Strike A Christmas Pose

In all seriousness, we were invited by the Tennessee Guskes and the Waleska Guskes to head north and join them at a beach house in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina for Christmas.



I know what you are thinking, why drive 12 1/2 hours when you live less than 5 miles from a beach?  Well, I have two important words for you; Christmas and family.

Speaking of family, Mackenzie and I had to take our own "selfie" at Christmas Eve Mass because one of our own family members was feeling under the weather.  Poor Mason, this isn't the first time this year that he has gotten sick on a road trip. Did you know that "selfie" is the 2013 Word of the Year?



After Mass, Tanner entertained us with his annual reading of "Cajun Night before Christmas".



Even though we were not snug in our beds in Florida, Santa was still able to find us during the night.



Thankfully, Mason was feeling much better in the morning and able to enjoy his Christmas.



Next post: Savannah

Hear The Music?

We sure did.  As a matter of fact we heard it three times this week. We attended our very first middle school band concert ever. Although Mackenzie is now in the high school band you may recall that she participated in middle school chorus rather than band. It was amazing to hear how far along these sixth graders have come considering most of them had never played an instrument prior to August.



The saxophone section was introduced to the audience.



The high school band performed their annual Prism concert three times this week. This year Mason was able to see the daytime performance thanks to a band field trip.



The drumline performed Jamaican Me Crazy.



The drumline also performed under the black lights which is always an audience favorite.



The ending of the Prism concert is always a little bittersweet. It is the last time the entire band will perform this year's halftime show.



While the rest of the band had to stay behind and clean the auditorium the drumline got one last chance to entertain the audience as they exited.



The drumline still has a few more upcoming gigs but this week signaled the official end of marching season. This picture makes me smile. It was a great year for Mackenzie on the #4 bass drum. It will be interesting to see where she ends up next year.

Gather around ...

....and I will tell you the tale of our turkey-less Thanksgiving. For the second year in a row we were unable to make the trek to Georgia for our extended family's Thanksgiving reunion. As you have probably already heard, I have never cooked a turkey nor do I plan to ever cook one in the future.  So, I had the bright idea to head to Busch Gardens on Thanksgiving where we could feast on turkey legs and beer. Beer, did someone say beer?

Yeungling to be exact. Our first stop was the Yeungling brewery just down the street from our Tampa hotel.



As a family we have already toured a winery and cola bottling plant so why not a brewery?



The kids couldn't exactly have a beer but Yuengling did offer them a "root"beer in the tasting room. Overall, they found the tour rather interesting.

  

After a few sips in the tasting room we were feeling confident enough to face our fears at the Museum of Science and Industry's Sky Trail Ropes Course. The plan was for Darin and the kids to climb the multilevel structure while I stayed on the ground and took pictures. So they got suited up, safety is apparently of the up-most importance when you will be climbing 12 to 36 ft above street level.



Needless to say, this is what Darin looked like after ascending to the first platform. Wait a minute, that's not Darin!  I can assure you that is what he looked like, we forgot that he is afraid of heights.



Mason, on the other hand, is our little daredevil.  He headed straight to the highest level without a second thought.



Rather than ask for a refund, Darin and I quickly changed roles.



I was proud of Mackenzie. For a while she was rocking and rolling on the course and overcoming her fear.



Unfortunately, the winds picked up as the sun was beginning to set and she finally said "enough".



Mason and I continued to enjoy the course until closing time.  I will definitely return again in the future so I can complete all 35 elements.



We worked up quite an appetite at the ropes course.  Thankfully, we had dinner reservations in Ybor City which is known as Tampa's Latin Quarter.



Founded in 1905 by a Cuban immigrant, the Columbia Restaurant is Florida's oldest restaurant and the largest Spanish restaurant in the world.



The food and decor are amazing.  There is so much history in this restaurant that it is difficult to soak it all in



The kids didn't know it but we had reservations for a stage-side table for the 45 minute Flamenco dance show.



On Thanksgiving morning, we were at Busch Gardens when the gates opened.  I had high hopes of purchasing a turkey leg for my Thanksgiving dinner but who was I kidding, I don't even like dark meat.  So that ends the tale of our turkey-less Thanksgiving.

A Day in Dunk City

Mason and I started our Saturday afternoon at the Arcade Theatre in historic Fort Myers. Sitting in the very auditorium that was used by Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone encouraged us to pursue our next destination a few blocks away...



... the original Ford's Garage. The restaurant gives you the vibe of being in the 1920's with some really unique features.







We ended our day in the Eagle's "nest" at Florida Gulf Coast University.



I had a feeling there would be a lot of fans due to the Eagles success during last year's March Madness. The arena set an all time attendance record at last night's game.  There were over 4,600 fans in the arena that seats only 4,500.



Even though the crowd of fans caused me to feel a little stressed, I have a feeling we will be visiting the "nest' again. Mason said he had as much fun, if not more, than attending  an Everblades hockey game.

Gaga ball

Gaga ball, ever heard of it? A friend invited Mason to participate in a tournament hosted by her church. The youth group had recently purchased a kit and built their own pit.



Gaga is similar to dodge ball. The game combines dodging, striking, running and jumping with the object of hitting opponents with a ball below the knee while avoiding being hit. A total of 21 kids participated in the tournament. Mason won two rounds which placed him in the semi-finals. Unfortunately, as you will see in the video below, he was eliminated.

Sorry, Once again, not all handheld devices will display the video.

Halloween Dance-Off

On Halloween afternoon I was invited to watch Mason perform in a middle school ballroom dance celebration. It was the culminating event after two weeks of ballroom dance instruction during his PE class.



Sorry, the following video may not play on all devices.




Not only did I get to watch but I was also given the opportunity to dance with Mason during a parent/child dance-off. Unfortunately, we were eliminated in the first round.
Fortunately, we made it home in plenty of time for Mason to prepare for trick-or-treating.

Hanging with the Grandparents

Hello everyone, it's Mackenzie. Two weeks ago my grandparents came down from Georgia to see me and my marching band play at halftime during a football game and in the Showcase of Bands. What is the Showcase of Bands, you might ask? Well, it is a big performance where each marching band in the county does their halftime show on the field for a big audience. I was so thrilled that they got to see me play my bass drum, twice!



Mason also got a chance to share his activities with Nana and Grandpa. They got to see him play in his first play-off football game, and his team won!



Below is the link to Gulf Coast High School's 2013-2014 Shark Marching Band halftime show at the Showcase of Bands. Check it out, the theme is movies! (: