Spring Break

We spent our Spring break this year at Grammy and Pappy's house. It was the longest drive I have ever made with the kids by myself, and I was amazed at how well it went. Movies entertained them for the morning, and then we listened to an audio CD in the afternoon. I was definitely tired by the time we got there, but it was the easiest trip ever with kids.

We had a lot of fun doing activities in the area and even taking a day trip to the sponge docks in Tarpon Springs and one to see the Lipizzan Stallions in Myakka City. Of course, we had to go to Chuck E. Cheeses, and we went on a week night without a lot of traffic so the kids got to do more of the games and they had a blast. Caleb's favorite game was the snow mobile simulator arcade game. I don't know how many times he played it! One day we went to the "Banana Park" and let the kids explore down on the beach. Pappy took them on an expedition along the beach and helped them climb up the enbankment on the other end. The kids had a lot of fun climbing on the low branches of the live oak trees, too. Another evening we went to the library for a theatre production for children about the alphabet. It was put on by a local theatre company and was very cute and creative. We went garage saling on Saturday and Grammy gave Caleb and Isabelle two dollars each to spend. They had so much fun chosing what toys to buy at each place. We had great weather for most of the week while we were there, and we also missed out on a lot of bad weather that came through here at home, so I was thankful for that! We all had a great time in Largo, and it was a nice vacation for me since I was able to get away from the day-to-day grind at home and also have some help with the kids. It was a much-needed refresher for me!

Caleb and Isabelle with Uncle Heath:

Playing at the park:

At the sponge docks:

Off on their beach adventure:

Lipizzan Stallion:

Cousins

We went to Biloxi for the weekend of March 14 and visited with Barrett's parents, Aunt Sue and her family, and Uncle Tim. We had a great time, even though it rained for most of the weekend. On Friday evening, we went out to dinner at a Yuki's (a hibachi restaurant) and Caleb and Isabelle loved eating the fried rice and chicken. On Saturday we got rained out at the park, but we worked in a trip to Chuck E. Cheese, so the kids were happy! Aunt Sue bought the cutest little matching dresses for Isabelle and Gracie Beth, so we just had to take some photos! We had a great time and it was good to see everyone. Can you believe that Gracie Beth is already five months old?!? Elijah turns two in May, and he is getting so big. He is finally old enough to run around and play chase with Caleb and Isabelle and they all had so much fun.

March 12 was Trinity Preschool's annual pizza social fundraiser and all the classes performed. Caleb and Isabelle both did a great job and sang their songs very well. It was a fun night and the kids also got to invite the parents back to their classrooms to show off what they do each day at school.










See Videos of Caleb's and Isabelle's class songs (bottom two frames):

Gymnastics

Isabelle began her first activity that is just for her- gymnastics! She started the beginning of February, and she is really enjoying it. It still takes her a little time to warm up to leaving mommy at the beginning of practices, but then she has a great time. She came home practicing her summersaults, hand stands, and back flips off the couch. It is amazing how much she has learned in just several weeks! She goes for one hour a week, and two of her preschool classmates attend at the same time, so that helps her enjoy it even more. Her favorite part is the balance beam.

Video of Isabelle on the balance beam below:Video: Isabelle on the beam

The Fowlers visit

Parke Fowler, along with their three boys, Cameron, Wes, and Caughran, came to our house to visit with us from February 12-15. It had been a long-anticipated visit for Caleb especially, since he and Wes were best buddies when we lived in Jackson. We had a wonderful time with them and did an amazing amount of things in the two full days they were here. The afternoon they arrived we took advantage of the sunny day to go down to the beach behind our house and let the kids play. Unfortunately, the weather turned overcast and rainy for most of the weekend, so we stuck to indoor activities mainly. On Friday afternoon after lunch at McDonalds, we went to the Gulfarium. We had never been there, and we got there at the perfect time in the afternoon. We got to see all of their water shows and then had time to look at some of the other animals like the sting rays, sharks, and turtles. We saw a dolphin show (which was the best, I thought) and sea lions perform. It so often takes visitors coming to do some of the activities that are in our own neck of the woods! We all had a nice time (even though the little ones didn't get their afternoon nap in and were a little cranky) and it gave us something to do on the cloudy afternoon. On Saturday it rained and so we went out to Pensacola to the Naval Air Museum for the day. The kids had fun looking at and sitting in some of the old planes and cockpits, and we got to see the the IMAX showing of a film about fighter pilots. The kids all had a great time together and I had fun with Parke and some nice adult conversation and fellowship!

Playing on the beach:

At the Naval Air Museum:

Grandmamma and Granddaddy come for a visit

Barrett's parents came to visit with us at the end of January for several days, and they were a huge help. We crammed a lot of activities into those few days, so it was pretty busy. Grandmamma and I went to visit a few elementary schools as we were still trying to decide where to send Caleb to Kindergarten. We went to goofy golf in the freezing cold and got some great laughs watching Grandmamma whack the ball so hard down the lane that it bounced off the end and came flying back over our heads into the green behind us! We also did various science experiments involving candles, silly putty, eggs and vinegar. Isabelle got sick while they were here, so they watched her for me at home so I could go to my Bible studies and other activities. We had a lot of fun while they were here!

The Egg Experiment:

Caleb's 5th Birthday

We celebrated Caleb's 5th birthday party on January 10, the weekend before Barrett deployed. We did a pirate theme that included a treasure hunt in the field and beach behind our house. I think just about everyone we invited came, so we had around 20 kids running around (thank goodness it didn't rain until the party was over). We let everyone play around the house and backyard first, and then we rounded everyone up for the treasure hunt. We gave them each a map of the treasure hunt area and they had to find the clues along the way. One clue led them to

the beach where they had to dig up the next clue. They finally found the treasure- we used the fun, big treasure box that Barrett's mom used for her school room- which was filled with their party goodie bags and lots of play money coins. They all had a blast and got some exercise in the process. Then we had cake and icecream and let Caleb open his presents. The rain that was predicted that morning held off until everyone was leaving, so we were thankful for that.

Click play button to watch clip: