Pumpkin Day

Pumpkin Day is an annual tradition at our local elementary school. All of the children are encouraged to bring a decorated or carved pumpkin to contribute to the pumpkin display located around the school grounds. The kids are always very excited about decorating their pumpkins, and hundreds of parents and friends of the children come out to "ooh and aaah" over the lovely pumpkins every year.

This year John decorated a pumpkin in honor of Sebastian the Ibis, the mascot for the Miami Hurricanes. Earlier this week John (and I) painted the pumpkin with white paint, attached a cardboard beak, and painted the eye detail and "U" on the back. John wore his Miami jersey to school on Pumpkin Day, which was an appropriate fit given his pumpkin choice. The orange sign to the right of the pumpkin explains that the pumpkin represents the mascot of the Hurricanes, and proudly displays John's name as the creator of the pumpkin.

Friends of John's setting up their pumpkins according to class on the lawn outside the school.

This pumpkin was created by one of John's friends, our next-door neighbor, Flynn. Awesome (gory!) hand coming out of that pumpkin!

Amelia tagged along to Pumpkin Day before middle school drop-off. Amelia is really interested in Minecraft (the computer game) this year, so she loved the Minecraft-themed pumpkin.

The puppy dog pumpkin captured my interest. So cute!

The pumpkins remain on display throughout the day on Friday as classes take turns taking tours through the pumpkin walk. Parents are invited up to school for a picnic on the school grounds during lunch time. I had to be in Fort Worth at work all day on Friday so unfortunately I was not able to attend the picnic, but a friend of ours shared this photo of John and friends clowning around during the picnic. From left to right - Chase, John, Larson, and Seth.

What a super fun day! It is traditions like this that make us feel so lucky to live in this close-knit community in Dallas.

Busch Gardens

Grandma and grandpop get the award for the best surprise of the year. All during our weekend in Gainesville grandma and grandpop hinted that we would be doing a "special activity" together as a family on Sunday. Amelia and John were divided on what the "special activity" meant. The kids overheard us talking about the weather and needing sunscreen so they had speculated that it involved being outdoors all day. Guesses from the children as to what we would be doing on Sunday ranged from going to Sea World (Amelia's guess) to trimming bushes in grandma's backyard (John's guess, based on my prodding that we would be doing manual labor all day).

We were up and out of the house before 8:00 a.m. Sunday on our way to the surprise destination - Busch Gardens! (And yes, that is a plant/tree shaped like a tiger below the family below!)

Busch Gardens is an amusement park located in Tampa. The park contains many thrill rides - mainly roller coasters and water rides - as well as a zoo-like area focused on animals in Africa and many shows and other entertainment options. Because we lived in the Clearwater area until I graduated from high school (just a short drive from Busch Gardens), I can remember way back when we had annual visitor's passes for Busch Gardens. I have vivid memories of visiting Busch Gardens with my family, but this visit was my first time back in over 20 years.

What a BLAST we all had at Busch Gardens on Sunday! The kids were thrilled with this rare trip to an amusement park and the day was most enjoyable for everyone. Photo highlights are below. All photos of us on the rides are courtesy of grandma, who chose to sit out on the water rides the second time around. We were able to enjoy most of our favorite rides twice, with a show and other activities sprinkled in between.

One of my favorite rides from way back when - the log flume! Still as great as ever! The first photo depicts Amelia in the front of the car with me behind, with grandpop (in back) and John (in front) in the second photo below.

Amelia and John on the tree-top rope maze...

...and Amelia (in the blue shirt) about to be hit from behind on the bumper cars by grandpop (dark green shirt).

Below is the Congo River Rapids ride!  What can I say - this was a huge favorite for all, including Amelia and John. Grandpop is at the top of the photo in the green shirt on the left with John at his side, and I am wearing the white top to the right with Amelia in the blue shirt next to me. We are looking at an upcoming wave that...

...completely soaked Amelia! Amelia got the prize for getting most wet on our second trip down the Congo River Rapids. The kids still talk about how much fun they had at Busch Gardens, especially on this ride.

The fall decorations throughout the park were lovely!

