Lovers Key State Park Sunset

My husband and I watched the most fabulous sunset tonight!  We had such a nice evening!  We walked really far up the beach and found this area with all these huge dead trees right on the sand!  It was so cool!  I was going crazy with my camera and tripod and setting up all sorts of shots while my hubby was playing with the panoramic setting on his smartphone.  :)  We spent so much time taking photos waaaaaaay after sunset that a FWC officer on a four wheeler sped down the beach to find us and kick us out!  ha ha!  (He was super nice - they were just waiting to lock the gate of the park since they saw our truck in the parking lot....ooops).  AWESOME night...just me and my sweetie!  

Six Mile Cypress Slough

Playing at Nani's

More camping

Camping

Christmas

Christmas Eve

New trees

Wrestling with Daddy

The kids don't thing there is anything better in the world than playing and wrestling with their Daddy after a great day.  :)

Conch Train Christmas Lights Tour

We had such a great family night tonight!  The kids and I picked up Daddy at work and drove to Key West to have a special, long-awaited dinner at the Outback Steakhouse.  Thanks to our brilliant son and his straight A's, we had two gift certificates from his school - one for a free kid's meal and one for a free appetizer! :)  After dinner, we met friends and went on the Conch Train for their Christmas Lights tour.  It was a really COLD, windy night!! We bundled up in winter jackets and hoods/hats, but it was great!   It felt so Christmasy - it really put us in the spirit!  We had a blast singing along with the Christmas music, and we cuddled in the cold while enjoying all the beautiful lights.  What sweet memories...

boys

My gymnast

I have been amazed at my son's progress at gymnastics over the last few months!  Today, I watched him do back handsprings by HIMSELF and couldn't have been more proud!!!  What an awesome thing to watch my child doing what I used to love so much as a child..... gives me goosebumps.

Goofballs at breakfast

Just hanging out in the tupperware

"Hawky"

Lucky and blessed

In the drawer

My son called me into his room today, and when I got there, I couldn't find him!  It was obviously a game of hide and seek... I looked in the usual places: closet, behind his armchair, etc and he was nowhere to be found.... I actually started to worry, and then from UNDER his bed, I heard a "Hi Mom!".  Suddenly the big drawer, that is normally used for his toys, legos, etc., pushed open and my son smiled up at me!  He was so cute - wrapped in a blanket, with a pillow and his lovie.  I asked if he was claustrophobic under there, but he said it was cozy and cool.   Priceless.... So, I ran to get my camera, of course. 

Our "pet"

My little rock star

Baby hawk

Proud of his reindeer candycane

My sons were home sick from school today so we made the best of it and did some Christmas crafts together. One of the crafts was to make reindeer candy cane ornaments.  It turned out I did most of the work since the hot glue gun was my job.  But, the kids held the candy canes for me while I fastened noses and eyes, and then they helped wrap antlers around their heads and hung all 14 of them up on the tree.  My younger son was particularly proud of our work. :)

Brothers under the Christmas tree

This is how I found the boys when I walked into the living room.  They were both lying under the tree looking up at all the ornaments and giggling/talking. Aren't children the BEST?  They crack me up and make me smile and remind me daily what a joy life is. :)  

Christmas cactus blooming

I love the time of year when my Christmas cactus blooms!  After all the rain this morning, I hurried out to take some closeups of one of the buds that had lots of water droplets dripping off of it.  I think these blooms are so beautiful!  :)

Dinner and a movie with friends

My little preschooler

I volunteered all morning in my younger son's preK class today.  I had a great time!  I read Christmas books to the children, helped with crafts, and got to watch my son participating throughout the day! It made me so happy to see him doing so well in school!  Here he is during snack time. :)

Brothers

Cloudy

No more frogs

Beautiful sunset with friends

Trains and Christmas trees

Buddies

We have tree frogs!

Just hanging around

Cool in their shades

My boys

Decorating with my babies

Family :)

Thanksgiving

Lions, Giraffes, and Rhinos Oh My!

