Grateful- Joy Pockets- Outdoor Play





I'm off on an Adventure- just wanted to Re-post this  for you to see a great adventure from our life this month and to remind you to "think joyfully" & to "be grateful" - there is still time to add a comment and enter to receive your own copy of "1000 Gifts" - because I just think everyone should read it!

I'll be back in a few with an update on our Adventurez and to announce a winner!
(check out the blogs linked below for some extra fun)

  I've been eyeballing Joy Pockets via
my bloggy friend  MJ at Wander Wonder Discover  - and
simultaneously digging through the best book I've ever read.

Seriously, the best book EVER:
 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp
(other than the Bible of course)

I would love nothing more than to just be
able to give you a copy of this book - as a matter of fact,
 I will.

Just leave me a comment letting
me know that you are interested in seeking joy and
contentment in every day - and I will randomly pick
a winner and send it to you!



It is simply a life changing experience! It cottons to a belief
and a series of ideals that I have long danced around and
felt in my heart to be true. I want everyone to read it.

The poetry and grace with which Ann shares her
heart will inspire you to join in and embark on a life filled with
gratitude! It certainly has done that for me.

And, on that note- I am going to begin joining in on the "Joy Pockets"
as I mentioned above!
It fits in beautifully with my new outlook.

so now, Without further ado -


Here are some of my favorite "joy pockets" from my life this week:

Camping in the rain with a family who loves adventure + smores!

Having my six year old boy put his hands on either side of my face and asking
"mommy, do you know how much I love you?"- takes my breath away!


Catching my husband looking at me with admiration
(even though I was a total mess).

Sweet friends that neither time nor distance can seperate.

(just a couple of 'ole surf rats showing their oldest boys how to catch waves)



Little boys laughing and giggling without a care in the world.

Being there for the last Space Shuttle!

Making homemade ice cream with my boys - tellin stories about

how I used to do that with their grandad as a child.

 Watching our little one pretend to be like his daddy and big brother.

The joy on their faces when they finally catch a wave and ride it all the way in!

 

See the pride on my sons face as he learns a new trick for the first time!

 

Having healthy little boys enjoying the great outdoors!

 

Having our dog (who is 100 years old in dog years) join us on our adventures!

 

These are a few of my favorite "joy pockets" from this week!

Linking up with "Outdoor Play"

   Our weekly play in the Great Outdoors is always a good fit-

Here are a few more pics from our outside play:

Standing in awe of the Space Shuttle Atlantis

Setting up camp late into the night!

 

Meeting a Wood Stork!

Digging in the sand!

Getting caught in the rain!

Catching wave after wave!

Discovering a Golden Silk Spider

(and taking the time to observe it)

Teaching baby brother how to kayak on his own!

These are a few of my favorite things about our

Outdoor Play this week!

   Fun little link up I came across

The Last Space Shuttle and camping in the rain was definately
on our summer bucket list!

 

Learning About: Sea Turtles

I promised to post the rest of our little getaway adventures- but I guess I lied, cause I have been so inspired by the awesome sea turtles we saw that I just had to go ahead and post this instead! You don't have to be homeschoolers, or even have kids to be interested in learning more about these beautiful beings.

Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Living on the coast - during Sea Turtle nesting season renders the perfect

opportunity for us to do a Sea Turtle study. Although,  you need not live at the beach to enjoy

the study of these graceful creatures- just have a spirit of adventure & a desire to learn &

join in on the fun!  (feel free to copy and use any of my pictures and information for your

personal homeschool or study with your children). I added links below for more fun!

Loggerhead:

Did you know that loggerhead sea turtles have very powerful jaws? Their jaw muscles are so

strong that they are able to crush conch shells, and even crabs! It is the mainstay of their diet.

They weigh between 250 to 350 lbs.

 

Green Sea Turtle



Green:

Do you know where the green sea turtle gets its name? It's from the color of its body fat!

Can you guess why its body fat would have a greenish tint? It eats algae and sea grass!

They weigh between 300 to 400 lbs.

Hawksbill Sea Turtles



Hawksbill:

Did you know that the hawksbill sea turtle can eat poisonous sponges that would be toxic to

other species? It is the thing they love to eat the most- sponges!

They weigh between 100 to 150 lbs.

 

Leatherback Sea Turtle

(this is the only sea turtle picture I did not take personally-

it comes from Animal Planet- endangered species)

Leatherback:

How long do you think a leatherback can hold its breath? More than an hour! They can dive over

3,500 feet deep. They eat jellyfish.

They weigh between 550 to 1,700 lbs.

*if you click on the sea turtle pictures - you will be directed to various sites with detailed

information about the particular species of sea turtles listed.

