Settling In...

We have internet now in our house that we are renting, so I can be more up to date with blogging again. Our stuff arrived safely on Sunday and we have been busy unpacking only the things that we absolutely need for the next seven months. That is trickier than it sounds.

As for the white legs seen above, we did break out the sunscreen! On Saturday we went to the beach and had so much fun watching the kids run away from the waves, fall down and generally get filled with sand. Unfortunately, I didn't cover myself very well with the sunscreen and I am still in pain on my back and the backs of my legs. Next time I will enlist the help of Robert. Poor Brendan too suffered from sunburn, but he is already healed. He had so much fun trying out the boogie board and seeing how far out he could go. Robert and I both agreed that this was a new side of Brendan we had never seen and we really enjoyed it.
We have been driving around, getting familiar with Vero Beach and found a great park on the barrier island called Riverside Park. They have great trails and a great view of the Indian River. So far, I would say that we are very glad to be here!

Florida!

We arrived in Florida this morning and went to the welcome center. We were warmly welcomed and asked if we would like some orange juice. Who doesn't want some orange juice? Then they told us if we would have our picture taken, we would be entered in a drawing for a year supply of orange juice. That sounded like fun to us, so we all had our picture taken of me serving o.j. to the whole family. I also got to keep the apron, what a deal, huh...


After we checked in to our hotel, we went straight to the beach. We were all like kids jumping, and screaming in the waves. The sand felt so good between our toes, and Katie kept stopping to play in the sand. The waves were really neat.

This is our new buddy here in Florida. We will be seeing lots of buddies like him in the future.

Traveling Day 3 and 4

We made our way out of Iowa on Wednesday. The car was fixed and ready to go at 2pm. We were so thankful that we were able to get on our way. Our day ended in Illinois at about 8:30pm. As we drove through St. Louis, MO, we saw the Arch and we were all really excited. I was unable to get a close up picture as I was driving, but this turned out pretty well! It was a nice drive.

Driving through Atlanta, GA was not as much fun. We happened to be coming through when it was rush hour traffic and there was an Atlanta Braves baseball game that night as well. I realized that my stomach was hurting because I was so tense from the drive through there. I am not used to driving through such congested areas. We made it out safely and spent the night outside of Macon. The rest of the drive through Georgia was quiet and pleasant. We saw lots of signs about Civil War sights that we will have to come back and see.

Traveling Day 2....

We left our house in Vermillion, SD on Monday at about 4pm. The movers were really fast and cleaning went really well too. We made it to Clyde's house (Robert's Dad) in Ames, IA at about a quarter to nine that night. The kids had fun playing with their grandpa's things and went to bed pretty tired from the driving. I was amazed at how fast I got tired of sitting in the car myself! We left Clyde's this morning at about 9am. I am sorry to say that we did not make it very far though. We made it only as far as Grinnell, Iowa not too far to the east of Des Moines when the Suburban stopped working. We waited about an hour for the tow truck and now we are safely ensconced in a hotel. The SUV was taken to the Chevy dealership where it was discovered that our fuel pump was broken. They will have it tomorrow morning, so we will be on our way some time after lunch I am hoping. Robert and I both felt very calm and peaceful about it. Robert said, "Either you believe that God is Sovereign, or you don't." I like that. That is exactly how I feel about it.
We have already been swimming and now the troops are hungry. I hope to have some exciting pictures to share later. Hope all is well with all of you!

Brendan, Katie and Becca enjoyed being outside today. The park was full of people, soccer players, families, and kids playing. I think we were all a little bit sad that this was our last time to come and watch the boys play soccer. Since we are leaving on Monday, there will be no more soccer or ballet or homeschool group. I am content to know that the Lord will bring us new friends and activities in Vero Beach. We will miss our South Dakota friends and family in Iowa and Minnesota. We did not get to visit with them as much as we would have liked. Tomorrow is our last time going to Grace Baptist Church as well, so yet another goodbye is needed to made. I am hoping though, that many of our new friends here will find some excuse to come to Florida, like say, Walt Disney World?!


Katie is attacking her Daddy with gusto...

Rebecca looked like she was having some deep thoughts...

Last Soccer Game...

Justin had his last soccer game today. It was a beautiful morning at the park and a great day for soccer. Justin played soccer for the first time last fall, and when it started back up again in the spring, Justin was ready to get back to the game. He was so much better and bigger, he just jumped right back into the game as if he didn't have a 5 month break. The boys are both eager to start trying more sports, which I am personally glad to hear.

We are Moving....

Yes, it is true, we are moving and this time we are moving to Vero Beach, Florida. We will load up our stuff on Monday and drive to Florida. Robert has a job there teaching flying and we are all excited about it, as you can imagine. The Nasons are great explorers, and we look forward to this new adventure. We plan to blog this trip just like last time. Wish us well!

Rocket Launch Successful....

