Today, we met up with our homeschool group,
HomeGrown Homeschoolers, for a field trip/behind the scenes tour of the Jacksonville Suns Stadium! To say that we were excited is quite the understatement :-)
At first, we tried to keep the trip a secret and let it be a huge surprise for them today, BUT I needed some bribery for nap yesterday and told Ms. Hannah. Now, she was under STRICT orders to not tell a soul, but evidently, she is not ready for secrets.... not only did she not take a nap, she also told both brothers within minutes of me telling her. Ugh!
As usual with the Riker Family, we were running late, but luckily, this is common among home schooling families, and well, families in general, so we had plenty of time to spare. This would have been great, but it was a 90* October day - with no breeze. Another UGH!
Before the tour started, we took a group shot of all the kiddos - go figure, my midgets would stand in the very back where they were only visible from side angles!
After the group photo, the tour began - at first it was the boring stuff, but after a bit in the fabulous Florida heat, we made it to the dugout, followed by the indoor batting/pitching/practice area, followed by the Suns weight room and locker room.
After this, we made our way to the main level, right behind home plate.
The kiddos were quite anxious to get to the third floor and after daddy finished taking pictures, we were off. The third floor held the press box (where there was an actual hole in the wall where a ball came flying through the open window and hit the wall - the announcer leaned to the left and kept talking as if nothing happened the entire time!), the crew room for the video guys and scoreboard people, and the suites where you pay too much money to sit in an air conditioned room and watch baseball!
Once this was over, the tour was over, and it was time for lunch - Capri Suns, chips, and hot dogs - what more could a group of hot, sweaty, hungry kiddos ask for?!
After lunch and a few more pictures.....
....it was time to head down the stairs and get home....
.... but Wesley wanted to try and buy some tickets first!
As we were driving home, we saw the Jaguars practicing and as we continued towards the Hart Bridge, we noticed that the road was closed and there were many marines and combat vehicles. Curious, we pulled into a parking lot to watch, only to see a few Marines sitting inside of a tank. We pulled all of the kiddos out of the van and walked over to see what was going on. These gentleman told us that they were setting up the vehicles to show off for the Marine Corps Half-Marathon in the morning, but would LOVE to open up the other tank and give us a private tour!
We were able to watch as they lowered the gate, which was pretty cool. Who would have known that lowering a gate was a two man job?! We were able to see him climb into the drivers seat, instead of opening a door - the kiddos thought that was SO neat! He allowed all of us to walk inside, ask tons of questions, and then he even let the kiddos try on the bullet proof vests and helmets! This poor marine, was in full fatigues, and sat in the fabulous, non-breezy, 90* blazing sun....
We said our thank yous goodbyes and decided that since we had already skipped nap for the day, that we would take the kiddos to Adoration since it was on the way home. Let me just say, I am so very impressed with each of my children. They were so very respectful. The behaved so nicely. There was not a single poor choice made. Lil' Robert for the first time ever, instead of genuflecting in front of the Blessed Sacrament, he laid down prostrate - this brought tears to my eyes as he is going to be receiving this beautiful Sacrament in May of '13.
Once we left the chapel, we walked over to the Rectory to see Grandma, since we had not seen her in a few weeks because of the missions trip to Jamaica, but she was nowhere to be seen. We waited, Robert recited his entire Act of Contrition, Wesley acted like Wesley, and Hannah sat perfectly still. Finally after a good bit, we packed up and left!
It was an incredibly adventurous morning! We all had a great time as a family and made some very, very precious memories!
My heart is bursting with pride as I sit here. My oldest son has just received Holy Communion for the very first time! He has experienced the joy of receiving the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ! He has officially received his 3rd Sacrament!
When it was time for communion, Lil' Robert approached the altar and bowed before the consecrated host. He told Father Thanh 'Amen' - I Believe - as Jesus was presented to him. Then, Jesus was placed in Lil' Robert hands and he stepped to the side, made the sign of the cross and returned to his seat - 4 seemingly simple steps that have so much meaning...
