The Friday before Veterans Day, Redland Oaks Elementary had a special celebration to honor our Veterans.  My Dad, Fred Witta, is retired military, and so Bethany & Zachary were able to invite him to be their special guest at the ceremony.

The students sat on the floor, except for the choir, who stood on the stage.  The veterans had chairs of honor in the front & they had chairs around the edge of the room for the misc. parents (that would be me).  Zachary got to sit in the front since he is in Kindergarten.

The choir sang several songs & actually sounded really good!!  Bethany gets to stand by her friend Aubrey, so she really enjoys choir :-)

After the MacArthur high school honor band played the National Anthem & some other patriotic songs & the principal talked to the kids, all the veterans were asked to introduce themselves & tell who invited them & which branch of the sevice they served in.  It was touching to hear from all the men & women who have served our country.  The older man in front of my dad served combat duty in WWII.  It was really neat to have him participate.

Overall, I would say it was a neat morning for the kids.  Way too long (1 hour & 20 minutes for the kids to sit on the floor), but I was VERY impressed that the children were so patient & seemed to enjoy listening to the veterans.

The MacArthur band was FABULOUS!!  & the Redland Oaks Choir sang a special song about the military coming home from service & it was very touching!!  I think all the adults had tears in their eyes.

So, we say  THANK YOU VETERANS & Active Duty Military.  We appreciate all you do for us & all the sacrifices that you make!!  God Bless You ALL!!

It's taken me a little time to get these online, but some of the pictures were too good not to share!

Our church has it's fall festival every year on the Friday before Halloween (unless Halloween falls on a Friday)  This year, it was held outside for the first time & our little superheroes could hardly wait to get there.  Zachary wanted to be Batman, so we decided that Jackson would be perfect as Robin & Bethany joined in by being Supergirl!!

As soon as we got there, we ran into another superhero (Gage White) & his sister princess Garen. 

After playing a few games, Bethany & Zachary wanted to try the velcro wall.  Jon found out he could do it too, so he & Bethany put on the suits.

Bethany went first.  She jumped pretty high, but then Jon grabbed her & threw her up REALLY high.  She thought it was great!

Next it was Jon's turn.  He thought it was fun until he started to slip a little & then he decided it hurt too much to try it again.  (Luckily we have all the children that we want!!)

Zach was next & Jon threw him forward, but the best was when he did a flip & landed upside down!!

The big slide was a hit too.  Jackson needed Bethany's help to make it to the top since the slide was a little messed up & the foot holds didn't work.  Bethany was sweet to help a lot of the little kids up.

Obviously, Zach was having fun on the slide! 

To raise money for the Children's ministry.  All the ministers took turns in the dunking booth.  It was $1 for the kids & $5 for the adults for 3 balls.  Bethany took her turn first & dunked Dr. Loftis on the 2nd throw!!

Next Zach had his turn & again Dr. Loftis went down on the 2nd ball.  (Notice the spash marks on Zachary's costume.

Jackson's favorite was the little slide for 3 & under.  He must have climed up & slid down 50 times!!!!

The next Wed. was Halloween.  I wasn't brave enough to wear my Wonder Woman costume to church, but the whole family dressed up for the kid's trick-or-treating. Jon decided at the last minute that he would be Clark Kent.  Aren't you loving those glasses---they were my glasses from high school & we just popped out the lenses.  Even Daisy the Dog was Super Dog. It was a really fun night!  The kids are already talking about what they want us to dress up as next year!!

Even though the weather hadn't turned cool yet, I was afraid that all of the pumkins would be gone if we didn't head on out to the pumpkin patch.  So...we put on our short overalls, (Short overalls with boots for Jackson!) & headed out to the Bulverde United Methodist Church's pumpkin patch.

The kids had fun with the cut outs

Here are our little pumpkins!

Our little pumpkin heads!!

When we were walking to the car, Jackson suddenly stopped when his overalls just fell off!!! 

Happy Fall Ya'll!!!!!!   (Luckily the weather did turn cooler this week & so it really has felt like fall!)

