Strawberry Picking

My friend, Jane, called this morning and invited me, Ben and Kate to go out to Hall Family Farm to pick strawberries.  Who knew great strawberry picking was so close to our house!  We met them, got our baskets and went to picking.  Ben and Kate had such a great time.  And, strawberries were DELICIOUS!  Kate and Ben couldn't wait and had to eat a couple in the car.  We had yummy strawberries with pound cake for dessert.  Will even asked for more for breakfast!  Can't wait to go again!!

The Great Bunny Trap

So, I was getting dinner ready on Sunday night and Will came in and asked if he could have some carrots.  I asked what he needed them for and he plainly said "we are building a bunny trap'.  What better reason!  So, I obliged and went out back a little later to see what was going on.  I tell you what, they made a pretty good bunny trap!  They used an old wire planter, the carrots as bait, and a rock hung in a tree that would fall on the planter when the 'bunny' knocked out the stick that propped it up.  What creative kids!  While we have yet to catch a bunny, it sure is fun checking each morning! 

This afternoon we were playing in the front yard when the boys found these two tree branches and thought they would make a great cross.  They laid the branches out, and then went to work trying to figure out how to attach them.  I got some twine, and helped them.  Then, they tried to dig a hole to stand it in.  When that didn't work, I suggested they prop it up on a couple of trees.  They were sure proud of themselves.  I have to admit, I was pretty proud, too!

Catching Up!

Okay, so I realize it has been a LONG time since I last updated the blog.  Blame it on the lack of time I currently find myself having.  I never knew three small children, one sweet husband, one old dog and a house could keep one person SO busy!!!  Just the amount of laundry I wash and fold keeps most of my nights quite busy.  So, with Ron away this weekend at a Men's Retreat, I thought I would spend my Saturday night catching up.  Hope you read through all the posts.  We have had quite a month.  Baseball is in full swing.  Easter came and went and took spring break with it!  Enjoy seeing how the kids have grown!!!  And, I promise not to stay away so long!!

***So I am still working...  I stayed up way too late last night trying to add all the fun things we have done lately.  Keep checking back over the next few days for all the pictures!***

Great-Grandmas 90th Birthday Party

So, this good looking bunch of kids are the great-grandchildren that were in attendance at my grandmothers 90th birthday party.  It was such a nice day!  Of course, I wish I had taken more pictures, like maybe one of the birthday girl!  But, it was such a nice party.  My mom, and two aunts put on such a spread-  great food for the adults and kids.  The cake was delicious!  All the kids had such fun playing together-  it is not often that they are all together.  The only two missing were Grace and Elijah.  My grandmother had a wonderful time, the Mayor of GCS came and the head of the historical committee presented her with a plaque of appreciation.  All in all it was a great day.
That evening, my parents had a cookout at their house.  Uncle Trey, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Terry and Aunt Linda, Kelly and her kids all came and we had a great time!  Sunday morning we woke up and headed back to CLT!  We had a great week in Jacksonville, but were ready to get back home!  One more spring break under our belts!

Daddy's Here and a Trip to the Alligator Farm

Ron came down on Thursday afternoon for the rest of the weekend.  The kids were SO excited!  On Friday morning, Ron and I took the kids back down to St. Augustine to visit the Alligator Farm. We had such a great time.  I had not been since I was a kid and forgot how neat it was.  There were TONS of alligators, crocodiles, and birds.  The kids all had such fun!  We were able to feed some of the little crocodiles.  It was fun watching the little guys go after the food- it looked and smelled like dog food.  But, the kids had so much fun!  After the alligator fun, we headed out for a nice lunch, then back to Grandma and PaPa's with three TIRED kids!

Canoeing with PaPa

On Thursday, PaPa took the day off so he could take the boys on their first canoe trip.  If you know my daddy, you know that he loves the outdoors and will go hiking or canoeing whenever the chance is given.  The boys are finally able to make the trip- they can swim and follow PaPa's directions (the latter is VERY important when out on the water).  

 The boys could barely stand the excitement.  Do you know how hard it is for two little boys to keep their hands still and out of the water!  

 Ready and waiting!  Wearing PaPa's sun hats and the required PDF's.  And swimsuits, just in case!

 PaPa bring the canoe down 

 On their way!  They had a great canoe trip.  Were gone about 2.5 hours and saw all kinds of neat things.  Baby ducks with their mommy duck, a turtle or two and lots of birds.  Unfortunately, no gators on this trip!  Maybe next time!!

Fun In St. Augustine

On Wednesday, Grandma, the kids and I took a trip down to St. Augustine, FL.  My mom grew up their, and my grandparents (the kids GREAT-Grandparents) still live there.  We thought we would take the kiddies to this fantastic park, then walk around the old town, see the fort, have some lunch and then head over to see the great-grandparents.  When I say this park is fantastic, I mean FANTASTIC!  

