Week 9 goes on Fall Break...

 So I had every intention of doing "school" this week. We started week 9 on Monday. Then we got an offer that was just too good to pass up. Public school here is on Fall break and a girlfriend who was at the beach sent me an S.O.S. Her boys were fighting non-stop with no one else around. Would we/could we please come play at the beach? They had plenty of the room in the condo.  So after oh like 2 minutes of contemplation we began packing and left early Tuesday morning.  We spend the next three days on the soft white sand and in the clear blue waters of the Gulf. The kids had a fabulous time. Hulk missed soccer practice but got in lots of footwork on the beach.

The kids literally spent hours collecting close to 50 Hermit crabs and Sea Snails. We kept a few to watch  on the beach while were there but released everyone home before leaving. The kids treated this like a treasure hunt. Even the 8th grader, came down on high to join in since well he had no one to impress...lol. We discussed going to the historic fort near where we were staying but the kids all voted "nothing educational". So we just hid all the learning. They don't count complete Audiobook on the way to and from (14 hours of driving and I now know quite a bit of Egyptian mythology), or the shell guide was used to  pick out what kinds were on the beach, or the times they googled ( while on the beach) "what do hermit crabs eat?". Nor do they count the first aid lesson when one of the boys cut in foot and ankle on a jagged rock.  Could have used stitched, but when the mom's are both ER nurses you get " hold pressure, while I get the silk tape!". We taped it up so he could keep playing and then steri-striped when we got back to the condo 4 hours later.. lesson in wound irrigation and edge approximation..lol. It got a little red a few days after we got home and when one of our ED Drs took a look  he was very impressed with our job...lol.. He told us with our deductibles he would have totally done the same thing and put him on a few days of antibiotics, 

We drove into Destin one night and did the touristy things at Harbor walk. the kids liked watching the boats display their catches for the day. Some of the Captians were really great with the kids, helping them identify the types of fish.

While we were gone our family also got a new addition a little early. Taz and Hoss got a new little brother, and my kids got a new cousin. They are all very excited. Ying would have liked another girl to even things out a bit but otherwise she's a mamma hen alright....