Last week we took a much-needed fall break.

Everything seems like - at this point in my life - is done last minute.  But, that's not always so bad!  In this case, I found a great little house that was reduced in price because I booked it about a week before our trip.  It was definitely worth the price per night (except the last night the AC went out and Mercer / I couldn't sleep!)  Other than that - it was the perfect little spot for our mini vacation. 

We went down to Florida for several days.  Day 1 after our drive was comprised of checking out the features of the house:  the pool, the fire pit and the screened in porch.  We ordered pizza for the kids and chicken marsala for me for food delivery / stayed in.

   

The next morning, I went in search of groceries and easy to prep foods.

We went out to a nearby park later in the day - to the host's favorite beach.  Unfortunately, the kids are apparently NO LONGER interested in the beach?!   The only thing we did out there was rent a water bike and explored paddling around the bay for a little while. 

Then, they were getting h(a)ngry for lunch.  The host also mentioned in the book that there was a lot of great Greek food near that particular beach.  As it turns out, the largest Greek community in the US is minutes away from the beach where we were:  Tarpon Springs.  It's a "sponge" community... fishers go out and collect sponges.  (Apparently this is a generations-old tradition of collecting sponges.)  

  

More time was spent at the pool.

Then, Isabella and I went to sunset point and... saw one of the most unique sunsets we've ever seen.  It looks like a steamer ship (made of clouds) chasing a "real" freighter ship on the ocean.

The clouds move JUST to the right position to form this cool shape!

There were also 3 photo-shoots there at that time as well (kind of hard to find a spot to watch the sun go down without a pregnant person or a mermaid on shoot in the water)!

The next day: a visit from dad and Charlie... Grandma & Grandpa!  We were staying on the gulf about 1 1/2 -2 hours away from them.  They drove out to our little house for the day.

Isabella shared her butterfly release then swam while we caught up on the screened porch.

We ordered and picked up sandwiches to take to a nearby pavilion n the little town where the house was located. (New Port Richey)  It's the most serene part of the town:  the still waters of the Cootee river.  (Pithlachascotee is the real name)  

There's a linear park that goes along the water where bikes, runners, and dog walkers go.  There are houses on either side.  Such a cool part of the community!  My GPS would constantly have me take the more-direct route one block off of the Cootee River when we were driving places, but I would ALWAYS ignore and drive the scienic path!)  

Isabella picked a card game from the house and we played after lunch.  It was a nice afternoon, then they drove back home.

That evening, we went to play putt-putt.  Mercer won by 1 point.  Isabella was not far behind us.  It was a great great course!  And... they had alligators to feed... and to hold.

  

Of course, our little dare-devil wanted to hold one!

(she looks so old here!)

The next day was sort of a bust.  We went to Weeki Watchi Springs.  There's a water park and a pool that is fed by the natural spring.  There's kayaking.  It was warm in Florida, but the water park was closed... and by mid-day there were no more kayak rides?!  

Mercer did not get in the spring water, but Isabella and I got in for a bit.  It was COLD!   She braved the cold and swam out to the dock.  

We went to the mermaid show.  It was apparently big when it opened back in the 1940s and had famous people - like Elvis - even appear.  (It was a novelty at the time, as an underwater show had not been produced before.) Isabella enjoyed the show, but she realized they were not real because they kept having to breathe using an air hose.    Mercer was SOOO glad when we left after the show! 

We hung out again by the pool and firepit.  

I wanted to go out to the beach so I could walk around, but did not want to leave the kids in the pool, so I got up early the next morning and went by myself while the kids slept.

I had to at least walk on the sand and stick my feet in the water on the gulf coast.  It was peaceful... which was nice - since going solo and trying to entertain kids 24/7 is a bit tiring.

Here's the other side of the inlet -- the area where we rode the water bike.  

But - overall - glad we got to visit with family we haven't seen in TWO YEARS (since Sept 2019) and have a little change of scenery over break.

We couldn't stay the full week - and unfortunately - couldn't see my step-sister Michelle who was working but had the following day off... because we had baseball and horse-related stuff to do at the end of the week. 

