It's Great to be 8

Recently I read about how blogs are becoming a thing of the past.  I realized how few updates I receive from friends' blogs now -- usually 1 a week instead of 3-5 a day.  My blogging hasn't been very consistent, so I'm sure that my every 3 month posts will come to a non-dramatic end as well.  But before we disappear into the non-blog world, I thought I'd at least update on our latest and greatest.

Primarily, L's baptism happened at the beginning of February.  It was a great cause for celebration -- including an entire month of grandparent visitors.  We had some at the beginning and some at the end, but they overlapped for a couple of days, resulting in:

  But it was so nice to have help around to play with the kids, let Q and I go out a couple of times, get some help with the yard work, and to make the baptismal event feel extra-special.  

Somehow I didn't bring my camera to the church.  We'd taken pictures beforehand, but this was the only photo I have -- thanks to a member of the bishopric that snapped it before the baptism.  I wish I would have gotten pictures of the Primary Choir, the yummy treats, and L after her confirmation.

 

And this guy gave the sweetest prayer every.  I had talked to him earlier about how a lot of kids would be there and if he was silly -- they wouldn't understand the importance of the baptism.  He took his part of the program very seriously.

One memorable part was hearing the Primary Choir singing while L was changing after her baptism.  We heard "Stars were Gleaming" floating into the changing area.  L was a little confused, "Mom, I don't think that's on the program."  They were taking requests and the chorister chose C, not knowing that his favorite is a Christmas tune.  It was a beautiful day with lots of love from our family and ward -- and L agreed that 8 really is pretty great. 

Fall in Florida

I'm going to lump our Fall happenings into one post, so buckle your seat belts!

*Halloween:

It was PERFECT weather.  I couldn't believe that the kids didn't even need long sleeves.  We had a wonderful evening walking around the neighborhood, meeting some of our new neighbors.  There were not a lot of kids out, but that meant that everyone was giving out handfuls of candy and we only went around the block before their bags were full.  Our little dragon shed his costume about 1/2 way through because he was too hot.  We had to explain to the curious that his costume was not his dinosaur pjs (that he wore under the costume).

(Just for those of you wondering, he is a witch, not a warlock -- even though his dad tried to convince him otherwise)

 

My mom was in town for two weeks -- baking up a storm (for cub scout and class parties).  As always, it was so wonderful to have her around.  I was able to go to the Kindergarten Pumpkin Patch field trip, volunteer in classrooms, and take care of a sick little boy. 

(This is how C spent a good part of my mom's visit -- mummified on the couch)

My Dad joined the fun during the 3rd week and we managed to get some fun activities in.  The nearby State Park had a scarecrow walk that we all enjoyed.

I had been missing the whole "Fall experience" with pumpkin patches and mazes and farms.  I was delighted to find a place that had all of the above, plus a barrel train ride, corn box, animals to hold, and cornmeal waffles.  It was the first year the farm was open and it was very small scale, but it was exactly what I needed to really feel in the Fall spirit of things.

 

Somehow we and the other new family in our ward missed some important information and showed up at the wrong time and place for the Trunk or Treat.  So we shared some candy and then came back to our place for an impromptu Halloween pizza party.

My parents were so sweet to bring me home a Cinderella (white) pumpkin. I think I am going to find one every year -- I loved the green inside showing through and it smelled like a honeydew!

I also thought I'd include pictures of these two critters: 

This was the honored guest of the annual pig roast in Q's department.  The kids responded better to it than I did -- for some reason pork didn't sounds very appetizing to me that evening.

And this little guy was trying to make a home under our deck.  It was so cute with it's pink nose and big teary eyes.  It just kept quietly looking at me, wondering why it was in a cage.  I'm told that opossums are often mean -- hissing and scratching.  I almost kept ours as a pet.

More Adventures with Aunt Kimi

While Kim was here we also went to the local nature museum where it was "Farm Days."  The kids got to help make cane syrup, play games about farming, and ride tractors.




The museum also had a small zoo -- pretty cool.  Though I must admit that my favorite animal was an albino squirrel that was following us (or there were a bunch of them).


I especially like the dinosaur sculptures scattered throughout the museum that were made out of car parts.

 

 

 

 

 

  

We also went to Wakulla Springs where we saw a bunch of manatee on our boat tour.

LEGOLAND

My sister arrived at the airport at 5pm on Friday.  Within 24 hours we had driven 4 hours to Orlando, spent the night at a hotel, visited the temple, driven an hour to LEGOLAND, played like crazy all day long, and begun our 5 hour return drive.  We like to make things exciting for our visitors.  Thanks for being such a good sport and squishing in the front seat with us for all of those hours on the road, Kim!

We couldn't believe some of the short lines -- especially for the long Veteran's Day weekend!

Some rides we got to go on over and over because there was NO line!