After 10 months of Zachary asking "WHEN do I get to go to kindergarten at Redland Oaks?", the day was finally here.  We had gone to "Meet the Teachers Night" on Friday night & met their teachers & saw thier classrooms.

There was much excitement Friday night when we got to school & checked the class lists.  Bethany was THRILLED to have her best friend, Aubrey, in her class, as well as a couple of other friends.  She also got a teacher who moved up from 3rd grade to 4th, so she knew her & was very excited!!  Zachary also got a teacher that we have heard wonderful things about, so we were all very happy.

After meeting his teacher on Friday, Zachary was actually upset that school wasn't starting on Friday night!!!  We told him his teacher was tired after all the meetings that she had that week, so he would just have to wait until Monday.

We were afraid that the kids might be so excited that they wouldn't sleep well, so Jon took them over to some friends house and wore them out swimming.  They fell asleep very quickly!

Zachary was up bright & early the next morning (OK--that just means it's a typical day at the Flummer household!) They had laid out some of their new school clothes the night before.  It was amazing just how quickly they got dressed, ate breakfast & brushed their teeth & fixed their hair.  They were ready with 30 minutes to spare!! (& no prompting from me--I know this won't last!)

Jon took Jackson to his preschool & we took the traditional first day of school pics--the 5th time for Bethany, but a first for Zach.

Then I made them stop to take a picture with their school in the background. (They weren't thrilled about that...they were ready to get INSIDE!)

We dropped Zachary off in the cafeteria, where he will go each day to meet his teacher before school, and where Bethany will pick him up each day afterschool before they meet me & Jackson (& Daisy) at the crossing guard across the street from the school.

After Zachary's teacher came to the cafeteria, I said a quick goodbye & Bethany & I headed to her room.  She is excited to be in a portable this year.  (2 of the 4  fourth grade classes are in portables)  Her friend, Aubrey was already there.

When we picked them up after school, Bethany had a GREAT first day of school.  Zachary told me that he wasn't sure if he wanted to go back the next day because he said "Kindergarten wasn't  nearly as much fun as I thought it would be"--it will get better I'm sure! :-) 

Last week Jon decided to let me have a morning to get caught up on some chores, so he took the kids to Inflatable Wonderland (one of those play places with the jumpy houses & big inflatable slides) to get some energy out. They had a great time in the morning, although Bethany & Zachary got a couple of scrapes. 

I had to tutor that night, so Jon decided to take the kids back so they could "get their money out of the wrist bands".  Jon was really careful with Jackson on the big slides & held his legs & arms so that they wouldn't get caught under him & break his leg.  However, they then decided to go on the little baby slide.  Jon got on his belly & Jackson got on his back & as they were sliding, Jon slid one way, & Jackson went the other way & got his arm caught underneath.  Those wrist bands were about to become VERY expensive......

After crying and holding his wrist even when he got home, we decided he needed to go to the ER.  Luckily we have a wonderful, children's ER about 10 minutes away from our house.  Jon took him there, Dad came & picked up Beth & Zach & my student's mom came & picked him up so that I could meet Jon at the ER.  We were VERY fortunate that the ER was not busy & we were able to see the dr., take X-ray's, find out that Jackson had a "buckle fracture" (kind of like when you have playdough & smash it & it buckles out).  It's the most common in little kids & also the easiest to heal.  We were also blessed because one of the ER nurses was a lady, Karen, that we knew from church.  It was really nice for us to have her there!!  (& we were in and out in 1.5 hours!!)

They put Jackson in a splint & sling.  (Which he hated!!!)  The next night, he climbed on a bar stool & jumped off & landed on his hurt arm.  He cried for about 30 minutes & said that his arm hurt (duh!), but since there was nothing the ER could do, we just gave him motrin & then the next day when we met with the pediatric orthopedic surgeon, they re-x-rayed him & he hadn't damaged it anymore!  When I told the nurse about the bar-stool incident, she just laughed & said....that is so typical!!

