Family Time Part 2

While my family was in town, we planned a day trip to St. Augustine. It's a gorgeous town with a neat history. Part of me would love to live closer to it. Our day did not start off great. We had no hot water. We went back to the stone ages and heated water up in a pan then poured it into the tub. At least we were clean!

GQ insisted he needed a bath too since we took baths.

We had a picnic lunch at a playground. This playground is awesome. There was so much for the kids to do and they had a covered picnic area. The kids got to run and play for a bit after eating.

GQ loved swinging.

My sister enjoyed watching everyone from above.

My brother and nephew rode the dinosaur. My nephew thought it was great. Big grins from him!

GQ made friends with another little girl there and she get a kick out of pushing him in the swing.

Doc likes to look out at everyone from the little nooks and crannies. You never know where he'll pop out next!

My sister-in-law and nephew. He loves his momma (as most boys do)!

This playground had all sorts of little places to crawl through....perfect for boys!

After the playground we walked over to the old Fort. It was really neat. The kids weren't real interested in the history of it but they sure liked looking at all the different rooms in the fort. I think the drawbridge was their favorite even though it didn't work.

The fort is right on the water near St. Augustine. GORGEOUS! I love the ocean and I love watching all the sailboats on the bay.

Mr. X wasn't into pictures that day so I had to take one when he was busy looking at something else. ;)

After the fort, we walked around the old street with all sorts of little shops. It's very quaint but definitely a tourist trap. We also went to a pirate museum. We thought it would be neat and it really wasn't all that cool. The kids didn't complain through it though so it couldn't have been too bad. We then went to a seafood restaurant for dinner.

This place was very pretty. We sat outside and ate. It was a nice day. Cooler with a wonderful breeze. This place was across from the marina so we went and looked at the boats after dinner while the guys ran back for the cars. We stopped at the beach briefly but it was too cool to go in the water. The kids loved it anyways. They walked along the beach and found some shells, looked at a jellyfish that was on shore, and ran in the sand. I absolutely love the ocean so I was happy to just stand and take in the smell, the breeze, and the sound of the waves. It's my happy place.

I'll leave you with this cutie in sunglasses. Next time, I'll finish out the week with family.

Family Time Part 1

It's probably going to take me about a week or so to post about our time with my family. They were hear all last week and it was wonderful! They left this morning after breakfast but it was nice to have breakfast with my mom on Mother's Day. We did a lot this past week but even had a little bit of downtime. One of my favorite downtime activities to do with my parents is play cards.

We especially like Double Deck Pinochle. However, we could not find pinochle cards at ANY store down here. So we bought a 4 pack deck of cards and made our own pinochle decks.

We have a blast playing pinochle. The guys won one and the gals won one. WB and I use a cheat sheet to figure out how much meld we have since we haven't been playing it nearly as long as my folks. I'm getting pretty good at figuring it out without the cheat sheet now.

GQ woke up from his nap and wanted to play too so he sat next to my mom and played with the jokers.

The boys did great playing together while we finished our game after school let out. This is a train and roads table that WB just recently set up per Doc's request (many times over). We finally decided it was time to pull it out and they LOVE it.

Doc decided to join the card game after awhile. He said, "I'm going to win".

I love watching my dad read to Doc. He read probably 4-5 books to Doc after dinner. It was very sweet. I just loved the quality time we had with them while they were here. It was so good for the boys too.

We also took GQ on his first canoe ride! My sister, her boyfriend, and my nephew (my brother's baby) also joined us. We had a good time though my nephew wasn't so sure about the canoes.

My mom held my nephew while my dad paddled. They were pretty quick even with only the one person paddling.

We had to be on the lookout for alligators. Thankfully, we did not see any. I'm not sure I want a run-in with an alligator anytime soon.

GQ sat in the middle of the canoe and did pretty good. He tried to stand up a couple times and we just told him he needed to sit back down. He listened well and nobody tipped over.

 After canoeing, we went down into a ravine and walked in a very shallow, clear stream. It was refreshing and very nice.

We are very blessed that my family was able to come down to spend time with us. I cherish the time we have with them since we can't see them every day. Mr. X was so thrilled to have them here and was rather upset that they had to go back home. He handle them leaving much better than any of us expected though and I'm so proud of him for that.

