We've thought about, dreamed about it, and talked about it for many years. But this year it became a reality - we took a family vacation to Florida! Not to see Disney World, but to see the Gulf of Mexico, alligators, seashells, & lots of other wonders in the Sunshine State. We left our home state of Pennsylvania on a Friday morning, drove all day, and stayed with family overnight in North Carolina. We traveled all day Saturday and arrived to our destination in Florida on Saturday evening. After a good night's sleep, we were ready to see Florida! We stayed in a vacation house that belongs to some of our family. Nearby, there was a swimming pool we could use for free. On Sunday, we unpacked and spent some time at the pool. We spent Sunday evening fishing at the beach and splashing in the water. We didn't do a whole lot of swimming at this beach due to the large numbers of jellyfish in the water. On one short walk along the surf, I counted over 30. The boys (with a lot of help from Daddy) did manage to land a few fish, all of which were thrown back into the Gulf. We also found a nice-sized hermit crab in the water. On Monday, we headed to Myakka State Park - a large state park known for alligators. We saw two alligators from a bridge soon after we drove into the park. We walked a short nature trail, which included a swinging bridge and tower about 80 feet tall. We ended our time there with an airboat ride, which included 27 more alligator sightings & a fascinating tour guide. The highlight on Tuesday was spending more time fishing at the beach and watching a gorgeous sunset there. We ate a picnic supper on the beach as well. On Wednesday, Corby took AJ & CJ out fishing early in the morning. JJ, MJ, & EJ and I took a walk and stopped by a nearby fenced lake to look for alligators. We saw a pelican & lots of birds, but no alligators. In the evening, we hiked a nature trail and went out for ice cream. Thursday was a full day - beginning with an early breakfast & watching the sun rise on the beach. We walked in the surf and collected shells. Some of the best finds were a horseshoe crab (dead & dried by the sun) and a whole sand dollar (that remained whole for approximately 15 minutes after we found it). In the afternoon, I took AJ & CJ to a small zoo while the others napped. We watched a reptile show and bird show. We got to hold a King snake, an alligator, a bearded dragon, and a parrot. We got to pet a skunk, as well as goats and pigs. (Yeah, petting goats was a REAL thrill for us :) We fed turtles, koi, and hand-fed a flamingo! It was quite an exciting afternoon! On Friday, Corby took AJ, CJ, & JJ out fishing early in the morning. They caught lots of fish and had a fabulous time. We wrapped up our week in Florida with a visit to the #1 beach in the USA - Siesta Keys Beach. The sand was amazing! I'm not actually a beach person at all - I don't care for the gritty sand and squiggly creatures lingering beneath the water's surface (the infestation of jelly fish on the other beach we went to confirmed this fear!) However, the sand at Siesta Keys beach was very different - it was soft and powdery white. The kids played and played in the sand making train tracks, burying each other, and chasing EJ as he crawled around. Then we watched yet another gorgeous sunset - the perfect way to end our Florida trip. On Saturday, we packed up & headed home. Many people have asked me how I occupied our troop - ages 7, 6, 4, 2, and 1 - on the 18+ hour drive to Florida. What worked for us was a small pouch of wrapped gifts for each child, except the 1-year-old. Half of the gifts were individually wrapped pieces of candy that I stashed away after our local parade. The other half of the gifts were sticker books, silly puddy, pencils, tablets, and coloring books. I also had the oldest three follow a map and color in states as we traveled. We opened these gifts every few hours or when we entered a new state. We also listened to lots of music and audio books. Overall, traveling went very well.
The best part of the trip was the feeling at the end - rested and ready to come home! I wasn't sure how relaxing driving and vacationing with our crew would be, but the Lord blessed us with safe travels and blissfully relaxing time there. Now it's back to real life again! I realize I've been neglecting my little blog here, and I'm aiming to do a bit better. I do have some homeschool and animal updates from the homestead, so stay tuned!
4 Comments
The whole concept of "freezer cooking" is new to me. In the past, my only form of freezer cooking was throwing a few meals in the freezer prior to one of my baby's arrivals. (And I rarely even did that.) So, when I heard a radio broadcast about how you can cook for one day and have entrees for a whole month, I was fascinated. Some of it made sense - you make all the mess and dishes at once, thereby maximizing your use of time. Some of it wasn't practical for me - dedicating a whole day to cooking with 5 kiddos ages 6 & under. Um, not happening. But I could take the concept and make some small changes in my cooking.
I don't consider myself a "freezer cook," but I am enjoying having quick meals in the freezer for those inevitable busy days when I don't have time to prepare an evening meal. What changes did I make to my cooking to have freezer meals on hand? I made 3 small changes. 1) Whenever possible, as I prepare the evening meal for my family, I make 2 or 3 meals and freeze the extras 2) Participate in a freezer meal exchange with friends (We each bring a freezer meal for everyone else in the group. For example, I may bring a 9x13 pan of lasanga for everyone. We swap and go home with a variety of freezer meals.) 3) Always keep my favorite freezer meal on hand In regards to #3, here is my favorite freezer meal. I like it because it is simple, delicious, & stores in a quart Ziploc baggie in my freezer! Cheesy Beef & Rice to Freeze 1 garlic clove, minced (or 1/4 tsp of minced garlic) 2 T butter 2 medium shredded carrots 1 tsp beef boullion 1 tsp parsley 1/2 tsp basil 1/2 tsp minced onion 1lb ground beef (or venison or turkey) 1/2-1 tsp salt Directions: Brown ground beef and remove from heat. Add butter, carrots, & spices. Stir well. Cool slightly. Put into a quart Ziploc bag & freeze. When you are ready to use it, thaw it and add 1 cup of uncooked long grain rice and 3 cups of water. Bake in a covered dish at 350 for 1 hour. Add 1/2-1 cup of shredded cheese and bake until the cheese is melted. Thanks for stopping by & happy freezer cooking! This post is long overdue (my apologies to Lorraine!). Last summer, we were delighted to receive a visit from Sadie. Sadie is our dog Jolly's daughter from her litter of 8 in the summer of 2015. Sadie's owner, Lorraine, & her family graciously took time to stop by & show off their little girl. Sadie was everything we hope to see in our puppies - gorgeous, friendly, wonderful with children, & great with our dogs! We thoroughly enjoyed our time with her, and we compliment Lorraine & her family on a fabulous job of training & socializing her. We attempted to get a mother-daughter photo, but Sadie & Jolly didn't find it necessary. Below is the best we could accomplish. This photo of Sadie & Jolly is a perfect example of mini schnauzers are known for fading over time. Jolly was once coal-black like Sadie, but lightened over time to silvery black color. Both colors are beautiful and both are considered black by American Kennel Club standards. Since I'm writing on the topic of Jolly's puppies, I'll clue you in on some exciting news - Jolly is expecting puppies in the end of April. This is the first time she is bred to our very own Cooper, and we are eager to see the puppies! She has always given us all-black puppies when bred to Polamalu (a handsome black & silver male owned by our friends). Polamalu's pedigree is strongly black & silver. Cooper looks very similar to Polamalu. He's also black & silver, but he has a lot more salt & pepper in his pedigree. We are guessing Jolly will still have all black puppies due to her pedigree that is full of black, but we'll see!
Thanks for stopping by! |
AuthorVanessa from Russell Homestead. Follower of the Lord Jesus, wife of my knight in shining armor, mother of 5 wonderful children, and joint-keeper of the Russell homestead. Thanks for stopping by! Archives
March 2023
Categories
All
Vanessa Russell
Independent Field Representative ID#20249934. |