Weekend With Grandma and Grandpa

Last weekend, we had a very fun and busy weekend with Ryan's parents.  We started out with a Birthday party for Mom and Rochel, which Rochel had to create for herself, since I was working all day.  But I got out a little early, so I was able to eat with them and enjoy all of Rochel's hard work.  Yummy cupcakes and just fun sitting around talking. (above) It's pretty hard not to eat Leah.  She's like a sweet little marshmellow!  Carly loves helping out with Leah (and Eli)... she's going to make a great babysitter pretty soon.

Friday.... we actually started out at Ryan's school where he was heading up the Fourth Grade Battle of the Books competition.  He talked his Dad into being a judge.  The kids at the school thought it was great having ANOTHER Mr. McGregor around.  The kids were fun to watch and Carly is hoping to secure a spot on next year's team, when she's in fourth grade.  

Busch Gardens was next on our agenda for the day... Ryan met us at lunch time and Edgar took the picture (that's why neither of them are IN the picture) but they were there with us, too.  It was a nice, fun, relaxing day... 

... because we really needed one more picture of Carly on this gorilla.

Rochel was trying to get Eli to climb inside the hippo's mouth.  This picture cracks me up because he's having none of it.  He looks like he's begging her to stop asking.  He's pretty smart:  He saw what happened to Ben when HE went in the hippo's mouth....

Yup, Rochel wasn't talking Eli into that one!

Carly was thrilled to get to ride on the little kid rides with Eli!  Now that she's tall enough for the big roller coasters, she's too tall for most of the little rides.  Unless you're with someone who's still little.  Eli did great staying with her and enjoying riding.  He'll be begging to ride Sheikra before we are done with him!!!

My kids begged to ride the carousel.  Really???

More riding with Eli.... he looks like he's being chauffeured by Carly.

Leah enjoyed the water pad... and her mother!  She's pretty smiley.  And smooshy.  Yum.

And here's to Grandma and Grandpa.  Who actually wanted to ride on Sheikra.  Click on that picture and see them hanging on for dear life (front row, starting from the right... Mom, Ben, Carly, Ryan, and Dad) this part of the ride is where you hang face down for MANY seconds.  Before free falling.  Way down...

... like this

Bumper Cars...

... where Bad Driving is encouraged.

And I can't decide if this thing is cool or creepy.

Here are some giraffe's for Chloe.  MANY giraffe's!  

SATURDAY... Ben and Carly had a Swim Meet in Brandon.  Ryan's parents have been wanting to come down for one of the kids meets, and that is the Official Reason for their visit.  The kids did great on each of their races, and each cut time off of 2 of them!

Carly and the Fly.  

Lovely form.  And this would be the race the line judge didn't notice the hairband around her right wrist. The next race, he made her take it off.  And she made him put it on his own wrist, so he wouldn't lose it while she was racing.  Rats!  I'm certain that hairband was giving her an unfair advantage over the other swimmers!

Big smiles from the girl who cut many seconds off her Fly.  And her mother.

Ben... looking so grown up.  (Green hat)   He's gotten enormous over the last month.

... look for the green hat

My parents got to attend this meet, too, and I think Ben and Carly enjoyed their little entourage!  They certainly had the LOUDEST cheering section running down the length of the pool with them every time they swam!  And their own paparazzi!

We had hoped to go to the beach Saturday evening, but we ended up getting lots of rain.  The girls got an impromptu shopping trip, so we didn't mind that too much!!  Afterwards, Dad took all of us to the Olive Garden for dinner.  Back to our house for more visiting, and we stayed up late watching the Prince of Persia movie, which was pretty entertaining. 

Random Picture #8

Because it makes me laugh.

Our darling Kits.  Outside on the porch... scared out of their minds.  Because RYAN is on the porch.  Sweeping.    They are trying really, really hard to hide.  And the bottom of their jungle-gym,  is the best they can do.  It just made me smile.  After a really long, unusual day.  So I did NOT want to forget smiling.

Apparently, Miggy told them about the Hurricane's of 2004 and Papito spraying him with the sprayer... just sayin'.

Mother's Day 2011

I have to say... I had a GREAT Mother's Day.

I love being a Mom.  However, I'll be the first to admit I don't say 'I love being a Mom' like it's my whole reason for being on Planet Earth.  I think it is more something God handed over to me while He was smirking and snickering.  I'm really one of those Mom's who has absolutely no problem looking at their daughter somewhat dumbfounded, while saying, "You know, I never actually SAW you being born, so there is a chance you were switched in the nursery and I'm not completely certain WHERE you came from.  Your brother, however... now, that I saw.  So that I will take responsibility for, but you...".  I will definitely be the first to admit I kind of stink at it most days and the other days, I just get kind of lucky.  (blah blah blah, of course I realize a 100% any "success" I have as a mother is from God.  Duh.)

