Florida!!

My lack of posting is because we spent a week in Florida!! We left last Friday at 9pm for the 19 hour drive to Cape Coral (near Ft. Myers). Yes we're a little crazy but we thought our kids would sleep and it was the economical decision/the thing you do when you are saving to build a house and put kids through college. We thought Makayla would sleep fine if we drove through the night but wondered about Aiden...HOWEVER...it was the exact opposite. Aiden amazed us! He slept great and Makayla was up most of the night! A 19 hour drive with a 14 month old is not something I am anxious to do again anytime soon (especially when she maybe slept a total of 4 hours and she typically sleeps at least 12 hours in a night). She didn't want to play with toys, she didn't want to sleep, she didn't want to watch movies...she just wanted OUT OF THAT CAR SEAT! The poor little thing. But she made it and we had a great trip. We met my family down there and we all stayed together in a beautiful house with a great view, a pool, and a hot tub! We don't get to see my oldest brother and his wife very much so to spend the week with them was a real blessing. And my kids just loved their Uncle Aaron and Aunt Tamara. Who wouldn't...they're just a lot of fun.
Here is Uncle Aaron and Aunt Tam with Aiden, Makayla, and my niece and nephew.

One of the previous renters of the home left a huge Shamoo floaty and I gotta tell ya, I'm not sure what the trip would have been like without Shamoo. He made many appearances. The big thing was trying to get a ride from Shamoo. I love this picture of Kreg.

And of course Aiden needed a ride.

The little girls weren't quite sure about the big pool (at least Makayla wasn't) so we bought them a little kiddie pool. And I may be biased but I think they look scrumptiously cute! You can't tell very well but the boys were enjoying the kiddie pool as well.

This picture is my favorite pic of Makayla the entire trip! Such a Florida girl!

This is my favorite of Aiden. He loved the beach.

Makayla was a big fan of the beach as well. She liked dipping her pretzels in the sand and then eating them. Yuck! And every time the waves would hit her she would yell ferociously at the water!

Family pick at the beach on Sanibel Island. The shells at Sanibel were awesome. There were just piles and piles of really cool ones.

A little family time in the hot tub.

This was the scene during naptime one day. Hilarious!

We had a great trip! I loved every minute of it, except the drive too and from was just a bit too far for our princess. I've decided to enjoy a road trip you must be atleast 3 and up. Aiden is ready to go back already!

Hey mom...look at us!

So I'm cleaning up the dishes after lunch today and I look over to see what the kids are up to and this is what I see...










hilarious!!

Both my kiddos seem to have quite the funny bone today. Earlier this morning Aiden asked me if he could play corn. We literally have dried corn that we let him "combine" and put in his grain bin. But most of the time the corn ends up all over the place and today I did not feel like cleaning it up or for that matter keeping it out of Makayla's mouth! So my answer was no, not right now. And being the ever so obedient boy that he is, he did not argue with me. Instead he looked around (with his little combine in hand), perused the place, and his sites fell on his sister. Suddenly I hear "come here baby corn, come here." Poor Makayla. She was in for it. He decided if I wouldn't get his corn down for him then he was going to combine his sister! Poor little thing.

Bring it on!

Bring on the nice weather! The kids and I have been loving it this week! I was taking them outside last week when we made it all the way up to 40 so this week when we hit almost 70 yesterday I was about to grab their swimsuits and hit the pool! Ok well maybe its not quite pool time but we have been spending all the time we can outside. The snow is gone, the birds are chirping, and the word thunderstorms have been mentioned on the weather forecast. I love it!

And Miss Makayla has been loving it as well. As soon as we hit 40 degrees we also had to hit Target for some new kicks so Missy Makayla could walk around outside in more than just soft shoes. It took a few days of adjusting but no troubles now. And she LOVES being outside...just like her big brother. Makayla got to go for her first walk down to the stop sign at the end of our street (a usual summer activity when we are waiting/looking for daddy to come home). And she got to test out the sandbox for the first time....an Aiden favorite. The double jogging stroller also got pulled down from the garage ceiling this week. We've made a few rounds, but somehow it seems a little heavy to push than it did last fall...hmmmmmm....


Disclaimer: I want the record to show, I am not playing favorites here by just having pictures of Makayla all the time. Aiden is at that age when he does not like having his picture taken and only wants it taken at certain times. I tried to snap a few while we were out playing but it was a no go so I don't push it. However, he was in the mood to have has picture taken the other night when he was looking quite cute in daddy's Taylor U. hat.

Katyruth!

Friday night we headed a bit south for the evening to meet our new neice Katyruth Elaine! And oh was she cute! And such a tiny little thing...yet already 2 weeks old! It made me realize how big Makayla is now (no longer my little baby girl).


Kreg's parents can now brag about all 5 of their grandchildren! Sheweeee what a crew!

And Miss Makayla got some snuggles from her Uncle Kent who also came down for the occasion.