Katie's 15th

All Katie wanted to do for a birthday party was take a few friends to the beach after church. Yes, folks. We live five minutes away from this:

Jealous? ;-)

The beach was especially beautiful on this Sunday afternoon -- cool breezes, crystal clear water, and pure, white sand. Admittedly, the water was a bit cold, but that didn't stop a few of us from enjoying the to and fro lull of the beautiful waves.

Bee, the movie-maker, took the opportunity to film the waves for an end of the year co-op news report (more on that later).

Three of the five non-water people. They, of course, received absolutely no harassment for going back on their word to get in. *ahem*

Look at all those purtty girls! :) Notice how the majority of us (who are ghostly white) effortlessly position ourselves to take advantage of the golden setting sun to make us "tan."

It was a beautiful time to enjoy being with our bosom childhood friends. We love you all, and thank you for sharing Katie's birthday with us!

Fifteen.

WATCH OUT!

Natural Bridge

Only a handful of days after Olustee, our family and the beloved Hs decided that we just hadn't gotten our fill of reenactment delights, so we zipped over to Tallahassee to enjoy the quaint, simple, and breathtakingly beautiful Natural Bridge.

The main hub-bub with the suttlers and camps is close to the entrance of the park; however, just trot a few yards around a bend in the road, and you'll come to this serene North Florida beauty.

Plenty of strong, healthy oak trees about for little ones to scramble up.

And this little bridge hosted a game of Pooh Sticks last year, but this year the current was slow (read: non-existent). That didn't stop a few of us dropping twigs, hoping it would emerge on the other side.

Naturally with the gorgeous backdrop the Lord provided for us, the cameras remained out and flashing.

I'm afraid they were often met with somewhat less-than-enthusiastic models.

The boy(s) especially did not attend merely for pictures and walks. Their long awaited moment finally came: the battle. We were able to view and participate in the first reenactment of Natural Bridge fought on the original battle site.

We ladies watched in anxious anticipation. Only one of our boys was wounded (not pictured below), but he seemed to smile mischievously the whole time, so our worries were eased considerably.

There's nothing like cannon boom and smoke!

And, finally, my favorite picture from the event, Emmy Xiang and I admire the beautiful memorial but even more the bravery of the men in whose memory it was erected.

Olustee 2011

Dad's birthday weekend found our family (plus Bee, affectionately known as Katie's appendage) and some dear friends stepping back a decade and a half to the Battle of Olustee, FL. Unfortunately, we didn't take many groups shots, but various visitors and newspapers took care of that for us! *wink*

One of the major highlights of the weekend (for the girls, at least) was the ball. After counting the votes, we found that Uncle Buddy and Mr. Harrison were by far the best and most amiable partners of the evening!

And we cannot remember the excuse for the reenactment and all its joys: the battle itself. Few times do I feel more awe than when I watch such an excellent representation of history, such a clear picture of the cost of freedom.

*sigh* What a lovely weekend!