He got to choose the color of cast that he wanted.  At first he tried to pick orange, but I told him orange wasn't allowed in our house, I thought the maroon color looked good, however, he chose the bright lime green.  (Which actually fit his personality really well!!)

He started 3 yr old kindergarten this past Wednesday.  At first he told us he didn't want to go.

When we reminded him of all the new toys, he wanted to go play with the new toys, but he didn't want us to leave.

He had a great first day of school & when I picked him up he ran to me & said "Mommy, I had fun!!!"  However, he also got his cast wet on the playground, & so that night he said.  "Hey mommy, look, I can take it off" & slipped it 1/2 way off.  I screamed "STOP" & we pushed it back on.  The next day we had to go back to the dr. for a new cast.  They didn't even have to cut it off, it just slipped right off.  This time he chose blue

We're hoping that this one lasts the last 2 weeks he has to wear it!

OK, I know we've been home from vacation for a couple of weeks, but I had to show pictures of the last part of our vacation.  After visiting Jon's folks up in Anniston, AL (northeast Alabama about 1 hour west of Atlanta, GA), we drove the 6 hour drive to Gulf Shores, Alabama.  The traffic was worse than we thought, so the drive took about an hour longer than we thought.  Those 6 hours seemed almost harder than the 12 hours from San Antonio to Mobile!!

However, when we got to the condo, it was all worth the drive!!.  When we were visiting in Mobile, the week before, there had been "sea lice" & jelly fish in the waters, so you weren't 'allowed to go into the water! I had never heard of Sea Lice before, but we were told that it bores into your skin & then you itch & look like you have the measles.  My first thought was "we spent all this money for a condo on the beach & now we won't even get to put our feet in the water?!?!?"  However, when we drove up the road to our condo which was at Orange Beach, which is next to Gulf Shores, the purple flags (bio-hazards in the water) were NOT flying & the water was GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the view from the balcony of our condo.

We quickly ate supper and then headed to the beach.  I think that evenings on the beach are my favorite.  It is very windy, but the sunset reflects off the water & it is cool & not very crowded & you don't have to worry so much about sunscreen!  The tide is out, so there is more wet sand to play in & it is really so relaxing.   A couple of evenings, I would take a book out & lounge & read.  What a luxury!!!  Every night I would think how great it would be to live on the beach.

We even fed the seagulls on the beach.  The kids thought that it was neat the way the seagulls caught the bread & cookies that we threw to them.

The sun comes up REALLY early in the morning....about 5am!  We slept until about 6:30, then Zach & I got up to watch the dolphins jumping in the water about 30 - 50 feet from the shore.  It was so fun to watch them from our balcony.  Jackson was SO excited because as a special treat we bought the kids powdered sugar donuts.  Yum Yum!

What I love about the beaches in the Gulf Shores & Panama Beach area are the white sandy beaches.  It still amazes me that the sand doesn't burn your feet!

Jon brought a big spade from home & we had fun helping the kids make sand castles. 

The kids really loved the beach.  Zachary enjoyed playing in the water.

After Bethany got a little jelly fish sting the first night, (even little jelly fish HURT) she played more on the beach.

The second day that we were there, Jackson did the funniest thing.  He started sitting on his bottom & scooting down to the waterline at the beach.  As the tide went out throughout the day, his path got longer and longer.

Look at his little hand prints next to his path! 

Every evening, the kids would come in & eat supper on the balcony before we went back out to the beach. 

After making his "path" all day, Jackson was so tired that he actually fell asleep while he was eating supper.  He almost fell out of his chair, so I picked him up & laid him on the lounge chair. 

I had to wake him up, but after he woke up & we went back to the beach, he went right back to making his little path!

Luckily, the condos have several water hoses on the little walkway to the beach.  After scooting on the beach...you wouldn't believe what was in Jackson's swimsuit. 

 Honestly, I think playing with the water hoses was one of Jackson's favorite parts of the beach.  He would have stayed there all day if we would have let him!

