Happy Halloween

I hope you all have a Happy and Safe Halloween!

We're off to spend Halloween in the woods.

Eye Candy

Happy Halloween!

And for the record - that is NOT my butt!

You Might Be Fat If...

I've been feeling a little on the chubby side for quite a while now and even though I don't like that I haven't really done anything about it.

At the same time, I don't think I look like a house either.

But after last night I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I have reverse anorexia and I only see a "chubby me" instead of a "big as a barn me" when I look in the mirror.

I started wondering this at McDonalds. And yes, me being at McDonalds in the first place is some of what has contributed to the extra me, but that's not the point.

I walked in to get dinner and the place was completely empty. Just me and the people working behind the counter.

The woman behind the register asked for my order and I told her I wanted 5 Quarter Pounders, 5 small fries and no drinks.

And the woman looked right at me and said "Will this be for here or to go?"

For here or to go? Are you kidding? It's obvious that I'm here alone.

Do I look like I could sit down and eat 5 Quarter Pounders and 5 orders of fries?

When I got home I told the Island King what had happened and that maybe I need to go on a diet.

"Maybe you should just take a couple of the kids with you next time so they won't wonder if all of that food is yours."

Which made sense to me until I woke up this morning and realized that he never said that I didn't look like I could eat 5 Quarter Pounders and by saying I should take the kids with me next time he might be implying that I am quite fat.

I thought about that for a minute and then woke him up.

"So you think I'm fat and look like I could eat enough food to feed a family of 5 in one sitting?"

He sighed and said "We're both fat but I don't think you look that fat. And besides, if that woman in McDonalds had any sense she'd know that if you were going to sit there and eat all of that food you would've ordered a drink."

Ya know, he's absolutely right. I'm sure I'd have ordered a big ole Diet Coke to wash all of those Quarter Pounders down with.

I feel better now.

So I'm going to get donuts.

And for the record - I probably will eat all of those.

Wordless Wednesday

Lego Cat

Our cat, Sora, always likes to be right in the middle of whatever's going on.

The other night the kids were building a Lego city when the cat jumped up onto the table, spent a minute digging around in the Lego container and then plopped down for a nap.


He can't possibly be comfortable with all of those Legos under him.


He napped there for a good half hour but then must have decided that he needed to stretch out a little.


He's a sweet cat. Odd. But sweet.

Cover Girl

My niece got her first magazine cover!

http://www.thepelicanonline.com/latest.shtml

Well, technically it's a newspaper but it's still the cover.

That little redheaded girl is SO cute!

Destin Coastguard Station's Haunted House

The Coast Guard Station in Destin has created a Haunted House, which they opened to the public last night.

We're going to be camping over Halloween so we decided to take the kids to the Haunted House for a little Halloween spookiness.


We pulled in and followed signs that said "Victim Parking" to a parking lot. From there we followed the chalk outlines on the concrete to find the Haunted House.


I'd read in the paper that the Haunted House wasn't recommended for kids under 10 but the Youngest Island Boy was adamant that he was going in so we agreed.

As we were walking in from the parking lot we passed some people on their way out and the woman stopped long enough to say that if the boys were going in there that they must be very brave because her 16 year old daughter got so scared she wet her pants.

Which just made the boys want to go in even more.

Admission was a donation of canned goods to the Destin Harvest group. They do a great job of feeding a lot of people, especially during the holidays so we brought a bag full of canned goods.



We waited in line, the Youngest getting more excited by the minute while the Oldest Island Boy and I started thinking maybe we would just wait outside.


While we were waiting this woman shuffled up and down the line. She never said a word, just moved quietly in and out of the people.

She startled the Island King when he realized she was standing right next to him but then he decided that she was kind of cute.

There were several other people in dark clothes and scary masks that would just suddenly appear behind you or next to you. Very unnerving.

They were only letting small groups in at a time and finally it was our turn.

The Youngest wanted to go first so he opened the door and as soon as we were inside the door slammed and we were in total darkness.

From there everything gets a little fuzzy. And hard to describe.

It was dark but there were flashing lights. There were people screaming and as you'd turn corners a light would come on and there would be someone really scary right in front of you.

There was an execution room with a man in an electric chair screaming.

There was a party room with an absolutely terrifying clown who jumped out of a corner.

Lots of rooms filled with lots of scary stuff. And lots of scary people jumping out at us.

We followed this winding maze from room to room and at some point the boys and the Island King were no longer in front of me. The Island Girl was behind me, holding on to me for dear life with her head buried in my back and suddenly I realized we were totally alone.

