Orlando

This past week we met Seth’s mom and sister in Orlando to celebrate our birthdays and to have a little vacation.  We took advantage of the “get in free on your birthday” deal that Disney is having this year since that meant that 3 of us got in free!  Not too shabby!  We decided to go to Animal Kingdom since it was the one park that the kids had not been to yet (and I assume they will get bored with it as they get older since it is more of a glorified zoo).

Dinoland

We roamed all around the park, from one end to the other and back again until we had seen everything.  The kids really enjoyed the dinosaur play area

triceratops spin

 and searching the park for the “kid stations” where they learned about animals and got stamps on special cards.  Mikey’s favorite part of the day was when he got to see a huge pile of animal poop at one of the stations.  He talked about that poo for a long time!

the huge poo

finding nemo, the musical

Zoe’s favorite thing was the finding nemo show.  It was incredible and it felt like we were at a broadway show (which, naturally, I loved too). 

The next day, we went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. 

spiderman joined the picture

We got there right as the park opened and the kids areas were completely empty so we got to ride most of the rides several times!  Zoe liked the carousel ride the best (as always).

grandma and zoe on the carousel

Meanwhile, Mikey enjoyed meeting all the characters, although we didn’t get to meet spiderman, the one he really wanted to meet, because it started raining

posing with shrek

The real highlight of the day, however, was at the Barney show.  Ordinarily, Zoe likes to wave at characters from afar but screams bloody murder and puts whomever is holding her into a serious chokehold whenever they come near her.  Her love of Barney overcame that fear though and not only did she wave to him and dance and sing during the show, she actually took a picture with him! 

zoe dancing with her baby bop doll

the only character zoe wasn't scared to pose with!

All in all, we had a fun trip and are looking forward to December when we fly out to California for another adventure!

Only for Another Month

Right now, all of the Glenn grandkids are stepping stones, ages 1, 2, and 3.  However, Mikey turns 4 next month so that will break up the stepping stone age for another 6 months.  As such, I wanted to get some more pictures of them together at this stage since they don’t get to see each other as often as they should.

the boys in deep conversation

zoe and julian (who will be the same age for 2 months next year)

all three in the tent

I can’t believe how big each one is getting and I can’t wait to see how they grow and change over the coming years.

St. Augustine

Gigi, Mikey, Zoe and Julian

While we were in Jacksonville, I wanted to make sure that the kids got a chance to spend some time with my grandma, aka Great Sherry.  She doesn’t live too far from St. Augustine so we decided to get Julian and drive over to her house and pick her up for a day trip with all the great-grandkids.  It was really crowded that day, we got lost on the way thanks to construction and it was incredibly hot, but we made the most of it and found a good parking spot by the fort, with easy access to St. George street.  As Mikey and Zoe had not found any pirate treasure at the beach the day before, they wanted to find some in St. Augustine.  Luckily for us, there was a shop called The Pirate and His Lady and they both ended up with a few large gold coins and a treasure chest.

mikey showing his "treasure"

zoe showing off her "treasure"

Once we found the treasure, we walked around and looked at a few other stores (mostly for the air conditioning).  My favorite store is the House of Ireland, for obvious reasons, and so we went there and each great-grandkid received a shirt from Great Sherry in honor of their marvelous Irish heritage.  And, since I can still wear kids sizes, I got one too.

After that, we were thoroughly exhausted, but we made sure to make a pitstop by the carousel down the street.  Mikey and Zoe had specific horses in mind when arrived so we had to make several loops around the carousel to find just the right horse for each of them.

Mikey and Great Sherry

zoe on her pink horse

Julian, however, was less than impressed at the sight of the carousel and kept trying to flip off the horse….until it started going and then he was laughing like crazy, just like the other kids.

waiting for the carousel to start

My favorite memory of the day is when Mikey sat down at the restaurant for lunch and started reading the menu to Great Sherry.  I have never heard her be so amazed by his “talents”! It was hilarious!