We had purchased - back in June for father's day - an evening at the ballpark in some pretty good seats (observing the Mets bullpen where the pitchers warm up). 

This is when the Mets baseball team were on top of their game.  The seats were low and just on the foul-ball line at 3rd base.    The Mets won that game, but earlier in the week, the Braves clinched the division (it was not mathematically possible for any of the other teams to win enough games to take the division from them).  

So... this win - unfortunately - did not matter.

We stayed for the Friday night fireworks too.

Todd wanted to eat at the pizza restaurant that's in the Battery (just outside the ball field) but with rush-hour and being a work day... was hard.  

Luckily, we were back out the next day b/c the baseball league where the kids play were having their baseball fundraiser Saturday.  

We ate dinner outside, then went to the game.  We sat in the "nose-bleed" seats, but were with people we knew - which was more fun for the kids.  

We sat with Isabella's team, but Mercer got to see some of his previous teammates from the 13u team there - and hung out a bit with them. 

I took a photo of our seats from the previous evening... see by that yellow pole??  

The Mets lost this game.  We left a little early b/c it wasn't looking pretty and Mercer had a Sunday morning baseball game the next day.  

ONE final thing that happened (earlier) that day to help cap the end of Fall break:  the place where Isabella takes horse-riding lessons had a small horse show.  They were allowed to participate in 2 events.

Her 1st event was "Equestrian on the Flat"  - they had to show how they rode, turned the horse in circles, and trotted.  She rode Gizmo.  When Isabella rides, she gets so serious.  Her posture is great.  She is very focused.  She did well - taking 1st place.  

(One thing, however, is that she was in a competition with other able-bodied and disabled students.)  I was surprised they didn't separate the two groups.  She had only the 1 handler... which shows that she's more able-bodied than the other students.  (They asked for a 2nd handler on the trot - I guess for safety reasons?)  There were actually some older able-bodied and disabled students who didn't use any handlers.  I would imagine that at some point, she will be reaching that point too.

Her 2nd event was "Arena Trail" - like an obstacle course.  She had to lead the horse to weave through cones, walk on a platform / across a bridge, over a low hurdle (close to the ground), and through a corner turn with barriers.  They also trot on this one as well.  She rode a different horse (Waffles).  She had 2 handlers for this event.  She took 1st place in this event.  

She was very proud of her 2 blue ribbons.  Also, she was also happy that we had an event where both Todd and I went to spend just with her. 

It's been awhile.... but a lot has happened over the month.

I did not post about Covid last month.  At my last writing about it (August 14) - 7 weeks ago - the total cases have, of course, climbed.  At that time the John Hopkins map documented that there were 206.5 million cases of Covid world-wide.  There were 4.35 million deaths world-wide.  And there were 4.638 BILLION vaccines administered. 

As of today, there have been 234.7 million cases and 4.8 million deaths to date world-wide.  (28.2 million more cases than my blog post in August and  There have also been .45 million more deaths - sadly 450,000 more people have lost their lives to this disease since my last post in August). There has been a major increase in vaccines, thankfully:  6.288 BILLION vaccines. 

At that time - 7 weeks ago - there was also a new statistic on the John Hopkins map:  4 week averages for cases, deaths and vaccines.  

The 4 week total showed 2.5 million positive cases in the US and 12,332 deaths.  As of today, the 4 week total shows 3.66 million positive cases in the US and 52,271 deaths.  A huge increase in the 4 week total -- showing how much more deadly the virus has become.)  Look at the spike (the red and white charts to the right).  Cases and deaths are surging upwards.  As of today, over 700,000 people in America alone have died. 

Below are images from a moving tribute to the (then) 650,000+ lives lost as of last month that are represented by white flags on the Washington DC Mall.

The Delta variant was just starting to take over back in August.  Break-through cases were also starting to appear with the more powerful Delta variant strain.  Last month, a friend of ours + her husband were in this group. 

They both got break-through cases.  He was in the hospital for 19 days and doctors said that 1st week they almost lost him.  But, thankfully, they didn't.  (Thankfully he is NOT one of these 650,000+ flags represented.)  She said that so many people around him were dying.  She is still advocating for vaccines -- she told me that doctors said it saved his life.  He's a school teacher in the neighboring school district where I used to teach, BTW.