Silliness and Visitors

Not too much to share and no in depth thoughts today. We had a fluff day today. That said, I just love how silly kids are. I'm not sure how the chair tipped over....

..but Doc and GQ had a blast treating it like a vehicle of sorts.

Doc sat and watched his blanket wash. He insisted it needed to be washed because it got a little bit of water on it. All the kids have enjoyed watching the new washer and dryer run. I guess it's free entertainment that isn't TV! Doc also made sure to pull his blanket out the second it finished. We are waiting on a new washer because the child lock on ours isn't working properly. Hasn't worked since the washer was installed brand new earlier this week. I love how easy things amuse kids though!

Lately we have had these visitors come on our patio. They will come right up to the door and look inside. The kids think it's great. GQ has also figured out that he can open the door and chase them....and that they will chase him back home quacking at him all the while.

I think it's neat that the ducks come right up to our door like that. I'm not sure why they come to our house because we haven't noticed them getting close to any other houses in the neighborhood.

The best news of all....my family is coming into town TOMORROW!!! I'm so excited to see them. I work the next 3 days but they are going to come over tomorrow and have dinner with WB and the boys. Then I will see them for a bit when I get home from work. I get 3 whole days with them next week and next Saturday they are staying with the boys so I can meet up with some friends from MI at Disney! I haven't been to Disney since I was 2 and I don't remember the one day I was there. Busy week ahead and I am ready for it!

Life is like...

...playing frisbee.

Everything seems to go along straight and smooth until a wind gust throws you off balance or completely off course. 

When you're falling, it's always nice to have a friend pick you back up.

Sometimes you need a mentor to help show you the way. 

Sometimes you need to keep trying until you get it.

Sometimes you just need love.

And along the way you need refreshing. 

What is so hard to remember sometimes is that Jesus is always there whether your friend is there to pick you up or not, whether you're on the straight path or the topsy-turvy one. Jesus is there always just like the air we breathe. Through Jesus, we can have a new life. Through Jesus, our paths become straight. Let's remember that tomorrow as we celebrate Easter because He has risen!

Good Friday

Today we remember the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I watched Passion of the Christ while it was in the movie theaters and it really put in perspective what Jesus did for me. I tend to think of the movie when I think about Jesus dying on the cross for me. I think I do that because it puts a visual to the concept. I'm sure the movie was flawed and I don't take it as truth, especially not as truth over what the Bible tells us. However, it does put a picture in mind of what Jesus went through. I think many times you can hear or read something but until you see it with your own eyes, it's hard to really get a grasp on it. I think that's why faith is so hard for many people.

My mother-in-law sent us these today:

Isn't it pretty?

This week while working, the hospital chaplain came in and prayed over each of us as we were working. It was a very nice gesture and I love that it is allowed and even welcomed on the unit. What surprised me even more was the hospital chaplain praying over the doctor's hands. That is something I never would have seen at my old job. This particular doctor has really been a pleasure to work with. He gets right in there and helps, and he picks up the babies and rocks them when he has time.

Another nice thing here is that Doc was able to do Easter activities at school! That isn't something you would normally find in a public school but they did Easter activities here. Doc decorated an Easter bag for the Easter egg hunt. His bag had a whole row of crosses on it. He also had an Easter mask. He seems to really like it.

Isn't that just precious?!

Change of gears...

Tonight, we put GQ to bed. A little while later we heard a door. We saw that Mr. X was in the bathroom and figured that was the door we heard. The WB went to check on GQ and his bed was empty. WB started looking through the house and I headed toward the front door sure that the door we heard was GQ leaving the house. We found him in the house.

This is where he was.

It only took about 30 sec from start to finish and GQ came out of his hiding spot while we were looking elsewhere for him. Even though it only last 30 sec, it about gave me a heart attack. I'm going to be gray by the time I'm 30 at this rate! For the record, we lock doors at night and he can't unlock them.

I'm tired tonight so I apologize if I don't make any sense. Have a good Easter weekend!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Lizards!

Practicing math facts on Mom's phone.

Trying to get it on or take it off?

OK....on...

Neverind...it won't work... OFF

Rain so desperately needed and so refreshing.