The only thing that would have made the trip more perfect is if Jon's parents would have been able to stay at the beach with us the whole time.  Jon's dad was able to spend one night with us while his mom helped out her parents in Mobile.  The kids LOVED having "Papa" at the beach with us.  He wore them out in the swimming pool & they loved snuggling with him at night.

I missed having Sandra there.  Not only do I just enjoy having her around,...she knows how to pack for a trip to the beach....who knew that you would need to pack salt & pepper & other things I just take for granted!  Jon was wishing his mom was there too since we had to go to the store every day to get something we hadn't thought about!! 

We'll just have to go again....I'm sure the kids won't mind!

If you think that you have seen lots of fish...WOW...you need to go to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.  We had heard really good things about the Aquarium, but were not sure if the kids were really old enough to enjoy it--especially after a morning at the World of Coca Cola.

When our plans changed a bit, we decided that would try to get tickets.  We were able to get tickets & met some of Jon's friends who have season passes there after lunch.

When you walk in, there is a wall of fish on both sides.  They seem to come to you when you walk by & it is really neat!

We decided to go & see the whale shark area first b/c we had never seen a whale shark before & Zachary LOVES sharks.  He was VERY excited when we looked up the aquarium online www.georgiaaquarium.org  & found out that they had whale sharks there. 

The set-up of the aquarium is very nice.  You walk into a big open area & then pick an area to go through & it ends up back at the big open area.  The  Ocean Voyager area (where the whale sharks were) had a moving sidewalk that slowly moved you through a tunnel where the sharks & fish & sting rays could swim to the side of you & also over you.  It was like you were in the ocean (but not wet & not in a wetsuit or in any danger--except for maybe getting a crick in you neck looking up!)

They had these lamenated sheets in each area when you went in that showed you pictures of all the different fish.  The kids (including Jon) had fun identifying all the fish. 

We went to the kids area next.  They had some neat hands on areas where you could touch stingrays, starfish & shrimp.

This is Bethany touching a starfish.

They also had tubes the kids could climb through that let you look down on the fish below.

The whale slide was a hit too.  I was just glad we had 2 parents since the kids start out on the 2nd level & end up on the first level right by the exit into the large central area.

The sea turtle was neat too & seemed to like Bethany!

The Cold Water quest part had beluga whales (Jackson sang "baby beluga in the deep blue sea" when he saw the Beluga whales!

They also had an outside area where some seals performed.

The Tropical Diver area had some really neat & colorful fish, but was a little claustraphobic because it was very crowded for some reason. 

The River Scout area had freshwater fish & they designed that area so that you felt like you were underground, or in the river.  It was a really neat area & the kids enjoyed it a lot.

So, all in all, we highly recommend the Georgia Aquarium.  Everyone seemed to like it....the senior citizen groups that were around it were as excited as our kids.  Jon & I were amazed & except for the kids area being a little hard to keep up with the kids by yourself, it was a well organized & absolutely beautiful place.

They also have a 4D movie (that Jackson cried & cried at until it started --afraid that a snake was going to come out at him& then he cried when it was over because he wanted to see it again!)  The movie was just OK--fun for the kids, but I'd pass on it if we didn't have the kiddos.

Jackson gave it a thumbs up, but I think his favorite part of the whole day was chasing the pigeons outside the aquarium as we were leaving!

While we were in Anniston, AL, visiting Jon's folks, we decided to make the 1 hour trip to Atlanta to see the new World of Coke & also the acclaimed Georgia Aquarium.

We had talked about taking the kids to the World of Coke the last couple of years, but always ran out of time.  We lucked out this year because we had made plans with one of Jon's college friends to see him & his family in Atlanta, & then we found out they just opened a brand new World of Coke next to the Aquarium!!  It's all high tech now....you are encouraged to buy your tickets online & you pick a time to go.  That way you are guaranteed to be able to enter at that time. 

We had World of Coke tickets for 10:30 & when we arrived, there were a sea of red-shirted kids on a field trip...luckily, we were able to get into the movie just before them & stayed just ahead of them the whole time!!  After the opening movie, the screen went up & according to the kids "WOW--we get to go into a secret passageway!!!"  ...into...the World of Coca Cola!

