Florida!, part 1

In early April we learned that Jim had to go to Florida for work so, the girls and I decided we should, obviously, tag along. So, on Saturday, April 27th we packed-up the car and set out on the road.

 

On Saturday night, 432 miles later, we spent the night in Florence, South Carolina.

 

 

Abby, and Kera LOVE staying in hotels!

On Sunday we arrived (382 miles later), safe and somewhat sound in Gainesville, FL at Jim's parent's place.

Sunday we had a great evening reconnecting and looking through old pictures.

Abby sitting in Jimmy's old chair that Jim's Grandma gave him as a little boy.

Kera and her "Gampa"

Abby and Kera in the little bed that Grandma made for them on the floor.

The girls with their Grandma.

Abby and Jim looking at old pictures.

Our old fuzzy boy Billy also made the trip to Florida with us. He is so old that we felt bad leaving him so, he got to come to Florida too!



Billy at Grandma and Grandpa's

On Sunday evening we had a great visit with Jim's Aunt Mary, Uncle Tom, and Cousin Joe!

On Monday morning Jim picked up a rental car and, with Billy in tow, headed to Orlando for work....at this point the girls know we are going to meet up with Papa later in the week but, they have no idea what awaits them in Orlando!

After Jim and Billy left the girls (Grandma, Abby, Kera, and Me...unfortunately Grandpa had to work) headed out to pick strawberries. What a fun morning! The girls had a great time and loved eating what they had picked!

The strawberry patch even had a play area!

After the strawberry patch we found a GREAT local playground!

 

 

The rest of Monday we relaxed at home with Grandpa.

 

On Tuesday the "girls" headed to Crescent Beach for the day. What a BEAUTIFUL beach and what a GREAT morning! It was easy to see why this is Gwen and Regis' favorite beach.

 

There is nothing better after a long morning at the beach than...a good snuggle with Grandpa!

 

 

Thursday was all about butterflies! The Florida Museum of Natural History Museum in Gainesville has a Butterfly Rainforest that Gwen has always wanted to go to so...this was the perfect opportunity! The butterflies were amazing!  The funny part of the day was that in the rainforest Abby was upset because she DESPERATELY wanted a butterfly to land on her and Kera was crying because she DESPERATELY did NOT want a butterfly to land on her. Either way it was a beautiful place!

 

 Unfortunately, a butterfly never landed on Abby but, she got close .Fortunately, a butterfly never landed on Kera.

 

Wednesday night was Kera's turn in little Jimmy's rocking chair.

 

 

Thursday morning greeted us with a bit of rain so, we headed to a local storytime. They even had an accordion!

 

After lunch on Thursday we packed up our things and headed down to Orlando...time for the next part for our adventure.

Gwen and Regis, thank you so very much for your hospitality and for showing the girls a GREAT time...next stop Orlando!

 



More from Our Artest

Abby's newest creations...a cardinal and a blue jay...

The blue jay picture was a copy draw game with Jim (amazing). But, the cardinal was 100% on her own.

 

GOOD, RIGHT!

Field Trip #2

On April 11th Abby had her 2nd school field trip to the Baltimore zoo. Kera and I were lucky enough to join in the frstivities. We all had a great time with Abby's school friends and seeing all animals!

Abby and her friend Madeline on the tram to the zoo.

Left to right: Madeline, Abby, and Grace watching the swimming polor bear. 

Break for lunch with Madeline and Grace

Happy Birthday Burrs!

Easter

During the month before Easter I was working on dresses for the girls...I figured that I should use my sewing machine more than just at Halloween. The Wednesday before Easter I finally finished them!

I promised Abby that she could wear her dress to her school's Easter celebration and I barely made it, the celebration was on Thursday. My biggest hold-up were the button holes. After looking online for instructions and my mom trying to help me I finally decided to use snaps. Abby and Kera wore their new dresses on Thursday...

Do you notice Abby's hair...it is curly...

 

...she saw a little girl on TV and wondered if her hair could be curly too. After her bath on Wednesday we braided her hair, she slept in it all night, and in the morning this is what we got.

 

Good Friday was a beautiful day so the girls and I headed to Centennial Park. It was a very fun morning.

 

 

On Friday afternoon we met-up with our neighborhood friend, Iris, for a small Easter egg hunt. The girls had a great time!

 

 

On Saturday we headed into DC for the National Kite Festival. What a fun event! The only problem was, there was not much wind. There would be gusts of wind where everyone's kites would be up and then the wind would die and all the kites were down. We still had a lot of fun!

 

 

Saturday evening it was time to decorate eggs.

 

 

Before the girls went to bed they left a treat for the Easter bunny.

 

 

When we were all asleep we had a visitor...

 

 

The girls were thrilled!

 

 

 

The Easter Bunny left some eggs behind.

 



 

The rest of Easter was very low key...we tried to go to the gym but the kid area was closed. The girls and I tried to go to Costco but, it was closed. Plus, it was raining. We did have a wonderful lamb dinner and watched our new traditional Easter movie, Wizard of Oz...

 

 

Happy EASTER!

BEADS!

Recently Abby has been coming home from school with handmade beaded necklaces and bracelets and I thought it would be a fun activity to do at home. In my early and late teens I had a bit of a bead fetish and I still have MANY MANY MANY beads so I was happy to see that Abby enjoyed them too! Last Wednesday I needed to pick-up some snaps from the fabric store so, we also picked up some beads. I knew that Abby was able to string the beads, because of the creations she has brought home but, I was amazed by how quickly Kera got the hang of it. We have been having fun with them ever since!