The hospitals have been full again - mostly with Covid cases (95-97% were unvaccinated and the 3-5% hospitalized for Covid were vaccinated). Todd's colleague was the 1st in their office to get Covid (and 2 of them have wives that are nurses / I was most nervous about them bringing it into his office!).  His colleague was unvaccinated, but he's young - late 20s - and said it was rough.  Thankfully, he was not hospitalized.  (His colleague - now fully recovered - got his 1st dose a few days ago.)   One of Mercer's best buddies also got it last month.  Thankfully, his family was very proactive about quarantining.   He has also recovered.  I am grateful that those handful of people we know that had contracted it are now doing much much better!

The vaccine for younger children is going through the process of being approved.   Do we know what the vaccine will do to a person over time?  No - it's not been tested / verified over time.  I have heard of people saying that it may later fertility rates.  True.  But - also - a higher death rate in children will also alter fertility rates.  So...   

One a positive note about the new data:  INDIA is doing much better than they were!  Here is their map from today:

Look at their positive cases and death rate spike... it is WAAAAY down!  

Also - to note - their vaccine rate is WAAAAY up!   Their population is HUGE compared to ours and their death rate is so much lower.  I haven't been following India in awhile, but I wonder if it's solely the vaccines or if they have other measures helping to protect their population as well??  

Thankfully, at our city school district where our kids go / where I work, they have a temporary mask mandate in place.  From the first few weeks of school, the Covid #s were climbing and the quarantining of students was crazy - like a revolving door.  So hard to manage as a teacher, honestly, but also had to have been hard for parents & students who were out.  With the mask mandate and with a new "test and stay" protocol (early morning daily testing of those who would normally be quarantined due to exposure... who are allowed to come to school that day with a negative test)... the number of students staying in school has increased quite a bit over the past several weeks.  

The county that we're surrounded by, however, their school still does not mandate masks.  Their quarantining processes are not following CDC or Cobb Douglas Department of Health either.  Their cases are really high.  There have been several students who were hospitalized / in ICU last month.  (I did not hear anything else, so hopefully they're doing OK!)   And... now - in this past week - there is a lawsuit that was just filed against the School System!  I am grateful - SO SO GRATEFUL - that I am no longer working there!!  

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Last month marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11.  There was a lovely tribute at our school for those fallen in the tragedy. 

(We have a videography class and they did an outstanding job on a 30 minute segment we showed in school.)  The tributes in New York were televised / we watched.  And - across the world were really touching.  

We went and visited the nearby tribute at Kennesaw Mountain - one flag for every life taken during the 9/11 attack.  2,977.  It was really sobering to walk through the flags realizing that each one represented a person who should be standing there instead.  

Volunteers also installed an additional 11 flags at the front of the park (at half-mast) in remembrance of the 11 additional lives lost as Americans were leaving Afghanistan last month... shutting down the almost 20-year war on terror. 

(Of course, thousands of additional lives were lost over the course of those almost 20 years.  Here is a statistic from Brown University which includes over 7,000 American lives lost there + another 30,000+ from PTSD mental illnesses.  The numbers in Afghanistan + allies was quite a bit higher as well over 177,000 additional lives lost.)   

Very sadly - as soon as America pulled out, the terrorists that were mostly at bay for those almost 20 years, came right back and took over.)  It's a frightening state of affairs over there.  I am also grateful to be here!      

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An update on another thing that was posted in August - the bathroom project.  Unfortunately, it's going so so so so slow.  The contractor has been going through some personal issues which is impacting his arrival at our house many days + when he does arrive he / his helper come very late. 

They have also messed up several things which is disheartening.  Disheartening because it looks bad, costs us more in tile (we had to buy more / had to go with a different style for the "wet wall" behind the sink), causes delay and frustration.    

I actually started sanding drywall, priming the walls and ceiling in the bathroom and painting last weekend.  I was getting fed up with the guys not showing up.  Also, I thought this might give them a boost to finish the parts that they can finish and move in our toilet + vanity so we would at least have "1 1/2 bathrooms" to use as a family.  (We're ALL getting tired of the 4 of us sharing1 bathroom the past two months!)   