The Coca Cola Polar Bear was in the foyer area, and Bethany & Zachary were excited to see it.  Jackson wasn't so excited, but gained some courage with Jon holding him & actually gave the CocaCola Bear a high five after we took some pictures.

The next area we went into was an actual Coca Cola bottling area.  They bottle the cokes that the visitors get to take at the end of the "journey".  It was neat to see!

We then went into a museum area that told the history of CocaCola & had some neat memorbelia.  Jon & I really liked it & I was amazed that the kids actually liked many parts of it.

They thought the old soda fountain was neat & wished that they still had shops like these around. (& that they still cost a nickel!)

The Olympic tourches were a big hit too.  It was neat to see the different ones.

Next, it was upstairs to the 4-D theater to watch the movie "The Search for the Secret Formula" where I actually learned something new.  I thought we only had 4 different taste buds...sweet, sour, bitter, salty, but there is one more...umami  (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami) which is a meaty or savory taste.

Jackson entertained himself & the older couple that were near us, as we waited for the movie.  He then decided that he still didn't like movies with 3-D glasses.  (He was traumatized last summer at Epcot when we saw "Honey I shrunk the Audience" & a big snake came out at us.  He hasn't liked these movies since then!!)   However, he sat in my lap and did OK for the movie, but didn't like it when the water sprinkled us & when the seats moved.

After the 4-D movie, we got to go into a room with old Coke commercials...oh the memories!  Jon & I remembered most of them, but the kids were anxious to get to the tasting room, so we didn't get to stay that long.

Jon could hardly wait to get the kids to try the "Beverly" soda.  It is the yucky one I remember from the last time we went to the World of Coke--at the old location 11 year ago. 

He actually videotaped them drinking the soda, but I couldn't figure out how to add a video link to this, so I'm just putting the picture on.

Jon tasted it too....

Jackson & I didn't...we are too smart for that! We only tasted the good ones!  It was fun to see all the different sodas from around the world.

However, the best part was at the end where I could get a good old diet coke! The kids liked that they got to pick out a bottle of coke to take home with them (& then they actually got to drink a real coke later on.)

We packed a picnic lunch and ate at the nice picnic area in the courtyard of the World of Coca Cola & the Georgia Aquarium.  The kids weren't very hungry with all the coke products in their tummy!

This is Jackson calling his "Me-Me" to tell her about the Coke he drank.

Then it was off to the Georgia Aquarium...which will have to be a separate blog.

So....what is your favorite Coke Slogan or commercial....I remember "Mean Joe Green commercial"  & "Have a Coke & a Smile"  .....I'd like to buy the world a Coke...& keep it company...  

Click the link to make a comment & lets see what you remember!

682 miles, 12 hours, 4 pitstops, 3 new leapster games, 2 new DVD's, & we were there--Jon's Alabama!

We left San Antonio at 7:20 am & arrived at Jon's Aunt Karen & Uncle Brooks house about 7:20 pm!  We were ready to be out of the car, but all in all, it was a good trip.  We printed maps & highlighted the way to Mobile, so the kids could follow along. This helped cut down on the "how much longer before we are there?!?"  Jackson couldn't read the towns that we went through on the map, but he sure did enjoy studying his own map (just like Dora)!

We have learned where the good stops are & always try to make one of our longer stops at the Louisiana Welcome Center. 

They have a nature walk on a deck-like bridge that goes through a swampy area.  The kids (including the biggest kid-Jon) love to see what they can see in the swampy marsh. 

This year we saw 2 snakes on the way out

However, once we got out to the edge, there was an alligator resting in the tree area just past the walkway. 

Even though there was a cable railing, I still made the kids stay away from the edges! (yes--sometimes I become my mother!!)

Look back in the swampy area behind Jon & the kids....can you imagine going through a swamp?  Besides being disgusting & scarey with lots of bugs, snakes & alligators, I would be lost in no time at all!

