Meeting Jimmy Carter!

   We are right now staying outside of Plains, Georgia! Guess what? President Jimmy Carter lives in Plains Georgia and teaches Sunday School there!! And we had the privilege of meeting him, and his lovely wife!! Yes!! We met  President Jimmy Carter and his wife !!! It was AMAZING!! We even got our pictures taken with him!!! He is so sweet and kind!!!! He is  an amazing man!!!

March 1st My 13th Birthday!!

     We celebrated the morning in Lake Okeechobee FL, and the rest of the day in Long Horn, Sebastian, FL.

I woke up to lights, and the house all decorated, it was beautiful! We started off the day by opening presents: Patrick: Got me all my favorite candies, and an adorable “Happy Birthday Card from dog and Owner!” Melissa: Is making me a Birthday mini book to remember my big day! Dad: Got me flip-flops, and goodies! Mom: Got me a shell necklace, and a soon to come Fedora! Mom and Dad: Made me an adorable card, and SURFING LESSONS! Yes, surfing has been a dream of mine ever since I watched “Soul Surfer” in the movie theater.

After presents, I was treated in for breakfast in bed! We had egg, and sausage burritos. Yum!

We packed the camper and drove a little over 100 miles. Once we got to Long horn it was about lunch time. We ate the delicious lunch of Mexican pizza, and beans. Delectable!  After lunch, we played our first game of the day “How well do you know Natalie?” After thirteen questions; everyone new me pretty well. They all enjoyed the game!

We drove down to the beach for some ocean play! I found some beautiful seashells. After playing in the water for a bit, since it was a little rougher than usually we headed home.

Back at home, I watched “Get Smart”, and relaxed. Dinner came and we had, breaded chicken with mushrooms and spinach white sauce, over noodles! Delicious! We all relaxed afterwards playing poker, and other games.

In the evening we played my second game, I cut out 13 on construction paper, and had everyone right something about me since my first year till today.  Since I can’t remember back till 1, I wrote thirteen things about the day! It was a blast!

Desert came, and we had Tiramisu. It was amazing!

I had so much fun on my 13th birthday!!!! I loved every moment!! 

After Everglades...

     After Everglades, we back tracked and stayed at Lake Okeechobee. Just for two days , we did school, bike rides, and shuffle board. (Fun Fact: Shuffle board is an outdoor game in which you use pucks, and a specialized stick to push you puck into the score board to see how many points you get.) It’s a fun game! We enjoyed it , and met some friendly people, and mom saw a snake (Yikes, after talking with a lady who stays here, she told us that it was probably a poisonous snake. Double Yikes!)  Next stop the ocean! Yay!

Everglades National Park!

    We went to Everglades National Park for about five days. We really enjoyed our stay there!  Our first two days were mostly spent doing school, and just biking around the campground. Our third day we ventured out to enjoy the park. Our first stop was Eco Pond. Eco Pond has a great viewing of wildlife which we really enjoyed. We saw the Roseate Spoonbill, Great Egret, and many more. Patrick was getting bitten alive by the bugs. So we dropped him off at home. We found a trail near the campground so we headed out. Once we got there we noticed the trail was not very groomed, but we pushed forward. It was hot, buggy, so we went back about ten minutes in. We love going to Ranger Programs, and went over to the Visitor Center one mile from our home. It was about Pythons. They are non native species that have started taking over the Everglades, and starting to destroy the mammal population. How they got there? There a multiple way that could have happened. 1. People thinking this is the best thing that they can do for their snake so they drop them off at the park. 2. During the hurricane's there was a  pet store that could have caused this. As much as we know there could anywhere between 100,000 to 500,000 pythons in the Everglades. Ewe! It was an interesting topic, and everyone had great inputs. Ranger Mandi did a great job. During our stay here we also  went to a fabulous ranger program. About the Alligators. We learned about the difference between an Alligator and a Crocodile. One is that the Alligator lives in fresh water, and the Crocodile lives in salt water. You can also distinguish them by their noses. The alligator has a more "V" shaped nose. And the crocodile has a more "U" shaped nose. We went on the walk, and got to see the alligators up close and personal. Fun! We enjoyed it. Next day, we day we decided to go on the "Ranger Guided Canoe Ride". It was AMAZING! Ranger Mandy from the Python Program was our guide. Patrick, Dad, and I decided to go. Melissa and mom stayed home due to the exposure to the sun, and bugs( But there's actually wasn't any on the water.) Due to the weight limit on the canoe the boys both just hit it. I rode with Nickolas, and Heather. I'm telling you I had the best time EVER! We had such a great time talking, and maneuvering the canoe. It was a living comedy the whole time! What a fabulous program! Love, Love, Loved it!  Before the end of our stay Patrick and I rode our bike on the "Guy Bradley Trail" one of the bike trails that we loved that took us right to the Visitor Center. We went to get my Junior Ranger Badge. "Junior Ranger" Is a great program that allows kids to fill out a booklet about the park hand it in and receive a badge. I have been enjoying doing them at the Parks. We all took back a souvenir. Bug Bites! There were tons of bugs in Everglades, and we got bitten everywhere imaginable. Even on the bottom of our feet! Yikes! To talk a little about our campground we were close to the Visitor Center which is always so much fun because you can be super close to all the wonderful Ranger Programs that the National Parks host. The spots were spacious and pull through. And since it so hot in Everglades the showers at the park are actually cold. It's a great refresher mid-day. We really enjoyed Everglades, and were so happy we came!!!


P.s The events might not be in order, but who's counting ;)

Everglades!

     We arrived at the Everglades today! It’s hot, humid, and seems like a fabulous National Park! We can’t wait to dig in! We biked/ walked to the Visitor Center, and once we got there we figured out it was closed! Whoops! We got bitten alive! We can’t wait to start exploring!

Overnight at the Casino…..

        We stayed overnight at a Casino on our way to the Everglades. Casinos let you stay overnight for free with the bare minimum. It’s a nice place to stay for a quick stop.  With tons of security! Well let’s just say we are in Florida and it’s hot and humid, and it doesn’t cool down for a long time. And “Whose big idea is this,” got thrown around a few times! J Mostly by the kids! Well we survived and had a few more stories to tell. J We headed out Early that morning and made our way to the Everglades!

Rocket Blast Off!

     The rocket blast off was AMAZING!! After a delayed flight it took off and lit up the sky! It was very fast. As it went across the sky it disappeared into what looked like a hole!! Incredible!  There was a great crowd, and everyone clapped and cheered as it went up, and disappeared.  It was really amazing!