We rounded a corner and there was a little light so I could see that next we were going to pass into a pitch black room, filled with who knows what, and I decided that I just wasn't going in there. Not first anyway.

I stopped and tried my best to get the Island Girl to go first but she wouldn't come out from behind me. And I was NOT going any further. So we stood there. Not moving at all.

After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a couple of seconds some people came up behind us. Saved. The hallway we were in was too narrow for them to pass us so we all had to turn around and go back into a room behind us so they could get ahead of us.

Turns out the room I hadn't wanted to go in was as scary as I thought it would be and it didn't matter who was first, there were several men with chainsaws and they fired them up as you walked by - in the dark.

About this time I had a true moment of panic. I was done. I wanted out and I wanted out right then.

At that same moment the Island Girl, who was still buried in my back, let out a blood curdling scream and tried to run right through me.

And that was all it took.

I closed my eyes, put my hands out in front of me and then took off running. The Island Girl was practically on top of me and then suddenly I pushed into a door and we stumbled out the exit.

We stood there, gasping and being really glad that we were out and I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I turned and one of those guys wearing a scary mask was standing right there behind me.

I have no problem telling you that I've never screamed so loud in my life.

If I had a bad heart I would have dropped dead right there.

Truly.

A moment later the door opened again and the Island King and the boys came out.

And suddenly the guys in the masks appeared from nowhere and scared them as bad as they scared me.

Geez. You're out, you think it's over and then they scare you all over again.

We moved over to a corner of the parking lot to catch our breath and I asked the Island King how I ended up ahead of him and the boys.

He says they went into one of the rooms and the Oldest Island Boy wedged himself into a corner and refused to move. In the dark and confusion we passed right by them.

I asked the Oldest about it and he said "I'm not even going to deny it - Dad had to drag me through there"

I asked the Island Girl what made her scream so loud at the end and she said that someone came up and grabbed her from behind and growled in her ear.

The Island King started laughing and told her that was him. He'd had a glimpse of us during one of the flashes of light and couldn't resist sneaking up on her.

As we were standing there talking the door opened again and a middle aged woman came flying out the door at a dead run. She didn't stop until she got way out in the parking lot.

I know exactly how she felt.

I was more than ready to go home but all 3 of the kids started saying they wanted to do it again.

Even the Oldest who promised he wouldn't have to be dragged if they did it again.

I told them I wouldn't even consider going back in there.

We walked back around to the front of the building and saw that the line was really long and luckily the kids agreed they didn't want to wait in that line.


We talked about it on the way home and it's funny that we all noticed different things. There was so much going on that you'd have to go through there several times to see it all.

It was really fun and all of us are glad we went but it will be awhile before they get me back into a haunted house. The kids on the other hand want to go back tomorrow.

My hat is off to Coast Guard Station Destin. They really outdid themselves and the Island King and I agree that this is the best haunted house we've ever been in.

Now That's A Pool

I walked past the Island King as he was processing photos the other night and this one caught my eye.




I could definitely spend some time in there.

Message In A Bottle

Years ago the Island King and I were in Port St Joe on a scalloping mission. We'd been out in the boat all morning so at lunch time we decided to pull up to the beach at the end of Cape San Blas to eat our lunch.

As we got closer to the shore we could see that the beach was lined with plastic bottles. Lots of them.

When I was a kid we had a houseboat that we spent most weekends on and every time we'd pull up to a beach all of the kids were given trash bags and told to pick up any trash they saw. Seeing all of those bottles along the beach had me digging around in the boat looking for a trash bag.

We beached the boat and I got out with my trash bag but when I picked up the first bottle I realized that there was a note inside.

A message in a bottle. I've always wanted to find one of those.



The message is a note from Sheila Hightower of Highland Elementary School in Port St Joe and was written on September 4, 1986.
It says that her science class is studying ocean currents so they are releasing these bottles into St Joe Bay. The note asks that if you find it to please call the school and tell them where you found it so the class can track where the currents have taken their bottles.

It sounds like a fun experiment but I felt kind of bad for the poor kids. I'm sure they sent their bottles out into the Bay, hoping they would be carried out the pass and off to exotic places. Instead, the current carried them straight across St Joe Bay and onto the beach directly across from where they were released.

I called the phone number on the note that afternoon and told the secretary about finding the bottle. She was really excited because this was the first message that had been found.

I told her where I found it and she agreed that it was a little sad that they'd only traveled to the other side of the Bay but said she knew the class would be excited that one of them had been found.

