Spring Break 2015

When I logged on to write about our awesome spring break, I realized that I have not written in about a month. We have been quite busy watching the NCAA basketball tournament and making some major home improvements, so that has left little time for writing. I could have written about all of the fun we have been having as a family, including a trip to Owensboro to visit the Congleton family, but it just didn't happen. I am okay with not writing about everything though, since sometimes life just gets busy.

Thankfully, even though we are still in the midst of home improvements, (tearing down the wall between the kitchen and family room, getting new flooring, painting our kitchen cabinets, etc.) we made time to go to Key West for spring break. As an added bonus, I am making time to write and post pictures!

We had an absolute blast in Key West, even though we had a pretty short trip. We went to the beach, swam in the pool, looked in the tide pools, went on a boat, had a picnic on an island, went fishing, went snorkeling, went kayaking, played on the playground, went the botanical garden and did lots of other fun things, such as have date night!

I usually write what we did each day, but as I said above, we have been super busy. Here are lots of great pictures from our trip, but they are in no particular order, and I am totally fine with that. To be honest, it actually feels quite nice and really eliminates the stress that often comes with "documenting" our adventures.

I think our ride on the boat with Bonnie Mom and Grandpa, was our favorite part of the trip. Both boys had a great time and so did the adults!

Evan and Carl went snorkeling. They saw lots of fish, several big rays, a big crab and a 6 foot long nurse shark!  Evan was so excited to see a big shark in the water with him.  Our fearless boy took off after it!

Preston fell asleep while sitting up! He tried so hard to stay awake, but he was tired and riding the waves was soothing!

Our picnic area was great!

Nice boat hair, Preston!

 

 

Evan chose this outfit and the store and I think he looked so cute when he wore it!

Preston still loves his squirter!

Geiger Key is so pretty!

We took both boys kayaking at Geiger Key. It was lots of fun!

Selfie!

I LOVE this picture! PURE JOY!

Preston played peek-a-boo with me with this sign board for about ten minutes. So fun!

Playground fun!

Higgs Beach

As always, Evan loved finding snails and other creatures!

Preston enjoyed the garden and had lots of fun running through the trails.

This pigeon was hurt and we were able to save him by taking him to the wildlife refuge!

My sweet boys!

Pool fun!

Yummy!

Evan found this butterfly and wanted me to take this picture. Such a nature boy!

Fun with optical illusions!

Evan caught LOTS of lizards!

The boys love this land crab and we were able to take his picture!  We've been seeing him for about 3 years now!

We went to a festival and Evan got to take a fishing and water safety class. He had such a great time and even got a new fishing pole!

Dinner at The Upper Deck is always a treat. The food is delicious and the views are great!

Lunch at Geiger Key included smoothies!

Date Night/Sunset Sail

Evan and Grandpa went fishing and caught nine fish!

Preston swam and enjoyed a treat, while Evan went fishing.

Evan really likes Bonnie Mom and Grandpa's dogs. He and Ernie have a special bond.

Vacation is really hard work! We took this picture when we left. We hadn't even made it off the island yet!

At the festival, Preston got to ride in a cherry picker. He had so much fun! He is fearless, for sure!

Evan's fishing class was great and he learned how to cast all by himself!

Fishing buddies!

Preston loves to chase the birds. Bonnie Mom took this picture and I adore it!

MORE SNOW!

We thought that after having a big snow that stuck around for weeks, that we just might be ready for spring. We were wrong! The day after the temperature finally got high enough to melt all of the snow, we had a snowstorm that brought us about a foot of snow! The boys and enjoyed our time off of school and work and we all enjoyed some time in the snow. Of course, now that the snow has melted once again, we are all ready for warmer, spring weather and LOTS of sunshine! Come on spring!

Preston was not up for playing in the snow at first, so I stayed in to watch a movie with him, which Carl and Evan went out to play. Clearly, they had a lot of fun. They built a cool fort and had fun recreating Star Wars scenes!

