Halloween in May

Somehow the subject of Halloween came up today and Ali quickly remembered her kitty cat costume from last October. She begged and begged for me to get it out of the attic, which she has done many times before. I've been able to resist until today. I think her powers of cuteness are multiplying. I'd move heaven and Earth for my girls, plus the thought of seeing her in the costume again was a bit appealing. So into the attic I go, crawling under beams, breaking a sweat... all to please Ali. And once she was dressed in her kitty duds, I knew it was all worth it. Complete with eye liner kitty nose and whiskers, she was ready to pretend that I was momma cat and she was my kitten. Too cute.

But what really got me was Brooke! My creative little genius. She caught me ooing and ahhing over Ali and quickly wanted in on the praise. She disappeared to her room to create her own kitty costume. She found a brown skirt and brown leggings, and a black t-shirt with leopard spot sleeves. She used one of my belts as a tail and drew her own cat ears and taped them to her headband. I was so impressed with her ingenuity!

Water Day!

Here are some pictures from Water Day at preschool! It is a much anticipated day at the end of the school year for the kids.

The Wedding of Q and U

Preschool and kindergarten teachers, get your notepads ready! This was one of the cutest things I have ever seen! This week at Brooke's preschool they celebrated the wedding of Miss Q to Mr. U, because, as you know, Q and U stick together! Each child was sent home with a letter of the alphabet to dress for the special occasion. Brooke brought home the letter T and managed to turn it into "Princess TiTi".

The teachers had prepared these big wooden letters as the Bride, Miss Q, and the Groom, Mr. U.

All the four-year-old students moved into the church with their dressed-up letters and Miss. Q walked down the isle to "Here Comes The Bride" on kazoo. They even had the church minister involved. He read the vows of Q and U which included honoring good grammar and sticking together through good sentences and bad sentences. It was quite hysterical and the kiss got a good giggle from all the kiddos. Afterward there was the first dance to "ABC" by the Jackson Five. All the kids joined in and danced around with their letters.

And then there was cake, and yes, Q and U did feed each other. There were times that I think the adults were having WAY more fun than the kids.

And to wrap it up, the kids blew bubbles as Q and U left on their honeymoon on a remote control pickup, complete with 'Just Married' sign and soda cans. Where were they going on their honeymoon? Quebec, of course!

Memorial Day Jet Skiing

One of the coolest things about living in Florida is the endless amounts of water to explore! This past memorial Day we took the girls out on the jet ski on the St. John's River. The jet ski is extra long so it's big enough for all four of us to ride comfortably. But even so, we like to squeeze together tightly so we don't lose anyone along the way :) We started out by dropping the jet ski in up by Lake Monroe and then headed toward Highbanks Marina for lunch (cold shrimp and crab cakes for me.. yum!). Then we traveled a bit further to Blue Springs. I got in the icy cold water with the girls. And when I say icy cold I really mean SUPER icy cold water! I felt like a member of the polar bear club. The we headed back home and managed to get home just in time for the rain. God blessed us with a beautiful day and more fun memories. I snapped this picture at then end of our day:

Taking this picture brought back memories of when the company first got the jet ski. I remember taking a similar picture with my much smaller children. I had to dig it up to show just how quickly time passes. Aren't they cute!?

We don't say...

I've got trouble on my hands. How is it that some kids can make disobedience look so cute, and others are just disobedient? Ali has the gift of cute disobedience. If you've spent a good amount of time with her, you understand what I'm talking about. Any time I catch her doing something out of line, it's quickly followed with, "I'm so sorry mommy, I love you!" And then of course she nails me with some sort of lovable physical affection. She has the gift! I can just picture her, years down the road, using her cute little personality to win over people and get her way. Perhaps she has a future in sales.

Lately she's gotten quite creative. As my kids get older and are exposed to more people and more language, they're acquiring words I'd rather they didn't have. This week, it's "stupid". That word can be pretty harmless in the mouth of an adult, but when armed by a 3 or 5 year old, you're asking for trouble. It's an easy weapon to use when you're battling your stubborn sister. So we've made it very clear that the girls are not allowed to use that word. But leave it to Ali to find a way to STILL say it several times a day. It's called "The Stupid Song" and it goes a little something like this..

"We don't say stupid, we don't say stupid.. stupid stupid stupid.. we don't say stupid!"

How can I argue with that!!?? What she's saying is correct, but yet she has found a way to say the very word she's not supposed to say, while repeating the words her mother has said, and all while being ridiculously cute! I'm in trouble.

Thank you, Uncle Christian!

When Uncle Christian comes around, the kids usually get goodies! He has no shame about "buying" their affections. He's has five kids of his own.. he knows how it works. This time around, it was bug glasses and glow sticks, which made for a cute picture!

Brooke's Spring Program

As the school year comes to a close, Brooke and her class put on a cute spring program filled with singing and an art show! She did a great job! She was all smiles, especially when her little sister was making faces at her. We are battling allergies right now so she spent a lot of time rubbing her eyes.. poor thing. But she made it through and was awesome! Maye favorite song was "Jonah should have listened when the Lord told him to go" which concluded with the sound of 50 preschoolers making a fish belch. Here she is playing her kazoo: And here she is holding her artwork "Zoo animals" (it's a giraffe in case you couldn't tell)

Afterwards?? Ice cream of course!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rain rain go away!

We have been getting a TON of rain lately! In fact in rained for a week strait last week. I remember seeing all the Facebook posts about how everyone was praying for rain, and then suddenly the sky opened up and it didn't stop for days! To give you a little perspective, here is a picture of our shoreline a week ago. Oh, and by the way, we ripped out that old dock last weekend too! Yeah!!

Above you can see Steve is sitting on the concrete steps that lead down into the river. Now here is a picture from this weekend..

Obviously, the water is up and over the steps and rising into the yard. We really don't worry too much about the water getting up to house level though. Last year when tropical storm Faye came through, we got even more rain and we were still high and dry.

Out with the old and in with the new!

If you've ever been to our house, you have probably asked the question, "So when are you going to get rid of that dock??" I don't blame anyone for asking.. it's pretty hideous and a bit of a safety hazard, but it's never been a huge priority since the house still has hundreds of projects left for completion. But this past weekend, we finally made it a priority. We are getting ready for swimming season and finally ripped out the old beast! We inherited it with the land and I was happy to see it go. Here is before..

And here is Steve and Brooke working on the new floating dock. It is shaped live a "U" so that we can pull our kayaks in and easily load and unload.

Summer, here we come!

Playtime at the Park

Here is a cute picture of the girls playing at the playground. Maribel, our wonderful heaven-sent nanny, took this picture. Maribel has been watching the girls on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays since I started working in the office for Steve. I miss being a full-time mommy, but knowing the girls get excellent care helps a lot.

Brooke's Locks of Love

If you haven't been living in a cave, you've heard of Locks of Love; People can donate their ponytails which are then used to make wigs for children who suffer from hair loss. Steph, Leann and Sam have all donated their hair before and when I noticed Brooke's hair getting longer and longer, I told her about it. She didn't hesitate! She was ready to go for it! I had read about a local ponytail drive for Locks of Love and it was going to give us just enough time to get Brooke's hair to the required minimum length, 10 inches. Anyone who participated in the ponytail drive could get a free haircut from any participating salon. So, being the opportunist and bargain shopper that I am, I signed Brooke up for an appointment at a fancy Park Avenue salon in Winter Park. Mom said their haircuts are normally $50 (yikes!).

Here's the before shot...

And here is the cutting of the ponytail!

Once she saw how short her hair was, she said, "I like it so much I think I'm going to cry!". It was so adorable! Ali was a cute little cheerleader for Brooke and told her over and over again that her hair looked so cute!

And here is the finished product and her 10 inches of sweet generosity.

Needless to say, I am endlessly proud of my girl.

Mother's Day

Mothers Day turned out to be a fun and relaxing day. We met Marie in the morning for church and got to give her her cards and her gift. Steve and the girls and I had some time to waste before heading over to Mom and Dad's for pool time, so we visited an old favorite, Jeremiah's Italian Ice. Steve and I used to go there ALL THE TIME when we were dating. It was walking distance from my old Winter Park apartment. Then we got to spend a few hours hanging out with the Fogle clan at the pool. The kids had a blast swimming in the pool.

Mothers Day Fashion Show

Brooke's preschool had a really cute event for all the mothers on Friday. We were told to send Brooke to school with an outfit out of either mom or dad's closet. I let Brooke choose which clothes she wanted to take, and it was not easy for her. She tried on many different things out of Mommy's closet and even asked me if she could have a few thing once I outgrew them. She finally settled on a skirt and shirt of mine. On Friday, I arrive at her school for the Fashion Show! When I got to my place, there was some goodies waiting for me: A pot with soil and seeds, a personalized plate, a card, a page with questions she had answered about her mommy, and two decorated cupcakes!While the mommies were waiting for the big show to begin, there was a display of about 12 drawings of faces. We each had to guess which one was a picture of us, drawn by our child.. not as easy as you might think. In fact, I got it wrong.

Here is the correct one.. my portrait, through the eyes of Brooke.

Then is was time for the show. The kids were announced by their teachers, two by two, and paraded down the runway. It was really so cute and comical to see their tiny little bodies in such over sized clothes. Brooke looked a little nervous and didn't have the same spring in her step that she did when she practiced at home, but she made it!

Afterwards, we got to sit together and eat the snacks that all the kids had prepared, including the cupcakes. It was a special time for just the two of us and she made her mommy feel loved!

Camping in St Augustine

Our homegroup tries to go camping about twice a year, which is quite a feat if you figure our group has grown to 27!! We started out as six couples, only one of us having a kid at the time, and now there are 12 adults and 15 kids! We're outnumbered by children! We always have a great time and I love that the kids have a chance to hang out, play and get to know each other. Usually when we're getting together, it is bedtime for the kids and they don't get much time to hang out. Anyway, we had decided to go camping at Anastasia State Park which is one of my favorite campgrounds. Steve and I have been camping there since before we were married. It is so beautiful and right on the beach which is perfect! And St Augustine is such a neat town with so much history. The kids and I arrived Friday night at about 9 or 10pm (Steve had an early morning meeting in Apopka and had to join us later on Saturday). The husbands helped me get the tent up and we were settled in for the night. Saturday, we went to the beach and just enjoyed being lazy in the sand. The kids played for hours and the breeze was so nice and cool. We went back to the campsite to get cleaned up and Steve arrived shortly after. We went for a hike on an ancient sea dune trail which was really cool and tons of fun for the kids with all the ups and downs. Then while the parents got dinner ready, the kids had a paper airplane throwing contest. After dinner we made smores (of course) and put the kids to bed. It took about 5 minutes for our two to fall asleep. They had a busy and exhausting day in the sun. The adults hung out around the campfire and invented a new campfire sport: Tossing marshmallows into a giant boiling can of baked beans in the campfire.. not as easy as it sounds and the girls creamed the guys! Steve and I got to take a walk on the beach at night too which was nice. On Sunday morning we drove into St Augustine and visited the fort, Castillo de San Marcos. Steve loves that kind of stuff and could have spend hours reading every little word on all the signs, but our kids weren't up for that. So we did the quick tour and even got to see the canon firing drill.. really cool! After lunch with the Cline's, we were pretty sure we had worn our entire family out so we headed home and went straight to bed for a long nap!