Fort Fisher Aquarium

We went to Fort Fisher Aquarium for Mother's Day. It was a spur of the moment idea. We had to take a ferry over to the aquarium. The kids loved it. Squirrel's favorite part was seeing a 9 month old loggerhead sea turtle up close. We have never been this close to a turtle before. They were not sure of the gender of the little guy. The volunteer told us that they would not know for a few years. The turtle was one of 3 eggs given to the aquarium after being rescued from an oncoming hurricane. They will release the little guy in another 5 months. Squirrel loved seeing all the turtles. Tracker's favorite part was seeing all the shark jaws, of course I did not take any pictures of them. Dragon was very excited to see the moon jellies. He just loves to see them glow in the dark. After we went to the aquarium we had a little picnic under the trees. It was a wonderful Mother's Day.

Cypress Gardens

We went to Cypress Gardens last week. I wanted to experience it before recommending it to my homeschool group. Well, it was worth the trip. We went on a boat ride and saw turtles, alligators, frogs, and birds. Did I mention seeing a few alligators? I was not thrilled with the idea of getting into a canoe with alligators in the water. I am very glad that my family talked me into it. I took some amazing pictures.

After the boat ride we went into the butterfly house. Squirrel was in 7th heaven. She loves butterflies. The kids loved putting their hands against the beehive. They thought that the vibrations were amazing. We were able to see the larva in the hive. It was really neat. The other neat things that we were able to see was a monarch pupa and some butterflies emerging from their cocoons.

Shell Hunting

Where Have I Been??? Part 1

I was here.
I was in the middle of the woods enjoying electronic free fun. We spent 4 lovely days in the woods. The first day we set up camp and we explored a little. The kids found this GREAT open field that was right across the little dirt road between campsites.
Did I mention that we had the ENTIRE campsite to ourselves?? The kids could make as much noise as they wanted. Dragon created his own little world in the field. There was the caves (spanish moss hanging from the trees), Land of the 7 Trees, and the stone circles (I think). He had a blast. We were all excited that he could walk around without his crutches or his brace.

Waking up the next morning to the birds was just amazing. It was so refreshing and so relaxing. I can't say that sleeping on the ground was great, but it was worth it to wake up to the fresh air and the birds singing. We all got up and had breakfast burritos over the campfire. This time I pre-made the majority of our food. I cooked it at home and then vacuum sealed it. It made packing the cooler a little less difficult.
After we ate and showered we headed to the zoo. We were only an hours drive to the zoo. We picked a bad day going there. They had 8 tour buses visiting as well as their summer intern staff. We still had a blast. We had to take it easy since Dragon had just gotten the ok to walk without the crutches and his walking cast. You can find some amazing pictures of our recent trip here or go here for some old pictures. We just LOVE that family membership.

To be continued... part 2

Another Trip to the Zoo

Here is a slide show from our trip to the zoo. We went to the zoo while we were camping.