Pritt Family Blog

A month in review. . .

2009-06-04T13:58:00.000-05:00

The next several posts are dedicated to what we've done in the month of MAY. It has been a great month . . . full of so many fun memories that I never want to forget.

the Pritts visit

2009-06-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

Jon's parents and brother, Jordan, came to visit . . . it's kind of a tradition that they come to celebrate Jon's and Landon's birthdays with us every year and Jon takes the week off from work to hang out with them. here are some of the things we did.

watched this little guy play soccer. he is probably the slowest kid out there (actually there's no probably about it), but he has soooo much FUN and i LOVE watching him, he's so CUTE.

like i always say, "if you can't play good, you can at least LOOK good while you play" :) . . . here's to my little poser-i love you!

[5.3]

we also celebrated jon turning 32. the man can still blow out all of his candles with one breath, but he can also blow up one of those long skinny balloons that most people need a pump for, you know the ones used to make balloon animals and stuff . . . seriously, am i the only person who can't blow up those balloons?

[5.4]

the next day this little guy turned 3! i included this picture to remind myself how he covered his face when we started singing "happy birthday" to him. shy? embarrassed? i don't know, but it was sooooo cute!

we also went bowling, played at the park, played games, watched movies and worked on landscaping while they were here.

okay, so here is the landscaping we worked on . . . we just did the area around our front walkway- we wanted to hide the hose coming out from our sump pump. i think we did good. we were unsure at the time what we wanted to plant on the corner, but opted after much deliberation and soul-searching (well I did) to put our little weeping crab (red jade?) in there. it's an UGLY little tree, really it is, but i couldn't stand the idea of throwing it away ---we had dug it up from the backyard with the intention of getting rid of the little eyesore, but i just couldn't do it---i know i'm weak, but i always have a little soft spot for the underdog. with some affection we call it our "charlie brown tree" because it reminds us of the pathetic, ugly, little tree in charlie brown's christmas.

lets go ride a BiKe

2009-06-04T10:49:00.000-05:00

lauren learned to ride her bike without training wheels . . . i can't remember WHY she decided now was the time, but she asked me take off her training wheels and i did

we spent the morning outside practicing, and it was done; she was SOOO EXCITED to show daddy when he came home. this is a video i took that morning.

Nana Comes to Town

2009-06-04T10:40:00.000-05:00

Nana came to visit for a week. She treated us to a night at the movies and was here to celebrate Jayden's 1st birthday and attend Lauren's dance recital. The kids were so excited . . . and bless her, she let Landon and Lauren sleep with her EVERY night (Landon snores and my Ls are both bed hogs). Thanks Mom for taking care of the little ones so that I could go on a fieldtrip with Jonathan - it was nice not having to worry about my little crab-apple (jayden) who likes to give anyone who isn't mommy a hard time (but she didn't cry for Nana the whole time I was gone - YEAH!).

finishing up kindergarten

2009-06-04T10:34:00.000-05:00

i can hardly believe that the school year is almost over. time really does seem to fly the older i get. the little ones and i were excited to hear jonathan and the other a.m. kindergarteners sing at the kindergarten concert; soooo cute!

my handsome kindergartner

KINDERGARTEN CONCERT

ready for the concert

my little kiddies. lauren and landon were perfect during the entire performance even though i wasn't sitting next to them (i was standing at the back videoing so that daddy would be able to see it too) and jayden slept the whole time (HURRAY!)

jonathan with mrs. patterson, his kindergarten teacher. jonathan LOVES mrs. patterson; i am so grateful for and happy with the wonderful experience she has provided for jonathan this year.

OXBOW PARK/ZOO

i was really excited to go on a fieldtrip with jonathan. my mom watched the little ones so that i could go. it was the first fieldtrip i've been on as a chaperone; i had a lot of fun. here are a few pics i took.

here was my little group: carter, jonathan, and katie. i couldn't have asked for a better group of kids.

this was the first fawn i've ever seen (except for bambi). i can't believe how tiny it is.

Father/Son Campout

2009-06-04T10:29:00.000-05:00

Jon took the boys on their very first father/son campout. Jonathan and Landon were so excited they could hardly wait for daddy to come home --- from all accounts everyone had a great time.

I have to admit I was curious how Landon would do since I know he is terrified of bugs (hehe) . . . Jon found this out too when Landon spotted an ant in their tent . . . oh how I wish we had a video of that . . .

