Another Beach trip

Mark and I took the kids to St. George last weekend to visit Uncle Cody, Melanie and Yaya. We were a little worried because it rained off and on the whole way to the island but by the time that we got there the rain cleared up and it was just overcast enough that we were able to play and have fun without the scorching summer heat. We mostly played in the sand. Because there was a tropical storm way out in the middle of somewhere the water was extremely rough and full of seaweed. Taylor of course loves the adventure and Aiden like me could do without the seaweed. We stuck close to the beach.

St. George is a special place to me. Growing up it is where I spent a lot of my summer time. I have a lot of memories associated with this place. I crave it. I miss it. It is where Mark took me and proposed. It frightens me that this place that I knew so very well as a child might not be as beautiful as it once was because of the current oil spilling into the Gulf on a daily basis. I think I have written about this before but it truly hurts my heart to think about the gorgeous land, animals, fishermen, and future memories. So...we go when we can.

Fourth of July 2010

This fourth of July we once again spent in style with our great group of friends at Northwoods. We have started somewhat of a little tradition. There is such a wonderful family atmosphere here and the kids have so much fun. The Rutherford family came over for dinner before and then we hit the road. When we got there the kids played, and Mark and I got to hang out with the grown ups. The kids loved the fireworks. Taylor kept repeating over and over again "Fireworks go BOOM!", and insisted that her Daddy hold her ears. We were home by eleven and even managed to keep the kids awake so that we could bathe them when we got home, and read a story. We can mark this in the books for a successful trip!


No Florida summer celebration is ever complete without a sno-cone.....or a afternoon rain shower. Thanks Laura for the straw mats. FYI- they leak ;-)

Down on the Farm

We had an early fourth of july cookout with our sweet Holland friends. They kids swam, ate, and then we took them for a ride around the farm. They had fun. We saw deer along the way and this cute little snake that was 2-3 feet away from me. Yikes! Lennon fell asleep on the way and while I was going to take a picture of her, I looked down to find this little guy. Jumped back in the kuboto super fast. We shot off the fireworks in the field and the kids ran and played and jumped. I remember thinking, this is the perfect summer evening. AMy looked at me at one point and said "We are living our dream." We are.

June 2010

In June the kids and I went with YaYa to our annual blueberry picking place. We have gone

here for 2 years and to one other place when Taylor was itty bitty. This year the kids actually put more in the buckets than they ate. It wasn't as hot this year and we were able to enjoy the day more. We picked about six pounds and have gotten to make a tasty blueberry cobbler with our find.

We have officially entered into the "I do it myself" phase with Taylor. She is so much more independent and headstrong than Aiden ever was at this age. There is not reasoning with her when she decides that she wants to do something. I am sure that one day this will be a very charming quality, but when you are in a hurry to go somewhere and she wants to dress herself, or pick out her clothes, or shoes, or bow it really tests my patience.



Amy came over and got to have some quality time with Amy. Taylors hair is growing so much it is fun to play with it and dress it up with some really cute little bows. More on that later...

The kids LOVE to play with Daddy. Some days I feel like chopped liver. When Mark comes home the kids go running and screaming DAAAAADDDYYY!!!!

The kids have even caught the creative bug and have spent lots of time painting and coloring. Aiden loves to write his name and has fun tracing letters and shaped. Taylor...well..she loves to make a mess!


Aiden and Taylor can fight and scream like cats and dogs but MOST of the time they are pals. They love seeing eachother and playing together. They are partners in crime!

Bad Blogger

It is June, well now july. It has been four months since my last post. I feel like I needed to confess if you didn't notice the dates already. Every now and again I have to play catch up. So here I am...playing catch up. The easiest way...by months. Here goes:

March-
The month of March brought on a wave of craftiness. I painted, took pictures, picked fabrics and even bribed my very own loving mother to create my idea due to my lack of sewing knowledge. My very loyal friend Cyndi and I created a family rules canvas. It is a set of rules for our family to live (haha) by. Here is my final product. I also took the cuties to the park and embarked on one of many to come photo shoots with my new camera.

I bribed mom into making pillowcase dresses for Taylor. They are aparently really easy and so very cute. Tay's favorite is her ladybug dress. I think that she would wear it daily if I allowed it.

.

We also began building our privacy fence in the back yard. Every night after work, we would go outside and work. Mark-o is superman. He amazes me. He worked so very hard and we have a beautiful fence that can keep our kids safe, and provides so much privacy. I LOVE it.





For spring break the kids and I went with our very wonderful Cyndi and her little lovelies to see their Nana in St. Augustine. We swam,went to the kids museum, painted easter eggs and just generally had a great time.





April-

We finished off our spring break by taking a trip to St. Marks. As a child I have memories of it being this miraculous place. This is an example of how childhood memories should remain just that..memories. When we got there the sand fleas almost carried us away. There was not really a place to walk out in the water so we walked to find some. As soon as we found a place, Taylor ventured out onto the rocks and fell on some barnacles and cut her leg all up! So after 15 minutes of being there we loaded the kids up and went home. Next time we drive to a real beach!

Easter came along and we went to Yaya's and grandaddy's and hunted eggs with the grandparents and Uncle Cody and Melanie. Aiden and Taylor did so well and it was so sweet to see Aiden help is little sister out and find the eggs. Taylor sported her coll shades most of the day and refused to take them off.

Then came the big event. Aiden and Taylor's big Spiderman Princess party! We had so much fun! Aiden was turning four and Taylor turned 2 on the day of the party. All of our friends and family came to celebrate with us. The day was complete with a spiderman bounce house, sno cones, crafts, a pinata, games, two cakes and tons of kids everywhere. Aiden was so very excited about his bouncy house and between the two of them they probably ate 25 sno cones. People just kept handing them out to the kids and they never objected to this. Mark was a sport and manned the snocone machine most of the time. By the end of the day there was a new meaning to the word exhaustion! I loved baking the cakes and planning the day, but mostly I enjoyed how thrilled A and T were about all of the fun!

The weekend of the party we decided to move Taylor to her big girl bed. She was so excited and jumped on it and played and kept saying "my bed" In the beginning she would lay in bed in the morning until someone got her up. Now when the sun comes up, so does Taylor!

For his birthday, Aiden got a big boy bike. It is now June and he has become very good at it. In April...not so much. We would go outside everyday and practice. At first there was no pedaling, steering or any activity. Now he has gotten it down and is very proud of himself. Go Aiden!

May-

Mother's Day was wonderful. Mark and I went with the kids to the beach. The kids love the beach and the waves. Some of my favorite childhood memories happened while at the beach. Every chance we get we try to take the kids.

We had a cookout with our dear friends the stallers. We swam, made dinner, we made smores, watched lightning bugs, and then the kids snuggled up and have movie time. It was a wonderful night with great friends. Cyndi and I secretly have a plan for an arranged marriage for Taylor and Kyle. I hope they will be okay with this :-)

So hopefully I am all caught up. Now I can start fresh. Well, somewhat..it is almost July ;-)