Winter...Fire....Smores!!!

It may not look like winter with the short sleeve shirts, skirts and shorts but us Florida people are tough!  We dont need long sleeve, pants, and jackets!!  Ok it must have been a warmer day/night but never a bad time to roast up a marshmellow, slap it between 2 graham crackers with some chocolate in the middle!!!

Daddy helping Abby

Tucker (5), Colby (4), Dylan (3), Abby (16 mo)

Monster Truck Show



Sounds a bit redneck but thats what you get when you live in Jacksonville, FL.  Apparently this is the biggest show the trucks do in the whole country.  Every year it is sold out (they get more fans than our national football team....so sad).  Last year Daddy and Colby started a tradition by going together to see the show and this year Dylan joined in on the fun! Some of best friends, The Draa's, came to go too.  As the boys went to cheer on Taz, Superman, and all the others the girls went out for some Thai food & wine. 

Space Shuttle Discovery Launch

After months of waiting to see the space shuttle go off we finally got to see it! Original date was supposed to be in November and there was a gas leak.  Then with a date and time set one Friday afternoon in November Nana attempts to take the boys down to see it (Scott had to work and I was in England with Abby and Grammy) but after an hour on the road it was scrubbed! With two little boys disappointed as they could be she turned around and came back home.  There was rumor it would go off in December but that never happened and from there I began to lose hope and think we would never see the final launch of Discovery. 

Finally in Febuary the space shuttle is fixed, crew is ready and a date has been set! Countdown is started and plans are made for a day trip to Kennedy Space Center.  The Barksdales had tickets too but couldn't make this date.  Thankfully Rob and Ami were able to come from Orlando with the kids :-). 

We actually watched the launch from inside the Kennedy Space Center.  Unfortunately we could not see the space shuttle lift off from its launching pad but within seconds we could see it then we heard the rumble in the ground.  So glad we had the chance to experienced this since Discovery is one of the final space shuttle launches. 

We started the day by trading our Sequioa and buying a mini van in a hotel parking lot and then watched the space shuttle go up so it was time to go HOME!!  Especially since the boys and I had just drove back from VA the night before.  In the new van and headed home but who would have thought it would take an entire Toy Story 3 movie to go from the entrance of Kennedy Space Center to US 1 (6 miles)!!!  Having the DVD player at this point in time was a life saver. Kids had to go potty, mommy had to go potty and well daddy did too until he made do.....hint Colby asked "whats that noise?". 

We left the house at 8:15 am and arrived home at 11:30.......

Bye Bye Sequioa Hello Mini Van

So I will admit I have always said "No Way will I drive a mini van!!".  I was convinced that the SUV would be fine for our growing family.  As we began to travel a bit more we realized that the cargo room was horrible.  We had to use the 2nd row bucket seat to put stuff in because the actual space between the 3rd row and the tailgate was ridiculously small.  Once baby # 4 was officially coming we decided to start looking at the Toyota and Honda mini vans.  Hands down the Honda Odyssey won!!  We were dealing with a Honda dealership in Ft Pierce (GM gave us the van at thier cost +$600) so after a month of waiting they met us in Titusville to do the trade.  It was a little weird to meet the Honda man in a hotal parking lot to sign papers and trade out our Sequioa.  I actually joked with him and asked was the van legit or was he a drug dealer who stole the van? 

Without a doubt I/we love it!!  The kids have no problem getting in and out, Scott loves driving it, and I am happy not to have to jump into a huge redneck truck!!

Annual Trip to Monkey Daves

Every year, either in January or Febuary, my mom and I take thekids to VA to spend time with their cousins.  We go during this time because Scott is so busy at work that it gives me a break from all the duties on my own and gives daddy a break from feeling pulled between his work and his family.  Of course we always hope there will be snow but it isnt always a guarentee. 

This year the weather was bit warmer than normal which gave the kids lots of outside time with no complaining of how cold they were.  Last year there was about 2 feet of snow which kept most of the kids busy (and Lady Janice/mommy).  Instead the kids made forts out of logs and ditches pretending to be camping.  One year all wet from snow and this year all muddy from the dirt.  Whatever keeps them happy. 

A trip to VA wouldn't be complete without a trip to their Hands on Museum.  It is the coolest one I have seen.  It has a cow to milk, a kitchen that is kid size, an ambulance (and the lights work), a car repair area, and a drama area with make up, stage and spotlight.  All the kids have a blast here. 

Josiah turned 1 so  a big party was a must! Who doesn't want to see a cute kid dig into a chocolate cake?!?!

One of the last tings we did, even though it was man made snow, is snow tubing!!  Dylan was just tall enough to join in the fun.  I would have never guessed how much fun they would have but it is now something that I think might have to be placed on the tradition list.  Colby kept up the big kids (Sean, Jordyn and their friends) and Dylan stayed back with  mommy and Aunt Kristy ending his fun with a ride down with Monkey Dave.