GIRLS NIGHT

2009-06-04T10:15:00.000-05:00

well, the boys went on a campout with daddy and lauren was a little sad to be left behind, so we (nana, lauren, jayden and i) decided to have a girl's night. we did a little shopping, ate out, baked jayden's birthday cake, let lauren paint our nails, and watched "bride wars" (well nana jayden, and i did, lauren was sleeping). . . it was a fun night and i look forward to many more father/son campouts. :)

me and my girls

BFFs

Lauren and Nana

Me and my sweet Jay-Jay

Lauren painting our nails . . . it was her first time

DANCE

2009-06-04T10:03:00.000-05:00

lauren took a community ed, dance class this past year and LOVED it. the teacher of the class, ms. tanya, has her own dance studio and allowed the ce girls to dance in the recital this year. i thought that lauren might get a little nervous on stage in front of so many people, but she loved it . . . she was so adorable (note: jonathan looks a little grumpy in the fam. pic because he got woken up from his nap--- he stayed awake until after lauren was finished, then slept for an hour and half :)--- reminds me of papa).

FIRSTS

2009-06-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

May was full of a few "firsts" for Jayden.

First steps (sorry the camera was turned the wrong way and i can't remember how to fix it :) )

First black-eye (happened on daddy's watch)

first time she ate a flower, yummy tulips

and her first BIRTHDAY!!!

she doesn't like the hat, but landon wants her to wear it anyway

THE CAKE

the giant cupcake cake . . . my masterpiece :)the birthday girl getting ready for cake

yeah, that's about it . . . i fed her a couple of bites hoping to tempt her to dig in, but it was a no go . . . all she did was spit and wave her hands trying to get the frosting off her hands when she actually touched the cake. she's always full of surprises.

PRESENTS!

she loves her little cd player, it's cute to watch her carry it around and she hasn't messed with ours since she got her own

thanks for the swimsuits nana, watch out florida here we come

just enjoying all of the attention

i love her expression in this picture . . . she got tired of opening this one, but once lauren started opening it she got excited again

Birthday Celebrations!

2009-03-13T15:25:00.007-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN!

Wednesday, March 11th was Lauren's 5th Birthday! It was the coldest day of March so far with a high of 11 (how appropriate) although it never felt that warm thanks to the wind.

We had a simple family celebration . . .

the boys helped me bake/decorate her cake (she picked white cake with pink frosting) It's tradition that the birthday girl gets to pick the meal . . . whatever she wants. With the sky the limit here is what we ate. Yum :)

A special card fit for a princess

Daddy helped her assemble the crown . . . :) she's daddy's little girl.

Lauren loves Fancy Nancy and for her birthday Jonathan picked out a Fancy Nancy trunk full of dress-up stuff. She loves it! Here she is getting ready for mom to light the candles on her cake; with five candles it's going to get pretty bright so she's wearing the sunglasses too.

"PINKALICIOUS" PLAYGROUP

I opted not to throw a kid party for Lauren this year, but I did host our playgroup here on Friday the 13th. In honor of her birthday we had a "Pinkalicious Playgroup" and baked/decorated pink cupcakes just like in the book. We also read the books Pinkalicious and Purplicious. It was a fun morning and Lauren really enjoyed celebrating with her friends.

I was so busy with the girls that I spaced taking pictures, still I snapped a few once I remembered (at the end!).

Here's my very own "Pinkalicious"

Here are all of the girls (and Landon) wearing their "pinkalicious" aprons! Aren't they cute?
And while I missed the girls decorating . . . the aftermath was still waiting for me when they were gone :) Good times!

February

2009-03-13T13:48:00.012-05:00

Okay, so it's been over a month since I last posted, but February was the longest month EVER! It started with a fever (Landon), a dental appointment (mine), then vomiting (Jonathan) and a few days later (Lauren on Jon at church!), then colds (everyone but me), sore throats (everyone except Lauren), the Croup (Jonathan and Landon), an ear infection (Jonathan) and an appendectomy (Jon-the day before my birthday!). Seriously, everyday there was at least one sick person in my house and more often than not a couple. Like I said, February was a LOOOOOOOONG month. Still, we survived it and have a few pictures to show for it . . . but I'll warn you they are totally random.

Our first picture highlights one of Jayden's special talents :)

The big kids were so proud of her.

Painting helped us get through the long days/weeks of being stuck at home (because of our sick germs) and inside (it was soooo COLD!).

Next, we have some pictures of my NEW DO . . .

For my birthday I treated myself to a cut and color.

