Orange Park Elementary Awards 5th Grade Q3!!

AA does very well with her school work, and this quarter report was as good as ever! All A's plus the Math award! We are so proud of her, she works during school time and at home. When we look in on her during her after school teams, she's always working while other kids may not be as focused. 

All A's:

With Hade on one side and Noah W. on the other:

Holding her Math Award:

The OPE "Squad":

Mathematics Award:

School is almost over! She will soon be a rising 6th Grader!

Sunday NFJG South Hampton - Rising Girls 13 - 15

AA did fine with a score of 86 at South Hampton, she tied for first place. During the playoff, she thought the other girl won the hole so she picked up her ball marker before the Rules Official could stop her, as AA needed to putt out the hole. So she was penalized, which ended the playoff. Too bad. But with no caddie, no help, she was thinking the other girl was a stroke ahead. All good, that probably won't happen again. She was so upset (and cried). Tough way to learn about the game. She's only 11, these girls were age 14 - 17; she's such a good player, she practices and keeps improving. We LOVE her madly!! Last hole (18th):

Receiving second place award from Mr. Kevin:

The top three:

From Director Jack's newsletter:
The Rising Tour Girls 13-18 Division would have another exciting finish as Alyzabeth Morgan continues her fine play in the division shooting a score of 86 to tie with Ashley Huffman for the lead. Mackenzie McCormack, with the exception of a few holes played well and contended for the championship, but a triple bogey at the par-5 17th would damper the momentum. Morgan and Huffman would head to the first tee to determine this week’s champion. Huffman in the green side bunker in two would blast out to about 30 feet from the pin and sink the putt for par to win the hole and the championship. Huffman would again record another record low round. Congratulations to all.

I stayed home with the puppy dog and caught up on household chores. I made a new recipe from New England/Yankee web site. Molasses and spice cookies. I should have looked up my Grammie's molasses cookie recipe (buried some where in all the boxes in our garage), these were fine, larger and more spices in them. Not as good!

Baked:

We drank so much milk with them, a little too dry. But homemade is homemade - I know I will have them for breakfast with my coffee!

Spring Break 2018 and More

I am behind with the blog, so catching up after two weeks have gone by! AA's spring break from school began with all of us with colds. At first we were hoping it was just allergies, so much pollen around! We all had the same symptoms, so just a matter of time waiting the cold out. Every once in awhile, AA will tolerate me making hot tea to soothe our throats. Homemade honey by brother Justin, a sweet biscuit and Downton Abbey tea!

Since my cold was worse, I didn't take AA anywhere during her vacation, Ford did agree to take Connor and sister to the Alligator Farm on Thursday. They had fun, enjoyed a few of the shows and a late lunch together.

Fun times sitting on an alligator!

Many shows to enjoy (porcupine):

The group by a Jeep!

Lunch:

Friday, AA played a round of golf with Ms. Penny at South Hampton. AA has a NFJG Tournament there on March 25th.
Saturday, 17th I made slow cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage, it was good! So good we bought another corned beef to have in a week or two.
Kilee's birthday was on Sunday, March 18th, no family party planned, was texted by Kelly that they were re-doing her bedroom and had just returned from a dance competition in Orlando.
Monday was the last day before going back to school! Ford took AA and Noah to the Black Panther movie. Back to school on Tuesday, March 20th, back to Math Club and Robotics and golf lessons.
March 22nd: New L.L. Bean bathing suits for AA. She loved the color and pattern, but wanted the top with wider straps and the bottom to the one with skinny straps. So I bought both. Glad I did as she actually seems to like all four pieces. Friday, we went to the River House, nice weather, sat outside. 

On Saturday, March 24th, we went shopping at Toys-R-Us (entered bankruptcy) since AA had a gift card she had not used. She purchased a NERF dart shooter (lots of fun with target practicing), a Rey Star Wars mini saber and night vision goggles.

Next up is AA playing at So. Hampton (NFJG) on Sunday the 25th.

Sunday NFJG Eagle Harbor Girls 3rd Place!!

Sunday 03/18/18: AA played with the 13 - 18 year old Girls group for the second time. No Daddy Caddie! She's out there for 18 holes relying on her skill, brain power and physical ability. So proud as she scored a 77 (actually a 76 but she didn't hear correctly at the score table her partner say a five, AA had a four as confirmed by her Daddy; because she didn't speak up at the table, it cannot be changed. A slight mis-step; she and Coach Bryan will role play to help her know what to say and do). This photo was taken by Director Jack: {Hole 5 fairway}

The scores are in! 

