Trees and Tomfoolery

A few months ago my nephew sent me an envelope from Wisconsin that contained orange seeds. He had been told that oranges grow in Florida so he sent me the seeds asking me to plant them. 

Before he got on the plane to come to Florida he said, "I can't wait to see my orange trees!"

I needed to come up with a plan. I was going to tell him I took his seeds to the nursery so that everyone could enjoy his oranges. Then we went to the nursery to check on his plants. The oranges were getting orange. 

After visiting the orange trees it was time for the Kids' Carnival. 

The boys loved the bounce houses and slides. 

Joshua learned about fire safety in the smoke house. 

And it was great to share the Kids' Carnival with my sister (and 4,500 other people)

We may have told Joshua that this was his birthday party. Bouncy houses, cotton candy, face painting, balloon twisters. What more could you ask for?!?

Playing Hookie

Joshua didn't go to school, instead, he went on an adventure with Grandma, Jamie, and Tylor.

The plans were to head to the park, but it was a rainy rainy day, so the park didn't last long. 

 Instead they went to the museum.

Post museum, they ate hot dogs, french fries, and had ice cream. 

The night ended with a cousins sleepover. 

School pics...

We have the unique opportunity with our school picture person, that we came have photos taken with more than one person. The school photographer took our whole family, one of the boys together, two poses of each of the boys separately, and one of me alone for my class. 

I'm not in love with my hair, but the other three look so good I couldn't help myself. 

Not sure when Joshua got to be so big. 

Hooray for brothers! 

Then there's Silas with his heart warming smile. 

Stud

He thought he was hot stuff with his hair done, new jacket, and sunglasses. When I asked him to smile he told me this was his cool face. 

Minion Rush

Not sure what it is about the minions, but my boys love them. 

Bible study

Silas and daddy at Bible study. 

Any parent with young children I. Church I'm sure has struggled with: will my kid sit  quietly today. 

It has been interesting with our willful Silas watching him learn how to be in church. 

Bunnies

We don't have a pet, but there are 3 bunnies that hang out in our backyard. The boys love them and squeal with delight when the bunnies show up. 

Who knew?

We went to Home Depot to get some plants for our house, when Joshua tells me he needs to use the bathroom... He and I run across the store. As we walked out I saw a group of childen and walked over to see what they were doing. The 1st Saturday of the month they do a children's project. I ran to get Michael. 

It was a great Joshua and daddy bonding moment. I was glad to slip into the background and watch them work. 

Soft friends

Sometimes I wonder what goes I. After we say goodnight. He tucked in all his soft friends and made sure they all had pillow space. 

"I wanna go back"

Now that I'm in a portable classroom things have been a little different. Among the things have have changed is the wildlife. 

An alligator laid her eggs in the school retention pond. The 2 babies were born and now have taken up residence.

From the doorway of my classroom I took this picture. There is a gigantic black snake in the bottom.  and near the top right you can see the baby gator. 

When can I go back inside the main building?!? I loved the view, until I saw these friends and had one of my students catch a lizard inside my classroom. 

Hooray for wildlife!

Mean Mommy Moment...

There was a perfect picture tree... so I put Joshua in it. I knew he would be safe, but he was scared.... I told him after he gave me his best smile while I took a picture, I would let him get down.

He smiled, but I felt bad afterward.

Halloween 2013

Cat in the Hat by day... pirate by night 

Silas' class had wear orange day at school instead of costumes. 

I love this picture because I overheard Joshua say, "You be the princess, and I'll be the pirate." as they walked away

Ready to head out to trick-or-treat.

A lobster, a pumpkin, and a pirate. 

About 4 houses in, Silas thought Trick-or-treating was great. It helped that he learned how to say please a few days before. 

October Beach-ing

This silly kite. 

I'm not sure what I had to prove, but the $2 kite went flying out of Silas' hands and I ran after it. It got stuck in a bush so I tried to climb up the dune to get it. when I spotted the cactus, I changed my approach and went up to the board walk... only to find my arms were too short, sooooo I ran back down the beach to get my umbrella which I used to reach the string. I thought I was hot stuff... until the string broke. 

I salvaged the string and tied it to Joshua's backpack which he proudly wore with the kite flying high behind him. 

In May when we went to the beach for the first time of the summer Joshua wouldn't go near the water, he was content to play in the sand. 

We got out of the car, shirt came off, sandals went flying, and he was in the ocean.

It was starting to get chilly!!

The chilly water didn't stop him. He loved it!

I love the ocean. 

Pumpkin Palooza

I'm in a mad dash to catch up on October and November before the craziness of December begins. What better night to try to bust out some memories than on Thanksgiving. 

It gives me a chance to look back on the greatness of the past two months. 

A week post pumpkin patch, I promised Joshua we would carve his pumpkin. (Little did I know this would be way way too early. In Florida you cannot carve the pumpkin too early or it will be a smushy, moldy mess.)

I also made pumpkin cookies with the boys. These are memories that I have from being a little girl, so I wanted to share them. I missed one year, but was glad to be back at it again. 

Some days I wish I had a few more hands to wrestle and do fun activities.

Silas could barely hold his head up while frosting them...

Joshua was eager to be the first taste tester.