A Day at the Beach

Last week the kids and I took a quick trip to Jacksonville to spend a few days with my family and attend a birthday party for Mikey and Zoe’s friend, Delilah, who was turning 3.  It just so happened that Shark Week on the Discovery Channel was that week and Mikey was fascinated by the different shark shows we watched.  As such, he decided we should go to the beach and look for sharks’ teeth.  I have never known anyone to want to go to the beach immediately after watching Shark Week, but that’s how he operates! We decided to take advantage of the fact that we were in Jacksonville and Jax Beach is close to where my parents live since the closest beach to Tallahassee is still about 45 minutes away and it’s not much to look at.

looking for shells and shark teeth

The kids ran out to the beach very excited and quickly picked out an entire bucket of shells to bring home to daddy (we still don’t know what we are going to do with them so I am trying to figure out some kind of craft).  Gigi brought along her metal detector and she and Mikey also went off in search of pirate treasure.

where's the treasure Gigi?

The funniest part about the whole day was when the tide started coming in.  Zoe didn’t realize it at first and when the water hit her toes she took off screaming back up the dunes.  We finally talked her back down closer to the water, but any time she saw a wave, she would yell, “the water’s gonna get me”.  I’m not sure what she thought the water was going to do, but she decided that it would be more fun to roll around in the sand and “take a bath,” resulting in some serious sand issues upon our return home.

"washing her hair" in the sand

Although Mikey never did find his pirate treasure or his sharks’ teeth, he loved the shells he found and I talked him into hopping a few waves with me.  He wouldn’t go in past a few inches, but that was enough to catch some big waves.  It was a fun AND VERY SANDY day.

jumping waves

Fire Station Fun

Tallahassee Fire Department

Last week, the kids and I took a trip to the main fire station here in Tallahassee.  We got there a few minutes early and just in time to hear the bell ring and see several firemen slide down the poles and quickly jump into their gear before heading out to a house fire.  

loading up the fire truck

It was amazing how fast they did everything and they put the lights and the sirens on as they headed out of the station right in front of us.  The noise and commotion kind of freaked the kids out a little, but they did enjoy getting to sit in the truck and learn about fire safety with the other kids. 

checking out the equipment in the truck

sliding down the pole

my honorary firewoman!

We were happy to get out of the house and do something new…for free!

4th of July Weekend

my wild animals

Over the 4th of July weekend, we decided to make a trip to Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia.  We hadn’t been there since my sister turned 15 in 2002 so we figured the kids were now old enough to test it out.  They had lots of kids rides, but for some reason, not really enough people to operate them so fortunately, it wasn’t crowded while we were there or we would have been waiting FOREVER in line!  It was extremely hot but we managed to stay hydrated and do everything we wanted to do. 

daddy and zoe on the bumblebees

mommy and mikey on the slide

The kids had a great time on all the rides and we were all thoroughly exhausted by the end of the day!  As such, we decided to just take it easy the rest of the weekend.  We hung out at the house and the kids played hopscotch for the first time.  They had seen it on a disney show and really wanted to get chalk and hop, hop, hop!  So they did! 

hop, hop, hop

she was really into it!

They loved playing until it got too hot to bear.   We made sure to watch the annual hotdog eating contest and had considered actually eating hotdogs until after we watched it – we opted for hamburgers instead!   Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the fireworks, but maybe next year we will have more energy!

5 Years

Yesterday, Seth and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary.  It’s not always the easiest to celebrate events like this since we always have the kids with us, but we always end up having a good time and making the most of it.  Seth’s mom had sent us a gift card to Outback so we headed there early to beat the Friday night crowds and it was perfect timing.  The kids behaved pretty well and without even planning it, we spent exactly the right amount for the gift card!   I won’t forget this meal as Zoe decided that she wanted to use the potty and ended up leaping off the toilet as it flushed while she was on it.  It was pretty funny and has absolutely nothing to do with our anniversary but it made it quite memorable for me!

Today we decided to try and spend a few more gifts cards we had received.  Seth had given me a gift card to Michaels (my favorite store in the world, ironically also reminds me of my Michael when I go there so not a bad favorite) and Seth’s mom had also sent one so I was on a mission.  Seth watched the kids so I could be calculated and precise in my purchases….and I was PERFECT with 37 cents to spare!  I bought several things that I would never ordinarily purchase since they are usually a bit pricy, but I had coupons with me and some stuff was already on sale so I was a happy lady!

