Last Monday, at 9:00 in the morning, Daniel, Joseph, Nehemiah, Noah, Elijah, Papa, and Pappy, were outside, ready to play a softball game. Tate, Jake, and Billy (our neighbors) also came over. The game was a lot of fun--we had 3 innings...this is a short video of a few pictures we took.



Nehemiah runs Front yard Football and Daniel runs Simply Softball. The teams were called the Cherokees and the Allies. The Cherokees were Daniel, Nehemiah, Noah, and Billy. The Allies were Joseph, Elijah, Tate and Jake. Pappy threw out the opening pitch, which was also the Simply Softball inaugural pitch, and the Simply Softball 2009 Season opener pitch. Daniel and Joseph (The team captains) agreed to a coin flip to determine who had home-field advantage. The Allies won the coin flip. The following is a inning by inning summary.

1st Inning:

The Allies really put on a show. They held the Cherokees at one run and made four runs.

2nd Inning:
Both teams played real hard resulting in the offensive and defensive plays of the game. For the Offensive play of the game Billy hit a Grand Slam racking up four runs for the team. For the Defensive play of the game Tate caught one of Daniel's fouls. The Cherokees made eleven runs and the Allies made seven runs. This brought the score to Cherokees 12 Allies 11.

3rd Inning:
The Cherokees made twelve runs. Then the Allies came and made six runs. This brought the score to Cherokees 24 Allies 17.

It was a close game and there has been much talk about it between the players. All the players are practicing and both team captains are working on their strategy for next game.

Simply Softball does not allow intentional strike outs or intentional walks. The goal is to get the outs through fielding the ball.

Coffee Weather

Today around lunchtime, we had a thunderstorm. It rained a lot! I went outside and took a picture--water was running around the base of our tree, and the watergarden was overflowing. Whenever it rains a lot, Mama calls it "Coffee-Weather" and we always turn on the Coffee Maker!

Rain, Lightning and Hail!!

This evening, Papa, Daniel, Noah, and I, went to Goldhead State Park to help the firefighters pack up after a Motorcycle Trip/Picnic. When we were nearing the Park Entrance, the rain started pouring down--we could barely see the road, because our windshield wipers do not work! We slowly pulled into the entrance, and the Ranger waved us through--probably because she didn't want to get wet! As kept driving, we suddenly heard "pinging" sounds on the roof! Papa said "It's hailing!" We pulled over with our hazards on, because the rain and hail were pouring down in sheets. When the rain seemed to have subsided slightly, I hopped out of the car real quick, and grabbed a piece of hail. It was about the size of a marble. For a few more minutes (about 5) Once the rain had thorougly subsided, Papa drove to the pavilion where all the Motorcycle/Firefighter people were waiting. While we pulled in we saw lightning, and immediately after it a loud peal of thunder. Papa noticed an orange glow as he was looking through the windshield. Once we got into the pavilion, they told us that they saw lightning strike the big van! They said when it hit the car, sparks flew everywhere! We didn't notice it that much when we were in the car though. (Except for Papa) No damage was done to the car, and after we helped pack up, we traveled home uneventfully!

Abigail and Friends

Anna had all her babies out on the bed, and Abigail was in the middle of them, sleeping!

New Door for the Garoom

Recently, Mr. Gordon installed a new Door for the Garoom. (Daniel and my room, named so because it was a former Garage, now turned room) The first step was to rip out the old door...that was done quite easily! There was indication of termites near the bottom frame, but when the FL Pest Control Men showed up, they confirmed that it was not active.

Then, Mr. Gordon (and Daniel) spent the next two hours installing the door. It was a little harder than usual, because it did not fit exactly, so some customization had to happen.



The final product looks great, and it is air/water tight!

SCUBA Diving Class

Last Week, I (Joseph) went to a SCUBA dive class at a friend's house. we took a 9-Chapter video course, where we learned the basics of diving. After finding gear that fit us, we practiced diving in the pool. After we had the essentials down, we went to Manatee Springs for our first real dive. It was really pretty! Fish, Frogs, Snakes, and Turtles, were a few animals we saw while underwater. We dove to about 30 feet, for 20 minutes. The next day, we dove in Catfish Sink. We went all the way down to 42 feet! It was really pretty, because there were rock walls going up on all sides. After about 30 minutes or so, we exited the water, and our dive teacher dropped me off at Red Lobster, where I met up with Mama, and the rest of the family. The course was a lot of fun, and now that I know how to dive, Papa and I will dive together sometime.

Who's on top?

Today I (Daniel) built a complicated wooden train track set-up. Beneath are a few photographs of it. I have entitled it "Who's on top?" It was built for Anna and Ezra to play with. If you look you will notice that every raised bridge has a track going under it. The entire track only has one dead end! If you were an engineer of a wooden train on theis track a map, gps, and anti-collision technology would all be VERY USEFULL.

"Who's on top?" aerial image version I.


"Who's on top?" aerial image version II.


Encyclopedia junction with three levels of track!


Looking through the bottom tunnel of encyclopedia junction.


The older you get the more complicated the tracks will become!