Thanks to a good friend volunteering to take on my four kiddos I was able to keep my hair appointment (scheduled on my birthday) despite Jon being laid up. As you can see it is a huge change, but I'm lovin' it. Lauren was so excited when she saw me . . . the first thing she said was "we're twins now!" The hair pictures taken below are courtesy of my sweet Lauren-good pics, Sweetie!

Oh and Happy Birthday to ME!

It was the BIG 3-0! And while it went nothing like I planned (ice-skating with the kids and dinner out with Jon) it was the best birthday ever!

Because of Jon's surgery I let the kids take care of the preparations for my birthday-they were so EXCITED!

A special thanks to Target for the cake (selected by Lauren and Landon), my kids for the cutest/funniest card (picked out ALL by themselves-I pointed them in the right direction and just hoped they ended up with a "birthday" card) my friend Amy for watching the kids last minute so I could keep my much anticipated hair appointment, Paula at CityLooks for doing my hair, and Green Mill for delivering a yummy dinner, and of course Jon for having his emergency appendectomy the day BEFORE my birthday so that he could be home with us to celebrate. :)

P.S. I LOVE YOU

2009-01-22T23:50:00.002-06:00

FYI-This entry is more for me than it is for you.

I just finished watching this movie(P.S. I LOVE YOU) and toward the end Gerry writes about how he has "no regrets" and it got me pondering the question, "Do I have any regrets in my life?"

In my reflection I have very few regrets about things that I have done; like making Jonathan cry it out during the night when he was 6-9 months old, and the extra year (and $)to get my master's degree(seems like that was kind of a waste). No, I am pretty happy with the things I've done in my life. Rather I have found the most of my regrets lie in the moments that I've missed or forgotten because I didn't stop to savor the moment.

For me this new year has been a time for self-reflection to determine what areas of myself and my life need to change. I think this is an area that needs some work; I am going to live more in the moment . . . and while spontaneity is a part of it, mostly I am thinking in terms of not wanting to be so busy doing "stuff" that I don't recognize what is "SPECIAL" about my life.

All that we take with us when we die are the memories we've made during the experiences we've had. I don't think I'll remember which days the laundry, or dishes didn't get done, or what days Papa John's made us dinner, but I will remember how Jon always kisses me and tells me he loves me before leaving for work in the morning, and I will always treasure the beautiful smile on Landon's face today as he hugged Jayden and told her over and over, "I love you Jayden," or Jonathan's contagious laughter, or how Lauren is always the first one up and while she comes to my bed and snuggles with me she never falls back to sleep . . . but will just lay there with me until I'm ready to get up . . . there are so many little moments to treasure everyday if only I stop long enough to pay attention.

Positively Toasty!

2009-01-19T21:56:00.002-06:00

It's funny what cold weather will do to a person. Today we topped out in the low 20's in this frozen tundra we call home, and yet it felt positively toasty. And it was compared to last week when we spent half of the week in the -20's (with our high's never reaching the +) and lower than that with the wind chill (Jonthan's school was cancelled Thursday and Friday because it was in the -40's and -50's with the wind chill). Seriously, it's hard to wrap your head around that isn't it? It is for me, but then I had never lived outside of FL until I moved here . . .

Honey, can you remind me again why we are here?

Actually, all joking aside, I love it here . . . winter is a bit long, not to mention cold, but you can do some fun things (like blow bubbles- do you know what happens to bubbles in sub-zero temperatures? and boil water- do you know what happens to boiling water when you throw it into the air when the temperature (with wind chill)is -47?) and the people here are amazing! If you have to freeze you might as well do it with some really awesome people.

Still, every now and then, I find I am laughing at myself . . . not too long ago I lived in FL and when it got in the 60's my kids were dressed the way that they are right now when it is 20 degrees outside (with an extra layer even). My friend Amber used to tease me about it and now I can see why. It's all just a matter of perspective.

Crawling.

2009-01-13T22:11:00.007-06:00

I can hardly believe how quickly my baby girl is growing up; I have mixed emotions about it, but mostly I'm excited to watch her growing and learning everyday.

A few weeks ago Jayden began to crawl. Mostly she does the "army crawl," it's her fastest mode; but occasionally she'll do what we call the "inch worm" where she gets up on her knees, pushes herself forward, falls on her face and, well . . . inches along. Everyday she spends a little more time up on her knees, but her primary means of self propulsion is still the army crawl . . . nothing is safe from her now. Watch out world Jayden is on the move! Here's a little video if you want to watch her in action.

