Author: Brian Allen

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Skipping School for Nashville Trip

Adventure Science MuseumWe took Katie Beth out of school today and we went to Nashville for the day.  Our main goal was the Adventure Science Museum.

First, Karen got to stop and check out possible new cars that she is looking to purchase.  She wishes she had more time with the car shopping on the trip.

Next up, we headed to the Adventure Science Museum in Nashville.  Our old Sci-Quest membership came in handy allowing us to get in free using the ASTC TRAVEL PASSPORT PROGRAM.

We had a blast climbing all over the museum.  The center of the museum is an climbing structure that takes you to the top of the building for a full 360° view of Nashville, which very cool.  We played games and pretended we were on the International Space Station.  I even picked a car with a lever and got the high score on food pyramid “Whack-A-Mole” style game.  The science display and activities covered health and body, underwater research, space, physics, and much more.

Rock Bottom Brewery RooftopFinally, we ended up on a roof top restaurant, Rock Bottom Brewery, and finished the day well with great appetizers, wonderful weather, and super view.

You can see more photos here. Remember, the username and password are “Friends” and “Photos”.

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Fall Break Trip to Orange Beach

Playing in the Water at Orange Beach AlabamaWe had a wonderful trip to Orange Beach during Katie Beth’s Fall Break.  We met some nice families with child that Katie Beth truly enjoyed playing with for the whole trip.

We rented kayaks from Paddled by You and we paddled out to Gilchrist and Bird Islands.  Katie Beth enjoyed discovering all of the creatures on the island.  After the islands, we paddled over to Tacky Jacks for lunch, which was much appreciated.  Paddled by You was nice and you get a free chocolate bar after your rental, but they require cash.

We had great meals of Royal Red shrimp and lobster picked up at the local grocery stores.  By the end of the week, we were sharing meals with the families that we met on the trip.  These meals were so much fun with all of the adult time and the children playing.

You can see more of the photos here.  Remember, the username and password are “Friends” and “Photos”

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Sharing Childhood Memories

fishing with daughterAs a child, we would always come to the beach and a tradition was to sit on the dock and fish at night time. This trip is a special trip, because we went up to the same place Karen and I went when we were young but now with Katie Beth. 

We didn’t catch anything that we had lots of bites and fun. 

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Talk Like a Pirate Day

Krispy Kreme

Pirate CostumesKatie Beth, Karen, and I donned our pirate costumes after finishing up Katie Beth’s soccer game against Holy Family School (her previous school) and we headed to Krispy Kreme.

They annually give away doughnuts on this “holiday”.  Full costume gets you a dozen Original Glazed doughnuts while just talking like a pirate gets you one Original Glazed doughnut.

A lot of Katie Beth’s soccer team joined us for the pure fun of getting doughnuts and talking like a pirate.

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Mammoth Cave National Park Trip

Katie Beth at Mammoth Cave National ParkWe had a long weekend get away to Mammoth Cave National Park.  We checked Katie Beth out early on Thursday, at the chagrin of her teacher, so we could get a head start on the drive.  The weather was great.  Katie Beth thought this was the best cave.  She has gone in Ruby Falls, Cathedral Caverns, and other small caves to compare against.

Gypsum FlowersWe took the Grand Avenue tour on Friday, which includes the Frozen Niagara route, Domes and Dripstones route and the Snowball route.  The gypsum flowers were very cool looking.  It is hard to imagine how large the flowers would’ve been before tourism started in the cave and breaking the gypsum off the ceiling.

Our little cabin was nice even if some air conditioning would have been appreciated on some of the nights.  But, Katie Beth met other children staying in nearby cabins, which made it fun for her.

Spotted Apatelodes moth caterpillarOn Saturday, we took the simple Mammoth Passage tour into the main entrance of the cave so Katie Beth could get a better understanding of the size of Mammoth Cave and see the saltpeter production artifacts.  After the short cave tour, we hiked the River Styx Springs, Echo River Springs, Whites Cave, and Mammoth Dome trails. We saw large numbers of various furry caterpillars along our hike including this Spotted Apatelodes moth caterpillar.

You can see more photos here.

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Parenting Fun

SkeletonKaren slipped a skeleton under Katie Beth’s covers earlier today.  Well, you can see the results as Katie Beth decided to throw the skeleton down the stairs to make a statement of her dissatisfaction.

Isn’t it great being a parent.  And, we can afford the therapy that I see in her future.

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Karen’s New Joy

Karen KayakingKaren is having a blast.  This is her first time to kayak.  She thought is a lot of fun and paddled around for hours. Her arms got a serious workout.

She is hoping she gets invited again with her friend.

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MWR Oktoberfest

We had a great time at the festival. Karen is pictured blowing her lungs out while plying the Alpine Horn.

Katie Beth had her first candy apple and it was tasty according to her.  We thought it was mighty red given the color of Katie Beth’s face.
We had fun visiting Ms. Grace at the Home Depot booth while Katie Beth built a chalkboard door hanger. Ms. Grace even slipped us bird house kit to build at home. She is so sweet.

The liters of beer were tasty as always to Karen and I. The VIP area was awesome and thanks to The Nook for the passes.

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Katie Beth Captured for a Moment

Katie Beth is growing up fast. The hair is back to being very long and she doesn’t want it cut.

She is enjoying her new school and making many new friends.  She is  excited to be playing on the school’s soccer team and seeing old classmates on the other teams.