A Little Bit of Personal History

Isn't life strange sometimes?

It's funny - I had typed up a monstrously HUGE post about my thoughts on teaching history, and all that junk, but it just didn't feel right.


So I bagged it.

Instead, here's a light update for you.


It's wild to think that we've been here 6 months now - in Florida. At times I look back on our old lives, and our trip, with a strong sense of wanderlust. This place - with its flatness and monotony makes me itch for elevation, a view, and relief from the heat.

I enjoy looking at these lovely pics to remember and refresh my spirit.





Ahhhh...!
Man I could look at mountains for hours.


But at the same time - you know how it is when you reach a point in your life where something has to change? And once you change it, you can't ever go back.

Here's an example...

When Chris and I were first married, I took a job at a place called Berton's. I worked there for about 2 years, or so. Some people I know flourished there, but not me. I barely made it out of that place with my life. In fact, if it weren't for God looking over me, I wouldn't have made it out of there alive.

I am SO THANKFUL that I don't ever have to go back to that place - not so much physically - but mentally! I moved on, and I'm alive.

It may hurt, at the time. Change... that is! You may have to suffer from less money, from loneliness, from hurt, or who knows what all else. Surely you know the feelings I'm talking about - right?


Anyhow...

This change, that Christy and I have felt led into, has not been as easy here as we had hoped. But, I think, it was needed. For us to grow and change on many levels... personally, and maybe even professionally and spiritually.

So - thank you to all of you who have loved us, cared for us, and supported us - even IF you don't agree with what we're doing. We appreciate hearing from you, chatting from time to time, and catching up whenever we can.


For you, who may not know, I started teaching this week. Substitute teaching - that is. And man... am I tired. Bob Brayton - thanks for the tips on just being patient!

I've been to an elementary, middle, and senior high school all in one week. It's wild to be back working. It's almost surreal, like I've been living in another world. It's like having a dream, where you are the ruler of a kingdom and your loyal subjects are fanning you with palm fronds, as you sit there on your throne... only to bluntly wake up... freezing and shivering in bed because your spouse pulled all the covers onto their side and you set the thermostat super low to conserve energy.

Yeah... It's like that!

So - I'm back in the saddle again, but finding my rear-end a little 'saddle sore'.


But it just feels good to be doing something cool again.
Mostly, I just wanted to share with you.


All the best,
Al

Arggh! There be Pirates About.

This time - we rolled into the south side of Clearwater beach, Florida.

It's been very nice here in January. The evenings are getting down into the 50's and 60's - even the 40's if we're lucky. The days are in the mid-60's to upper 70's. It's very much like an Oregon spring or fall - I won't say summer - because it hasn't really been super hot.

Even with the mild temperatures, though, it's still got a muggy, oppressive feeling in the air. There's not like a cool, crisp, fresh feeling - except for the very coldest of nights. I very rarely walk outside and am blown away with a fantastic breeze that makes me want to bundle up.

Anyhow...

We went to the beach, and the water was actually cold. It was more like - let your feet get numb from the coldness and then you can walk in deeper - cold. Which is definitely more like the Pacific Northwest. Very few people were even putting their feet in the water this time.

Here's a shot of the beach - looking south from the rock jetty and the causeway, which separates north from south.


Here's the causeway.


The rock jetty is pretty cool - but they don't let you walk out on it for fear of sneaker waves or something like that.


While there - Kaitlyn got the crazy idea to build a moat right beside the shoreline. She was in desperate need of help, so I jumped in to give a hand. Finally, it got so bad that we even needed Keeley to help out, as well.




Finally - we achieved success.

Kait was so happy, she busted out in song.
Reminiscent of 'The Sound of Music'.


And Keeley was off, in an instant, planting her garden - which we had so rudely interrupted her progress on.


However, we didn't get much of a chance to bask in our glorious success - because a pirate ship appeared out of nowhere and threatened our entire clan. I'm sure they were shouting a bunch of obscenities and other mean, piratey things. So we decided to pack up and leave real quick like.

All-in-all it was a pretty fun day on the beach.


Speaking of pirates...

If you haven't had a chance to read 'Peter and the Starcatchers', and 'Peter and the Shadow-Thieves' - By Dave Barry, to your kids...

DO IT!

The stories - about Peter, the Lost Boys, Captain Hook, and Tinker Bell before they became the characters you know and love - are truly amazing.

Well worth every family moment together.

Kids... Beware the Turkey Vultures!

Sometimes - you just gotta let the kids out to run around outside. You know... inside an apartment gets a little too cramped at times.

