Spring Break Pictures

We pull the kids from their deep slumber at 5 a.m. for a day of traveling and begin our trip by breaking the seat belt laws!



Stopping for peaches in Georgia...we had to settle for homemade peach ice cream since the peaches weren't ripe yet.






We finally make it to the beach and make goofy faces with Brooke and Audra!




The kids first trip to Magic Kingdom was magical! They crashed in their strollers on the way out of the park at 11 p.m.





Mid-week we took a pontoon boat tour and learned all about the local wildlife. Addy loved the on-boat "show and tell" session which included horseshoe crab shells, hermit crabs, huge snails in conch shells, sharks teeth, and examples of local vegetation. Keith wasn't too thrilled with it, but they let him drive the boat, which was exciting for him!






The rest of the vacation was spent at our condo...mostly on the balcony, in the pool or on the beach!!






Near the end of our vacation Addison proved to us, yet again, that she is growing up way too fast. She read her first book all by herself, needing help with only some very tough words. We have since heard the story EVERY night at bedtime since she is so excited to read it. Of course, it is about cats!!!



Until next blog,
Jen

blogging from the car...hour 10 of 16

Ahhh the modern conveniences...I can actually blog while we're driving back home! We just had dinner in Chattanooga after a 5 a.m. departure and driving pretty much non-stop except for an occasional potty break. We were going to drive to around Nashville and finish it off tomorrow. HOWEVER, we've got a wild hair up our rears and have made the crazy decision to power through all the way to home. So, we have about 6 hours of driving left. Brian is the driver and I am the entertainer. The kids are currently watching movies. Here is my view for the rest of the trip:




Here are all the entertainment items sitting next to me in the back seat (which prevents me from stretching out and napping, but the kids sanity is definitely worth the sacrifice!)



So, as you can see we are all tucked in our own little corner of the car, safe and sound. Including the newest addition to our family...turtles! Yes, that's right. Turtles. We actually are only taking one home with us; the other two I'm transporting back for my nieces who flew home.



You can see that Brian has kindly seat-belted them in. We weren't sure about seat belt laws for amphibians, so better safe than sorry!!

Well, the movie has ended and I'm getting requests for some book reading, so...off to do my duties!

Until next blog,
Jen

Oceanside blogging

After 2 1/2 days of driving we have finally arrived at our spring break destination! Thursday night we stayed in Louisville, KY. We awoke very early Friday for a departure time of 5 a.m. The kids were able to fall back to sleep after a small fruit breakfast in the car. The ENTIRE drive through Kentucky was what I can only describe as a "torrential downpour"! Since we got through Atlanta well before rush hour and without any traffic problems, we decided to find a park for the kids to play at before our second stop in Perry, GA. Keith was having fun running around while Addy stuck to her ever-favorite swings. He found a great tree stump to climb on but after only playing on it for a few minutes I heard him casually state "um...mommy...I have ants on my pants!" I run over to him and see his red sweat pants FULL of biting ants and then notice they were all over his shoes, socks and some on his shirt. I had to strip him down naked because there were too many to brush off! He was laughing and only suffered 2 bites in total, a complete miracle considering the huge numbers of them on him!

In our hotel in Georgia we decided to clean the kids up. Being a microbe-phobe, Brian refused to let the kids sit in the tub to get cleaned up, so they switched out taking a shower with me. After washing Addison, I needed to shave my legs and then we were done. As I was turning off the water, Addison shouted "Wait, Mommy!! You forgot to shave MY legs!" I laughed and assured her that she didn't have to worry about doing that for many years!

The entire trip was not too bad as I had enough books, movies, music, puzzles, games, crafts and toys to possibly last an entire trip around the world! I will admit the last 2 hours were pretty torturous for all. We were anxious to get to the beach and tired of the car! We made it in time to jump the waves, play in the sand, save a beached jellyfish, and rinse off in the pool for a little bit. Now we sit in our room listening to the waves crash...

Sorry no pics until I return home!