We then headed out to Chilis for lunch (also courtesy of a gift card) and with the exception of the tip, we were perfect again!  Finally, we stopped at Bed, Bath and Beyond with our final gift card and Seth got a new pillow that he had been wanting for awhile since his old one was REALLY old, along with an FSU pillow case and some chip clips – I’m not sure he would admit it, but I think he enjoyed the trip and getting stuff for himself that he probably wouldn’t buy normally.  The total was about $2 shy of the amount on the gift card so the kids got some mini m&ms to share and all was perfect again!  We had lots of fun using the gift cards and not having to spend any of our money! Happy Anniversary to us! We’re not hard to please!

Thankful to Be Alive

Yesterday, June 22, 2009, marked the 19th anniversary of the car accident that nearly killed my mom, my sister and me.   Remembering this day is bittersweet as it was  something that really affected my life, not only physically, but in every other aspect.  I grew up a lot that day even though I was only 9 at the time.  I gained a whole new respect regarding the fragility of life and how important family is. 

While I don’t like to remember the exact details of the event (though I am the only one that really can remember everything about it), I always make sure to celebrate somehow because I realize that God saved us that day.  My sister was Zoe’s age and could have easily died if she had not already gotten back into the car; I was only 9 and had it happened 2 seconds sooner, the car would have hit me around my internal organs instead of my leg, and I would have died; and the most miraculous thing of all was my mom.  People with her severity of injuries usually bleed to death before the ambulance arrives, yet somehow, her arteries closed themselves off until the paramedics got there and she only lost 1 leg. 

It wasn’t always the easiest life after that, but we all recognize that it is LIFE!  I am so grateful that we are still around to “celebrate” on this day instead of mourn and I will never take that miracle for granted.    I usually don’t write about things that aren’t specifically about the kids, but I felt compelled to write my feelings about this now that I have my own kids.  Thank you, Lord, for always watching over me and now, them too.

Blueberry Picking

Today I took the kids to a small blueberry farm in Crawfordville, FL.  We got a little lost on our way there due to some bad directions and crazy roads made of sand, but we finally arrived. 

working together

 It was the perfect time to be outside because although it was already 95 degrees at 9:30 in the morning, the last few rows of berries were in the shade and there was a nice breeze.  It was blazing hot by the time we left (at 10:30) so we timed it just right.  We were the only people there during that time so the kids had their pick of all of the blueberries.

i found one mom

checking out her stash

They chased each other from bush to bush and watched as the dragonflies followed us around.  It was a lot of fun just to see them getting along and laughing. 

good times

Zoe was giggling and Mikey was taking his “job” very seriously! He even insisted on paying for it himself and the owner told him he was a great worker.  

he paid cash

In the end, both kids decided they weren’t that fond of the taste of blueberries, but the experience was lots of fun!  Now we are looking for a farm that has strawberries or blackberries!

Bowling for Fathers’ Day

We wanted to do something new and fun as a family for Fathers’ Day so we decided to take the kids bowling.  Seth hadn’t been bowling since before college and neither of the kids had been bowling either so everyone was very excited.  The funniest part of the trip was how thrilled Seth was at the advancement in technology!  The bumpers are no longer the pool noodle looking things like they had when we were little and they automatically go up and down when they get to a little person’s turn!  And, instead of having the kids shove the ball down the lane at -5 mph so it takes an hour for one turn, they have a neat little ramp that the kids just push the ball off of until they are big enough to do it themselves! 

daddy and mikey bowling

daddy and zoe bowling

Both Mikey and Zoe enjoyed seeing the pins knocked down and even Seth got a few strikes himself. 

nice form

Afterward, we went out to lunch (where the kids actually behaved themselves VERY well) and then Mikey and I surprised Seth with ice cream from our favorite local spot for an afternoon snack.  All in all, it was a fun day for everyone!