Happy Ladies!

She double bogeyed the 8th hole with a missed chip. She did her best ever with a birdie Par 3 and the other Par 3's she made Par. Then a birdie on the 17th Hole made for her best round ever! Ford said the 17th hole was wonderful to watch, nice drive, then up on the green for a tap in. A score of 76 (officially 77) so happy for her progress and consistency! Love it when she does so well (in the Girls group) and still is not happy - she's so hard on herself!
We decided to eat at Talon's - love their Ahi Tuna Salad (Ford ordered his usual burger, and AA her usual Shrimp). 
Scorecard:

Dear Alyzabeth Morgan: Details of your round are provided below. Click here to view the leaderboard.  Scores for Today's Round (view full scorecard): Hole 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 OUT Par 4 5 4 3 4 3 4 4 5 36 Score 5 6 4 2 5 3 4 6 5 40 Hole 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 IN Par 4 4 5 3 4 3 5 4 4 36 Score 5 4 5 3 4 3 5 3 5 37

From Director Jack's Newsletter:
The Girls 13-18 Division would also result in some outstanding play by all in the field. The highest score in the field would be a very respectable 85, but the low round would be had by Jacksonville’s Lacey Tucker who was just ripping the ball all day. Tucker’s ball control was impeccable as she scratched out a perfect score of 72 to nip an AJGA Champion in Altamonte Springs Izzy Pellot. Pellot would post a four over par 76 to claim the Silver Medal. Young Alyzabeth Morgan would outshine some top quality junior players for the Bronze with a score of 77. Morgan actually shot 76, but recorded a higher score on one of her back nine holes than she really had. By rule she is required to keep the higher score.

Spring Break Sunday - Breakfast and Pool

We had a lazy morning with the time change - spring forward. Didn't make it to church :( 
We met with Kenny and Pam Davis for breakfast at the Island Diner (first time) to chat over all that has happened. We haven't visited since before Christmas. Their dog, Buddy was sick and died right before Christmas, Pam's Mom was hospitalized during Christmas, then again in January, and then died. That was right after Pam's second granddaughter was born in January, Charlotte James. She has shed many tears and her Dad's health is not good, so many trips home on the weekend (she will be bringing him here over Easter for two weeks). It was good to chat and hopefully a promise of another visit after this week.
We drove to Carolyn's to give her a used laptop Ford found/bought. We let Ford stay home and Ginger rode along with us. Ginger likes to run in Carolyn's back yard. AA took a few tries to jump in the pool - so cold at 72 degrees! Carolyn turned on the pool heater this morning but not enough time to warm it up. AA trying to convince herself to jump in:

Thinking about jumping in:

See Carolyn's expression? COLD!! The sun was warm, that's where I stayed! Carolyn and AA played in the pool for about 20 minutes, they were brave!!

From Facebook: Aunt Carolyn Redmond is in the pool with AA! A very cold water temperature 72 degrees! Too cold for me. Ginger just looks on, not a brave puppy either.

We chatted with Carolyn on her pool patio (told her the summary of the Leaa's DNA story), had a glass of champagne, then visited with her foster kittens. Another good day!

School Spring Break! Saturday the 10th

Since we are not traveling anywhere, time to plan for some fun events. Golfing, zoo and if raining, movies are tops on the list.
The first day of Spring Break, Saturday, we decided to drive to Gainesville to watch Fleming High 2017 Graduate, Lauren Waidner play for UF. Her parents, sister Ellen and grandparents were there to cheer her on (Lauren was so kind to golf with AA almost weekly during her Senior HS year). A grueling tournament, with 36 holes on the first day and 18 on Sunday. She was playing in the individuals group, not on the team competition. 
Lauren walking on Hole 18 (shotgun start, she began on Hole 17, so had completed her first round) this hole was number one of her second round.

AA wasn't in the mood for Mommy paparazzi:

Florida was in first place after first 18 holes.