Until next blog,
Jen

Easter weekend pics

We had a wonderful Easter weekend, despite the cooler temperatures!! Saturday we went to an Easter Egg Hunt with Nana, Uncle Buck, and the Meyers. Later we had Nana and Uncle Buck over for a yummy meal followed by egg coloring. Sunday everyone got all fancied up in their new Easter attire and went to a very crowded church. Then we headed up north to celebrate with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Alex and Gretchen. We were all pooped in the end!!!

Easter egg hunt...







Here's Addy with the bunny...Trevon poses as "stand-in brother"


Coloring Easter Eggs


Rushing to make it to the 9 a.m. church service...the kids have had a few pieces of candy...I have had no caffeine...here is the succession of pictures we get:





We decide we need to hop in the pic in hopes of better picture outcome!




After a long day and lots of food, the kids get silly...






Hope everyone had a good holiday!

Until next blog,
Jen

Good Friday

Last night the kids and I went to church for a special night learning about the Stations of the Cross. Brian was with his boss in Louisville so, sadly, he missed it. The different stations played upon many of our senses so that we could try to understand the horrifying experience that Jesus had the day that he was crucified. The crudeness and gore of it, as was also represented in Mel Gibson's "The Passion", is often passed over so that we don't truly understand how much Jesus went through for US. The best way to summarize my thoughts on what I learned last night was using a line from a song..."Amazing Love! How could it be that you, my God, would die for me?"

While I was doing the "adult" stations of the cross, the kids were going through their own kid-friendly version. They received a little tote bag to bring home different things that represented the stations. Afterward, at home, I went through these things with the kids. There was a pipe cleaner crown of thorns, a nail, a cross with red marker on it to represent the blood of Jesus, etc. The last thing I pulled out were two small candy eggs with a cross on it. I asked "and what do these represent?" to which Addy replied "CHOCOLATE!!!".

Finally, for your viewing pleasure, here is a very cool video that they showed in church last Sunday. I urge you to take some time today to reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus made for all of us.



Until next blog,
Jen

Purses

In case any of you missed this on yahoo's page today, I thought this was a pretty funny video about purses. I'd like to dedicate it to my Aunt Brenda who, for as long as I can remember, has had more purses than I currently have shoes!!


Currently, I'm carrying one of those info-mercial Buxton bags (purchased for me by my Aunt Brenda!!). At first, I must say, I was a little sad because the handle started pulling out of it. But, thanks to my handy-dandy sewing kit that I carry with me at all times, I was able to fix that in a jiffy. I'm definitely that first purse-onality, and yes, I could MacGyver any of ya'll out of jail with the contents of my purse!!

So, I'm dying to know...what is your purse-onality??? Come on Ray...you know you carry a European carry-all...now fess up!

Until next blog,
Jen

Up from the blog she arose...

Yes, indeed. Its been a long time and I know it! Excuses? The camera broke, the computer went berserk, kids were puking and pooping out the wazoo, and I simply had the blogging blahs. But I think I've finally gotten back my energy to type all about the mundane details of our families life for my blog fans everywhere.
Currently, Addy lays on the couch still a little weak from a GI disturbance. She's definitely on the mend, but I decided to keep her home from school because I didn't think it would do much for her self-esteem if she accidentally pooped her pants.

Ever her faithful sidekick, Keith hangs close by just in case she perks up and wants to play for a few minutes. (sort of like a little puppy, don't you think?) Here he is with his Mary Lou Retton milk chin, which would only make sense to those of you who were old enough to become enamoured with her following her 1984 Olympic performances. (Brittany, Kira...were you even born yet???)

We have taken full advantage of any good weather that comes our way to get out of the prison, I mean house, that we've been held captive in for the last couple of months. Unfortunately, with above-freezing temperatures, also comes melting ice which, when mixed with dirt, becomes mud. Here are some picks of the kids playing with army men in the ice-slush-muddiness of our back yard.




In a few weeks, we are preparing to head south for another relaxing week in Florida. This year we decided to drive instead of fly. This will also give us practice for when we make the drive East for Aunt Beth's wedding. I'm a little concerned that Keith may come away from these excursions with scoliosis...

Until next blog,
Jen