After the playground, we headed towards the old town.  Above are the original gates to the settlement.  We had a nice lunch, then did some walking around.  All things children LOVE!!  They actually had a pretty good time.  They liked walking by the bay, seeing the Bridge of Lions (of course, the lions were not out !)  and seeing the Castillio de San Marcos.  With three tired kids ready to go, we headed over to see the great-grandparents.  When we got to their house, Kate got right out and ran over to G'Momma and gave her a big hug and kiss!  When she got inside, she stayed clear of G'Daddy.  He kept asking for kisses in Polish.  Kate still is saying 'daj mi buzi'!!  We had a nice visit with my grandparents and I think we wore them out!  All in all, a fantastic day!!

Alpine Grove Park- Spring Break

Our first full day in Florida was spent at Alpine Grove Park near my parents house.  The kids and I got up, packed a picnic and headed out for a fun day at the park.  This is a really neat park that was built on land that once housed a citrus grove and is on the St. Johns River.  We played on all the cool playground equipment before we headed down to the riverbank. 
  Down by the river is the old barn and homestead.  To get there, you have to walk a bout half a mile.  The kids had such fun on our hike!  Of course, Kate had to be carried quite a bit.  We enjoyed the swings down by the river and checked out all the sights.  After, we headed back to the playground, then had a nice picnic.  What a fun day!!

SPRING BREAK!!!

On Monday, the kids and I headed to Florida with Grandma and Papa.  What a trip!!  It was not too, bad.  I finally finished a book I had been reading for about a month.  Of course, when you travel with Grandma and Papa, you get to stop for ice cream!  Mom and Daddy know where all the good stops are!  We had Dairy Queen, then finished the last little bit of the drive.  Boy were were happy to get to their house!  The boys couldn't wait.  Will must have asked 100 times if he could go swimming 'as soon as we get there'!  We had a lot of fun planned for the week: trip to St. Augustine to visit G'daddy and G'mama, playing on the cool playground there, trip to the Alpine Grove playground with a picnic, canoeing with PaPa, trip to the Alligator Farm, and finishing the week with Great Grandma's 90th birthday party!  

Easter and a Visit From Grandma and PaPa

Next up on our whirl wind spring break was a visit from Grandma and Papa.  They GRACIOUSLY came up on Saturday with the plan to take me and the kiddies back to Florida on Monday.  We spent much of the morning on Saturday getting ready for Grandma and PaPa.  The kids enjoyed the sunshine and warm weather playing in the backyard.  Grandma and PaPa arrived mid afternoon and the kiddies were SO excited!  Sunday morning, we got ready for Easter Sunday service at church and then came home for a fun Easter Egg Hunt.  Will, Ben and Kate had such fun looking for eggs!  Kate sneaked off and ate most of what she found!  No lunch for her!  The rest of the day was spent having a great time playing with grandparents and getting ready for our trip to Florida.

Good Friday- First Day of Spring Break

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The first morning of spring break!  Nothing like watching cartoons in mommy and daddy's bed!  We we heading out later with friends up to Dan Nichols Park in Salisbury, NC.  Boy, we had no idea how much fun we were in for!  Our friends, Irene, Colin and Brenden made the hour journey with us.  We met several other neighborhood friends once we got there.  What a great park!  There are several huge playgrounds, a little train, carousel,

gem mining and more.  We had such fun!  We played on the playgrounds, had a picnic, took a train ride the Will, Kate and I did some serious gem mining while Ben went to the Wildlife Museum with Miss Irene and her boys.  By 2pm, we were exhausted!!  Well, Irene and I were exhausted.  The boys were still rearing to go!  Before we hit the interstate on the way home, Kate, Brenden and Colin were all asleep!  Job accomplished for the first day of Spring Break!!  So much more fun to be had!!

Wills First Bubble

On our way home from school today, Will blew his FIRST BUBBLE!!  He was so excited!

Will's Easter Party

Will had his Easter Party at school today (April 1st).  I was able to help out and we had a blast.  One of his classmates lives near school and her parents invited the class to come over for the party.  It was such fun and boy did we have PERFECT weather!  I got to the class around 12:30, ready to help Ms. Sims-Moore, the assistant and one other parent walk the students the half mile or so to Carolines house.  I was a little nervous, we had to walk a good bit and sometimes, I can barely get my own children to walk to the park in the neighborhood!  It turned out to be a pretty easy walk and the children had such fun.  I enjoyed looking at the beautiful old homes and all the flower in bloom!  Once we got to the party, the kids were given buckets to collect

their eggs.  I had spent a good part of the week painting each of their names and decorating each of them.  I mean, if you are going to do something... do it all the way!!  We had such fun.  The kids hunted for eggs, played games, and had icing!  (Really, most didn't eat the cake part of the cupcake!)  I suggested for the next party we might just want to buy icing and a bunch of spoons!!  After the bunny hop- organized by Ms. Sims-Moore, and a rousing game of Duck, Duck Goose we headed back to school.  Will was so excited- I was taking him home with me- starting spring break early!  On the way home, Will had some bubble gum and learned to blow his FIRST BUBBLE!!!  What fun!  I started Spring Break TIRED!!