Brendan was able to make a rocket in our homeschool co-op group this semester.
The class was supposed to launch them on Friday, but due to weather, he was unable
to do so. Today Brendan's grandpa, uncle John and cousin Adelaide came over and we
thought it would be a great idea to make our launch today.

First there must be an untangling of the wires...

Robert successfully places the rocket on the launch pad.

Cousin Adelaide is very cheerful and not at all afraid of the weather...

This time I was able to actually able to catch the rocket, as there was an official countdown.
We were able to track this rocket, but the parachute took it very far away. We launched a smaller rocket from earlier in the year also. We didn't see where it went, but as we were walking home I spotted it in the grass, firmly planted. It looks as though we may get another launch.
We had a great time, I think rocketry is a very worthy endeavor. I am glad that Robert knows what he is doing...

A Spring Day in South Dakota

Notice the heavy coats, (excluding Justin) shivering hands in the pockets as we go outdoors this fine April day. We watched snow fall all morning, all has melted. I would like to know when spring will really arrive...

Chemistry Experiment...

Today in Chemistry class we had an experiment to see what reaction would take place when we add vinegar to baking soda. Brendan was so excited, he said that he always wanted to try doing this experiment. I am glad that I didn't try to get out of doing this one, because their reactions were fantastic. It is days like this one that make homeschooling so rewarding.

Dinner with Virgil, Patsy and Becky....

Virgil and Justin duel with swords.

Virgil plays the piano with a little help from Katie...

Virgil, Patsy and Becky came to our house last night for dinner on their way to Pennsylvania. We had such a wonderful visit with them. The kids were so well behaved and even though they hadn't seen them since last May, they quickly warmed up. It was nice to see them climb all over Becky, who didn't seem to mind. Virgil and Justin are still good wrestling buddies, although now they have added swords to it. All in all, it was a great evening, good food and good friends.
This morning we all got up really early to meet with them at their hotel for breakfast and have a little more time to visit. When we woke up there was snow on the ground and a blizzard. Katie said that was because we ate a Blizzard at Dairy Queen. She has a great way of thinking about things. Hopefully the snow will not stick and will melt quickly. We hope that our buddies have a safe drive and make it to their next destination on time...

A Bright and Sunny Day.....

I guess we haven't been taking many pictures around here, thus no new posts. I still don't have any pictures. We are all fine, enjoying some sunlight. While the temperature is still cool, 41 right now, atleast the snow has melted. I know from past experience that we will probably have more snow and cooler temps, but I am still optimistically awaiting spring! I hope that all of our friends all over the country have some sunlight and hints of spring. We miss you all, it is a great comfort to know that you are all there.

I have started a new blog, more of a devotional sight to share bible readings that the Lord has been using in our lives. I hope that it can be helpful, I have been feeling like I need to do this for my own accountability and as a way to share more of my faith. If you are interested it is:
http://www.nasonclan.wordpress.com
Hope you are all well, and that all your plans are blessed.

One down, two to go....

I finished the cabled baglet! Yeah, I really enjoyed
the challenge of this pattern so much. Now all I have
to do is make a lining for inside of the bag. Now, on to
work on the poncho.....

Saturday Eats....

Robert and I found this great magazine at Barnes & Noble
filled with soup and sides. Yesterday we had a great mushroom soup
with cheddar biscuits. So today I made red chili.


This recipe called for a whole tbsp. of chili powder,
so, being that I have children that need to eat too, I only
added 1tsp. It was still too hot but with a little sour
cream it was edible for them. I also made fry bread,
which is actually pretty good. The texture on the inside
reminds me of an english muffin. I think this is a good chili
recipe.

Curled up Kitty....

Current knitting projects....

Cabled baglet in progress. This is going to be so cute...

Beginning stages of a poncho. Right now it looks like a giant triangle.
But I promise that it will look different very soon.

Palendrome scarf half way there. It is a very nice
pattern and now that I get it, very easy. I need to
be working on atleast three different things
in order to break up the monotony of life...right.
Things are okay here! Lots of colds and coughs
but every moment that we feel good is a blessing
from the Lord.

Before the snow was deep....

The snow here in Vermillion never ends. It keeps getting deeper. Once again, maybe we should have just moved to Fairbanks.....

Justin looses first tooth!

My sweet boy has lost his first tooth! He wasn't so sure about his daddy's method of getting it out, but now he is so happy! We all did a victory dance and took pictures to commemorate this momentus occasion!

Cat with scarf....

This is Daisy's favorite spot to lay down. The bookshelf is right next to a heating vent. Now there is an added bonus to her favorite spot. A soft fuzzy scarf to lay on...Life is good....

How to Entertain Kids....

We have discovered that the trick to getting brothers and sisters to sit really close to each other without fighting, is to give them an iPhone to play with... Hmmm. I wonder how long this will last...