Jayden LOVES graham crackers

2009-01-13T21:32:00.006-06:00

Jayden has been a new experience for me as far as starting her on baby food. She is 7 months old now and is just beginning to actually eat her baby food; my other 3 all started between 4-6 months and took to it with ease. Jayden did not. It has taken almost 2 months to get her to tolerate the cereals and pureed baby foods. It's frustrating, but funny to watch. I wish I had a video of her, but for a while every bite she took she would either gag and/or make this face that looked like she was sucking a lemon. It was so funny.

The past few days have shown marked improvement (no more gagging). Still, I've noticed that she seems to prefer table foods better, although I'm not quite ready to feed them to her on a regular basis (she's still toothless). Today she grabbed a handful of mac-n-cheese off my plate at lunch and stole a couple of french fries at dinner . . . she liked both very much.

Here's a video of her eating her graham cracker while I cleaned the kitchen this afternoon. I'm not sure what she's doing with her hands . . . trying to make sure the cracker is dead I guess . . . whatever the case it's cute to watch her.

She LOVES graham crackers.

I love this little cutie, dirty face and all.

GO GATORS!!!

2009-01-09T00:10:00.003-06:00

We have anticipated watching the game for weeks and tonight was the night . . . the Florida Gators defeated Oklahoma in the 2008 National Championship Game! It's great to be a Florida Gator!

Update

2009-01-02T00:56:00.004-06:00

I have finally caught up on some blogging (but have some more to do). Still, I finally posted the Sea World pictures and have a few from Jonathan's bday too; I kept them in the order of events so you'll have to go back to see them.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-25T22:13:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas vacation started a day early for Jonathan . . . the Friday before break began he had a snow day from school. He was excited, but a little sad too because they were supposed to have a party. Still, we spent the day making little gingerbread houses like this one that he made at school. It was a lot of fun!Then we made a "real" gingerbread house . . . well, daddy and the big kids did while Jayden and I watched and took pictures. Everyone had a fun time. Jonathan was so funny though because he wanted it to look just like the one on the box right down to what candy went where (colors too). It took constant reminding that it was okay if ours looked a little different and yes, Lauren and Landon could put their candy whereever they wanted to . . . bless them they tried to keep Jonathan happy.

Jayden's First Christmas!
We had a wonderful Christmas this year! Thanks to all of our family and friends for the cards, the gifts, the phone calls . . . they all helped to make the season special. We love you! And a special thanks to the Rice's for bringing us dinner Christmas Eve.

Why do kids cut their hair?

2008-11-30T22:29:00.002-06:00

One evening not too long ago I was sitting in bed preparing for a talk I had to give in church the next day; Jonathan and Lauren were downstairs playing and Landon was upstairs with me playing on the floor. I thought things were going well until Lauren bounced into the room and asked, "Is today a good day for Jonathan to cut my hair?" I looked up from what I was typing on the computer and when I saw her hair I yelled, "NOOOOOOOOOO!" but it was already too late-the deed had been done.

I was angry with Jonathan for a few minutes, but while it was a really dumb thing to do, he did it because she asked him to - her hair kept getting in her eyes and it was bugging her. So he cut her bangs, cut her hair above her ears, cut the hair at the crown of her head, and cut off half of the back . . . I wish I had taken pictures, but in the moment I was too emotional . . .

I took her to have it fixed and the sweet girl cutting her hair salvaged as much as she could and made it look much better, but it is soooo short. I have to make her wear a ribbon otherwise she looks like one of my boys. Still, it works for her and she is adorable no matter what.

I still feel sad every now and then- it was fun doing the pigtails and ponytails, pulling it into a little bun for dance class. I had just gotten a small curling iron so that I could curl her hair into little ringlets, . . . it was getting long enough to french braid with a lot of work . . . I have waited so long for it to be long enough to play with . . .but like Lauren told me after Jonathan cut it, "It's just hair, it will grow back." Such wisdom from one so young.

I love you 'La La.' Hair or no hair you are a beautiful little girl. And if an unwanted haircut is the biggest "problem" we have to endure then we are very blessed indeed.

Halloween

2008-10-31T22:56:00.000-05:00

Jonathan asked if we could carve a "Darth Vader" pumpkin this year, and since I like to do one special one for my own carving enjoyment I thought it would be fun. Here is the finished project- he was happy and so was I . . . how many Darth Vader pumpkins did you see out there?

The week before Halloween we went "Trunk or Treating" at our church's Fall Festival.