I left the rest of the bottles on the beach, hoping others would find them and call as well.

It was fun finding a message in a bottle. Thanks Sheila!

KISS Rocked

I take back my comment from yesterday about KISS being dinosaurs.

KISS Rocked!

This was hands down the best show I've ever seen.

The Island Girl was so excited that I thought she was going to pop during the ride to Pensacola.

We got to the Civic Center and when she saw the sign out front the poor girl almost hyperventilated. She kept saying "I can't believe this is really happening" over and over again LOL


Buckcherry opened for them and they were pretty good but during intermission Island Girl told us that she'd expected more. She thought the sound would be better and maybe there would be more lights and special effects.


We laughed and told her that KISS would be a little different.

She wasn't disappointed.






It was truly an amazing show. For old guys they have incredible energy.

I was even more surprised that the crowd wasn't the freak show I thought it would be. There were a lot of people in makeup and a few in costumes but for the most part it was people my age and a lot of families.

I wouldn't have thought that a KISS concert would be a bring the kids kind of event but halfway through the show I was wishing we'd brought our boys too.

The Island Girl loved her birthday present and we all loved the show so it was money well spent.

If you ever get a chance to see KISS you should. Those old guys really know how to put on a show.

KISS

We're going to see KISS in concert tonight.

Which makes perfect sense. We're considered dinosaurs by our children so it only seems fitting that we'd go see a dinosaur band.

Oddly, it was the Island Girl's idea. Her 16th birthday is coming up in a few weeks and all she's asked for were tickets to this concert.

She's never been to a concert before and I'm flattered that at this close to 16 she still wants her dad and I to go with her.

So we bought tickets and are going to Pensacola to see them tonight.

I have no doubt that this will be an interesting concert. Just watching the audience should be fascinating.

I'm sure I'll have a tale to tell tomorrow.

It Feels Like Fall!

It finally feels like Fall!

It's been seriously hot and humid here for the last few weeks and I was beginning to wonder if Fall was ever going to show up.

A few of my blogger friends have already had snow while we're still swimming in the warm Gulf waters and roasting on hot afternoons.

I'm not a fan of really cold weather (I have thin Florida blood and would freeze to death up North) but I am ready for a little cool weather.

Of course when the Oldest Island Boy got dressed this morning we discovered that he has outgrown EVERY single pair of long pants he owns. Even his pjs are too small.

I guess we'll be doing some shopping this week.

It's supposed to warm back up by the middle of the week and we'll be back in shorts and tank tops but for today it's chilly out there and I'm enjoying every second of it.

A Coachwhip Encounter

When the boys and I were at Fort Pickens I warned them several times to watch out for snakes. Which is not surprising since everyone knows how I feel about snakes.

But I warned them a little more than usual once we left the main fort and headed out into the dunes to see the old batteries. Rattlesnakes out there are common and I didn't want the boys walking into one as they plowed along overgrown paths.

We were at Battery Cooper and after wandering around the bottom some we climbed to the top. The Youngest was in front and once he'd gotten to the top he said "Mom, there's a snake."

The Oldest and I had just reached the top so I looked down an old path leading to the beach and there he was. An Eastern Coachwhip.

His head and about the first 6 inches or so of his body was up off the ground and he seemed to be looking around.

He put his head back down, turned back around and slithered up into the bushes.


He was about 20 feet from us - close enough for us to get a good look at him but far enough away that I didn't panic.

I told the boys that I wished I'd gotten a picture of him with his head up like it was and as I was saying that the snake came back out into the path. He looked like he was going to cross the path like he'd been doing when we interrupted him a minute ago.


But then he stopped, lifted his head and almost a foot of his body off the ground and looked at us.

Once again, the fact that I am not a wildlife photographer is confirmed because I was so busy looking at the snake that it took a minute for me to think to lift the camera and take a picture. And of course he'd lowered his head by then.

But now he was coming right at us.



He wasn't moving really fast but he was traveling along at a pretty good pace.

Don't snakes usually go away from people? Why was this one coming right towards us? I know he saw us.

Both boys were standing there next to me and the Youngest said "Mom, I think he's coming up here."

I'd come to the same conclusion and even though there was a part of me that was curious as to what the snake would do, there was no way in hell I was staying up there to find out.

The Youngest was first going back down the way we'd come but the Oldest hung back, yelling at his brother "Don't go in front of her - she'll run you over!"