We ate lunch/early dinner at Satchel's (menu), we enjoyed the fresh Satchel's Salad that is made to feed 2 - 4 people, generous amount for the three of us, we each had seconds ($8). The pizza crust (we ordered the "Major") was heavenly. Not too chewy, very tender dough with a flavor we could not figure out. Really good medium crust, fresh, would love bread sticks made from it. The restaurant was eclectic outside and inside. An old van had seating booths inside, the tables and dinner plates all mismatched. Friendly wait-staff with table service but pay in CASH only at the counter. More uniqueness includes the six homemade sodas. I tried the sampler, looks just like a beer sampler with labels on a board and six small "juice" glasses. The lemonade (Emma Lemma) was not carbonated and tasted fine. There was a lemon-lime soda (Lennie) that had a nice citrus flavor. The cola (Lola) was good with the best being their homemade root beer (Ruby). Two other sodas, not on my good list: one made with Stevia for zero calories (Stevie Z), the other a ginger soda (Ginnie). I am sure there are many fans of these two, but I would pick the lemon-lime or root beer as my favorites. The sampler comes with a newsletter type hand-out, describes some of the restaurant's history and the origins of the homemade sodas. It's worth a stop if you are in Gainesville - 1800 NE 23rd Ave.

On our way home, Ford spoke to Leaa as she shared her new Ancestry DNA results and the story she discovered was of a surprise to all!! New first cousins (at least six)! That's a story for her family to tell someday!

Beautiful Spring! Just a Little Cooler.

The weather is cooler with breezy days, but so nice! We are having a few cooler nights (in the low 40's) which are still enjoyable with a coat on - after all, it is still winter!
I bought a Dr. Seuss t-shirt for AA, all about reading anywhere. Her friend Isabel had one, saw on Facebook, so had to get one for AA.
I will READ on a boat. I will READ with a goat. I will READ on a train. I will READ in the rain.
I will READ with a fox. I will READ in a box. I will READ with a mouse. I will READ in a house.
I will READ here or there. I will READ anywhere!!!!!

From Facebook:
AA recently had a small foot issue with her golf shoes. She wore DAWGs golf shoes since she was 7 (they look like Crocs, same material feel). DAWGs do not carry a size 4 (between Girls and Womens), so I ordered a size 5 for her a few months ago; too big even though the measurements line up closely to a Youth size 4. With her "small" foot issue, I challenged Daddy-Caddie to take her shopping (not a favorite task for either). Voila!! A new pair of Nike golf shoes in size 4 from Dick's. We still recommend DAWGs, they are excellent children golf shoes.

These are her Dawgs. They have Women's sizes, so maybe she will try them again.

Wednesday, I took a day off from work to go have my shoulder checked (Ginger dog yanked it twice over the past few months, pain not going away!!). We enjoyed taking a short road trip to Maggie's Herb farm. We bought tomato, pepper and herbs; won't be able to plant outside until the end of March. For dinner we decided on AA's favorite Mexican Tijuana Flats.

Maggie's always have pretty displays of veggies and flowers in a wide variety of eclectic pots.

Our orange tree at home, blooming and smelling wonderful!

Azaleas are blooming!

While AA and Ford were golfing, I found a recipe for Irish Soda Bread, made it spur of the moment. Went great with Ford's chili.

Ford baked a cake (used a box mix for base) for the OPE Spring Fling, earned an hour of volunteer time!

Double chocolate with homemade Buttercream Frosting (funny - no butter in this recipe!!)

Friday: Ford and AA had fun at the OPE Spring Fling. It was scheduled as the annual fall festival but Hurricane Irma made the spring the make-up date. AA ran around with her "squad" for 2.5 hours (with a runny nose). 
Our OPE Volunteer time obligation is completed - with Ford's three hours at the OPE library (book fair), the cake and half an hour clean up. While I was off work last Fall, I managed to get in several hours too.

THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE
1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 small box Jello instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups mini chocolate chips

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
1 cup shortening (Crisco)
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
In a very large bowl, mix together everything except chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Then stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour batter into cake pan of choice (I normally use two 9-inch round pans). For cooking time, I use the cooking times on the back of the cake box as a guide. Then I do the toothpick check, and if it’s not done, I check on it every 5 mins after that. It usually takes around 45 mins for two, 9-inch round pans.
BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
In a mixing bowl, cream shortening until fluffy. Add sugar and continue creaming until well blended. Add salt, vanilla, and whipping cream. Blend on low speed until just combined. Beat at high speed until frosting is fluffy.