Printables: 

 Parts of the Turtle - designed by Angi Brown

Sea Turtle Word Search- by Beverly Hernandez/About.com 

Sea Turtle Vocabulary- by Beverly Hernandez/About.com

Sea Turtle Color Sheet- by Tiffany Falcão/ About.com

Loggerhead and Leatherback color sheets- by First Palette.com

Save the Sea Turtle- Ways You Can Help:

1. Be careful when digging at the beach- if you are visiting a beach area

be aware that the sea turtles nest between March 1 - October 31 and

look out for marks in the sand or nests that have been marked off:

2. Most nests are about 18 inches below the surface- make sandcastles

below the surf - or high tide lines to avoid unmarked nests. Be extra careful

with umbrellas as well.

3. Don't leave beach furniture out at night!

4. Turn the lights OUT! This is critical for new hatchlings who will

unknowingly head toward the light instead of out to sea. The lights from

beach houses and condos- and even distant "city lights" can mimic the moon

shining on the water. The tiny turtles become lost and are eaten by predators or tangled up on land.

5.  Get rid of trash! One of the most important things we can do is to clean up after ourselves.

The plastic wrappers and bags we use so often can look like jelly fish or can entangle an unsuspecting

turtle causing injury or death.

6. Never disturb or interfere with the nesting or hatching process.

7. Get involved with local organizations and Sea Turtle patrols if you live in a coastal community!

Sea Turtles are endangered. Most of them are on the critical list. Educating yourself and your family

about these docile creatures is a great place to start in making a difference!

E-Learning Links*dot* com is FABULOUS!

  E-learning Links  is one of my all time Favorite Resources for printables and links to homeschool information. Kay has a "knack" for putting things in an order which I find easy peasy to follow. Her history links are broken down into chronological order.

As we will be coming up on July 4th in a couple of months- I decided to review the facts and dates of our American History. I love these flash cards so much that I've given them a home on the side-bar of Adventurez!

Flash Cards for learning American History:
http://quizlet.com/_2dkgl

Many of my readers are not homeschoolers- but, I encourage you to check it out anyway- It is also a terrific resource for parents who want to keep your children's education fresh through the summer! Personally, I needed the history flash cards for a review my own self! (but don't tell anyone)

There are resources galore under the Science heading- just in case you are looking for some interesting projects this summer.

I don't plan to work my kids to death this summer by any means- but, we try not to view school as "work" anyway & like to do a lot of "educational projects" - If it's tied to a fun craft or science project- they seldom seem to realize they are doing school!

Since we live at the beach - we are looking to get involved in some more "Marine Research" this summer- and maybe even walk the beaches for turtle patrol. I would love love to catch some baby hatchlings in action as they make a run for the border (the water) - and NO- I don't mean CATCH them - just SEE them!

We had the opportunity to do just that a few years ago - We went out on the beach with the Turtle Patrol on Boca Grande & learned about how the sea turtles lay their eggs & got to see some rescued babies who had wandered the wrong way when they were supposed to head for the water. (we learned how inportant it is for people to keep their lights off at night when living or staying on the beachfront first-hand!)

Aren't they adorable? They are about the size of a regular egg - just a wee bit bigger! We counted eggs in a nest & learned to lable & monitor the nests on the beach. I can't wait to get involved again- now all my boys are old enough to walk the beach with me in search of new nests.

There are many ways to get involved with local programs for both learning opportunities and to do some good in the community- no matter where you live.  I'll share our ideas with you as we come across them.

Currently- we are collecting food items for Charlotte County Homeless Coalition with LifeChurch Port Charlotte. LCPC families are both gathering food items and planning on serving at the shelter. I think it's a great way to teach our kids more about doing for others. Practicing what we preach is critically important in my opinion!

If you are local to Charlotte County & have pantry items to donate or would like to be involved in going to serve food to others (be it one time or many) just let me know. You can see more about it on the facebook page for the church:
 Or contact me & I'll fill you in or pick up food!

What have you got planned for the family this summer? I hope it involves some adventure!

* Please don't forget to enter my Math Blaster Membership giveaway!

   Just click the pic- to read about it &
be sure to leave a comment about what you like about it with your
 email so I can contact you if you win the free membership!

Don't Forget to Check the Pork Chops...: Shish-Kabobs

Don't Forget to Check the Pork Chops...: Shish-Kabobs : "Mom's creative ideas has discovered a new lunch time favorite for my little Madison…. Shish-Kabobs! Not the grown-up version with beef..."

(click on the title to go to the link with full recipe!)

Looking for some fun food to make with your kids? Check out this fun idea from a new blog called "Don't Forget to Check the Pork Chops" and don't forget to read how she came up with the title for her blog cause it is so cute!

These kid-friendly shish-kabobs are going to be a hit at my house for sure! She used easy- peasy chicken nuggets & chunks of fruit and good stuff the kids can add themselves.

I think I love the fact that you can tweak this idea to fit your family any way your little heart desires! I'm going to use some "healthy" chicken nuggets, some little grape tomatoes, oven baked little red potato's and whatever other fresh yummies need to be used from our garden & fridge!

What are your ideas for this fun recipe?

More Owl Pics- Springtime Babies Series Con't

Really wish I could take credit for these photos - but, they were sent to me from a friend! Thank you Kitty for sharing! These are the same owls that I tried to take pictures of from the boat- Maybe I can head down there later this week and get some from the shore- these turned out MUCH better!

They are growing up fast! Amazing.....

I've had some questions about homeschool "how to" - so, I thought I'd include a little info. of what we will do with these beautiful owl pics:

1. We went by boat and saw the nest with babies when we first heard they were there and did a little bit of "scientific observation" - we also discussed the Great Horned Owl to see what we do and do not know about them and their preferred habitat/food/& more.

2. We have gathered pictures from the ones we took and these beauties for our "Nature Binder"

3. We are making a couple of pages for the binder that will consist of - pics, and 3 x 5 card style information about where they live, what they eat, and any observations from watching them grow.

4. A good friend is sending some special baby owl feathers from some owls we watched years ago (before all these boys) We will find a creative way to add them to the binder.

5. My 4th grader will research and write a short paper about them. The K & pre-K will (respectively) color an owl picture- while talking about what we've learned (cut & paste) & my 6 year old will learn to read, write, spell "great horned owl" - he can dictate to me any input or observations he has to add to the pages!

Fun, simple, educational- and they are not likely to forget much of what they are learning!

Today we will also do Bible, math,  & swimming with friends!

Springtime Babies- It's A Brand New Great Horned "Owlet"

Just like E.T. -this little baby owlet is so ugly, he's cute! Actually, he's beautiful! I feel very fortunate to have gotten this shot. I know the quality of the shot could be better- but, I was shooting from a boat. On the water. The kind that moves and isn't very close to the trees on the shoreline. So, all in all I am very happy with it! I actually have a better shot, but I can't get it to load for some reason (operator error I am certain).

Happy Spring Everyone! Keep your eyes and ears open for new life joining us this season! It's always such a treat for us as we come across wildlife, and even more so when they are brand new to the world! Spring brings new life in the flora and fauna and breathes new life into us as well. Get out and enjoy it if you can.  "HOO"s nesting in your yard? 

(I really can't help myself)

Great Horned Owl on my Roof!

It's not fake! He's for realz- and he's just beautiful! We hear them often outside around the house.There are a couple of them who nest nearby, but this particular day he decided to get a better look at his neighbors!
So happy my hubby was able to snap this quick pic!
Aren't God's creatures just awesome?

Frugal Family Fun- Game Night

 Have you ever played Sequence or Sequence for Kids? Fun games. Even my little 5 yr. old "peanut" can play this one with a little help from me!
Six year old "skywalker" and "big bro" play on their own teams. We love this game. It doesn't take too long and the kids version can be enjoyed by adults!

                                                                             
                                                                            Of course, having a family full of comedians doesn't hurt when it comes to fun time. That's when it's OK to bring out all the "sillies" and just relax and enjoy! Often times for "Family Fun Night" we will have dinner together around the table and then play a favorite game (like Sequence) and then hang out and watch a movie in the family room.

Other times we will play one game after the other, but that can be a bit tougher when you still have younger ones who can't sit still or tollerate me taking them down  .....I mean winning. We find it easier to play a few rounds of a game or two and then change course.

Another fun activity for Family Fun is to get in the kitchen together for dinner and snack prep. Even the youngest family members can help wash potatoes or snap the ends off of peas. I even let them cut onions (cause I hate it- lol) with a regular table knife. I teach them that any knife can cut and they have to treat it just like a sharp one- but we haven't had any mishaps- and believe me, we would if it were easily done. Of course, I don't EVER leave them unsupervised- the whole point is for us all to be in the kitchen TOGETHER.

OK- this pic doesn't have anything to do with the post- but Gus is part of the family too- and isn't he cute? He is getting so old, but he still does his best to keep up with the boys! We don't let him help in the kitchen, but he is always willing to clean up a mess when the boys drop food!

30 different family games for your Wii - if you want to go electronic!

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This bad boy is on sale for 55% off and is the Pro-series package!
It includes several size combs and maybe MOST importantly ... a "How To" dvd!

For less than what it costs to make ONE trip to the groomer's - you can D.I.Y. from here on out- or at least until the economy improves!

My dear old dog (and I mean OLD- like 14 years old) is a little afraid of the noise with most shavers and although I haven't used this one yet- I was very impressed that some of the reviews mentioned the low level of noise put out by the product.

As a matter of fact- it rated 5 Stars with 13 customer reviews! I think we are going to have to give this one a try.