Raising Godly Children: Desperate, Breathless, Dependent Parenting
This is a fabulous, succinct article that talks straight to the heart of parenting. Hope it speaks to you as it speaks to me. Sometimes I just need that reminder that I'm not in it alone and I could never make it if I were.
About Me
- gofflandrocks
- Arkansas, United States
- We're just trying to live life to the fullest and learn something new every day while loving every minute we have with each other in the biggest way possible. We call it Goffin' it!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
A Visit to Sea Life
While Mark and Julia are taking in the sights of Mount Rushmore and The Badlands on the way to their Canadian moose hunt, Grant, Quentin, Kendall and I made a visit to Sea Life Aquarium in Grapevine, TX during our down time between shooting rounds.
We stumbled upon Sea Life while trying to find Pappadeaux's and it was such a treat! We visited aquariums regularly when the kids were little; we even had season passes in Tampa and New Orleans! Sadly, tonight I found out that my fabulous boys can barely remember visiting aquariums! It was a whole new experience for them! They loved watching the rays and skates. We learned that rays, skates and sharks are all in the same family. Also, the difference between rays and skates is that rays have barbs, but skates don't. Another cool fact we were unaware of, some sharks lay eggs, while some have live birth. How odd is that? Even more interesting is the shape of a shark egg. They are actually more than one shape, but they look like corkscrew plants. The mother shark will hide it by shoving it in a crevice so it looks like a plant. Only God would think to hide an egg that way!
We also learned that jellyfish are 95% water and have no brain, blood or heart, yet they are definitely a living breathing creature. They are truly lovely floating so peacefully with the current, but can have a nasty sting if you get wrapped in their tentacles. They reflect light and change color depending on the light's color.
Standing in the tunnel with fish, sharks, rays and turtles swimming all around, above and below us left Kendall and myself a little uneasy. It was the kind of thing where you wanted to just lay down in the tunnel and fish-gaze, if you will, but it felt uncomfortable at the same time. It's just so amazing to see these creatures up close!
One of the most amazing creatures in the sea is the seahorse. These fabulous sea creatures mate for life and remain monogamous. They also have no stomach so they must eat nearly constantly to fulfill their nutritional requirements. The male carries the baby seahorses in his pouch until they mature and can survive on their own.
The boys were so appreciative of our outing to Sea Life. Below the surface is an amazing the world even at an indoor aquarium. We'll have to hit one again soon!
We stumbled upon Sea Life while trying to find Pappadeaux's and it was such a treat! We visited aquariums regularly when the kids were little; we even had season passes in Tampa and New Orleans! Sadly, tonight I found out that my fabulous boys can barely remember visiting aquariums! It was a whole new experience for them! They loved watching the rays and skates. We learned that rays, skates and sharks are all in the same family. Also, the difference between rays and skates is that rays have barbs, but skates don't. Another cool fact we were unaware of, some sharks lay eggs, while some have live birth. How odd is that? Even more interesting is the shape of a shark egg. They are actually more than one shape, but they look like corkscrew plants. The mother shark will hide it by shoving it in a crevice so it looks like a plant. Only God would think to hide an egg that way!
We also learned that jellyfish are 95% water and have no brain, blood or heart, yet they are definitely a living breathing creature. They are truly lovely floating so peacefully with the current, but can have a nasty sting if you get wrapped in their tentacles. They reflect light and change color depending on the light's color.
Standing in the tunnel with fish, sharks, rays and turtles swimming all around, above and below us left Kendall and myself a little uneasy. It was the kind of thing where you wanted to just lay down in the tunnel and fish-gaze, if you will, but it felt uncomfortable at the same time. It's just so amazing to see these creatures up close!
One of the most amazing creatures in the sea is the seahorse. These fabulous sea creatures mate for life and remain monogamous. They also have no stomach so they must eat nearly constantly to fulfill their nutritional requirements. The male carries the baby seahorses in his pouch until they mature and can survive on their own.
The boys were so appreciative of our outing to Sea Life. Below the surface is an amazing the world even at an indoor aquarium. We'll have to hit one again soon!
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| These Moray Eels are sinister in looks! |
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| Jellies |
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| Ray |
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| Quentin, Kendall and Leslie in the 360* tunnel. |
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| Jellies |
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| Love the Seaturtle! Every time I see one I think of the time my brother, Brett, caught one swimming along the shore in Florida. |
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| Cubacious Boxfish |
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| Grant, Kendall and Quentin enjoying the underwater view. |
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| This was literally a 360* tank where the fish schooled and swam around you. Fabulous! |
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| We met Nemo and Dori, too! |
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| The Potbellied Seahorse |
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| Quentin and Kendall could barely hold their breath long enough for this shot! |
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| This sinister Moray Eel followed our movements through the glass. CREEPY! |
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| A Shoal |
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| Hold your breath, Kendall! |
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| The tubes to go up into the tanks were a fun treat! Quite a view! |
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| Kendall measures up to the sharks! |
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| The wizened Nautilaus...a Fibonacci! |
Sunday, September 16, 2012
County Fair Winners 2012
The Garland County Fair was held this past week in Hot Springs, AR, and Julia, Kendall and Quentin entered several pieces of art, as well as, terrariums to be judged. We went to check out the entries on Friday and, to our surprise, there were quite a few blue ribbons ready to head home to Goffland after the fair. Julia's terrarium actually won the Grand Champion prize and the Master Gardener Special Award so she got a big, fat $50.00 check! Needless to say, she was elated! Kendall was a little bummed that he didn't win a Grand Champion ribbon, but when we went to pick up their entries, Kendall found out several of his entries would be moving on to the District judging. Boy, was he pumped! District winners move on to the State Fair in October in Little Rock. Quentin and Julia, also, had several items move on to District judging, so this was quite a fair year at Goffland! Here's a few pics of their work.
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| Julia receiving the Mastergardener Special Award and $50 check |
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| Julia's Grand Champion terrarium |
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| Kendall's Blue Ribbon terrarium |
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| Julia's painting |
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| Quentin's drawing |
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| Julia's splatter painting |
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| Julia's acrylic lighthouse painting |
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| Julia's clay sculpture |
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| Kendall's ram knife edge painting in the style of Coubert |
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| Quentin's drawing |
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| Quentin's drawing (This is my favorite!) |
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| The silver canon is Kendall's made all of recyclable materials. |
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| Kendall's embellished art |
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| Above and below are more of Quentin's drawings |
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| Julia's abstract painting |
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| Julia's splatter art |
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| Quentin's dragon mosaic |
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| Julia's mosaic. It's hard to see, but it has her name in the middle. |
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| Kendall's dragon mosaic |
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| Julia's Cityscape mosaic |
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| Julia's woodburning art |
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| Julia's Survival Bracelet |
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| Kendall's Survival Necklace |
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| Julia's collage |
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| Kendall's Seashell Collection |
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Breckenridge 2012