They also have these huge grasshopper-like creatures in the grassy areas of the welcome center.  Bethany wanted to catch some to take as bait for fishing.  However, when Jon picked one up, they were prickly & too hard to hold.  I didn't even try to catch one...YUCK!

I'm just glad we don't have these in our backyard!

The next day we went to the USS Alabama.  We try to go every couple of years & the kids really enjoy it. 

We did learn a very important lesson while on the battleship....always take care of personal needs BEFORE boarding the ship.  We got into a gun turrant & the kids were pretending to fire the guns.  This is Bethany in the turrant.

All of a sudden Jackson said "I need to go pee-pee"  Well....restrooms are hard to find on the different decks of the ship & by the time we could even get him out of the turrent, there was a puddle on the floor!  SO....luckily, his suitcase was in the car & I could take him to change his clothes (& shoes) & told the people in the gift shop what happened.  They were so nice & told me "oh honey..don't you worry about it.  There have been much worse things that have happened on that ship!"

While I was helping Jackson, Beth & Zach tested out the guns on the deck.

Here we go...starting all over again! 

The kids (including Jon) had such a good time.

They always love the sleeping quarters.  We found some bunks that were 4 high...perfect for us!  In one of the bunks, Jon started talking to a man that works on the battleship.  He offered to let us see the area that the boy scouts get to sleep over in.  (How fun would that be!!)  The kids thought that was really neat (he also let Jackson use those bathrooms so that we didn't have to climb 3 sets of ladders to try to reach the bathroom in time!!--God was watching over us!)

The eating area also makes the kids really think about Ship Life!

The battleship just opened up a new area. 

This is the front of the ship.  It always amazes me how HUGE this ship is!

I didn't get a picture of the ladders/stairs.  However, when we looked at the pictures of the crew, there was never a picture of an overweight crewmember.  We decided with the oppressive heat on the ships & all the stairs, there was no way a sailor could be overweight!!  (We were so thankful for the air conditioning in most of the ship!!

This is Jackson coming out of the shell casing hole by some of the guns on the ship deck.

After touring the battleship, we decided to take a quick tour of the submarine.  It was much smaller (65 crewmembers as compared to over 2300 on the battleship).  I would have never made it on a submarine!  It was VERY claustraphobic!

Jon & the kids climbed up to look through the parascope. 

Zachary did NOT like the climb down (notice the lip sticking out).  He is afraid of heights, but doesn't want to miss anything, so he tried it & liked it up top, but didn't like the trip down when he looked down!

While the kids & Jon were looking through the parascope, I had the priviledge of talking to a fomer navy sailor who was visiting with his grandson.  He worked on training subs in the 1950's and it was VERY interesting talking to him.

What a blessing to remember what all of these service men (& women) have done for our country....for us!

The next day, our last day in Mobile,  we visited Jon's grandparents & then found the World Changer work site where our youth minister, Chris Skoglund, was working with some of the youth.  We had a good visit with him & then took the kids back to the park (a really nice park) to run some energy out.  Jackson was very excited about the play volcano.  He pretended that he was the Magma & climbed to the top on the inside & then he was the hot lava on the outside of the volcano. 

I wish we had a park like this close to our house in San Antonio!

The Flummer's celebrated the 4th in their traditional fashion...literally!  We started a traditioin of getting Old Navy Flag shirts when Bethany was just a baby.  Now each summer we go and get the latest shirt.

Here is a pic of Jackson and the flag cake the kids like to make.  Jackson was the only one who wanted to help me this year...he is my little chef.  ("Wait Mom, I help...I get my stool")

It was an extra special 4th because my brother & his family flew in from Florida for a visit.  We had not yet met our nephew, Isaac, who is almost 9 months old, and our visit last summer was cut to just a few hours b/c Sage & then Chuck had the stomach bug.  It has been a blast watching the kids play together. 

Here is a pic of Sage (age 4), Bethany (8 1/2), Zachary (5 1/2), baby Isaac, & Grandpa Fred (almost 65)

Hope your 4th was fun!