Jupiter

Jacksonville

We went over from Jacksonville by ferry to Fort Clinch in Amelia Island to explore the beaches and nature trails today.  It was very overcast and cloudy, but we made the best of it and had a lot of fun all together!  Here is one shot of the beach by the fort.

Jacksonville Foam

Erich and I drove up to Jacksonville today to spend a couple days with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend. It was COLD and windy, and the waves were big and messy.  The boys couldn't go surfing, but we biked up to the beach anyway.  There was sea foam all over the beach - it was really beautiful!   

Nothing better than cousins :)

Is there anything better than hanging out and laughing with your cousins?  The sound of the kids' giggles was awesome tonight.  :)

PreK Thanksgiving

I spent the morning volunteering in my younger son's PreK/VPK class. They had their Thanksgiving celebration.  Our day included lots of circle time and special centers with some playtime outside and a big feast to end the day.  Here's my son checking out his painted hand after making turkey hand prints. :)  

Beautiful night on the beach

Tonight, it was a beautiful evening at the beach!  After the sun set, the sky and water turned gorgeous pinks and blues.  I saw this heron peacefully walking along the shore as I was driving out of the park and pulled over to quickly take his picture. :)

My little reader

This boy loves to read!  He reads at every opportunity... How cute is he in his alien jammies reading his magazine in his room?  Ugh....  

Boys on their way to school

I couldn't help stopping the boys on their way down the stairs this morning to take their picture.   They were so adorable! They just happened to be wearing matching clothes.  My husband was all worried about being late and I think I made him mad when I said I wanted to snap their photo, but I felt compelled to capture the moment.  I sometimes stop with a jolt when I realize that they are both in school now...they are growing up so fast.  This is something that you hear everyday: "They grow up so fast".  But, it is scarily true.  I need to figure out a way to stop time or at least to enjoy every single moment and soak it all up to the max.  It is such good, precious, invaluable time....life is so fleeting.  The good stuff goes by so fast....it is really a crime to miss even a second of it with stress, worry, or "small stuff".  If there is one thing I need to practice, it is living in the present because the present is so GOOD. :)

Making autumn cookies

Today the kids and I made "autumn cookies".  They rolled the dough, cut, scooped, and decorated them almost completely by themselves.  It was impressive. :)  The cookies came out great, and they're yummy! :)

Brothers playing

My sons had a little jam session today on the porch.  Can you even imagine anything cuter?  I literally almost killed myself running into the house to get my camera while my husband was grilling dinner behind me.  SO cute!

Birthday party fun

We spent the afternoon at my son's close friend's house for his 8th birthday party.  The highlights of the day were the "donut contest" where the kids had to race to see who could finish eating the donuts hanging from a tree by fishing line the fastest and the "spit ball" game where the kids got to go crazy blowing these small balls out of these tubes at each other (and me).  They were hilarious.  They all ganged up on me at one point, and I got attacked!  Ah....all for the pictures. :)

Playing in the sandbox in jammies

My son loves the sandbox on our porch. He plays in it every day...and makes a total mess.  Today he insisted on going out there in his pj's and his home depot apron (don't ask) after his nap... Here he is playing with the broom (since I was sweeping off all the sand that he was depositing on the porch).  

Tissue crafts

When we went to the Butterfly Garden yesterday, I bought a tissue paper craft box for the boys.  They LOVED it!  They did all the crafts today!  They were enthralled: at least one and a half hours went by with almost total peace and quiet!  I need to get more of these tissue art crafts! ha ha!  I now have to find a place to hang and display them all.  They're really beautiful!

Key West Butterfly Garden

So my older son has pink eye....ugh!!! I had to keep him home from school for two days to give the eye drops (antibiotics) time to do their thing.  So, I decided to take the boys down to the Key West Butterfly Garden.  

We had so much fun!  The kids were so interested in learning all about the life cycle of a caterpillar and how it turns into a butterfly.  My older son is an expert...a bounty of knowledge on the topic, but my little one was such a sponge.  He kept running over to check out the chrysalises and shouting, "Oh my GOODNESS!".  Just melt me...

