Look Who’s Famous!

The girls find their cousin’s face on a Family Fun Fest 2018 poster & are super excited!

October 2, 2018

Look Who’s Famous!

During our thrift shopping day, we found a gem!

I’ve been a vendor at the Saint Augustine Family Fun Fest for two years – and yes, it is an amazing family venue!  (Not the best for our sales yet, but most of our neighbors do very well.)  The kids LOVE it so much that they plan to be at the next one each time we are leaving.

My 12+ girls volunteer (last time, officially), and Kimberly and Jaquline trade between “guard duty” (where they walk Jillian, Anastasia, and Lucas around to play on rides, watch the shows, and visit vendors) and “working the booth” (helping to mind the booth and try to sell our crafts).

On a “Family Fun Fest 2018” poster in the Alpha Omega Thrift shop, was Anastasia’s smiling butterfly-painted face!  (In the little bubble just above all the sponsors.)

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We even checked our pictures to make sure (because she had two different faces during the course of the day).  Anastasia is the “butterfly.”

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And yes, it was their cousin, smiling down from the poster.

The girls got so excited!

Becky had to take a picture and send it to Anastasia’s mom with the line, “look who’s famous!”

Maybe not “famous,” but it certainly launched the girls into discussing their happy memories from the two fun fests and their hopes for this coming year’s event!  (The cutest part for me, is that almost every time I pick Anastasia up from school, she asks me, “when are we going to the next Family Fun Fest?” – she will love seeing herself on a poster for an event she loves!)

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

 

 

 

 

My Civil Air Patrol Cadet

July 12, 2018

My Civil Air Patrol Cadet

One day Louis was driving past the Saint Augustine Civil Air Patrol building and saw cadets marching around in uniform.  He stopped, asked them what they were, and raced home to tell Christina that he found the perfect activity for her.

She is my flying nut.  She loves planes.  Just like Lucas loves anything with wheels – she loves anything that flies (except mosquitoes and no-see-ums).  Better said; Christina loves anything mechanical that flies.

She’d studied famous flying people, physics, beat her way through math, and taken a helicopter tour for her birthday.  She’d talked with pilots as Louis shuttled them to the airport from their hotels.

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She had the time of her life when some friends took her to the Jacksonville Air Show! (Photo credit above & below – Hannah Clark & crew)

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The poster from that day was the first one tacked to her wall.

So, she “visited” the CAP meetings with Louis for three weeks – but Wednesday morning after her first meeting, she was like, “Mom, I’m going to join Civil Air Patrol.”  Of course, Christina’s decisions are never small – “I’m going to get to officer rank and they have all these things I can learn so I can get into programs to help me learn to fly…” and she continued talking me through the book and information someone had given her.

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She is a scrimping saver and refused any help with CAP dues, fees, or for her first uniform.  (This is a point of pride for her – to be able to cover all her own expenses.  She saw God’s love in action, though, when she thought she wouldn’t be able to go to winter encampment but our amazing church family gave her enough money for the trip and the extra items needed!)

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CAP gave her a grant to go toward buying her first blues uniform though – something about earning a certain rank.  (These are my borrowed shoes for her first day wearing blues.  Her real ones have a one inch heel and no decoration.)

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Lucas loves Christina’s uniform – especially the caps (aka, covers).

Thanks to CAP, Christina has matured greatly in social interaction (you can order younger siblings around all day, but it is different ordering someone else around!).  She is more confident, more physically active, emotionally and physically stronger, and enjoying the company of respectful, goal-driven, encouraging fellow cadets.

Our family has learned some new terms: water is hydration, anything not a uniform is civies, a funny backpack with a water bag inside and a fishtank-hose looking straw hanging around the cadet’s neck is a camelback, among others.

 

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We’ve swelled with pride watching our cadet march in parades (even if we only get a picture of her back half hidden behind another cadet)…

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…assist veterans in her blues…

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…and attend encampment as a student…

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…and staff.

She’s constantly challenging herself to new higher limits – one day, I’m sure, she’ll touch the sky!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

 

 

 

 

 

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