Han, Leia holding Chewbacca, and Luke Skywalker

For Halloween the weather was unseasonably warm (the past two years it has been in the 20's)and we loved every minute of it. We stayed out a little longer and everyone came home with tired feet and a bucket full of candy. Jayden fell asleep before we even got rolling.

First Day of School

2008-10-28T23:25:00.005-05:00

Jonathan began his first day of kindergarten on October 1st. He was so cute, he woke up and got in the shower all by himself took a 20 minute shower and whistled the Star Wars theme song the whole time. Once he was dressed he came upstairs for breakfast, etc., etc. When it was time to go we said a prayer together and I walked him to the bus stop. At one point I started to feel a little teary . . . my baby was starting kindergarten, but I kept it together as I watched how excited he was to go. Here are some pictures taken that morning.

When he got home he received a special phone call from Daddy . . . :)

Lauren also began her preschool on the 1st and couldn't wait to go, but by the time I dropped her off the excitement had worn off and she was fit to be tied (thanks Wendy for your help) . . . she does this to me constantly . . . , but once I'm gone she is fine. When she came home that afternoon she was thrilled with her day-HOORAY!

Jonathan's Birthday

2008-10-05T23:17:00.000-05:00

Instead of having a kid party for his birthday this year Jonathan opted for a trip to Sea World while we were in FL. Still, on the big day we invited a few good friends over to sing happy birthday and eat cake with us.

If you know Jonathan it will not surprise you that he wanted a Star Wars birthday cake; however much to my dismay the bakeries at WalMart, Target, and the local grocery store have discontinued their Star Wars cakes . . . why??? So I had to make one . . . we decided to do a scene from the movie and he wanted to do one of Tatooine (Luke's home planet) which is basically just sand . . . to make it a little more interesting we decided to do the Mos Eisley Cantina, a spaceport found on the planet Tatooine. I did the best I could and thought it turned out okay . . . Jonathan loved it and that's all that really mattered . . . oh, and it tasted super yummy too!

Here's the birthday boy getting ready to be sung too and blow out his candle. I can't believe my baby is 6!

Jonathan and the two Calebs eating their cake on the deck, Andrew was out there too, but went inside for a minute.It was too cold for the girls and Zach, they opted to eat their cake in the comfort of the warm house. Marissa was feeding baby Caden his cake too.

Last visit to Clermont

2008-09-17T22:17:00.000-05:00

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

2008-09-11T22:57:00.006-05:00

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!!!

2008-09-11T22:05:00.004-05:00

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!

2008-09-10T22:21:00.000-05:00

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.

2008-09-06T22:53:00.003-05:00

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

2008-09-02T14:30:00.007-05:00

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.

Let's Review . . .

2008-09-01T18:29:00.017-05:00

Here’s a quick review of what’s been going on in the Pritt household these past couple of weeks. I’ll start from the present and work my way back as far as I can remember.

Fancy Lauren- Lauren and I have recently discovered the Fancy Nancy books (thanks Ashlea) and quickly fell in love. Here is my sweet Lauren playing dress up while waiting for her curlers to set (Marissa, I still need help here- when I take the curlers out her hair ends up looking CRAZY!).

Cousins, cousins, and more cousins! One of the best things about being in Florida is our proximity to family-mine and Jon’s. We’ve been so lucky that the kids have been able to play with their cousins.

Here are some pictures from when Aunt Jennifer and Aunt Janelle stopped by with Bryce, Brandon, Riley, Reagan, and Cameron for a visit on their way home from West Virginia (thanks for the pics Jen). We had a GREAT time. We went to the beach, only to have to leave about 20 minutes later because it started raining (HEAVILY) on us. Still, we have some fun pictures to show for our time.

a group shot of all of the kids

Brandon, Landon (front), Jonathan, Bryce, Lauren, Reagan, Cameron, and Riley

Jayden

The kids and I also squeezed in a quick trip to Clermont to visit Skyler before he flew back to Pennsylvania. We were able to play outside a little before tropical storm Fay ruined our outdoor fun, but we had fun watching TV, playing LEGO Indiana Jones and making Star Wars books with Skyler - he is a very talented little boy. We miss you Skyler!

Some of the cousins-the Duncan family wasn't feeling well and were not there. Pictured: (back) Jonathan, Sponge Bob and Jake; (middle) Noah, Skyler, Seth, and Hope; (front) Josh, Jayden, and Lauren.

Landon and Skyler

Above is my sister Holly and her little boy Joshua holding Jayden and below is her daughter Hope holding Jayden-too cute!

This is Noah, Holly's youngest, don't you just love the big, blue eyes and sweet, chubby cheeks!?! Jonathan went missing for awhile and finally I found him shut up in the bathroom with the lights off playing "light sabers" with his cousins Seth and Jake.

Happy Birthday!!!! It has been fun having friends close by and two of our friends, Ellie and Jocelyn invited us to celebrate their birthdays with them. Here are some pictures of the birthday girls. We love you girls!!!

Ellie had a "Dora the Explorer" pool party

Jocelyn celebrated her "My Little Pony" birthday at Chuck E. Cheese’s

We’ll see you soon- Having the Wallace’s and Jackson’s here with us has been wonderful; living so close has enabled us to see each other daily and to strengthen our friendships.

We were sad to say goodbye to our friends the Wallace’s; Kristin and the boys have returned to Rochester to begin school. We have had so much fun with them here in Florida and were sad to see them go. Still, we are excited to get together when we get back. We love and miss you guys!

This is a picture of all of the kids (except Jayden) taken by Kristin the night before they left ---

Girls Just Want to Have FUN!

2008-08-13T19:59:00.003-05:00

Getting a pedicure is my kind of FUN!

Last night Kristin, Marissa and I had a Girls Night Out (GNO). We went and had pedicures and then stopped at Marble Slab for a little ice cream before heading home. I have to send out a special thank you to Matt and Jeff for watching my little ones since Jon was on call and didn't get home until after I did.

Here I am having a great time! What's not to love about having someone massage your feet and paint your toenails?

Kristin and Marissa were loving it too!

And even though we eventually had to return home we still have these little beauties to remind us of a wonderful night out!

A day at the pool . . .

2008-08-13T12:15:00.011-05:00

I finally took some pictures of us at the pool-you'd think I would do it more often since we go almost everyday. Still, I finally took the camera and snapped a few shots of our little group. The Wallace boys who are usually there too are not pictured-they were naughty and lost their pool time. We missed you guys!

This is where the little kids spend most of their time (on the steps) although the venture out frequently, but not far beyond where their feet touch.

Caden (sitting on ledge) is loving the pool-I wish I had a picture of his face he has the most beautiful smile . . . his whole face just lights up; and he smiles a lot when he's in the pool.

Lauren having fun with her friends.

Will he be the next Micheal Phelps??? :) I guess only time will tell.

Sweet Landon doesn't venture far from the steps when mommy's not in the pool . . . good boy Landon.

It's nice to have friends to go to the pool with . . . it makes keeping an eye on the kids a little easier especially when Daddy's working. This particular evening Daddy was home, but had some reading to do . . . poor guy!

After we finished up at the pool I went and took some pictures of Jon studying

- - -

Man he works HARD! :)

girls in curls

2008-08-11T13:41:00.006-05:00

Our summer in FL has been such a wonderful experience. Not only are we closer to our families (grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins), but we are here with some friends we met in Rochester. Lauren has become very good friends with Jocelyn and Ellie; it is so fun to see them all playing together. Saturday night while our daddy played tennis with their daddy, Jeff; Marissa and the girls (oh and Caden too!) came over to watch the Olympics with us for a little while. Marissa was putting curlers in her girls' hair and graciously put some in Lauren's hair too (she’s going to have to teach me one day) so that she would have beautiful hair for church on Sunday too. Lauren LOVED it! And the girls all looked totally adorable!

Lauren, Ellie, and Jocelyn

Reasons I haven't posted in a while . . .

2008-08-11T08:59:00.010-05:00

You have to understand that this blog is "my time" and so if I don't have any "my time" then there is no blog. Recently I have spent my time doing a couple of other things.

READING this BOOK

My mother-in-law introduced me to the Twilight series and I've loved it. I really enjoyed reading Breaking Dawn, and while it had some slow areas, some CRAZY areas, and was a bit anti-climactic for me I am happy to have read it. Still, I think Twilight was my favorite book of the series-it was magic.

AND WATCHING The Olympics!

I love the Olympics. I feel so patriotic and united with my fellow Americans as I watch, and cheer for the USA athletes competing - I especially enjoy watching swimming, gymnastics, and basketball.

Chances are the Blog is going to be neglected for a little while.

Our Time in Fort Myers

2008-08-11T08:13:00.015-05:00

Our Little Blessing

Jayden (2 months)

On August 3, 2008 Jayden was blessed. It was a beautiful blessing for a beautiful little girl. We were all so excited for Jayden’s special day. Jayden was blessed in the Lehigh Acres ward where Jon’s parents and sisters’ attend church. We are grateful to all of our family and friends who were there; and missed those of you unable to make the trip.

