Thanksgiving Break!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving Break. The kids got an entire week off from school, so it gave us lots of time to spend with Jason's parents while they were here. We took off early Saturday morning for Orlando to spend a few days before Thanksgiving.

The kids with Ema on the way into LegoLand!


LegoLand was really cool-- perfect for kids preschool age up through elementary age. They not only had amazing Lego sculptures and cities, but tons of rides. The kids got to ride at least 4 roller coasters and lots of other fun rides.



Our next Pizza by the Sea employee....;)


We also spend two days at Sea World. Jason and his parents had never been there, and I was 14 the last time I was there, so we all really enjoyed it, especially the shows. The dolphin and whale show were amazing and the kids loved the dog and cat show. I kept thinking, "how did they train a cat to do that? Our cat looks at us in total disgust when we try to get him to even move!"





The boys after riding The Manta ( a major roller coaster). Alex didn't want to ride it the first day, but I was so proud of him for doing it the second day. He loved it except for the upside down part. He said, " It felt like all of the air was being sucked out of me!"

Alex feeding the stingrays. Caroline wasn't too sure about sticking her hand down to have the critters suck a fish out of her fingers. I don't blame her...

We headed back late Monday to get ready for all of the craziness at the restaurant. It was very busy Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Lots of people came down to spend the holiday at the beach, and everyone wanted some pizza after eating turkey Thursday!

More pics from our holiday coming soon. Hope you had a relaxing Thanksgiving day!

Can I Get in my Jammies at 5 p.m.?

Okay, this title really doesn't have much to do with the pictures below, but it has been a bit of a challenging week with the time change. The sun comes up around 5:30a.m. and so do my people. Especially Caroline.....she shuffles into the bathroom with her Hello Kitty slippers and wakes up the entire household. Then the sun sets around 5 p.m., and that means Mom is ready for bed about 8. It is funny how all of our bodies react to the sunlight or lack thereof. When the sun goes down, and it gets a bit chilly, I am ready for bed! Anyway, here are some pics from our fun day off Friday.

The kids had Veterans Day off and they wanted to go to the beach in the afternoon after it warmed up. (It has been in the 40's at night and the 60's during the day).





Can you see the sailboat?

And the stinky, dead jellyfish.... I got my shoes all wet trying to get a picture of this thing.

I love the color of the sky......


Alex and Jason punting the soccer ball.....



Horsing around.....

The view was nice!

A few trees are starting to change color in our neighborhood.....





Our grapefruit starting to ripen! Should have some in a month or so....


We finally got a top bunk for Alex's bed, so they were thrilled to have a sleepover Friday night in his room.

The cat thought it was pretty exciting too......After the kids came in and disturbed him, he stayed there for about 2.3 seconds.


Now I have to go put my jammies on, for real. It's 8:02. :)

Welcome November!

I cannot believe that November is here-- partially because I am not used to wearing shorts in November-- up North, November is usually pretty damp and chilly. So it still feels like September here in northwest Florida. Celebrating Thanksgiving here I am sure will feel a bit strange as well. But we are excited because Ema and Papa are coming for the week and we have some fun stuff planned. Anyhow, here is our week!

Monday-- Halloween in Seaside. Next year, I am definitely cutting back on the number of festivities we attend. There are so many festivals here that one can celebrate and dress up for weeks! So we got a bit burned out. But Seaside was so much fun. The kids dressed up, went around to all of the local businesses, and then got to run around in grass with their friends! It was chaos! Then the sugar high wore off, the sun went down, and we went home to bed!


The rest of the week was pretty uneventful.... usual activities of piano, soccer practice (last one!), and ballet. We decided to have a pretty laid back weekend since we have been so busy, and it was nice to just do stuff around here.

We did get out a few times-- Alex's last soccer game was Saturday, and they won their last game of the season (after losing the first 7, bless their hearts). I was so proud of the team and how they improved over the season. They won 3-0, and Alex got a goal on a penalty kick. I tell you, the boy can kick that ball! When he plays goalie (which is his favorite), he punts that ball over the players heads almost down to the other end of the field. He says he definitely wants to play again in the Spring.

Here's Miss Sis getting ready for the big game.



Last night we decided to head to Destin and try a Thai restaurant we had heard about. It was very good --Pad Thai for me, some kind of beef for Jason, and Sweet and Sour pork for the kids.
Afterwards, we stopped at 32 degrees, which is a yogurt bar. I have been wanting to try it-- you get a bowl, serve yourself whatever frozen yogurt and toppings you want, then they weigh it and you pay by the ounce. The kids had fun with their creations, although the stuff the piled on top-not appetizing to me. Here's a pic of their final products.....

