NFJG Tournament

 

Chandler joined his head pro and a team of junior golfers for a North Florida Junior Golf tournament @ South Hampton.

(North Hampton is their home course- perhaps it should have been called the Civil War Tournament- ha.)

Some rounds are great for self-esteem, other rounds are great lessons in self-control.

Chandler did win a hat and box of golf balls for one of the closest to the pin holes. On the next round...

Chandler's Leadership Project

Chandler was enrolled in the same FLVS hosted leadership class as Logan but had delays in his project due to waiting on certain items to arrive via shipping. His project idea was to partner with the same CareNet center that Logan had, with an emphasis on encouraging young fathers. We learned that many care centers are trying to increase efforts to reach out to expectant fathers and  provide new parent education  for young men facing a new phase in life. 

Chandler assembled "New Daddy" bags. He chose a baseball themed bag and a small, soft baseball. On each baseball, he wrote "Play Catch With Me Daddy" or a similar sentiment to capture the idea that a young man will have an important role to play in his baby's life. He also included a copy of The Life Book~ generously provided by Gideons, Intl.

Shadow Players

Harnessing the sunshine, we had a little fun with our shadows. 

"Shadow is the obstruction of light. Shadows appear to me to be of supreme importance in perspective, because, without them opaque and solid bodies will be ill defined; that which is contained within their outlines and their boundaries themselves will be ill-understood unless they are shown against a background of a different tone from themselves."

Leonardo da Vinci

Cultural Treat

We like to try new things, especially new and interesting candies from different countries. Anytime we shop at Publix--because they have a good selection-- we choose one (sometimes 2 or 3) new treats from the "Ethnic" aisle to try.



 And if we get within 5 miles of a World Market? Hide the wallet.



While searching for a video to enhance a recent school lesson, we stumbled onto some totally non-related videos of a lady doing YouTube reviews of various things she had purchased at her local Asian market. I didn't know you could make a job of such fun, but judging by the many similar videos we've discovered since that first day, it turns out to be a "thing".



 But the best discovery we made on that day were the Japanese candy kits she had chosen to review. The worst discovery we made is that in a town as small as ours, Asian grocery stores are hard to find. So, despite my oldest son's protests that we were supporting the axis of evil by using Amazon, we chose several kits to have shipped to us.



We've been choosing new kits periodically ever since. They are so much fun, and sometimes, funny tasting, but always fun.



And this is how we learn about the great big world around us. We taste it. We wonder exactly what those directions in a foreignlanguage say (and we give thanks for clear illustrations) We marvel at the Japanese politeness of mere packaging (Please deliver this package to the correct address if it is not inconvenient) ((And-how much happier would our postal workers be if we used the same manners? Instead of Return To Sender! what if we said "Please return this to me if you find it undeliverable.Thank you." ? We find that our way isn't the only way or even always the best way... Matcha flavored KitKat? Simply brilliant. And we have fun. We want to see more, taste more,discover more. We grow curious. And that is sweet.

 

ANNIKA

Chandler qualified @ ANNIKA Academy for Jr. Elite Team. 

He is taking the occasional lesson there as time & travel permit.



Event & First Lesson Photos:

Braves Spring Training

 Back in the Spring, we went to Orlando to watch the Braves train. On the day we went, half of the team was @ the Astro's Spring facility, the other half was @ Disney's complex. We opted for the Astro's facility... nice place, they've got there.Rye & I wandered about the park after she sat in the stands the maximum amount of time a 3 year old can be expected to sit in stands of any sort. It was a great opportunity to check out the food trucks and play area surrounding the field.

 

LoLo's 13th

Logan turned into a teenager back in March... we asked her politely to age backwards, but she insisted on continuing towards young lady-hood. She's doing so beautifully.

This year she wanted a mustache party and she was brave enough to ask for a chocolate cake. You see, a certain family member who shall remain unnamed (but not unidentified)  has decreed that all birthday cakes should always be Jell-O cake...even when it isn't his birthday. Which kind of loses the point of the birthday boy or girl getting to have the treat of their choice. And she does so love her daddy... but apparently she loves chocolate too... enough to break his heart and nix the Jell-O cake in favor of a chocolate one. 

I was pleased, because I like chocolate too :) So we went big. Which led to cake disasters, left and right. But it's okay because they were tasty disasters. 

Chocolate Fudge Cake with a Whipped Cream & Cherry Raspberry Filling, iced with Black Beast ganache. (Black Beast is a ganache topped torte that we sometimes make for special occasions- a mix of dark & bittersweet chocolate is involved)



Her favorite gift was a guitar.

Catching Up

Way, way behind on the photo journalism effort... apparently it's normal. We are currently reading through The Innocents Abroad (more on that at a later date). The sentiment expressed so long ago applies to both my ink & paper efforts and my virtual chronicles online:

At certain periods it becomes the dearest ambition of a man to keep a faithful record of his performances in a book; and he dashes at this work with an enthusiasm that imposes on him the notion that keeping a journal is the veriest pastime in the world, and the pleasantest. But if he only lives twenty-one days, he will find out that only those rare natures that are made up of pluck, endurance, devotion to duty for duty's sake, and invincible determination, may hope to venture upon so tremendous an enterprise as the keeping of a journal and not sustain a shameful defeat.

- The Innocents Abroad