Isabella thought it would be fun (for a few minutes) to help me sand the drywall. It did not last long! 

I'm not sure what's going on with the shower.  It's a total mess.  :(     

On the POSITIVE side.... the water leak has stopped and things have dried out at this point. 

(We still need to move on the other 3 things that were in our original scope of work -- but looks like we'll be finding different contractor(s) for these items:  new water heater, painting the bedroom (may be me!) and replacing the wood floor in the back den -- which is where all of this started to in the first place... the 1st evidence of water damage.  I got impatient and dug into the wall / found damage there as well to a structural member.  UGH.  At least we know what we're up against when we do start that next bit of work.)

Thankfully, we've had calming and uplifting butterflies emerge here at home to take our mind off of the things that are going on in the world and in our bathroom.  I ended up sending in some caterpillars and chrysalises to Isabella's science teacher.  (Plus a supply of supplemental pipevine leaves / passion vine leaves to support them.)  Last week, 3 of their pipevine swallowtail chrysalises emerged.  The teacher was so excited and sent me photos / videos.  At school, the teacher opens the net and lets them fly out while the children watch.

One thing that I had not seen before, but we caught the beginning of:  making a chrysalis.  Unfortunately we did not have the time to watch for hours and hours and hours / overnight.  So, we caught the beginning of the process and the after effects.  We've seen the J-formation before, but the body going through the change - like in the first couple of segments near it's head... we had not seen before.  It's hardening and changing color segment by segment.  We have noticed it's head (or it's tail?) is left behind behind.... such a messy process.  This particular one fell to the ground.  Some of them stick to the vine or to the top of the netted cage.  I've already mentioned the poop (of the caterpillar), the head or tail left during the chrysalis stage.  THEN, there is blood - or rather - a red liquid called meconium that is left-over fluids that are not needed from the metamorphosis in the chrysalis.  Ewww!

We did not have any butterflies emerge until Friday last week after I picked Isabella up from school.  (We were on break this past week - fall break update will come later.)   

FINALLY - what WE have been waiting for and nurturing for 2 months... finally ONE pipevine swallowtail emerged!    

Blue, orange and white spots adorn this blu-ish black iridescent body.

Since we've been back from break, TWO of another variety - gulf flitterary butterflies - have also emerged.   (Note - they have to hang down for an hour or to to let the blood travel through it's wings.  Eventually they will start flapping their wings.  They are not ready to be released the first 12 hours.)

The white spots on this one are really a translucent silvery color that my camera cannot capture. 

Here at home, Isabella names and interacts with each of them as she handles them (gently) and releases them.  She's so lucky to have this experience of experiencing all 4 phases of metamorphosis:  seeing the eggs, watching the fast caterpillar growth, making of chrysalises and then interacting with the butterflies after they emerge!

Mercer made his SENIOR league baseball debut last month.  He's the youngest of the bunch.  The team is mostly made up of 14 and 15 year olds (he's 13).  The other little league affiliates around town that they play are up to 18 years old! 

Mercer is not hitting quite so well because they are pitching so FAST.  But he is fielding and pitching against them... holding his own (his 13 year old self!)  I think he may be a little intimidated, but I'm proud of him!  Todd - of course - does not want him to feel intimidated at all. 

Overall - this is a good experience for him when he tries out for high school baseball in the spring.   There is something strange going on at the little league park where we've played and we're not sure if his team is going to be able to continue. 

They have a tournament team like he's been on in the past, but there's some sort of different dynamic which may not be meeting the rules of the little league?  We'll have to find out more on that situation soon.      

He had his debut on the Spikes "tournament" team too.  He was the starting pitcher there as well.   On the tournament team, he's playing 14 and 15 year olds and hitting much better.  

Here's one final photo of him in the Denver Broncos jersey that his birth-family out in Colorado gave him when we went out there for his 10th birthday.  He finally fills it out a bit more.  He wore it because they had "Jersey Day" at school last week.

(Fall break coverage will be on the next blog post... now - must turn back to school work and painting in the bathroom!!)