That being said, I do find my kids horribly entertaining.  Some days I think they are somewhat of a Science Experiment "Ryan and I" have created for our own amusement.  I will ALWAYS be entertained by seeing qualities in them that originally belonged to us or someone else in the family.  As well as by the qualities that are oddly, uniquely theirs!!  And I am fascinated by the scary reality of Ryan and I molding 2 people.  Everything we do impacts them.  Everything we teach them.  I love that God allows us a part in this.  It is truly why I love being a Mom.  That, and the humor.  

So, Mother's Day was good.  I'm all for a day where the People I Live With don't want me to do anything strenuous.  Where they sort of treat me like a Queen.  You know, by not bugging me.  Highly appreciated.  Day started off with the Carly creating breakfast for me.  Chicky has paid attention the last few years and served me what I always eat for breakfast, minus the coffee ("Because you said, 'Do NOT touch my Keurig!!!!'" says the suddenly obedient child.) then I was presented with gifts each had made.  Ben made me a necklace in Art class.  Well, he clarified with, "I was going to keep it for myself, but then I thought 'I need a Mother's Day Present' and realized you might like it, so here it is!!!!!" (with Big Proud Smile).  Reason #1 why We Love Asperger's around here.  Honesty.  Carly gave me multiple coupons for massages, clean rooms, emptying-cat-box's, and cooked dinners... with no expirations dates and guidelines of "You can use them as many times as you want, too!!!".  Really enjoying the dinners!  It's like I gave birth (or maybe not) to my own Personal Chef.

After a nice morning at church (see photo above... which I mostly included to show how VERY TALL Ben has gotten!!), we headed out to my Mom's, where we met her for lunch at an Asian restaurant... with Steve and Dad.  (YEAH! for them finally being home!) GREAT lunch, then we went over to Mom's where Carly and I got our First Glimpse of the recent Royal Wedding (remember the Camping Trip????  Well, it was during the Nuptials, otherwise, I would have had Baby Girl up at 4am to watch the fun!!).  We also enjoyed COFFEE, and then watched Tangled, which is about the cutest movie ever.

After we got home, Ryan rounded up the kids to clean their rooms.  This is my favorite part ever.  There was so much work that needed to be done to get Ben's Room Grandma Ready (Ryan's Parents are coming this weekend to see Ben and Carly's Swim Meet!) and he got everything taken care of!  It was the best gift ever!  He took apart bunk beds, rearranged furniture, rehung posters, and CLEANED, CLEANED, CLEANED!  He's WAY more patient than I am, and I sure appreciated his hard work.  And Ben's Room looks fantastic!  And has passed my Inspection of Ready for Grandma and Grandpa!  I'm certain they will be Delighted not to have to crawl under his bunk beds... if only the Tigers Fans can tolerate sleeping in a Rays Infested Room!!!  Hahahahahaha.

Shout out to my Mom... Happy Mother's Day!!! I love you and appreciate you.  And it was so fantastic to get to spend it the day you, even though you were still supposed to be in Israel.  I don't take it for granted that we were given a fun day together.

Shout out to Ryan's Mom!  Happy Mother's Day!!!  Looking forward to a very fun weekend with you guys!  I'm so excited Ben's Room is clean... please know that is ALL because of the wonderful Son you have!  I'm thankful you were his Mom.  You guys taught him so well:)  By way of reminder before you get here:  I still do not dust.  Just be OK with that... the kids are cute, though, right???!!

Header

With all the Camping Pictures, you had to know there would be a new header... I can hardly be surrounded by all this nature and NOT think of our Creator.  And I guess since it was raining when we started our trip, we spent a little more time with the kids talking about things we were thankful for.  We try really hard to teach them to always find the Good Side of everything.  I'll be honest:  I don't like to listen to them complain, and it is WAY easier to get them giggling and finding the Good Side than it is to keep yelling at them to Stop Complaining.  Of course, this means I can't complain, either... which might be the True Hardest Part.

You spend a little time without your warm bed, computer, cell phone, and all the other Comforts of Home and you realize how very worthless these things really are.  Spend a little time sitting around with your kids and husband and you suddenly see their value with Crystal Clarity.  We all loved our time together.

So, while we were hiking, I kept thinking of the whole Directing Our Paths thing... there were trail markers everywhere so we didn't get lost.  Beauty all around us that distracted us from the Path... Side Paths that looked like the right way, but weren't marked like the True Path was marked.  You get the idea.  I think there must be a reason God keeps revealing this seemingly obvious truth to me... I really struggle with consistency and staying on target with my relationship with Him.

Direct me in the path of your commands,

for there I find delight.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things;

preserve my life according to your word.

Psalm 119:35, 37

... I think camping was really good for me:)

Suwannee Camp Out

I'm pleased to announce that we have survived our First Solo Camping Trip!  Our previous camping experience was with CLOSE supervision of the Camping Experts so we were a little worried about how this gig was going to go.  ALSO, we made the QUESTIONABLE choice of choosing our destination from the Real Florida Guidebook, which brought us such adventures as THIS ONE last month.  Alas, it all turned out well... and before we even left we reminded ourselves that we can have a blast ANYWHERE and usually in the oddest conditions, so it seemed win-win!