A little closer look at Caroline's---gummy worms anyone?


Today we had a quiet day at home-- did devotions as a family, cleaned out my closet, made meatballs, and lounged. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Busy Busy!

The weeks are just flyin' by as we go about work, school and activities. Before we know it, it will be Christmas. Here's a little catch up on what we have been up to:

My parents were in town for the week so the kids got to spend some time with them! They loved it, of course, having grandma and grandpa's attention. The kids had a half day of school Wednesday, so we hung out with them for the afternoon. Somehow my dad eluded the camera all week, but here's a good one of Mom!


Nature boy aka the frog whisperer



Playing whiffle ball in the field...




Here's a few pics from the Boo Bash we had on Thursday at Pizza by the Sea. We had a face painter/balloon artist come for all of the kids--it was a great time had by all. So many cute costumes..... go to www.pizzabythesea.com to see them all!




Caroline had her friend over for a play date Friday after school, and this was their creation at Pizza by the Sea.




Saturday brought soccer, and the pizza party after soccer.... Nothing like feeding a bunch of hungry boys pizza!

Saturday afternoon we decided to go down to Rosemary Beach to their Halloween festival. They had trick or treating, pumpkin carving, games, food..... it was fun! Caroline dug Alex's old astronaut suit out of the play clothes box. Perfect! I didn't buy a Halloween costume this year for either one of them.... recycling costumes is awesome!





Alex's finished product!
Today after church, I was on a quest to get a good picture of the kids for our Christmas card. We first ventured out to Eden Garden state park. Beautiful old estate with a plantation house, and enormous live oak trees all over.

The troops were not being too cooperative on the picture front. I did manage to get a few shots, but I am saving those:) Here is one that didn't make the cut.

of course, Alex had to include this photo of a snake he saw slithering across the walk.... lovely.


hope you have a great week! I can't believe November is right around the corner!

A Beautiful Day in October...

It has been an absolutely gorgeous October here in northwest Florida--everyone around has told me that October will be my favorite month, and it definitely has lived up to my expectations so far! Sunny, warm days and cool nights.

On Friday, Alex had a friend over, so Jason took them on their bikes down to Seaside to hang out in the square. They have this great, grassy open area where pick up games of baseball are frequently started... and that is exactly what happened! A bunch of kids showed up with a wiffle ball and bat, and they went to town.



Caroline and I showed up later to join in the fun.


When the sun set and it started to get chilly, we decided to go over to the air stream trailers to grab a bite to eat. I had to take a picture of my newest addiction--- Barefoot BBQ brisket nachos. Jason kept trying to steal bites and I had to shoo him off. I promise you I ate every bite.

The boys decided on grilled cheese sandwiches from The Meltdown, and Carolin, a hot dog. Just in case you are wondering, Alex's friend Trip is munching on a meatloaf grilled cheese sandwich.... interesting concept, but it looked pretty good, I have to admit.

I did get a little nostalgic after the Fall harvest sunsets in Indiana and missing the changing of the leaves. But the sunsets down here have been beautiful as well, in their own way.

have a great week! We are excited to have my parents in town this week! More pictures to come!

What we have been up to.....

hello! sorry for the absence. My computer was having issues for a few days, and Jason had to fix them. Here's what we have been up to this week:

Soccer practices! This is Caroline having fun with my phone. Lovely.



Tuesday: Colby came over for dinner! Colby works at Pizza by the Sea and he loves Italian food, so I made him lasagna. The kids were so excited to have him over and we had a great evening!



Wed. : more soccer practice

Thursday: dance and dinner at Pizza by the Sea

Friday: Miss Sis had a sore throat and had to stay home from school. But she felt well enough to snuggle with The Fat Cat. He's thrilled.



And this, folks, is what cats are good for...... Making a bed out of the clean laundry you threw on the bed because you didn't have time to fold it.


Saturday: Soccer game and Trunk or Treat at church

I didn't get the costumes ordered in time, so we just went with what we could find around the house. Since Alex was already in his soccer clothes, he went as a soccer player, and Caroline wore her ballet costume from her last recital.


Sis hanging out by the car with her stash.


This picture freaks me out a little, but he had to get his face painted.



Painting pumpkins...



Sunday: Church and beach!


It was in the middle 80's today so it was a perfect day to enjoy the beach. Very relaxing after a busy week.







Have a fantastic week!