Below is a photo of our group having lunch at a table just underneath one of the major roller coasters. It's hard to describe based on this photo, but the track of the roller coaster passed so close to the seating area for this cafe that watching the coaster swoosh by every two minutes or so provided significant entertainment during our lunch! (And no, we didn't ride this roller coaster! The height of the structure was way too much for me, so grandma - the brave one - didn't opt to go on the ride alone)

The views from our train ride around the safari area were awesome! We saw dozens of different animals, from giraffes to rhinos, zebras and gazelles.

I love the juxtaposition of the giraffe in front of the tall roller coaster in the photo below. Not quite Africa, but close.

The last of the three water rides - the Tidal Wave! Guests boarded a large boat for one steep plunge down the waterfall. This ride looked scarier from the sidelines than it actually was, but you got soaked upon crashing into the pool at the bottom.

Amelia (far left), me (in the middle) and John (on the right) - in the second row - getting soaked the second time we enjoyed this ride.

Many thanks to grandma and grandpop for a wonderful day at Busch Gardens! The Wilsons loved our time enjoying the park together, and my experience was enhanced even more due to memories from being a kid at this park way back when. Amelia and John continue to mention the amazing fun they had at Busch Gardens,  and that they hope to return someday soon. This was a hit on all accounts!

Mini golf and swimming

Saturday was another powerhouse day of fun for all of the cousins. We got together with Laura and her kids Saturday morning at the Gainesville fun center for a game of miniature golf. 

Henry was hilarious! He quickly figured out that the easiest way to get the ball in the hole was to walk down the green and place his ball just next to the hole. Then he would stand up straight and knock the ball into the hole with his club and put his arms up straight in the air and shout "horray!" Henry did this with each and every hole - it was awesome. The older kids played more or less according to the rules, and grandpop beat us all with the best score of the bunch.

There was a go-cart track next to the mini golf course so the three oldest kids got to take a turn on the track after we completed our game of mini golf. Grandma and grandpop even got to drive because Jack and John were not tall enough to drive their own cars. The go-carts were very popular and the three oldest kids enjoyed this treat.

After mini golf we went to a local park for more playtime and a picnic lunch. Then we went to our respective houses for some rest time and relaxation, and then met later in the afternoon at Laura and John's house for more cousin playtime. This time - swimming - the kids' favorite!

Amelia (age 10), Jack (age 6), and John (age 7) below. Henry refused to get in the photo, but we eventually captured him later!

The water was chilly, so I think it is admirable that Laura, Uncle John, and grandpop went in the water with the kids. The cousins had a blast playing together!

First photo was a "required" photo of all four cousins sitting together. The second photo below is the "silly" photo. What a great time together at the pool! I love seeing all the smiles on their faces!

Cousin fun

Amelia and John had a three-day weekend last week because their schools were closed Monday for the Texas state fair. We used the break as an opportunity to visit grandparents and the Boekenoogens in Gainesville. The kids and I left early Thursday morning and returned to Texas on Monday evening. The entire weekend was fun and super-relaxing - the prefect mid-semester break that we all needed.

Thursday evening Laura and John hosted us all over at their house for dinner and play time. The cousins decided it would be fun to race each other up and down the sidewalk. I can't remember how this activity got started but it ended up being perfect because all four could participate and have fun together - from Henry (the youngest, age 3) to Amelia (the oldest, age 10).

Cousins lined up below - John (age 7), Henry (age 3), Jack (age 6), and Amelia (age 10). On your mark, get set, GO!

Jack and Henry went to school on Friday and Uncle John went to work. But Laura took the day off so we all got to spend time together enjoying Gainesville. Following a delicious lunch at Satchel's, the craziest and most delicious pizza place in Gainesville, Laura took us to Lake Wauburg. Lake Waugburg is a recreational facility that is part of the University of Florida campus, where students, faculty, and staff can play sand volleyball, have picnics, and rent boats next to a very pretty lake.

We rented a paddle boat and took turns going out into the lake for a pretty ride. Later John got off the boat and Amelia took his place pedaling up front while I rode in back with Laura. There was a nice breeze out on the lake and it was quite peaceful.