The Sleepover

We had a wonderful time while in Fort Myers visiting with our family (daddy’s side). One of the things I loved most was watching my children playing with their cousins. I love how they are such good friends and are able to pick up where they left off the last time they were together-friends for life.

While we were down there Jonathan and Lauren had a couple of sleepovers; Lauren spent one night at her cousin Cami’s and then another night we had all of the “little” girls (Cami, Riley, and Reagan) spend the night with us at Granny’s and Grampa’s house while Jonathan spent the night with his cousins Bryce and Brandon. I don’t have pictures of the boys . . . I totally slacked on the picture taking and now I’m so bummed! Live and learn I guess, but here are some pictures of the four girls the morning after their sleepover at Granny’s. I spent the morning braiding their hair and loved every minute of it! Lauren doesn’t normally let me braid her hair, but because her cousins wanted their hair braided she let me – YEAH!

Reagan (3), Lauren (4), Riley (6), and Cami (6)

Lauren looks sad because she didn’t want her picture taken. When probed a little more she communicated that she was sad because her braids were not as long as the other girls’; I told her we could let her hair grow out and one day her braids would be long too – that made her happy. I love my sweet, sensitive, beautiful little girl.

A view from behind.

Say “CHEESE!”

One of the kids’ favorite memories was when Dampa (Landon’s version of Grampa) took us to Chuck E. Cheese’s for lunch. Does anyone know what the “E” stands for? I think it stands for “EATS”- you know Chuck EATS Cheese. :) Anyway, it was their first time going and they loved every minute of it!

Here are a few pictures of our very FUN afternoon-

Landon having the “TIME” of his life –pun intended.

Landon and Lauren taking a drive together.

Jonathan, Lauren, and Landon all riding the merry-go-round.

Grampa and Jonathan shooting dinosaurs. Grampa confessed to being a little sick after this game (it moved a lot).

Now we can add Chuck to the list of things Landon is afraid of . . .so that's dogs, birds, and Chuck.

Lauren enjoyed hanging out with Uncle Jordan for a little while.

Jonathan riding the wave runner, he really seemed to like all of the “moving” games.

THANK YOU GRAMPA!

to Granny's house we go . . .

2008-08-02T09:14:00.013-05:00

This weekend we are visiting Jon's family in Fort Myers. We left Jacksonville at 3pm yesterday afternoon (thank you Jeff for covering Jon's pager so we could leave early). After 5 and a half hours of driving and a stop at McDonald's we made it!!! The trip was relatively uneventful with the typical whining and fighting kept to a minimum. The only "bump" in the road so to speak was the fact that Lauren gets carsick occasionally . . . oh yeah, my beautiful, sweet little Lauren got carsick. Now normally I would not blog about what I consider to be a disgusting subject, but the way it all went down had me in stitches.

Imagine if you will driving on I-4 through downtown Orlando at 5:30 on a Friday afternoon. Bumper to bumper traffic as far as the eye can see. I was driving while Jon was napping; after breaking for like the hundreth time Jon woke up and gave me the 'be careful, your going to kill us, stop accelerating when you know you'll have to stop again in 2 seconds, your driving me crazy with your driving' lecture. The kids are beginning to wake up from their naps . . . and then it happens; without warning Lauren starts puking all over herself and and the backseat. On most trips this would have made me want to cry instead of laugh, but this time I was the one driving which meant Jon was the one who had to deal with it . . . or so you'd think.

Here's what happened; because we had hung the portable DVD player between our seats Jon was unable to climb to the back of the van to help her, but thankfully he has long arms and was able to hand a bowl back to her after her initial upchuck. He then proceeded to "coach" her through the experience. It went something like this:

"Lauren, get it in the bowl! "

"Honey, quit crying and lean over the bowl. Good girl . . ."

And once she was finished puking . . . she started crying again because she had puked in her hands and all over her lap. And this is when I started laughing, not at Lauren, but at how Jon handled the situation. So here goes . . .

"Stop crying, I don't have anything to clean you up with."

"Do we have something to clean her up with?"

"Here Lauren, here are some wipes. Just clean yourself up."

"Okay, now pick up the chunks and put them in the bowl. See that one pick it up and put it in the bowl."

Meanwhile Lauren starts gagging while she picks up the "chunks." And Jon responds, "It's not a big deal honey, you just puked in your hands!"

