It's Not All Christmas

Real life has still been happening, even as we approach the holidays. I taught my last nature group class at a local park--we learned about erosion and weathering.

And then we hiked down to the creek where the kids could see examples of erosion that have happened around here.

They spent the next hour making dams, bridges, and getting wet--not in the plans, but pretty much how it always goes when they're near the water.

Peanut had his first 4-H horse project meeting. They got to meet all of the horses on the ranch where the project will take place. He's excited for when they eventually get to ride.

Poppy has been busy with important work, haha.

Daddy-o and I snuck in a date night (and proved that we still can't take a good selfie.)

I am a terrible bowler, but it was really fun to go do something more than just get dinner, which is our go-to date, and even those don't happen all that often these days. Life with older kids is still so busy.

Peanut and I also had our last Nature Group hike--Rock City at Mt. Diablo, which was the perfect follow-up to our class the week before. We got to see great examples of weathering and erosion in the wind caves and rock formations.

We had a beautiful day for a hike.

And a good turn out for mid-December! I'm so grateful to be able to explore nature with these silly kids.

And this location is so fun!

Nature is awesome.

And finally, Peanut had the 4-H Christmas party. We made cards for the veterans, cut snowflakes, did a Christmas bingo, and ate too many cookies. Now he just has one more swim practice and Bug has one more day of school, and then, we're officially on holiday break!

 

Memorial Day, Quarantine Style

 Daddy-o and I snuck away for a 5 mile hike first thing this morning. Hiking 5 miles with Daddy-o is very different than hiking 5 miles with my kids. They're pretty good hikers these days (two of them can out-hike me anytime they want), but Daddy-o and I finished an hour faster than I would have planned with the kids. And there wasn't any whining or fighting the entire time. I think I want to do this again :)

 It was beautiful--perfect weather, and lots of changing scenery. 

We found a magical little spot in a redwood grove that I'm going to bring the kids back to see--somewhere just off the trail, with no poison oak, and room to play or sketch or read underneath towering redwoods sounds like what we need right about now.

We got home mid-morning and spent an hour with everyone helping to clean up the house (a week of school, and then camping for two days meant lots of stuff to put away, and SO much laundry to fold!)

Then, the older kids had a birthday parade to attend, Peanut talked Hogwarts classes non-stop, we had a Zoom date with Rara and Unkie to play Scattergories (very Zoom friendly--we'll have to do it again.) Daddy-o made Tri-tip (which meant sweltering in the hot backyard--we were all very appreciative of his sacrifice.) The backyard cooled down to a balmy 88 degrees by dinner time, so we got to enjoy an hour in the backyard. 

Bean and I squeezed in another Gilmore Girls episode--we're finding it hard to fit these in, even with all outside activities cancelled. Something to do with all the movie nights, Nerts games, and her homework. ;) Should make better progress once school is done.

All Vacations Must Come to an End

When we got off the ship, we had a long day ahead of us before our flight, which meant we got to explore the Miami area. First stop was church, but then, lunch at a Cuban restaurant where no one spoke English. Daddy-o was the translator for our group.

Then, we went to the Everglades for a fan boat tour.

It was a lot of fun skimming along the top of the water.

And we found alligators.

We visited another wildlife sanctuary where we got to hold a caiman.

And see beautiful birds like this Purple Gallinule Strut.

I love tortoises, especially tortoises chewing.

They had some very different looking ducks by the local pond. We're used to mostly seeing mallards. Apparently, these Muscovy ducks are invasive from Central America and considered pests, but they look pretty fun.

And then, it was time to go home. We had a long flight, and honestly, it was pretty miserable for me. I don't know if it was related to coming back onto land after a week at sea, or if I was coming down with something, but I ended up fainting three times on the flight home. Luckily, I was in the window seat, so when I felt it coming, I would lean against the window and let it come, but it was not a fun way to fly home. Daddy-o was on the aisle and we had someone between us, and with all the fear over Covid just beginning, I was terrified to let anyone know I wasn't feeling great. I don't believe it was anything like that, but with no testing available, I guess I can't be 100% sure. What a way to end a vacation.

 

Final Stop: Cozumel

Our final port was at Cozumel and we decided to do a tour of the ruins and then snorkel for a little while. Most of the group did a catamaran snorkel tour but after my experience last time we did one of those, I wasn't too excited about feeling seasick all day, so we opted for something more land based.

It was beautiful and fun to hear the stories of the area. And so fun to find the iguanas everywhere.

We saw a lot of these guys.

Then, we went to see the lighthouse.

I will never get tired of this turquoise water.

It's been such a great week.

The water was pretty clear--good for snorkeling.

We didn't have any types of underwater camera, but got to see a lot of pretty fish just off the shore.

The snorkeling was part of a park that included some paths through the garden and animals.

Our tour guy was awesome. We appreciated everything he took us to see.

It's been fun, Cozumel.

Jamaica

In Jamaica, we did a historical tour at the Good Hope plantation house.

It's a beautiful house from the 1750s with many of the original structures still intact.

The grounds were pretty.

They do weddings and other events here.

I love this style of architecture.

Daddy-o with his Panama hat seemed right at home.

Old books make me happy.

Beautiful bedroom.

This house had the first hot water bath in the Caribbean (Falmouth had running water before New York City).

There were orchids all over the place.

More of the gardens.

They served us a traditional lunch out by one of the gardens. It was really good.

Such a pretty view.

We also got to sample the oranges that grow on the land now. They don't look very pretty but they are tasty.

I'm really glad that Daddy-o shares my obsession with touring houses, especially old houses. 

We had a little while after the house tour to wander around the shops and restaurants near the port and found Daddy-o a pirate scene. Lots of pirate history in this part of the world.