Road Trip, Part 2, continued

We had the shooting demonstration to ourselves. Larry asked John to help get the rifle ready.

Us with Larry . . . what a guy!

One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to the candy store . . . where we saw a pigeon - in the candy store. Pigeons like pralines, too, I suppose.

The Waving Girl(s)

Road Trip, Part 2

So, here's what the Schaefers do while Garrett's unemployed: take lots of road trips. Here are a few shots from our trip to Savannah to visit the Shepherds.

Fort Pulaski was great! We'd driven past for years - we finally stopped to get in a little history lesson. A vew from the top of the fort, with the Savannah River in the background. Below is one of the many canons remaining. Very cool.

And a gigantic fig tree growing inside the fort.

Road Trip!

Here are a few pictures from our road trip to Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield National Park (try saying that three times fast) All three kids used the trip as a research opportunity for presentations at Classical Conversations. We're studying U.S. history and we learned a lot about the Civil War battles near Atlanta. We enjoyed a picnic . . . a very cold picnic - too bad we didn't bring the tent so we could camp in the record-low temps, too.

Hey! There's a canon . . . let's shoot our finger pistols while mom takes a picture!

After the long, fun walk to the top of Kennesaw Mountain - the view!

A whole hand-full

John's FIVE! He requested a cookie cake . . . .thank you, John! Yum.

In the picture, he's wearing his new-favorite shirt. He thinks it's perfect for playing hide-and-seek at night.

I can't believe it's already been five years. John was born on a beautiful Georgia day. The girls were treated to a visit to 3 (or 4?) parks and eating lunch at the pizza parlor that day - thank you, Garriotts!

December 29, 2008 was a beautiful day, too. John spent his birthday fishing with Dad. Didn't catch anything, but you know what they say . . . "A bad day fishing beats a good day at work."

Happy Birthday, our sweet John. You bring such joy to our family.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Here's the official Christmas Eve 2008 photo, on our way to Mass. John did NOT want to be in the picture. He's not fond of anything with a collar, so he was convinced he looked "ridiculous". I think Ellen had a pretty good hold on him, and my double-flash camera tricked him into smiling just in time for the actual picture-taking. Merry Christmas from us to you . . . we pray that your 2009 is full of blessings.

So Long, Farewell . . .

Just before Christmas, we had to say "See ya later," to our sweet, beautiful, fun, loving, generous friend, Renee Johnson. We met Renee at church. She was a student at the University, a temporary transplant from Texas and we quickly made her part of our family. Ellen, Mary and John consider Renee an older sibling and we have been so blessed to have her around for about half of 2008. As a sweet nun once said, "Friends of Jesus never say 'Goodbye.'" So on December 18, we enjoyed one of Renee's favorite dishes - taco ring - (did I even feed you dessert, Renee?) sent her on her way, packed to the ceiling with all her belongings and sadly said, "See you later." And we will. Texas isn't that far away. Neither is the phone. We love you, Renee.

He's making a list . . .

Ellen, Mary and John made their requests to Santa on Saturday. Santa asked Ellen if she wants a boyfriend for Christmas. Thankfully, she said, "No." John asked for a bow and arrow, Mary asked for a blinky-eyes baby doll, and Ellen asked for walkie-talkies. We'll see if the nice outweighs the naughty.

Trick-or-Treat!

Here's the official Halloween 2008 photo. Ellen dressed as Nancy Drew, John is a football player (obviously) and Mary is in her Cinderella-Before-She-Turned-Into-A-Princess costume. Clever, huh? They got all sorts of loot, home by 7:30, enjoyed their allotment of three pieces of candy, then off to bed by 8:15. We only had one kid come twice for candy this year. My biggest pet-peeve? Adults who bring their babies in a stroller, park the stroller on the sidewalk, mom walks up to the door and says, "I have a little one over there." Really? Well, I don't have any zwieback toast or baby food - who's the candy for, exactly? Happy Halloween and Bah Humbug!

Apples, apples, everywhere!

Here are some pictures from our trip to Ellijay to visit the apple orchard.



Our sweet friend Renee joined us.



John enjoyed "kicking apples" while we were supposed to be "picking apples".

Mini-Me

I've been told Mary looks like me. Okay; now I see it. Here's a picture from our weekend trip to the apple orchard.

Eewww!

The neighbor captured a little snake and the girls were so brave. John and I were totally creeped out, but the girls and Garrett were very excited the with the door-to-door petting zoo.

Location, Location, Location

We were at the Jackson Co. McCain-Palin Rally tonight. Right behind the park where the rally was held, we noticed the Obama Headquarters. We felt compelled to take the opportunity to express our dislike.

Mary's essay reading went well. . . we are so proud. I'll try to post the video of her big moment.

A Crab!

This is my favorite picture from our beach trip. Garrett caught a crab (in the bucket) and John and Mary are really thrilled at the prospects of getting closer to it . . . tee hee. John's expression is the best.

Beach Bums

We had a blast on our first trip to Jekyll Island. You would think we rented the beach for ourselves. We may have seen 20 people each day, until the last. One advantage of home schooling is that we can take advantage of a relaxing trip any time of year. John had a great time boogie-boarding. Last year, he wouldn't even get in the water alone - big change this year. A little confidence can make anything more fun. We can't wait for next year's beach trip!