Getting Ready For Christmas

Ashton participated in her Christmas program at her preschool. Her performance was ALL thumbs-up. Literally, thumbs-up the whole program!

For Ashton's preschool party Zena, Mema Margaret and I helped them create a snowman in Florida, all based on the theme found in the book 'Stranger in the Woods'! They had a snowman for dessert and built a snowman from paper mache that they adorned with nuts from the woods and topped with birdseed in his cap to attract the birds. The finished snowman was placed near their playground so they could see the animals their new friend would attract! Check out: http://www.strangerinthewoods.com/pages/book/book.htm

Ashton got to go on a date with Mom & Dad to see Disney's Beauty and the Beast at the local Community Playhouse. It was a little scary at first, but she really enjoyed the production. It was a real treat to meet the actors & actresses following the play!

Basketball

Future Gators in the making?

Zachary nearly touching the net while trying to block a shot!

Zachary clogs up the middle

John Tyson dribbles past the competition

John Tyson eying his shot...he is averaging nearly 10 points per game!

Fall Reprieve

Our fall reprieve from the Florida heat came in October when we road tripped to Blacksburg, VA for Virginia Tech’s Homecoming…20 years after Zena first went to school there…YIKES! What a perfect time to visit…the fall leaves were beautiful! We had fun catching up with some friends and visiting Pandapas Pond, Mountain Lake and The Cascades.

We also stopped at the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina along the way. What a treat for the kids...

Catching Up...

It's been some time since I last updated the blog. So, to bring us up to date…

The summer got off to a fast and furious start. The boys went to Arkansas to spend over two weeks with Mema and Charlie. They visited with the cousins, Tori and Rachel. Took a trip to Silver Dollar City, in Branson, MO and hiked through Devil’s Den State park. They also went fishing for catfish in the neighbor’s pond, rode Charlie’s four wheeler, shot the air rifle, chased fireflys and saw numerous deer in the field at Mema’s.

While the boys were in Arkansas, Zena went to her Dad’s and worked feverously with Bobby on a DVD of family pictures and music for the Arnold family reunion. After their Arkansas visit, Mema and Charlie brought the boys to meet us in Knoxville, TN and from there we went to Charlotte, NC for the reunion. We celebrated with Grandma Letha and three generations of Arnolds. It was a wonderful time of closeness and fun.

Once we returned from North Carolina, Zena and the boys attended Florida Bible camp for a week. John Tyson went as a camper and Zena was one of the craft coordinators. It was a really good week, but really hot. Zena seemed to suffer the most…just ask her about the geckos and the mouse in the cabin, and the roach in her hair!

Finally, in August things began to slow down a bit as we geared up for an earlier than usual start to school. We celebrated John Tyson’s birthday and then started school the following week. John Tyson started 4th grade and Zachary started Kindergarten! To celebrate John Tyson’s 10th birthday we took him to swim with the dolphins at Sea World’s Discovery cove. What a treat, even for Mom & Dad!

The Boys' Visit Mema & Charlie

The boys went to visit Mema & Charlie in Arkansas to start the summer...

The Blue Bird of Happiness on Mema's deck!

Collecting Fireflies!

Hot Tub Fun!

Everyone's Favorite...Mema!

Catching Up...

Needless to say, things have been very busy lately! The end of the school year came upon us quickly! Also, throw in a Final Four and you have the making of some very busy happenings! How 'bout them Gators!!! Seems like there was some FCAT thing in there somewhere and a couple of field trips for each of the kids, a Brown Belt Test for John Tyson, Easter, end of Tax Season, a birding festival and photography workshop for Bret in St. Augustine, end of year and teacher appreciation gifts, and pre-school Graduation for Zachary. Oh, and did I mention a National Championship? How 'bout them Gators!!!

Here are a few of the pictures from the past couple of months...

John Tyson's Brown Belt Test

Birding Festival in St. Augustine, Florida

Zachary's Pre-School Graduation

Learning to tie shoes!

NASA --- Saturn V

John Tyson and I spent the night Saturday night at NASA! We were there with his Cub Scout group for an overnight visit. We pitched our sleeping bag under a Apollo Saturn V rocket (stage 1 to be exact)! It was quite an experience! We saw an IMAX movie about the Apollo mission to the moon and saw personal slides and heard from Story Musgrave, an Astronaut with six shuttle mission experiences and an expert on the Hubble Space Telescope. It was very inspiring and made you feel rather small. We were taken the next morning on a tour that took us out to Launch Pad A...just feet from the fence that surrounds the pad. John Tyson and I stayed later after it was over and toured some more, taking in the Astronaut Hall of Fame. I really enjoyed it...Oh, and John Tyson did too!

A night view of Saturn V Stage 1

The morning view of Saturn V Stage 1...an awesome view to wake up to!

Saturn V Stage 2

Astronaut Story Musgrave

The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB)

John Tyson in the Rocket Garden

Don't look now, but there is an Astronaut behind you!

The Space Shuttle, up close!

The retired Rocket Garden

Taking the lead in building the Propulsion Project!

Ashton's 3rd Birthday

We just celebrated Ashton's 3rd birthday. We were going to have a tea party for her with a few friends, but then she said she wanted a "chocolate party". This is how great ideas are born, so we decided to give her a "chocolate party" and took her to The Melting Pot where we enjoyed chocolate fondue. While we had a great time and she tried to blow out the flambayed dessert, we missed having a cake and blowing out the candles! We may find time to have an "unbirthday party" later!

I'm this many!

Opening gifts...

Hey, that's mine!

Anticipation!

Hey, that's kinda big, but boy is it gooood!

Father - Son II ... The Gator Nationals

2006 Gator Nationals

Zachary and I did our first Father/Son activity together - a trip to the Gator National drag races. For several days leading up to the event, he would wake up extra early and ask if this was the day we went to the races. So finally, when it was race day, he woke so early that he gave out before the races were even over. We had fun none-the-less! We got to walk through the pits, see the cars up close, sit on a Harley-Davidson Screamin' Eagle, watch all sorts of cars race the 1/4 mile track and feel them vibrate the ground underneath us!

Top Fuel!

Funny Cars!

Ready for the race...now where is my car?

Exhausted Racer!