After a few minutes of "pick up the chunks and put them in the bowl" and me laughing so hard I was crying, I was able to pull off the road and get the mess cleaned up. Yep, that's right, I still ended up cleaning up the seat, the floor, and my sweet little girl.

Jacksonville Museum of Science & History

2008-07-31T21:29:00.000-05:00

Today we visited the Jackonsville Museum of Science & History (MOSH) with our friends, the Jacksons. We toured almost the entire museum. Some of our favorite spots were Kidspace, where the boys played at the water table while the girls played in the tree; the Planetarium, where "Sol" the sun talked to us (Landon was so cute; he just kept pointing and laughing when he saw "Sol") and we learned a little about our solar system. At one point during the show Jonathan leaned over to me and asked, "Why is the sun talking to us? The sun doesn't talk." There were some mixed emotions about the Giant Insects exhibit, all of the kids thought the huge bugs were cool, but they didn't want to get too close when the bugs started moving.

It was a great day, made even better by sharing it with friends.

Here is a picture of Landon and Jonathan playing at the water table. Jonathan enjoyed building dams while Landon enjoyed trying to drink the water.

Here is a picture of the girls (Ellie, Jocelyn and Lauren) playing up in the tree. Lauren loves playing with her girlfriends!

Here is a picture of the Praying Mantis. Marissa tried to get a group picture, but once it started moving no one was going to get near it.

Friendship Fountain

2008-07-31T21:19:00.005-05:00

After our day at the museum we went to Friendship Fountain for a picnic lunch. All was going well until the birds showed up (that would be like two seconds after we started eating). All I could think of was the Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Birds. At one point I counted 24 birds!

Here is picture of our little group at lunch (left to right): Jonathan, Jocelyn, Lauren, Landon, Caden (in his stroller), Ellie (behind the stroller) and Marissa. Jayden is helping me take the picture.

Landon didn't like the birds . . . they terrified him. He tried to scare them away by throwing his goldfish crackers at them . . . I tried to explain how the birds like his goldfish and would come back for more, but his 2 year old little mind couldn't comprehend this idea; so while Landon attempted to make them leave, the birds thought they had made a new friend and kept coming back.

Thank goodness for heroic big brothers. In an effort to protect us (and our food) from the pigeons Jonathan began chasing the birds away. Soon after the girls joined him.

(Ellie, Jocelyn, Lauren and Jonathan)

Our little heros celebrating their victory - the birds are gone! However, if you look closely you will see the birds in the background headed our way.

2008-07-29T22:30:00.000-05:00

JAYDEN
my beautiful little butterfly

I thought she was beautiful before her ears were pierced, but I love how earrings have added a little feminine touch to my little girl- my beautiful little butterfly.

At 2 months old (you have to wait until after their first round of shots) Jayden has her ears pierced. I took her today and she did pretty well. She slept through us marking her ears (a dot to show where the earring would go), but woke up when the first earring was shot (I say “shot” because they use a piercing “gun”) in. She only cried for a moment. It would have been nice if they could have done both ears at the same time, but with her being so small and not able to hold her head still they would only do one ear at a time so as not to mess up the placement of the earring. After the second ear she cried longer, but stopped once I got her out of her carrier.

2008-07-29T22:02:00.001-05:00

I wish I could call in sick tomorrow –
I really NEED a vacation!

I am a stay-at-home mom and I love my job, but there are days when I would like to take a vacation. This has been a week of those days -and it’s only Tuesday!

Pictured above starting at the top left and moving clockwise: Jonathan (5), Lauren (4), Landon (2), and Jayden (2 months).

The top 3 reasons I need a break:

1. Landon throwing food. He really enjoyed watching Jonathan and Lauren hide under the table as he flung his milk and cheerios at breakfast, and laughed while mom told him to stop, but was helplessly stuck on the phone (not portable) setting up an appointment for Jayden.

2. Jonathan and Lauren are constantly bickering. A few things they argue about: who was the first one to wake up - whose cereal was poured first – who is finished eating – who gets to use the bathroom first– who gets to open the door - who buckled their seat belt fastest (and don’t get me started on the pushing and shoving to get in the van first) . . . you name it and they’re arguing over who was/ is / or will be first. It’s insane!

3. A fussy Jayden (translated “I’m sleep deprived”).

it begins

2008-07-28T15:00:00.006-05:00

i am not a good storyteller and yet i find myself sitting here with a story to tell; the story that is my life-simple, yet full of people and moments i hope never to forget. so this is where it begins.