familybeyond

Cache-30Cache-30  This past Saturday I took the kids on an adventure.  About 1230 am, we descended upon the Winn Dixie in Inlet Beach.  I had heard about the waste that are nations grocery stores commit every day.  I have watched numerous documentaries and programs about the food waste in our country.  Enough food, whether it be farms or stores, throw out tremendous amounts of food.  Whether it be because of government regulations, lawsuits or simple laziness, the amounts of food being thrown away in our society is ludicrous!  It is mind boggling as there should not be one starving person in the US if the food was dispersed properly.  I realize that it would not take more work to accomplish this but was is life all about if not for helping each other.

The video depicts the children getting their first taste of this problem.  I think they walked away from this with a new self awareness of this epidemic.  We pulled a good amount of food from the single dumpster and it was an array of dairy, bakery and meats.  All the items were yet to expire and seemed to be unharmed.  At first the kids said ” Do we really need food that bad” when I first presented this project to them.  I explained to them what is really happening and I hope that they will become passionate about making a difference!  To be continued……

Here are the kiddos on Halloween………..

On the weekend of December 8th and 9th, the children and I decided to head to New Orleans. With 3 birthdays in December, the fam thought going on a trip was a lovely birthday present. We packed up the car and grabbed our good friend, Olivia, to go with us to accompany Ella. It was such and easy drive to get there. We arrived early Friday eve and hightailed to the kids first NBA game. We saw the New Orleans Hornets vs the Memphis Grizzlies. The kids had a blast and truly enjoyed the camraderie of the game. Memphis won, we were all secretly cheering for the Griz as Olivia is from Memphis.

The next morning, we woke up and headed to Cafe Du Monde. We did some new clips for our video coming out soon, We got our Backpacks On. Grabbed some beignets and went and sat on the steps next door. To our surprise, we got treated to one of the coolest moments there, the Calypso Tumblers. These guys were awesome. Walking down the steps on their hands, incredible gymnast aerials, flips and such. We talked to them briefly and made our way to Jackson Square. Browsed around the French Quarter and headed to the St. Louis Cemetery where the Voodoo priestess is supposedly laid to rest. The kids got a kick out of the tombs and the history behind it all.

As we cruised thru the Quarter, we headed to the Aquarium. A very lovely spot right on the river. The kids had a blast! After the Aquarium of the Americas, everyone was starved. We stumbled across a hidden gem, Johnnys PoBoys. Awesome poboys and muffalettas at a great price! Will definitely hit up that spot next visit. We walked up to the Roosevelt for their beautiful Christmas lights. Got some hot chocolate and the girls became buddies with a concierge named Kevin. Very nice guy and great name too. Hopped in the car to head to Christmas in the Oaks at the Botanical Gardens. Saw two girls in a fight on the way. Kids thought that was pretty cool. The lights at the Gardens was amazing! A pleasant surprise! I had promised the kids dessert and they were sure to call me out on it. So at around 1030 we descended upon Cafe Degas for brulees and such. Very swanky place i would like to check out at dinner. Everyone was thoroughly exhausted at the end of the night.

All in all, an amazing trip! New Orleans was a blast full of good music, food and people. Just want to give a shoutout to Silver Robot Man who befriended the children and we spent some time with. Here we come Mardi Gras!

clip-2012-08-27 17;30;44 In late August, a tropical storm turned hurricane, Isaac, was projected to hit the Gulf Coast where we live. It was a slow moving storm that churned and churned in the Gulf. We thought we would document it and the video is that attempt. A side note, the storm never hit us despite the evacuations.

clip-2012-11-11 10;22;04clip-2012-11-10 14;10;11Each fall in the town of Rosemary Beach, a festival happens celebrating the migration of the Monarch butterfly.  Every year the Monarch migrates from its homes in the United States to a particular mountainous region in Southern Mexico.  Hundreds of thousands make this annual migration and they pass thru our area.

This year, Ella and Elijah’s respective bands performed.  Ella played guitar and performed Free Fallin by Tom Petty.  Elijah played guitar as well and played Boom Boom by John Lee Hooker.  Many thanks to their awesome music teacher, Randy at Tesla.

Last Thursday, I chaperoned a field trip with Ashler and Elijah’s 5th grade class to the Seacrest Wolf Preserve.  The preserve is the largest wolf preserve in the southeastern US.  It takes you on a journey through large natural habitats of Gray, Arctic and British Colombian wolves.  You get to have up close and personal encounters with the wolf packs themselves.  At the end, you get to hang out with skunks, Arctic foxes , coyote and raccoons.  A pretty amazing place and we had a blast.

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Last weekend, Ella performed with Dancewave 30A in Seaside at Artquest.    Here are some of the pics and video…..

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks3kwr_MKoM

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErYqUMUjZs0

A few months ago we decided to expand the family by adding some chickens.     My friend Justin Wright and I went up to Chipley to purchase some baby chicks.  Justin bought 11 and the children and I, 3.  We have some 2 Americanas and 1 Rhode Island Red.  They are currently  residing at JRocks house as he has a  big chicken coop.  Here are some of the pics of the new family…..

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