We headed up to the Suwannee River State Park... through a rainstorm.  By the time we arrived, the rain had tapered off somewhat and we checked in and checked out our surroundings.  Apparently, we parked our car in the WRONG place and a kind gentleman (who was also camping) yelled at us about it.  To which Ben said, "Wow.  We already got in trouble."  My guess is, The Experts would have known not to park on the pine needles, so I chalked it up to our inexperience.  

Once our tent was up (ummmm, it seemed easier last summer.  Just sayin'.) we headed 12 miles into Town to get firewood, seeing how the Park Ranger was fresh out.  She sent us to Lowe's.  Who knew that they sold firewood?  They were VERY KIND there (so, SHOUT OUT to the folks at Live Oak, FL Lowe's!) and were happy to go up 2 stories in this contraption to retrieve 2 bundles of firewood for us... I guess anything for a sale.  A big $10 sale.

After this fun, it started raining again, so we decided to drive around and hunt out an adventure on our own.  We laughed for a long time when we came up on this school... mostly because we were in the Middle of No Where and of all the schools to find, it was hilarious that it's the same name as the school Ryan works at, and Carly attends!  

And you will be happy to know that this Lee Elementary is Tobacco Free.  See?  We are EASILY entertained!!

Well, it stopped raining and we were actually able to get a great campfire going (by WE, I mean Ryan!) which was good because we really wanted to eat s'mores.  I mean, dinner.  We roasted hotdogs and marsh mellows and spent a lot of time talking about things we were thankful for.  Because there is a lot.  Like, the rain stopping... a dry-inside-tent... a funny family to hang with... trees for oxygen... no cell phones or computer...

It got chilly over night, and were were VERY HAPPY it wasn't hot!  This was kind of late in the Season to be camping in Florida, so we were thankful for one last cool-ish weekend.  The next morning we headed out to do some hiking on the many trails that make up the Suwannee River State Park. 

Beautiful morning, with NO humidity! 

This tree was pretty cool... ENORMOUS and hollowed out... Ryan was the only one brave enough to climb inside (I was CERTAIN there would be bats up in it)...

He took my camera with him, and you can't see any bats...

Beautiful reflections all around

Balanced Rock, hanging out over the Suwannee River

Carly tried to tell us that she knocked this tree over... and she's so worried the Park Ranger might be mad.  Funny Girl.

Our hike brought us out to this railroad, just in time for a train to go by.  Kind of sad, but I don't think our City Kids have seen a train anywhere but Disney World.  Well, I guess they went on one in Alaska, but that was recreational.  This one was a working train, carrying lots of gasoline and other important looking stuff.  

I know it seems like something we would do, going on a road that is clearly marked ROAD CLOSED... and we did, but it is actually part of the trail, so completely legit.  

Ryan really wanted to follow the Trail onto the old bridge that crossed over the Suwannee River.  This part of the Trail is actually 12 miles long, and we thought that might be a little far for our Rookie Hikers. But we did check out part of it!

The next portion of our hike brought us to this long forgotten cemetery, which was pretty cool. 

I'm always fascinated by the stuff people used to write on tombstones.  We are so boring these days!

After a morning of hiking, we went back to our campsite for some peanut butter and honey sandwiches and a little rest... then we asked our trusty Park Ranger for some tips on a good Swimming Hole for our Advanced Swimmers.  She was kind enough to direct us to Madison Blue Springs State Park, which was beautiful!  The water is spring fed, so it's 72 degrees and crystal clear.  This portion was 25 feet deep!  Ryan and I just watched them swimming (and took pictures, of course).  Cold water never scares off our little fishies.

and yes... the Blue Springs are part of the Real Florida Fun!

Beautiful flowers on the side of the road... this really is pretty country.  Out in the Middle of No Where.

Our Alien Tent.  It served us well!

Camp fire fun our last night Out.

Torturing a few Peeps.  They are actually REALLY good this way:)

Peeps waiting to be tortured by Ryan.

Carly made Ben's breakfast for him... we weren't very adventuresome in the area of Campfire Cooking.  We continued being Camping Minimalists and only used/brought what we absolutely needed.  We did giggle for a while at our Camping Neighbors a few sites over who showed up with more equipment than they even carry at L.L.Bean.  It took them about 5 hours to get everything set up (you know, flood lights, changing room, fans, carpets...) that they made my Expert Sibling look like a Camping Rookie.  I probably shouldn't have giggled too much... we HAVE to be minimalists to fit everything in the trunk of our tiny little Jetta.

Mama's breakfast... Ryan said I couldn't bring my new Keurig.

SUCCESS!  FUN!  We loved every minute of our mini-vacation!!  It was excellent being with our little family of four, even though we missed our previous Camping Buddies ALOT!  We are hooked!