This year for Halloween, we went to a lot of fall festivals. The best fall festival had pony rides and bounce houses. The day of this festival rained all evening and the kids were wet, muddy, festive messes full of candy and running around on the highest of all sugar highs. After several trunk or treat events, we had quite the candy haul. The Baby Ruth and Snickers are long gone….. We also trick or treated at Sea World several times. Granny came to visit and we went to a pumpkin patch and fed the sea lions a Sea World! Here is a collection of our best pictures!
Adam and I celebrated our eleven year anniversary and took a trip to Sea World with Grandma and Grandpa. Eleven short years and cheers to our future love.
Willow celebrated her first birthday with a very anticipated birthday party. Just as a blast from the past, this is what Willow looked like when we got her last December.
Willow makes us laugh.
She is our best friend and we love hiking with her, going for nature drives, and taking her everywhere a dog can be taken.
For her birthday party the kids and I designed this bandanna. She opened a gigantic buffalo horn, a vampire teeth squeaky toy, pumpkin spice latte treats, birthday spice cookie treat, and flower treat. The crazy kids ate the birthday dog cookie with her….yep you read that right.
The girls read their cards to her as she happily chewed her water buffalo antler, then she was tuckered out from all the extra special loving.
Cora asked for a puppy dog themed birthday this year, no surprise considering we are a bit dog crazy in this family LOL. Instead of a cake, she chose chocolate covered banana bites served over strawberry ice cream. She may have put more sprinkles on the banana bites than recommended….. To our party came a 10 week old puppy named Molly who was just recently added to our playground friend’s family. Cora also received glasses for her birthday! Although they were not her favorite birthday gift, they were by far the most necessary. Turns our poor Cora has been walking around blind as a bat all these 7 years and has received the gift of SIGHT ha ha.
This summer we have been raising up a puppy to be the sweetest, most well behaved doggy dog she can be. Watching her grow up and bonding with her along the way has been an unbelievably great thing for us all. She is without a doubt the most popular furry family member even when she eats an entire stick of butter from the counter when we are away.
We have spent lots of time loving and singing to the horses on our property. Our favorites are Kiss and Noon.
We love going to the theme parks and seeing the shows. Dylan rode on his first roller coaster at Sea World and begged to ride again before the ride even finished. Our re-fillable popcorn bucket is always at the ready.
We have started camping! Now that the weather is beginning to cool and our gear is organized we plan to camp often this upcoming fall.
The kids and I were lucky enough to spend two weeks on beautiful Lake Lucerne in Crandon, WI this summer. While there, we visited with Great Grandma, Aunt Ruthie, Aunt Heather and her amazing kids, and finally Uncle John and Aunt Tammy and their amazing nieces! We swam, boat jumped, skiied, camp-fired it up, drank lots of Moscow Mules, and fished from the dock. Grandpa and Grandma organized the first of a new tradition: MINNOW RACING! It was the highlight of the trip, although horseback riding was a VERY close second. The minnows were put into a racing tube and almost never went the direction we hoped for until all hope was lost and then they bolted like a rocket to the finish line. Each family member named their minnow and entered it into the bracket system. Grandpa and Spencer won the first and second bracket and reaped the rewards of silly minnow hats. Conner was so playful, patient, and adored by our kids. We also took a horse back ride on a gorgeous trail with each child on their own horse. We all loved every second of that. Our time spent with Great Grandma felt precious and she did us the honor of telling the tale of how she met and married my Grandpa.
Adam, Brooklyn, and Cora have all been very active in community theater. Brooklyn landed a leading role in Adams Family JR. The Musical. She played Alice Bennett and as the smallest actress in the cast she exuded confidence. She made us all so proud. Granny, Grandma, and Grandpa all came to see her in action. Brooklyn is a natural born performer because of her self confidence, dramatic tendencies, and quick memory for lines and movements.
Cora has been excluded from the childrens theater program at the Historic State Theater because of her age so when an opportunity for Cora to audition for Frozen JR. The Musical presented itself the girls were very excited to be in their first production together. Cora prepared Que Sera Sera as her audition song complete with choreography. She was motivated and dedicated to putting in the work. She has always been our most shy child and I was not sure if she would be able to fully open up to the judges when the time came. At her audition being the nosy parent that I am, I snuck onto a staircase adjoining the audition room and listened in. Cora walked into that room,announced herself with volume and sang her heart out. She blew me AWAY. That child EARNED her role in the production out of a long line of others her age. We have never been more proud. Brooklyn auditioned with a song from Adams Family JR that she had prepared for her last audition. She also blew me away with her confidence and voice. She landed another one of the leading roles and was cast as Pabbie, the leader of the trolls. The girls had a blast together and the show was attended by Granny, Grandma, and Emily.
,Adam has also become actively involved in the Historic State Theater. He went to the theater to introduce Brooklyn and was moved by the Stage Manager’s personal story of how she came to run the theater. Nina, the stage manager, had a daughter tragically killed in a car accident who was involved in the theater and her current job is very much a memorial to her daughter’s life. Adam has stepped into the role as back stage manager for several productions now and we are very proud of his work. He is adored by the cast members and greatly appreciated by Nina and the director. His involvement in helping build the sets along with his back stage role has kept the theater as a central theme in our family’s life this year.
Our Colorado sister Emily came to visit us and stayed an entire month! We jam-packed her stay with every activity and site to see we have grown to love. Emily was a part of the theater schedule chaos and went to see Adam’s production of Momma Mia and the girls production of Frozen Jr the Musical. We visited Daytona Beach, New Smyrna Beach and swam in the Atlantic. We took her to theme parks including Busch Gardens, Sea World, Wonder Works, Disney Springs, and Universal City Walk. We went to the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Mount Dora swimming pool and bowling alley, and theaters in Sanford and Eustis. We also went to Wekiwa Springs State park and swam in the crystal clear water of the natural springs. We made crafts including painting and friendship bracelets, and enjoyed the horses on our property and backyard campfire. It was an incredible stay without a single ripple of drama. We love you Emily!
We have had fun this summer going to the beach with Willow. Although most beaches are not dog friendly, we have visited many that are. Willow is intimidated by the waves and will not venture too far out. Each time we go, however, she becomes more brave. The kids absolutely love coaxing her into the water and playing ball with her in the surf. Willow absolutely loves the freedom to run and play with other dogs on the beach. We have taken a few long weekends to soak up the sun this summer on the Gulf.
Easter was celebrated with an Easter festival and Easter egg hunt in Winter, Haven Florida with Grandma and Grandpa, along with a home visit from the Easter bunny and back yard egg hunt. Easter baskets were stuffed with bubbles, cotton-tail candy, and chocolate bunnies.
Grandpa and the Easter bunny believe the number of eggs hunted and collected was the highest number yet and with 15 acres to hide eggs on, the strategic placement was challenging enough for even the oldest participants. “Go big or go home” -Grandpa
OUR LOVE IS ALL OF GOD'S MONEY 