Meet the Presidents

It has been a very busy summer, thus explaining my absence from the blog world. Lots of mowing, lots of chair building, lots of running in general. We are now in the midst of trying to prepare our back yard for a bigger pool this year. And so the "To Do" list never ends. I'm not complaining, I know this is the phase we are in at this point in our lives. Find me a 30-something aged couple(especially with kiddos) and I'll show you a couple of insanely busy folks. Someday when the boys are gone and our landscape is done and our house is clean, we'll look at each other and say, "I wonder if the kids need help with their yards?" I know we will miss the constant questions about some new creature they have found and brought to the door for inspection.

Speaking of creatures, I am officially calling this the "Summer of Creatures". I have unsuspectingly answered the door to find the following creatures in the hands of a boy..... a dead rabbit, turtles, spiders, worms, ants, and I'm sure there have been more I just can't recall. I started washing out peanut butter jars and leaving them in the garage for our explorers to place their charges. We also decided after several creatures into the summer that we should start naming our creatures after the presidents(this is a tricky way to teach your kids). So without further ado, I introduce to you.....(drum roll please...)

GEORGE WASHINGTON(btw, that's Matt's boot, so the spider is covering that much area on an adult male's boot!)


and JOHN ADAMS

Photo Journal Part 2

OK, where were we? Oh yes, we were at Disney World on Tuesday. On Wednesday we went down to the Treasure Coast. We met Harold, Kayla, Landon, and Dillan at MFI and got a tour of the facilities. MFI and the work the Martin's do there is so practical and yet really is a part of reaching the world for Jesus. If you don't already support Harold and Kayla on a monthly basis I would encourage you to do so.(Pardon the shameless plug for my friends.) After our tour we all went to lunch at a delicious little Mom and Pop place called the Red Barn. They serve the best fresh squeezed OJ you've ever tasted. We then headed on down to HS and the boys spent the afternoon splashing together in the pool. Later Kayla invited her parents, Gay, and Vernon's over for a cookout. It was so good to be with so many dear friends. I don't have many pictures from Wednesday because my camera is very willful and so was in a mood. grrr. Kayla and I on the back porch of her beautiful new home.

Matt and our boys checking out the cockpit of the DC4 Harold flies.

On Thursday we went back to Central Florida and spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool.


Well, some of us relaxed!





Now you know why I love this man so much!

So much like his mother.



The rest of our time in Florida was spent with Family.

My brother Larry's family at Steven's graduation party.

Micah and Maria.

Carl and Tamme with Steven at his Graduation Party on Saturday.

Carl's Family at Steven's Graduation last Sunday.

A very proud Aunt!

Well that's it. I hope you enjoyed a photo journal of our vacation. We send our best wishes for a blessed summer to you and your families.

Photo Journal of Vacation Part 1

This year we went to Florida for our family vacation. Since having children Matt and I have made it a priority to go on vacation once a year. We save and save to do this because we feel like it is so important for our family. However, up to this point we've always just taken extended weekend vacations. This year however, my nephew was graduating from High School down in Central Florida so we decided to take a whole week off. I felt rather irresponsible going when gas prices are so high, however, we had already booked the house when gas was $1 cheaper per gallon and just couldn't get out of it without losing money. Well, I'm happy to report we stayed within budget and had a great time! (no more guilt, yeah!)

We met my parents in GA on Sunday and then headed on down to FL on Monday morning. We had to stop on our way down at a farmers market for fresh produce and at a bookstore that priced all their books under $3!! We finally arrived at our rental house around 5pm on Monday and just relaxed and had a cook out with Carl's and Larry's families. The next morning we woke up early and went to Disney World. A man at Carl and Tamme's church works at Disney and gave us all park hopper passes for FREE!! Thanks Eugene! Here are some pictures of our day.

I love the Florida sky.

A nice lady offered to take a group picture for us.

The never ending lines!

Courtney shot this picture for us.


Micah on the Teacups. I had the boys wear hats to protect them from the sun, however, Micah kept turning his sideways with the string over his face. Go figure!


Steven talking with his "Little Buddy". Notice Josiah is sacked out in the stroller, Disney can be exhausting!

Chris watching his cousins play at Pooh Corner.

Micah refreshing himself at a "spring".


Checking out the Swiss Family Tree House.

We also went over to Epcot for a couple hours. The boys LOVED the aquarium there. The photo below is proof that there is such thing as having too much fun. :)

Well, I have more photos from our trip, but I'll stop with Disney for now, since I need to get a few things done before lunch. Check back later for more photos.

WERE BACK!

Hola my Blogging Amigas!

I sit here a bit nauseated from an all nighter trip home from Sunny Florida!(BTW, this was much easier to do 15 years ago) I've missed you all, but had a wonderful time. As always though, it's good to be home. We left Lakeland yesterday afternoon around 4:30pm and arrived home around 8am. We've just rested today, and plan to rest more tonight. Tomorrow we'll get back into the swing of our lives.

We had such a nice time and would definitely recommend renting a house while on vacation as opposed to hotels. We shared the house with my Dad and Mom and so it was actually cheaper to stay there than get a hotel. We had a private pool, full kitchen and laundry, so spent a very minimal amount on food. Not to mention having a big house with a private pool and game room was so nice when my brothers and their families came over to visit.

So tomorrow I will have energy and I'll post a photo journal of our week. This is the first week long vacation we have ever taken as a family and our favorite part of the trip was just getting to be together. Our lives are so busy, it is a real treat to just have a whole week with nearly every moment spent together. We kept singing periodically during the week, "We're on vacation!" (everything is a song with us)

Well, I need to at least put a few things away and maybe mow the lawn. Check back tomorrow.