'll find I told Alex. We could come across something no ones ever seen before, or at least not many people have ever heard of. That was our great adventure today.We did stop and look at some "MUSCLE" cars for the guys, and ate at Dan's FAVORITE chicken place...Popeye's.
This was a fun day. I believe Alex had a wonderful time too...even if he did have to spend...THE WHOLE DAY WITH HIS PARENTS...UGG!

Love Is In The Air

Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? Song of Solomon 8:5


My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. His head is the finest gold;his locks are weavy, black as a raven. His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool. His cheeks are like beds of spices, mounds of sweet-smelling herbs. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh. His arms are rods of gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires. His legs are alabaster columns, set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend...Song of Solomon 5:10-16

Wow! All this love talk, why? Well our friends are getting married in about 2 weeks, and I'm SOOOOO excited for them both. Nothing like a wedding to get the ole' mushie meter working overtime.
I just can't help it. I have to praise God for the man He has blessed me with as my husband. I'll refrain from letting you know the other names I like to call him. Anyway, in preparing for the upcoming wedding shower, yes, shopping, I came across a wonderful little book. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young. -Sir Arthur Wing Pinero
The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer.-Oliver Wendell Holmes
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
The roses, candles, and love letters will one day be few and far between. When it comes to maintaining a happy marriage, friendship must outlive everything else.-Clint
Sensual pleasure passes and vanishes in the twinkling of an eye, but the friendship between us, the mutual confidence, the delights of the heart, the enchantment of the soul, these things do not perish and can never be destroyed. I shall love you until I die.-Francois-Marie Voltaire (1694-1778)
That about says it. Thanks for 20 wonderful years baby. Oh, one more thing. If someone asked how we've made it this far, I would have to say...COMMUNICATION. You have to communicate with each other, not at...if you know what I mean. Never forget the three powerful resources we all have available to us in our relationships: love, prayer, and forgiveness. Thank you Lord. And finally, remember that the quality of our relationship reflects the kind of care we give it. We can apply that to EVERY relationship in our lives, ESPECIALLY our relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.