Last visit to Clermont

After our trip to Sea World our time in Florida seemed to fly by. I spent a few extra days in Clermont visiting with my family while Jon returned to Jacksonville for work. The kids and I tried to soak up the warmth of summer to carry us through the coming winter and savor all of the time we had with family because who knows when we'll see them again (although Nana and Papa are supposed to come visit at the end of May to celebrate Jayden's 1st birthday!!!). Here are some random pictures taken during our last visit to Clermont.

When Jon saw this picture he asked why I took a picture of some bikers butt . . . and you may be wondering the same thing. Well, while we were in Clermont the kids and I decided to go to our cousins play football and cheer; on the way there we got stuck behind some bikers for a few minutes, when I was finally able to pass I did only to hear a little voice from the back seat asking if I had just run the guy on the bike over, Lauren was almost in tears she was so worried. I quickly put her out of her misery and assured her that I had not run the cyclist over.

This is a picture of my nephew Hayden who absolutely adored Jayden . . . lets just hope he likes his new little brother half as much.

BFFs: One of the reasons we want to return to the southeast and probably FL is family. I was never especially close to any of my cousins, but I would like my own children to have the chance to be close to theirs. I love this picture of Summer, Lauren and Hope; Lauren felt so special hanging out with her "girl" cousins.


I painted Jayden's toenails for the first time . . . and they were so cute!

One evening we went for a walk with Nana and Papa.

The kids loved seeing the animals; especially the calves. And Lauren was the only one brave enough to feed the horses.

I feel so blessed to be the mother of these four wonderful children.

Our Trip to Sea World

We arrived at the park excited and full of energy . . . we'd been looking forward to this day all summer! As an extra treat Nana and Papa accepted our invitation to join us on our little adventure (thank goodness! i don't know how we would have done it without the extra help. thanks mom and dad.)

The day was super special because of this little boy; it was how Jonathan wanted to celebrate his birthday this year. Sure it was a month early, but they don't have Sea World where we live.

We saw the shows . . . We rode the rides . . .

She touched a stingray . . .

We got a liitle wet . . . And we took lots and lots of pictures . . . hoping never to forget this wonderful day.




We stayed until they kicked us out . . . and then exhausted, arms laden with souviniers we returned to our car and drove home . . .

What a wonderful day! One that we'll remember always.

It's GREAT to be a FLORIDA GATOR!!!

Last weekend Jon, Jeff, and Matt went to the FL v. Miami football game in Gainesville. While the guys were gone Marissa, the kids, and I had a pizza party and watched some of the game on TV.

Jon, Jeff and Matt at the game.

The "SWAMP" where only Gators get out alive.

PUMP IT UP!

Here are the pictures I've been promising from our trip to Pump It Up!

Three little princesses

The "big" kids playing basketball

The "little" kids playing basketball

A long climb to the top . . .

means a lot of time to think about whether you really want to go down this one . . .

Lauren did!


Jonathan did!

Mommy and Landon did too!

But only once . . . after that Landon was all about keeping his feet on the floor.

Okay, we have less than a month to go here in Jacksonville so we're trying to live it up. This week we went to Kids Kampus and Pump it Up! Both were a lot of fun. Here were some pictures I took at Kids Kampus; I'll get the pictures from Pump It Up up soon.

Landon had just learned to ride a tricycle before we came down here this summer and since we didn't bring bikes to ride here I wasn't sure if he would remember how- but he did a great job.

Here is the little town the kids rode their bikes thru - Jonathan and Landon are racing thru the intersection while Lauren and Jocelyn have pulled over to play in the little houses.

Watch out world Ellie and Landon are behind the wheel!!!

Jonathan has always loved playing in the sand; and today was no exception. He had a great time playing with this "digger.

"

Landon was having fun playing in the sand too - that is until he saw some birds walking around the base of a nearby tree; he quickly jumped up onto the seat and started to cry . . . at first I didn't realize what happened, I thought maybe the sand was hot and had burned his feet, but when I asked him what was wrong he said, "Birds try get me." I guess he still doesn't like birds.

Coming Soon:

Pictures from Pump It Up!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a pretty good Labor Day weekend that began with Jon taking Jonathan to the Gator football game on Saturday. I don't think I've ever seen a happier kid than Jonathan when he got home. After being gone for about 11 hours he arrived smiling and full of excitement about his special day with Daddy, Granpa, Granny, and Uncle Jordan. Jon met up with his family in Gainesville and after the game they all came to visit us for the weekend here in Jacksonville.

Monday we went to the beach with the Jacksons and had a great day with the exception of temporarily loosing Landon. Oh yeah! My sweet, beautiful Landon wandered off without being noticed and I was terrified! I quickly scanned the beach and he was no where in sight; I scanned the surf, but knew that if he was out there I wouldn't be able to see him because he wasn't wearing his floaties and couldn't swim; but I'm getting ahead of myself, it all began with a thirsty little boy.

I was playing with the kids building a sand castle when Landon told me he was "sirsty." I looked up toward our umbrella and saw Granny and Granpa there taking care of Jayden and told Landon to go ask Granpa for something to drink. I pointed him in the right direction and then got distracted by one of the big kids and didn't check to see if he had made it. A couple of minutes later Granpa came and asked if I knew where Landon was, my response was heart-failure and, "I thought he was with you." So Granpa began walking down the beach looking for him. I quickly began scanning the beach and the terror I was feeling must have been obvious because Marissa quickly asked what was wrong and she and Jeff began searching, as did some guys on the beach who I'd never seen before. I quickly went to the lifeguard nearby and was somewhat reassured when she said that the next tower down the beach had just radioed that they had found a lost little boy. Still, I didn' t feel better until I saw him walking between Marissa and Granpa and knew that he was safe.

Thankfully, another mother noticed him walking down the beach alone, playing as the waves came in and went and got him. She gave him a toy (a Star Wars bobble-head which is now his favorite) to play with and led him to the lifeguard tower. He never cried or seemed scared . . . I don't think he even realized that he was lost, but I do know that I lost a few years of my life when I realized he was missing; I don't know what I would do without my little "Lubi." I am so thankful for the help of everyone who looked for him and for the stranger who found him, and am especially grateful for a Heavenly Father who watched over my little boy and kept him safe from harm.