Peaceful at least until we spied this guy hanging out along the shore. You should have heard Laura scream (!!) when we realized there was a baby gator in the water ahead of us. But we were distant enough from the gator that we never got too close for this to be scary, and seeing the gator was just a perfect Florida experience.

I thought paddleboarding looked like fun and I would love to try this sometime. However, I am not sure how I would feel about finding the alligator friend in the water while paddleboarding. The gator was just to the left of my camera lens in this photo and the paddleboarders were headed straight for him.

Friday evening we all met on the UF campus to watch the Lady Gators Volleyball team defeat the Kentucky Wildcats. The volleyball games at UF are electric and well-attended, with thousands of fans shouting and cheering the entire match. Great shot of the four cousins below with the mascot, Alberta. 

The large poster in the background of this photo shows how high some of the star UF volleyball players can reach when they jump vertically. Amelia and John each took a running jump towards the poster. As you can see, they got about half-way up to the height that the very tall and athletic players can reach with their arms.

Thursday and Friday were great days spent with family in Gainesville. More fun to come!

The very weird story that is true

The Very Weird Story That Is True

By John Wilson

There once was a very weird ship. The ship had shells for models and did not have a fish for a pet. Instead of a fish they had a shark. And instead of trees to suck up the pollution they had mushrooms.

John brought home this writing assignment tonight (I corrected the spelling errors in my translation above). I asked John why the story was so strange and he said that the assignment was to use as many "sh" words in the photo when writing the story. Hence why he used non-boating words such as mushrooms.

John had a huge smile on his face when he read the story. You could tell he was definitely proud of his work!

John's fall sports

John has a crazy busy fall sports schedule this year. For September and October John is playing in a Y flag football league, is on two club basketball teams, and is also playing fall chamber baseball. Scott and I disagreed over how intense John's sports schedule should be this fall, and you can tell that in the end I didn't have much say over how our family should handle John's love of sports. Scott won (not that I had a chance).

Needless to say our family has been busy with lots of practices and games. A few photo highlights are below.

John is playing baseball this fall with his same team, the Yankees. John is blessed to be on a team with one of the best coaches around and is surrounded by a whole crew of sports-like obsessed boys like him. I love this team and was more than willing to encourage John's participation this fall with baseball.

Below John is at bat. His hitting skills have improved so much in the last couple of years. This past Saturday John hit two singles, a double, and struck out once in his four times at bat. Not bad for a little guy (age 7) playing machine-pitch baseball!

Below John is on third base (after hitting a double and then running to second after another player hit a single, I think). Scott is serving as third base coach this season. Most of the parents think Scott is going to throw out his shoulder from continuously motioning the boys through to run on to home plate as they round second. 

Our team is very strong so Scott has many opportunities to bring the boys home. I am glad he is involved with John's sports and find it amusing to watch the wind-up action around third base from my comfortable perch on the bleachers.

Finally I get a sweet smile out of my boy in the dugout. John was lunging at me screaming, "no pictures, mom!" in this photo. But you can't tell, and we can see a smile as a bonus.

 John is #13 below, warming up as his teammates take the plate.

Playing third base below.

John is playing on two basketball teams - the Hurricanes and the Next Years Stars. Both are relatively challenging leagues where the boys have to demonstrate their interest before being asked to join the teams. First photo is from a Next Years Stars game. I find it really difficult to take good action shots with the rapid action of basketball, despite the fabulous camera I use for most photos of the children.

The last two photos are from Hurricanes games. Despite all of the orange, I have never associated the basketball Hurricanes with Scott and John's beloved Miami Hurricanes.

I could write a whole other post about John's basketball shoes, but if he were able to record a podcast to describe them this is what he would say. "I have these customized basketball shoes that I need to do my best on the court. My dad bought them for me off of the internet because I am a good basketball player. I chose bright colors for my custom shoes because I want to stand out on the court. Players know I am coming because I am really good at basketball. I really love my crazy colored basketball shoes, plus they say "King John", just like LeBron's shoes say "King James", inside."

Whew. I love John's interest in sports, but this fall is a beating with so many practices and games on the schedule. More to come as this fall is just the beginning.