Final trip to Cedar Key

While Geoff was finishing his paper I decided to take a break from packing and get the kids out of the apartment. I took them to Cedar Key. This is our favorite park by the ocean. It was a rainy day. It rained most of the way there and all of the way back. We were lucky because it cleared up right when we got there and stayed nice and sunny for about an hour and a half. We found some big sea shells this time.
We are a little bit disappointed that we ended up having to move sooner then we originally planned. There are still a few places we wanted to visit that we won't have time to see. I guess we will have to make a few trips back to Florida some day.

Kindergarten is over!

At Kaden's Kindergarten Award Ceremony


Kaden holding his Kindergarten graduation certificate and his "Statesman" award

Kaden's class end of the year pajama party

Today was Kaden's last day of kindergarten. I can't believe how fast this year went by. It has made me realize my kids are going to be grown up before I know it. I wish there was a way to slow down time. Kaden has made a lot of progress this year. He is above grade level in reading, writing and math. At his Kindergarten graduation he was awarded the "Statesman" award because of his leadership skills. His teacher said she can picture him in the white house when he gets older. Kaylee and I were able to help out at his end of the year party. I ended up falling in love with all of the kids in his class and am sad I won't be able to see them anymore. One of the little girls in his class had her house burn down while we were at the Kindergarten graduation. She seemed pretty depressed today. She told me all of her stuff is gone. How sad is that? The best part of Kindergarten being over is we no longer have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning! Kaden's new school will start at 8:50 am and we will only live two minutes away!!! This is a big plus for me since we have had to drive him to and from school here which was a 15 minute drive each way.

Road Trip to Maryland

This last week we had to go to Maryland to find a place to live. It was a 13 hour drive each way. The kids did really well thanks to the DVD player. The scenery was the same pretty much the whole way. If you have been back east then you know there are tons of trees! We were looking in Crofton, MD. All of the rentals available there were either beat up or too small to fit our needs. We ended up having to stay an extra night. The second day we checked out an area in Odenton, MD called Piney Orchard. It is a planned community with two outdoor swimming pools, an indoor pool, fitness center, jogging/walking paths, playgrounds and tennis courts. It also has a great elementary school that is ranked a #10 which is the highest ranking they can have. It also has its own shopping center complete with a grocery store, baskin robbins and dunkin donuts. The last two are a big plus for me. :) Odenton is about 30 minutes from Washington DC and 20-25 from Baltimore. We put in an application on a townhouse in this community. It has been accepted so once we sign the lease everything should be finalized. On our way back I got Geoff to stop at the Russel Stover Chocolate outlet and a place called South of the Border. South of the Border is an older run down place where they have campgrounds, a motel, a small amusement park, stores filled with cheap stuff from Mexico and a restaurant. It was just south of the North Carolina border. They had a hat shop that had hundreds of different hats to choose from. The kids had fun trying them all on. If everything goes through it looks like we will be moving in three weeks! That is sooner then we were planning so I will be spending the next few weeks packing.

Annual Spring Farm and Forrest Festival

Geoff told me about a radio ad he heard for the Annual Farm and Forrest Festival. He thought it would be something we would enjoy. Does he know me well or what! :) Since he was in the middle of a 72 hour take home final I decided to take the kids to go check it out. We had a blast! It was set up to resemble life in the 1780's. There was so much to do and see. We went on a wagon ride, had corn on the cob, tried out our wood working skills, made toys, watched sheep get sheared and walked through the old farm house, school and booths. They even had people playing music and dancing. It was such a fun atmosphere.

Outdoor Fun

This past week we have taken advantage of the nice weather. A few days ago we went outside to ride bikes, fly kites and blow bubbles. Kaden had just finished a blue sucker so he had blue lips.:)





We invited some of our friends over for a pool party. We had water balloons and treats. This was Kaden's party since Kaylee got to have the princess tea party.




Do you like Kaden's swimming gear? :)


This was Kaden's last good pair of jeans. Every morning I send him to school clean, however by the time I pick him up in the afternoon he looks like he hasn't bathed in days. His face still has part of his lunch on it (he is a messy eater!), his hands are dirty from digging in the dirt at recess and his shoes are full of sand. For some reason I think it is kind of cute. I guess it is because I know he won't be in this stage forever.


This month for Kaylee's special day (mother-daughter date) I took her to the mall. We shopped, had a snack and Kaylee played at the swamp play place. I am enjoying this stage she is in. She is so adorable!


This month for Kaden's special day (father-son date) Geoff took him to hit golf balls. They also stopped for frozen yogurt on the way home.

Devil's Millhopper

A few days ago I took the kids to Devil's Millhopper. It is a sinkhole that is 117 feet deep and 500 feet across. It has a 232 step stairway leading to the bottom of a one-half mile nature trail around the rim. There are so many beautiful places here in Florida. I am thankful we have had the opportunity to live here and experience all that we have. The pictures don't do this place justice but at least you can kind of get a picture of what it is like.

A BBQ at the Lake

We had a BBQ at Lake Wauberg with our friends. I brought jumping sacks, bubbles, water balloons and ice cream cone cupcakes for the kids. Geoff and Shad made us Omaha steaks on the grill. They were delicious! On the way home Geoff stopped and rented the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie that just came out on DVD. That movie is actually kind of cute, our kids loved it. It's too bad every day can't be this fun!

Easter Fun!!!

We hope you all had a fun Easter. We had a lot of fun this year. We had an Easter egg hunt on the beach for the kids. The Easter Bunny also always hides their colored eggs and leaves clues to where he hid their Easter baskets. This year Kaden was able to read all of the clues to Kaylee. I also tried a different cake this Easter. I usually make the bunny cake but this year I tried out an Easter basket cake. Darin and Haylee (Geoff's brother and his wife) were visiting from Utah. It was so nice to have family here for a holiday. It couldn't have been any better.

A stormy day

Last Friday we had severe thunderstorm warnings that turned into a tornado warning at one point. My friend was having a baby so we were taking care of her other children. Geoff called me from school and told me they had moved his class into a different room because of the tornado warning. I wasn't even aware there had been a warning issued. I checked the weather report and it said to seek shelter immediately. Our apartment has a lot of windows so the best place I could think of was to hide out in was our master bathroom. So we ended up playing games and puzzles in my bathroom for about an hour. I also had to pick up two of the kids from their school that afternoon. We were all drenched from the pouring rain. We even had to walk through a big water puddle to get to our front door. I had to change everyone and put all of the wet clothes into the dryer. It was a day we will always remember!

Dressing up is fun to do!

Kaylee is always dressing up. She has a big collection of dress up clothes but she doesn't stop there. She is always trying on my clothes too. The other day she was running around the apartment with my pajama pants pulled up to her chest. She is always making us laugh.

February in Florida!

This is what I love most about Florida. We have great weather nine months out of the year. I have to admit the hot and humid summers are not enjoyable but the rest of the year is wonderful! From December to February the weather can go from being cold one day to being warm enough to swim the next day. Last week I took the kids swimming at one of the two pools in our apartment complex. This pool is my favorite one because it has a shallow end so if I am not in the mood to go swimming I can just sit and watch the kids.