Fun in the snow!

Evan wanted to build a snow fort that encompassed most of the backyard, but he was pretty pleased with what he was able to create with Daddy's help.

Clearly, our family has several Star Wars fans!

 

Ok, so, this is not a Star Wars scene, but I love that it shows Evan's silly side!

 

We all went sledding on Saturday. We all took turns going down the big hill, which was my favorite part of the day. Preston liked throwing "snow balls" and Evan really liked making HUGE snow balls. Of course, once Preston saw the big snow balls, he wanted to help make some too!

 

 

Happy Birthday to Me!

A couple of weeks ago I was scrolling through my Facebook feed when I came across a post from one of the local shelters. There was a picture of a sweet little dog before me and I was immediately drawn to the cute little face. I think it is because the dog looked so much like our sweet Charlie. Anyway, we were not looking to get a dog, but I kept showing the picture to Carl, who told me I was crazy to want to add another dag to our busy house. Of course, I just could not stop thinking about the dog, so I inquired about her and found out that she was good with cats, dogs, and kids and that she was super sweet and even house broken! I joked with Carl that she could be my birthday present and he agreed! We put in the application to adopt her and she was brought to us on Saturday, February 28th, just one day before my birthday!

We have named our sweet girl Zelda and she really has been a good addition. She is only 8 months old, so she is happy to run and play with Patch, which gives Parker a much needed break. Parker joins in when he feels up to it, but he likes his alone time and not getting pestered to play. Of course, Parker also likes her and they have all cuddled together on the couch. We are so happy to have Zelda with us. Our house may be extra crazy and wild with an extra dog, but it is also filled with lots of happiness and love.

As for my birthday celebration, we kept it low key, as really I was just excited to spend time with my family and our pets. We spent my birthday at home, where we had Chinese take out for dinner, watched movies, etc. I think my favorite part of the day was playing "chase" with the boys, because it was a time with lots of fun and laughter.

We also had a celebration with my family on Monday, which was a bit hectic, but I was still happy to celebrate! After all, each birthday marks another year that I was able to live my life and enjoy my time with my family and friends! I am one lucky girl!

Here are lots of pictures of Zelda. I did take some pictures of my family, but of course, my phone camera was wonky and none of the pictures turned out well. They were all grainy and weird. That is ok though! I have learned that getting lots of pictures is nice, but when I don't it is not the end of the world.

The Big Snow - February 2015

On Valentine's Day weekend, we got the news that lots of snow was coming and the meteorologists were correct! Louisville received well over 6 inches of snow, followed a few days later, by ice! We were out of school for 5 days straight, which ended up being a nice, unexpected vacation for me, Preston and Evan. We played in the snow, went sledding, watched movies, napped, played games, colored, painted, had a play date, etc. It was WONDERFUL!

Here are some pictures of our "winter vacation."

Preston was so excited to go out and play in the snow! He literally ran to get outside and did not stop running for quite some time!

 

My Sweet Boys

Evan really wanted to help shovel the snow. He is such boy!

 

Everyone likes to swing in the snow, right?

 

Evan wanted to snowboard, but since he did not have a snowboard, he improvised! I was very impressed!

We had lots of time to cuddle and watch movies and the dogs joined us too!

Moon sand was fun, as well as coloring, and painting!

The boys made special pictures for Bonnie Mom and Grandpa and insisted on mailing them right away!

 

 

Evan found a fun way to enjoy movies!

 

Preston got to take extra long naps, which he really enjoyed!

Preston cracks me up! Look at all the toys he likes to sleep with!

We loved having a play date with our cousins and Aunt Heather!

Baking cupcakes and decorating them was fun, but the best part was eating the cupcakes!

 

Rock on! Everyone likes to hear Preston sign and "play" the guitar!

 

Getting in the hot tub while there is snow on the ground is extra fun!