  
We also saw two turtles, and a bunch of gorgeous finches and hummingbirds.  What a great trip! I love spending the day with these little boys.  I wish I could stop time for awhile....

Floating in the tub

This is my silly goose floating on his back in the tub tonight.  He likes to yell "What?!" and pretend he can't hear me when his ears are under the water in the soap suds.  What a goofball. 

Our cutie at the dinner table

Tonight, after my younger son ate dinner, he just sat with his head in his hands staring at his Daddy finishing his meal.  I would have loved to have known what he was thinking as he watched his father with such curiosity.  So sweet.

Sunset behind the pines

Tonight the sun set an early earlier due to Daylight Savings Time.   I had the chance to catch the sun sinking below the pines just in time.  The sky was so red....just beautiful!!!

Trains in the yard

My husband helped the boys set up the train set that Opa gave them in the yard this afternoon.  They had so much fun watching it go around their slide while they played. :)  

Boys playing Wii

The boys got a new Wii game today and had a great time snow skiing with their Daddy down  the mountain in their own little world. :)  My younger son is really starting to get the hang of it too.  SO cute!

Climbing

My sons love to climb this rope in our yard.  They fight over it all the time.  Seriously?  My husband built them this amazing fort and all they want to do is climb the rope?  Silly boys.  Guess we might need 2 ropes in the yard, Daddy.....

Halloween

The ninja and pirate had a blast trick or treating tonight in our awesome neighborhood!

Sunset after soccer

Today, after soccer, as we were driving home, the boys and I saw the gorgeous sunset and had to go pull over and watch it for an extra 5 minutes.  It was fun watching it together. :)  Sometimes you just have to take a second to stop and smell the roses.

Family Halloween Fun

The kids and I had a fun-filled day preparing for Halloween today.  We baked Halloween cookies, painted pumpkins, and had a lot of fun with our Halloween massacre....oops, I mean pumpkin carving....tonight.  :)  Hubby had to work late, so we designed and carved the poor pumpkin by ourselves.  I set up the camera on a tripod and did some timed shots.  Hilarious!  Check out my younger son with the play chainsaw and his FACE as my son pulls out the guts.  Classic!

Newborn pumpkin love

I did a really fun newborn photography session today with the most precious little baby girl!!  We put her in a hollowed out pumpkin, and I couldn't believe how soundly she slept in it!  SO adorable! 

Best friends

We spent the afternoon at my son's best friend's birthday party at the park.  They've known each other since they were 4 and 6 months old... hard to believe how fast time flies....  They look so grown up to me.  I love their friendship. :)  

Halloween across the street

This is the scene across the street from our house right now.  Our neighbors sure take this holiday seriously.  ;)

Pumpkins everywhere

We went to the pumpkin patch today...yes, AGAIN.  :) While my younger son ran amok, I took some pictures of all the pumpkins...just playing around.  I love this time of year, and I love the color orange. :)

Halloween party buddies

Tonight, the kids' school hosted a great Halloween party at a local restaurant, Boondock's.  Kids in costume got to play mini-golf for free.  There was a costume contest, lots of treats, goody bags, and friends.  We had a really nice dinner with great friends.  The kids had a blast!  Here they are looking at me over the balcony.  My son is the ninja, and his friends are a storm trooper, and a pirate. They all said "We don't have to smile in our costume, right?".  I agreed and they all gave me this stare.  ha ha!

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

Today was my younger son's preschool class's Pumpkin Patch field trip. Those kids are adorable!  They had story time, sang songs, and seemed to have a lot of fun!  They even got a free mini-pumpkin at the end of the trip.  :)

A visit with my nephews

I have spent the last day and a half with my adorable, sweet nephews.  They are amazing.  I just love them to pieces.  They make me so happy.  I read so many stories to my older nephew - he just climbed into my lap and snuggled in.  SO awesome!  And, I had a blast swinging my nephew in his swing outside.  He just giggled and smiled the whole time.  Family is really everything, isn't it?