I am very proud to say that I did not run over my child. In fact, I didn't run at all. I was moving quickly but there was no running involved.

When we got home the boys bragged on me to their dad, telling him that I didn't panic at all.

It's nice to appear mature in front of the kids on occassion.

A Day at Fort Pickens

Fort Pickens is one of my favorite places but I don't make it over there very often.

On Thursday I had to pick the Oldest Island Boy up from my parent's house so I decided to get him and then drive over and spend the day at the fort.





Fort Pickens was built on the end of Santa Rosa Island, overlooking Pensacola Pass as part of a defense system designed to protect the Pensacola Naval Yard from attack by sea.

Fort McRee, which sits just across the Pass to the west


And Fort Barrancas, which was built inside the entrance of the Pass

worked in tandem with Fort Pickens to ensure the safety of Pensacola's Naval Yard as well as our deep water Bay.

Fort Pickens is the largest of the three.
21.5 million bricks make up the fort and it took 6 years to complete.



The boys love Fort Pickens too and as soon as we got out of the car they wanted to go everywhere and see everything.

We climbed SO many stairs that I can barely walk today.


Like all boys, mine love cannons and as soon as the Oldest saw this one he had to stick his head in it.


I've been telling him for years that he has a big head. It's as big as a cannon ball!


There are several pre-WW1 houses that sit just outside of the main fort. These have been used as quarters and offices for years and I don't recall them ever being open to the public.


Amazingly, they were not destroyed during Hurricane Ivan. They were lifted from their foundations but the buildings remained intact. They're being restored now and hopefully once they're done I'll be able to go inside and look around.

I never get tired of standing on top of the fort and looking around.
Pensacola Pass and the Gulf to the south and west


And Pensacola NAS to the north.

Even on a cloudy day like this one the view is incredible.

We spent hours wandering around the fort and the old batteries that are hidden among the dunes along the Gulf. Finally, hot and tired we were ready to head for home.

It was really fun, soaking up all of that history and wandering around the park.
I'm not going to wait so long before my next visit.

Wordless Wednesday

You Do What?

My sister sells Reliv and recently met a couple from Montana who were here for a Reliv conference. They'd never been here before and and after getting to know them at the conference, my sister invited them to spend a day out in the boat with her and her husband.

She said they had a great time and having never been to Florida before the couple were fascinated with everything they saw.

At one point the woman asked about scuba diving. My sister was a dive instructor for years and she spent a while telling them all about. I'm not sure what all she said but she told me that when she finished the woman looked at her and said...

"So, you spit in your mask and pee in your wet suit? Hm. I think I'll pass."

When you break it down like that diving just doesn't sound very appealing LOL

Sunday With My Family

We spent Sunday afternoon at my parent's house. My sister came over by boat and it didn't take long before the kids decided that they wanted to go tubing.

The Island Girl wanted to go first so as soon as we got away from the beach she was off.


The Youngest Island Boy was up next. He was a little nervous but certainly wasn't going to let that stop him.

He's a lot lighter than his sister so he was bouncing around on that thing like a Mexican jumping bean.

My nephew wanted to go next but he wanted his mom to go too so she got on with him.


And then started channeling one of those showgirls from Cypress Gardens.


The Oldest Island Boy went next and he wanted to go as fast as possible.



After tubing for a while we stopped out in the Sound to swim.


The Island Girl thinks we're weird but we've always gone out away from the beach to swim. I told her that when I was a kid we had a houseboat and everyone always wanted to jump off the roof. Since you need to be in deep water to do that we always pulled away from the beach and out into deep water to swim. And the habit stuck.

We'd been out there a while when I looked up and saw Mom watching us.

Dinner must be ready.

Hamburgers, hot dogs, brats, potato salad, baked beans and pie. It looked so good I thought about taking a picture but I was too hungry to go get the camera. You can trust me when I tell you that not only did it look good - it tasted good too.

Later on, we were getting ready to leave and as I watched my sister wade out to the boat I told my Dad that her ride home was going to be much more pleasant than mine. Cruising along the Intracoastal Waterway is always more fun than driving the mini-van down Hwy 98.


But then the boat wouldn't crank and she had to jump out and push it along so it wouldn't drift into the pilings from the old dock.


Maybe my ride home wouldn't be so bad. After all, I wouldn't have to push the van.

And just when we thought that she'd be pushing the boat all the way home, the motor fired and they were off.


Whew, that was close. Pushing the boat home wouldn't have been any fun at all LOL

It was a great day filled with family, good food and fun. The perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.