Reminiscing

I wanted to post this a long time ago but never got around to it.

There is this old French fort/National monument about 3 minutes from our house. We love this place and go there as often as possible. There are nature trails, a museum, a boat dock, lookouts to the river, an old Timicuan Indian hut, and an old French fort. (I know the French were the first to build it, but I can't remember if it was later taken over by the Spanish? Looks like I need to read up at the museum again). We see dolphins pretty often here and lots of osprey, bald eagles, owls and crabs. The rangers tell me they sometimes see manatee too. But anyway, not many people visit this place and so it's always quiet, beautiful and natural. I love to take my boys because it gives them the freedom to run, explore, imagine, and get dirty. In my opinion it's better than a playground.

Here are some pictures from a visit we made this past summer. I was pushing Mason in the stroller and Isaac and Ethan had run on ahead of us. This is what I found in the trail...

Ethan's flip flops. If you look close you can see the second one further up the trail. I think he started running and they came off and he figured, "who needs shoes anyways?" Because by the time I got to his shoes he was long gone...

Ethan is the little yellow barefoot dot climbing up the fort's hill/wall. And Isaac is the red blurry dot on the wall under the tree. I caught up to them and got Ethan to wear shoes again (he's such a free spirit)...

This picture shows their personalities in what they are wearing. Isaac has donned his swimming suit because you never know when you may come across a pool or a chance to get in the water. And his favorite color is red so it's fun for him to wear ALL red. And Ethan is still wearing his pajamas. He loves to keep his pajamas on (even though they consist of stained shirts and hand me down bottoms that are too short) and has no qualms about wearing them in public at all. I remember asking him to get dressed but he really didn't want to and I thought, "aah, what the hay." Earlier when we had pulled up in the parking lot Isaac noticed Ethan was still wearing his pjs and he shouted with worry "Ethan! You forgot to change into your clothes! You are wearing your pajamas! People will see you!!!" Isaac is such a good rule follower and very conscientous. But Ethan of course still wasn't phased a bit.

This is our little peanut on a cannon in the fort.

So, I love this place and what it has to offer and the small adventures we've had there. And I love what it does for my boys too!