Around here... when the girls spend too much time outside playing, here's what you start to see hanging around.




Yep - that's a turkey vulture. Just outside our apartment.



Now...

Leave the kids outside a little bit longer, and here's what you see.






Lots more - like 50 or so - of those suckers flying around, zero-ing in on their prey.

It kinda reminds me of the old cartoons - where the vultures are flying overhead waiting for their food to keel over. It's a strange site.



UM...

KIDS...

I think it's time to come in now.

Another trip to Downtown Disney World

Not too long ago, we decided to make another short day trip back down to Downtown Disney.

I actually like heading over towards Orlando. It seems like a quick, short trip - that usually ends in a visit to Chipotle (YUMMM!) They don't have Chipotle here in Lakeland.

Anyhow, Disney was pretty cool. In fact, there is a place down there that I've heard of but never seen before - House of Blues. It's a pretty cool looking, ecclectic place with a very industrial/rustic feel. I can see, just from looking at it, why it's so popular.

Hey Mark... if you're out there reading, you might appreciate this place.

And here, you can see how cushie the Disney employees have it...



Finally...

Here's a few other shots of interest. Some more interesting than others.

First - Planet Hollywood's better side..


Next - Richard Petty's Driving School Car Advertisement


And then - Cirque Du Soleil


Also - some crazy arch with an artifact from home




And last... A few pics of the girls

Speer family Christmas

Well - here's the Christmas update. Sorry it took so long to put up.

We'll start with Santa's set up - cookies, milk, and letters from the girls.



Here's a few of the girls getting some of their favorite stuff:

Kait's now into horses quite a bit - I'm sure this'll be a life-long dream she'll be carrying around forever. They also got some really nice jewelry and toys from their Grandparents. Another big hit this year is online buddies - like Webkinz and epets.






And then it was my turn...

Here's the girls giving one of their favorite lines right now.

"Open the Case" You might recognize that from 'Deal or No Deal'.



And here's me...

Opening some of my favorites.





Finally - here's me looking ever SO BEAUTIFUL.

Oh, yeah! I make it look good.



Talk soon,
Al

Christmas with the Roberts Family

Before Christmas day hit, we were able to get together with the Roberts family and celebrate together.

Here's a few shots we were able to take of the pandemonium that transpired.

You should've seen the paper flying. It was like an explosion of confetti scraps, almost like you'd see pouring out of the sky during the Macy's Day Parade.

Anyhow...

Here's the pics:
These first ones are of the Roberts family.

A few of Mr. E - my man, actually Christy's man - for some reason he has really taken a liking to having Christy around as his right hand partner.




And here's some of the other Roberts kids - Olivia and Sara:




Finally, here's a few of our girls.



It's always fun to get together with these guys, although 'pandemonium' is definitely the right word to use when we all hang out in one place. That's what keeps things exciting, right?

Thanks to Daniel and Fonda, and the rest of the Roberts Clan for inviting us over - again! You guys are brave... VERY brave.

Of course, there'll be more Christmas pics, coming soon, from our own little family celebration.

Merry CHRISTmas and Happy New Year!

Love,
Al

Edward Medard Park - Hillsborough County Park

Picture this...

It's the day after Christmas. You and your family are all sitting around the house. The excitement and energy of Christmas day have worn off a bit, and you've been watching TV for the last several hours.

You're kinda bored, but you're not sure what you want to do.

So, you decide to go out for a nice hike that's a few minutes drive away.

Here's a recap of your hike - if you just happen to live in Central Florida.

Medard Park has a pretty nice playground area, and a neat little biking / exploring area for kids right near the entrance.

Here's the girls climbing on some of the play equipment here:



And then here we are exploring this neat little trail area, directly behind the playground equipment:





Finally, we actually made it onto the trail. Which turned out to be a horse trail, more than a hiking trail. Not a whole lot to see... besides the rear ends of a few horses. Unfortunately, it took us about a half hour walking around exploring before we even figured out how to get onto the horse trail to hike it.

It definitely WAS NOT clearly marked. But for all I know we could have been the only people who've hiked the trail in the last 6 months. Pretty much every one who rode by on a horse looked surprised to see us.

One nice girl actually asked if we had lost our horses back along the trail somwhere?






One thing I will say about hiking in Florida...

It's very anti-climatic.

You know, when you hike near mountains and other natural wonders (in states with more than a 30 foot vertical rise in elevation), you get to see some amazing, even inspiring things. But here, when you get to the end of the hike, you're not really gonna see any landscape more impressive than when you started.

Al