 

  

Back to School 2012

It seems like this year there were a lot less jitters (at least on my part) for the 1st day of school.  Yes, we were once again starting the school year at a brand new elementary -- this is L's third school in three years!  But somehow it seemed less scary to know that they were going together.   

We are now in Week 2 and I am super happy with the school and the teachers.  This year it really seems like both kids lucked out with teachers who are excited about teaching and who enjoy being around kids.  I can't wait to continue to see the differences and to watch the kids return home with smiles on their faces! 

Kindergartener -- He had no apparent concerns with starting school.  He was excited and ready to go.  He has picked up quickly on the rules and updates me daily on his success of staying on GREEN in class.

 

2nd Grader- What a brave girl to be starting all over again.  I really hope that she feels comfortable enough to make some close friends and feel like she is home.

My little shadow did not want to be left out of the fun.

   

Waiting for the bus

I have already attended 3 orientations at the school and feel very comfortable having them there.   The assistant principal has taken us under her wing -- she even e-mailed on the first day to let me know she'd checked in on the kids.  It feels great to know I have an accessible contact in the admin that knows us and is looking out for the family.  The school is about double the size of our last one, and yet it already feels homey.

End of Summer

Here is what the rest of our summer looked like:

 Lots of reading

 Plenty of swimming

 I LOVE this life vest!  It is made so that they float up, not forwards or backwards.  Our swimming adventures are quite enjoyable because he can swim around without being held the entire time.

A fair amount of learning to care for a pool

And I wish I had a picture of Q in front of the computer, because that has been our last month.  Me entertaining the kids all day while Q feverishly typed and ran models and codes.  We were spoiled to get him work-free for a couple of weeks during and after the move, and it was extra hard to have to return to "real life" and let a conference paper take over all of our play time again.

This week we've been learning all about Emergency Preparation for hurricanes.  Luckily for us it looks like Isaac is heading to the West, but it was a great introduction to what we might expect in the future in Florida.

The Move

To begin with, my parents are saints.  My mom came to CT twice to watch the kids while we traveled to Tallahassee to find a house.  She also arrived a couple of days before the move to help with packing.  Then my dad showed up to help on the long 2 day trek South.  They stuck around for a week and 1/2 afterwards, unpacking and doing fix-up jobs around the house.  Our productivity levels decreased severely once they returned home.  We know that we are so lucky to have them able and willing to help and support us in so many of our major life events.

We have been in Tallahassee for about a month and we are loving it.  Yes, it is hot and muggy, but not as crazy as we'd pictured, and the summer storms are incredible.  Having a pool also helps -- I was terrified of the thought of a pool and kids (especially a 2 yr old), but it has provided days and days of fun.  After being indoors during the heat of the day, it has been a perfect way to burn off energy and to play together.  Fencing it also alleviated some concerns.

Q and I are quickly trying to learn the ropes of home-ownership.  This is our first house in 10 yrs of marriage, and we are enjoying it immensely -- no landlords or other people's property to worry about.  And there is just a cool feeling when you look around and think, "This is OUR home.  The yard is OUR yard.  That toilet belongs to us."  It helps for those moments that you are getting a crash course in yellow algae in your pool, lawn/yard care of plants you have no idea how to identify or care for, and when your list of things that you need to purchase keeps growing longer.

The trip here went fairly smoothly.  We had a sweet send-off party by some neighbors, and after hitting traffic in NYC and DC, we stopped for a lovely (but MUCH too short) dinner with my old roommies -- Melanie and KaLisi.  We arrived in Tallahassee at 1:30am after a 2nd day of driving.

  

About to enter our new home -- 1/2 asleep, but super excited.

We woke the kids up and had an all-out party as we explored our new home.  It was awesome.  They were beside themselves -- L has her own room for the first time, we have space to run around, adorable little lizards that eat bugs, and even a backyard!

Notice the Spanish Moss hanging from the tree?  We also have jasmine, gardenia, roses, and lots of other beautiful plants that I have yet to identify.

Some of our adventures so far have been:

Wakulla Springs (the largest freshwater spring in the world)

It is supposed to have crystal clear water, but it was murky due to Tropical Storm Debbie the week before we arrived.  Super cool though to spot alligators, all kind of birds, turtles, and even manatee.  They have a swimming area that they had to scare the alligators out of before allowing people to get in -- I'm not sure we'll be splashing around in there anytime soon.

 

Carabelle Beach

Not touted as one of the pristine white sand beaches that our area has to offer, but for us it was a pretty nice introduction to Gulf beaches.  The water was warm and the sand was lovely.  We watched schools of little fish swim around us and crabs hide away in their shells.  Luckily we did not encounter jellyfish, which I'm told are fairly common in the Gulf area.

We are immensely happy to be in Florida and it feels great to be starting this new phase of life.