Monday, August 30, 2010

Skidaway Island State Park

We've had five days below 90 degrees in the last week! It makes quite a difference in how good it feels to be outside. Dean had to work today, and will probably have to work all the Sundays in August and September to get through a busy time at work, plus taking all the yamim tovim off.

I packed a little picnic and took the kids out to Skidaway Island State Park. It's such a lovely place, and not that far away. We ate lunch and played on the playground, then took a lovely walk along the trails there. We saw many beautiful birds, butterflies, dragonflies, a raccoon just a few feet away, and a skink.



We also spent about an hour in the nature center. They have a reptile room (where we watched a snake eat a mouse), a room full of fossils, artifacts, and the fossil skeleton of a 20-foot-tall giant sloth, and lots of displays about local flora and fauna. We had a great time. The highlight was the bird observation room. They had one-way glass and lots of feeders set up outside. There was a big shelf of binoculars and a spotting scope set up. There were hundreds of birds out there. Just delightful to sit back in the comfy chairs and watch all the activity.

After that, we went and got everyone new shoes since this morning they all decided to outgrow theirs. We went to Good Will first hoping for luck there, but none were to be found. I always have fantastic luck finding clothes for Amirah and not much luck finding clothes for the others. The one exception is boys' pants which we didn't need. So Amirah got a few new outfits for now and for the future (I'll buy things 1-2 sizes ahead of it's something that will be really nice for later). Then off to Payless where we always find shoes, although Eli has bought the same shoes three sizes in a row! There may not be a lot of variety in the shoes, but there's always something. :)

When we were all done we picked up Dean at work and then suddenly Sunday was over. And now technically it's Monday and the holidays are fast approaching, I have to do something about obtaining 200+ pounds of grapes and juicing them (how, though?? and what variety??), would really like a new sink in before Rosh Hashanah, and the cat-pee-filled floors replaced not much after that. The kitchen needs some electrical work as well. Then there's that learning time-housecleaning-cooking thing. Hmmmmm... somehow things get done and the chagim arrive. I just can't quite visualize it at this time.

So what did I do instead tonight? Got us a 4-night reservation for November on a cattle ranch in South Carolina. It will be our reward for getting through all of these tricky Sundays with DH at work. A lovely little respite for us after a very, very full eleven (by then) months.

Good night, all!

No comments: