Ace Venture was Here!

This was the condition of a package that was delivered by UPS the other day.  It reminded me of that scene in Ace Ventura, Pet Detective.  If you don't know what I'm referring to, you can see the clip here: Click for Delivery Man scene.  

Thank goodness this was only coffee and not something fragile!

Sunday Funday!

This past Sunday we headed over to the Popp's house to shoot BB guns, archery, and hit the beach.  Everyone had a great time shooting.  Sis got to learn how to shoot, and Ra & Cra Cra took turns between the guns and the bow & arrows.  Poor Mr. Popp's shed.  I think the boys put a few new holes in it!  Opps! 

Afterwards, we took the kids to the beach.  They boogie boarded, surfed, played football, threw frisbee, went looking for sea shells, etc. 

When we walked out to the beach, this was the scene I came across.  Ra went over to see what game they were watching - yes, they had a tv with a blackout screen at the beach!  They were watching the Eagles/Skins game!  What?!?  I kept sending the kids over to check on the score and the one guy finally asked Sis if she was a Skins' fan and she shook her head no, smiled with her dimples and said "I'm an Eagles fan!"  LOL!  I posted this pic on FB and came to find out one of the guys was my friend Robyn's husband!  I went over and introduced myself and caught the last 2 minutes of the game with them.  

After we got home and cleaned up, we walked down to Poe's for dinner since we skipped it on Friday (we had family movie night with the Swiss Family Robinson and pizza because Andy wasn't back from Chitown in time).  On the way home, this was the scene that unfolded in front of us.  It was so sweet that I quickly grabbed my phone and snapped a pic.  It's to remind me how much they do love each other regardless of how much they fight!  

It was an awesome weekend!  I didn't want it to end!

Some Things Never Change...

Age 2

Age 2 1/2

The very next night!

Age 2 1/2

Age 2 1/2

Age 3

Age 3 1/2

Age 3 1/2

 Age 5

Age 6

This girl knows how to party hard!  She will crash wherever she is when she's tired!  When it's past bedtime and we can't find Sis, we know to look for her asleep somewhere - usually the sofa, rarely in her bed!

This was her after a fun night with our friends' the Popps, who came over for dinner.  Sis, Ra and his buddy Connor are like a family of 3 siblings.  Thankfully they include little Sis when they can!

Art Walk

Every 3rd Thursday, our town (along with Neptune Beach) hosts the North Beach Art Walk.  I keep forgetting to go but this last Thursday, I dragged Ra with me and we had a blast!  We got to see a variety of art, including musicians on every corner!  It was good QT together as well.  We even stopped in at Lillie's (my most favorite coffee shop ever and I don't even drink coffee) for a cup of brewed, organic iced green tea with honey.  Great on a humid night!

I almost bought this for Sis' room, but those of you who know me, know I said, "I can make that cheaper!"  LOL! 

I'm so glad that we live in a town where we can walk to so many things!

First Grade Centers!

Sis loves when I can come into school to help.  They did their first day of centers in class last week and she was so excited!  They've been reading a number of books by Eric Carle.  They had 4 stations where they participated in activities related to the books they read.  We had a great time together!  She loved me meeting her new friends and showing me her work.

It's That Time of Year...

When I miss the northeast...Heck, I even miss Utah during the fall!  I miss crisp mornings with a nip in the air, cool evenings for a fire in the pit and marshmallows being roasted.  In honor of all things fall - pumpkin and apple everything - I just received my order of Pumpkin Spice Crio Bru.  I love Crio Bru.  The company who created it is located in Utah near where we use to live.  I remember when they launched.  I was hooked immediately!  I use to be able to pick it up at my local grocery store.  Now I have to get it shipped across the country.  I also fell in love with the Mojito iced Crio this summer.  It's perfect for our hot, muggy mornings here in Florida!

I think I might go brew a cup right now...Later!

The Things You Can Make in a Crockpot!

Who knew you could cook ham loaf in a crockpot?  It was delicious and filled the house with smells of my childhood...Sadly, no one makes ham loaf better than Andy's mom and I haven't had hers in years!  She must have a secret trick that no one else in my family has mastered.

I think this sums it up for me...

You can take the girl outta Pennsylvania, but you can't take the Pennsylvania outta the girl!

Saturated

Every fall our church hosts a revival that they call Saturated.  They bring in speakers from all over the country to saturate us with God's word.  Phil Wickham was hosting the worship service on Saturday night and Ra and I couldn't wait!  

We stopped at Al's a few doors down for a slice before the concert started.  

Here we are waiting for the doors to open!

What a great night of worship lead by one of the best singer/song writers in the biz!  Ra really enjoyed it.  He told me that he liked closing his eyes and feeling the music in his chest.  He spent half the time dancing (well, his version of dancing) in the aisle.  

 I'm so grateful we could share that time together.  It was great for us to spend some QT together and worshiping at the same time.  He really loves Christian music and I'm very blessed that he chooses to listen to that kind of music.

Fun Friday!

I hate running.  There isn't anything about it I enjoy except for when it's over.  I decided to torture myself on Friday morning by going for a run.  It was a hot, humid day so I decided the beach would be the coolest location for my torture.  Lucky me!  I got to see 2 dolphins swimming up the coast right along beside me.  They were actually SURFING the waves!  Who knew dolphins enjoyed riding waves as much as humans do!  I was so surprised that I turned to the girl I had just passed and asked her if she saw that because I didn't believe it.  She confirmed what I had seen!  Just a few blocks further and I came across 2 fishermen who had caught a black fin shark.  What a way to start your day and make a workout feel a lot less like a workout!

After school I decided to take the kids to Rita's for a sweet treat.  I had a BOGO coupon and thought it was a great way to reward a tough week.  Little did we know that a number of school friends had the exact same thought!  It was a Providence party at Rita's!  Kids in their uniforms from lower and upper school filled the place.  My munchkins had a great time hanging with their friends!

My Gym Rat

She's been working on some dance steps for her floor routine.  She's getting so much better at it each week.  I catch her practicing at home, while running errands, etc.  Nothing like watching her do this routine at the grocery store!  She just LOVES gymnastics and never complains about going or about how tired it makes her.  

Shabby Chic Projects

I've been working on a few projects around the house.  I painted Andy's old dresser to use in our master bathroom.  You can see from the picture below the color it use to be and the color it is now.  I'm expecting the new hardware to arrive this week so it matches the hardware on our cabinets so it looks like it was meant to be there.

I decided to repaint Sis' doll furniture and her toy box to match.  This color blue is the accent color in her room and I think everything looks much better this way.  I have a few more things to create to go on her walls and then the room will be complete!  Hoping to get it finished within the next month or so.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???

It was a big day in our house.  The Birds hosted the Jags.  3 out of the 4 Chunkos were cheering for the Eagles.  Andy will NEVER cheer for the Eagles being a Cowboys fan.  (Don't ask...Somehow we make it work.)  We went to Sneakers to watch the game and grab some wings for lunch after church.  The first 3 quarters were a bit stressful but thankfully the Birds pulled out a W in the end!  Kevin and I enjoyed texting each other during the game.  He had to calm me down a time or two when I was wondering if we could pull it off!

Whew!  Now I can safely cheer for the Jags the rest of the season - but I will always be an Eagles fan first!

Beautiful Skies

We got to watch the sunrise the other day and lately, the sunsets have been even more beautiful than the sunrises!  Around the time I pick Sis up from gymnastics, the sun is setting and it's been absolutely gorgeous.  I had to pull over at the intercoastal to snap a few pics the other day.

Last week the moon was really full and yellow.  It was as if it was a super moon.  I had to take Sis to the beach on the way home from practice to check it out one night.  

I'm so grateful to be able to show my kids such beauty created by God every day and night for our enjoyment. 

A Weekend of Friends and Fun!

Friends of ours had plans to attend a wedding in Orlando for the weekend - my friend was actually in the wedding - so we offered to help out with their kiddos while they were gone.  They have 3 kids, but we only had 2 of them.  The other daughter went to a friend's house.  Our kids had so much fun and we were so thankful we could give their parents a weekend of fun.  

Here we are escaping a rain storm and enjoying some yummy yogurt!

Nothing like a friend to join you for a dip in the pool and a buddy to play Wii with all weekend!

These two pumpkins crashed HARD!  They were both worn out after this weekend!

We spent Saturday at the zoo and the girls crashed on the way home.  K's friend actually fell asleep on the way there and the way home!

Taking themselves for an afternoon drive down 5th Street.  K has officially earned her "license" from me.  She's done a great job of driving on the right side of the road, looking for cars and turning around at the correct locations so she isn't too close to the cross streets.

Everyone had a fun weekend and enjoyed spending time together.  What great memories they were able to create!