Florida Trip - Part 9 {The End}

We headed north on Saturday morning.  Sad to leave our family and friends in FL, but excited to see the Martins in GA that night.  We got to McDonough just in time to see the last period of Luke's hockey game.  So fun!  I was so excited that we made it.  We live so far away that we don't get to do everyday things like that with them anymore.

I love that we just pick up wherever we left off, like no time has passed.  I'm tearing up just thinking about that.  Hate that moving up here meant moving so far away.  Miss them so much. 

We headed out early Sunday morning - had a LOT of driving ahead of us.  My one request was that we stop at Publix.  

I wanted Publix donuts.

I wanted Publix chocolate milk.

I wanted Publix sweet tea.

And it was good.

The boys decided to put Ethan's Lego Fire Station together about the time we got to Chattanooga.  I thought it was a very bad idea.  I envisioned tiny pieces being lost, tears to follow that, and arguing.  But I was very wrong.  It kept them occupied almost all the way home, and they did not lose a single piece!  They were really great travelers during this trip!!

And so ended our vacation.

Came home to chips in our siding, screens broken, roof damaged, broken shutters, etc. due to a hail storm we had the night before we left.  Back to reality, right?

Florida Trip - Part 8 {Cocoa Beach}

Yes, we went to the beach twice during our week!  

The boys LOVE the ocean.  

Well, I should say they LOVE the waves, actually.  

Riding the waves on the boogie board. 

Building sandcastles.

Feeding the birds.

I love the fresh air.

 Warm breezes.

The sun on my face.

Sand in my toes.

Sounds of seagulls above and waves crashing before me.

Great conversations with my sister-in-law.

Florida Trip - Part 7 {Family Fun}

We were able to spend some time with Brian's family toward the end of the week.  The boys don't see them very often, so it was great seeing them all having a fun time!

I wish that I had captured some shots of the adults, too.  I started to, but then dessert came out so I put the camera away and didn't think to get it back out until the night was over.

And I didn't get pictures of our evening with our friends, Paul, Jenni & Bob, either.  I don't know what I was thinking.  Such a fun time catching up with them!!

glow food

Our conversation on the way home from piano lessons.....

Elliott:  My leg is hurting.  I think it's growing.

Me:  Did you know that when I was about your same age that I complained about my leg hurting and my mom told me it was probably growing pains.  Then I went to the doctor for something and I told him I had been having growing pains, and they all laughed at me!

Ethan:  I'm having this contest with this girl...we're going to eat glow foods and measure us and see who gets taller.

Elliott:  You mean "grow" foods?  Like food that helps you grow?

Me:  Healthy food?

Ethan:  Yeah.....no, "glow" foods that make you get taller.  Like fruit.

later tonight at dinner......

(eating a salad of kale, spinach and other lettuce)

Ethan:  I ate all my salad.  Mrs. B said that it is glow food!

At this point I'm still thinking he means "grow" foods and it's just a simple way to say healthy foods.  He's pretty random in his thoughts sometimes and still gets words mixed up every once in a while, but he was so adamant about it that I googled it.  And guess what?  He did know what he was talking about.  How have I not heard of this before now??

Here's what I copied from the answers.com website just in case you're interested.  Pretty much common knowledge, but I thought it was a fun way for kids to remember.


Glow foods contain a large amount of vitamins and minerals. It helps us to digest our food and be healthy. Glow food make us look beautiful. It makes our skin smooth and attractive.

if eggplant you eat you grow strong and not weak

GO FOODS- Go foods are the type of a food group that provides energy, hence the name "go". Examples of this type of food group are bread, rice cereals and other foods that primarily provides carbohydrates.

GROW FOODS- Grow foods are foods that enhances growth development. Foods like milk, yogurt, cheese and other dairy products are types of this food group. 

Lastly, GLOW FOODS- Glow foods are foods that enhances the quality or the "Glow" of our skin. These foods are rich in Vitamin D that is important for the development of a healthy skin. Green-leafy vegetables are examples of this food group. 

Also:
Breads and other grains are Go foods. They help us to run, jump and play all day. 
Fruits and vegetables are Glow foods. They help our hair shine and our eyes sparkle. 
Dairy, meat and meat alternatives are Grow foods. They help us to grow big and strong. 

Florida Trip - Part 6 {Universal & Harry Potter}

We still have some free tickets to Universal leftover from Brian's days at the camera shop there.  We had been saving them to use once the boys were a bit older and had read the Harry Potter books but decided to go ahead and use them now.  Elliott is on the 4th book, and Ethan has seen at least the first movie so at least they knew about it and could enjoy it.

I have to say I've never read any of them (I know - I can hear the gasps) or seen any of the movies, but I thought that this part of the park was done really well!!  The rides were great and the boys loved it.

We had to try the ButterBeer.  No one liked it.

Brian's old store.  I think it was called Lights, Camera, Action when he worked there.  Too bad he didn't wear the pink striped shirt for old times sake :)

Okay, Brian and I were so disappointed that the Jaws ride was no more.  They kept the hanging shark that was in front of it for some reason.  Gives me hope that they'll bring it back?

Ethan rode the Hulk 5 times.  I stood in line with Elliott the first time and was going to ride, but then decided not to cause I wasn't sure how much it would jerk you around and the thought of my port banging into those harnesses was not comforting.  So I bailed at the last minute.  Brian didn't even act like he was going to ride - smart guy!

We caught onto the single rider lines pretty early, and since the boys were usually the only ones riding the big rides it worked out pretty well for us - saved so much time!

As we were walking out through City Walk to the car, Ethan spotted these light-up t-shirts.  They light up to the beat of music or any sound, so it looks like the lights are dancing.  Kind of like an equalizer I think.  Anyway, that is what he wanted to spend his money on, so he is now the proud owner of one!  We had a hard time convincing him that Mrs. K would not appreciate him wearing it to school the next Monday :)

Easter

Happy belated Easter everyone!!

We spent the morning worshiping and serving our ever-loving Savior Sunday with our church family.  We so often take the opportunities to do just that for granted, but something just nudged me Sunday and really let me know how fortunate we are just to have the freedom to get together and worship.  And on top of that, our family is blessed even more with a wonderful church and church family to worship with!  Love you all!!

Loved the rest of our day, too.

Subs for lunch.

Naps after.

Playing outside.

Florida Trip - Part 5 {Fort De Soto Park & Beach}

Wow....this one has a LOT of photos!!  I'll try to keep the rambling to a minimum to balance it out :)

While we were in Clearwater, we went to Fort De Soto State Park.  We thought it would be fun for the boys with the fort and swimming both. 

Honestly it's probably my favorite beach in Florida so far (the disclaimer being that I haven't been to all that many, but my favorite none the less).  Because it used to be a military fort and then was turned into a state park, there are no hotels, no houses, no shops or restaurants.......just nature.  The sand is powdery white, the water was calm, and the birds outnumbered the people.  I think the boys and Brian would have preferred more waves, but I liked it this way - less worrying and more relaxing for me!

At the remnants of the fort.  See how Brian is reading the sign?  I told you he always pays attention to all the details.  I couldn't tell you one thing any of the signs said.

Elliott found this "mud" as they were walking around in the ocean.  He scooped it up and said he was getting a "spa" treatment.  

They always want to be buried in the sand at least once.

The beginnings of a sand castle.

We stayed till sunset and loved every minute of it!