The Children's Garden

A couple weeks ago I rearranged my work schedule so that I could chaperone Mikayla's field trip to the Sarasota Children's Garden.  I went there once with Madelyn for a birthday party when I was pregnant with Mikayla so 5 years later, this was a big Mommy moment for me.

Mikayla & her friends dressed up in Princess dresses and posed for pictures.

After dress-up the girls posed for a few more pictures a the giant rocking chair.

Then it was time to explore.... First there was a pirate ship named the Black Pearl.

Then there was the bamboo rainforest...

A walk thru the touch & smell garden...

A visit with Snuffy the Dragon...

A walk thru the garden house... 

And some laughs on the playground!

I am so glad I was able to go on this field trip with Mikayla. It's hard for me to believe that there is only 2 months of VPK left.  My youngest daughter is growing up so fast.

Honor Roll, Valentine's & The Italian Fest

February was an exciting month for us! Maddy finally overcame her long standing C average in Math and made A/B Honor Roll!  Hooray!  Mike & I are so proud! We hope she can keep up the hard work!

We also celebrated Valentine's Day!  The girls exchanged notes and had parties at school. Mikayla even got to die AND paint a cute t-shirt!

At home the girls got a treat from Mike & I.  Maddy, a new Monster High doll and Mikayla, some furnishings for the Tinkerbell house she got for Christmas.  Mike & I exchanged cards & cooked up a yummy dinner for two... steaks, loaded double baked potatoes & brussels sprouts.  Mmm Mmm... :)

The following week, we went to our town's annual Italian Feast & Fest!

Mote Marine Laboratory has a mobile aquarium that visits local events, the girls and our friend Shay had a great time touching the starfish, horseshoe crabs and sea urchins!

Opening Night is the best time to go to the Fest, all the rides are $1... versus the $3 - $4 per kid they normally are. What a deal!  The girls rode everything and anything they were tall enough for!

The girls played a couple games which won them each a goldfish!

This was the Italian FEAST and Fest, so of course we ate dinner... and dessert!

As soon as the sun went down the fog rolled in. It made for a cool picture as we were leaving. The Feast & Fest was a treat for us all!

Our Jedi Princess & the Jetty Picnic

Our first Birthday party of the year was a big event.  Mikayla's classmate was turning the big 5 and his sister was turning 4 so their parents really did it up at Grandpa's house, which turned out to be a mansion!

When I pulled up to the driveway, I thanked my lucky stars we didn't skip THIS party!

For Aiden's part of the party entertainment, his Dad lead the guests through a Jedi Academy completely in character. He taught the kids how to use their light saber to challenge Darth Vader!

Mikayla & her friends used their "shoulder shoulder knee knee duck moves" to defeat him.  Darth Vader and his Storm Trooper companion left the party hanging their heads in shame.

After the Jedi Masters defeated Darth Vader, the girls congregated to attend the Princess Academy for Esther.  Two of young ladies painted their nails, did their hair and make up and hosted a tea party.  This party was action packed!

After cake we made our exit. We had a great time and were so grateful to be invited to Aiden & Esther's Birthday celebration!

The following weekend we had a picnic at the Jetty, the place where the intercoastal waterway opens up to Gulf between our local barrier islands.  The Jetty is bustling place... boats, pelicans, fisherman and the occasional dolphin or manatee.  On either side of the Jetty are two beautiful beaches, picnic areas and playgrounds where we love to get together with our friends.

We love it here!  We can't wait to come back when the water is a little warmer for swimming!

Christmas Eve & Day

Christmas Eve & Day came and went so quickly this year... I'm still way behind with our family posts but I'm SLOWLY catching up... so bare with me. 

It's become tradition that Allison & Mike host our family's Christmas Eve celebration, Grandma, Grandpa & the girls drove up early so the cousins could have some extra playtime.

Mike & I arrived later that evening and my first order of business was holding my niece Reese!

Our newest little bundle arrived just in time for the holidays!

Uncle Mike showed the kids the Santa Tracker online... Maddy gave us reports throughout the night about Santa's whereabouts!  

Of course, there is always plenty of presents!  Grandma & Grandpa spoiled us all!

Cam got the surprise of a lifetime!  A real Lightning McQueen!

We always have a wonderful time at Allison & Mike's but we had to get home and get the girls into bed so Santa could come to our house!  We left him cookies & milk, and for the reindeer we left out carrots!

The girls opened their presents from Santa right away, Figits & Bizu beads, just what they asked for!

The stuff from Mike & I was pretty cool too!

For the last few years Mike & I have been hosting our family's Christmas Day dinner.  We put out a yummy spread of appetizers to munch on throughout the day and for dinner we have ham and our favorite holiday side dishes.

It was a pretty day, everyone just kicked back and relaxed.

That evening after we ate, we used Grandpa's laptop to Skype with the Schuths in Chicago.  Pretty cool!  I need to get a webcam for our computer so I can Skype with my Mom!

The 4 cousins!

After everyone left, the girls got back into their Christmas jammies and played with their toys. Mike & I are so thankful for another blessed & Merry Christmas!