A trip to West Virginia

Last weekend we headed up to see Stanton and Anita in Clarksburg again. It had been about a year and a half and we noticed the changes made in that time! Aaron, Jessica and Brayden have had a temporary residence for about 3 months and make good roomates! We ate well and got on Youtube at night to share our favorite songs with each other! The house has welcomed a few more cats and a few pregnant mothers! One mama blessed Stanton and Anita with 5 kittens! Tim, Pam and Savannah stopped by for a good visit over dinner and we enjoyed catching up on things. Aaron and Jessica both have good jobs and are working hard at trying to get a place of their own. We took care of business in Pittsburg at the Steelers game while Stanton, Anita, Jessica and Brayden watched Elsie and Wil for us. It was a fun date night for us as we drove around Pittsburg, eventually found a romantic room at the Red Roof Inn and had a formal dinner at Denny's! Aaron and Jess had to work and were not able to accompany Stanton and Anita as they drove the kids to meet us in Pittsburg to tour the Carnagie Museum of Natural History. We strolled through all of the carnivores and herbavores and worked up an appetite of our own! After a brief break and snack we finished the exhibit. I know the kids enjoyed the "Dinosaur Dig." They were lent goggles, brushes and a pick and told to help with the excavation! We didn't get to the entire museum, but Stanton discovered the Discovery room in the basement where the kids were allowed to touch EVERYTHING! They appreciated the hands on learning and really seemed to enjoy the museum experience! We drove back to Florida ready to start back school at A Childs Academy and Flowers Montessori. Brayden started his kindergarden experience knowing a little more about the prehistoric world! Thank God for such fun and loving family! We can't be more blessed!

Zoo Atlanta

The Hollingtons hit Zoo Atlanta last Saturday! Wil asked that we head straight for the tigers so we did and came back a few times just so he could see his favorite! We also saw pandas, elephants, lions, monkeys, meerkats, zebras, giraffes, alligators, kangaroos and a lot more! We even had time for a carosel ride and zoo train ride!

Georgia Aquarium Summer 2011

We were in Atlanta for the Falcons game and thought we would make a family trip of it and take the kids to the Aquarium! We took in the brand new Dolphin show-the dolphins entertained and it was cool to see them above and below water but the main star of the show was probably the "StarSpinner!" Wil seemed to love this slightly cheesy captain of an imaginary ship! We also saw the 3-D movie again and collected metallic streamers to shake at the penguins again. They love it-think it's fish! It was good to be back at the Aquarium again!

Last summer beach trip

After the alligator farm we cooled off at the beach! We had to make an emergency stop at the Dollar General to pick up a pair of oversized swim shorts for Jason (how could I forget them?) Wil enjoyed playing on the rocks and Elsie loved the sand and waves. We walked down the beach towards the pier but weren't able to go on the peir without paying so we found the coolest little playground and splash park! This summer has been a blast and soon its back to Montessori and back to working!

St. Augustine Alligator Farm

For a summer outing we took the kids back over to St. Augustine. We've been to the beach a couple times already and keep passing the Alligator Farm so this trip we made a point to get out a little earlier to take them! Huge alligators, tiny baby crocodiles, fat alligators, fat crocodiles, exotic birds, turtles, snakes, albino alligators...Just about every type of reptile you can think of! At the snake exhibit Elsie kept saying "No! Snake, don't eat me. Don't eat my Mommy!" The kids enjoyed hopping in and out of the stroller to learn about the new creatures. We were probably there about 3 hours and left just after the alligator feeding. (The handler fed the fat gators these huge dead rats!) We had a few minutes to wait and it was a little hard at that point to keep the kids still because they knew we were headed to the beach afterward. Wil got antsy and we told him we were waiting on the feeding to start. He said, "This is making me angry, I want to go to the beach!" Seeing the gators chomp on the rats put a smile back on his face and then after the gators' lunch we were off to the beach!

Swim Lessons at the YMCA

Sara had Adyson in 2 sessions of swim lessons this summer and she suggested we put Wil in the last class of the summer. We are so happy we took her suggestion! Classes were from 5:30-6 5 nights a week for 2 weeks. It was fun to get caught up with the Jacksons and to watch Ady and Wil master their skills! Elsie got to take a few dips with Dad and hopefully picked up on a little herself! Jesse and Sara invited us over for tacos on the last Friday night class. What a cool summer it has been!

Sea World again!

Taking advantage of our season pass we treked down to see Shamu again! Here are some pictures of our fun day!

Craig and Marisa's Engagement party

A cold swept out house and Wil and Jason missed out on a fun Engagement Party down in Tampa! Craig proposed to Marisa around Easter and they plan on a romantic intimate wedding in October in Philedelphia. Al and Suzanne are good friends of the Ciaks and they threw an awesome party for the lovebirds! Al and Suzanne live right next door to Nina and Gary (Ris's parents.) Elsie and I made a long girls day of it and we got a chance to catch up at the Ciak's house first. It was good to see so much of her family-I haven't seen some of them since she graduated college! The Ciaks and their friends are such caring and energetic friends to us and we felt right at home around them once more! Elsie made quick friends with everyone, but especially with Carrie who was a little younger than Elsie. Everyone helped me keep an eye on my little party girl but I was so amused by how she and Suzanne were hitting it off! We all enjoyed forcing Craig to tell us the story of how he met Ris and his dramatic proposal too! I have the best feeling about these two. Its fun to watch them as they finish each others' stories and stare into each others' eyes! They are the real thing and I am so happy for both of them!

Beach trip #2

Another beach trip! We sought out the lighthouse this time and this time I was not attacked by jellyfish! The kids were too small to go up in the lighthouse so we just got to the beach faster to soak up the sun and salty air!

Summer Swim Lessons

Swim lessons at the YMCA have been fun with Adyson this summer! The kids are like little adults showering off and plunging into the pool with Mr. Mike! Adyson concentrates a little better than Wil but he is picking it up and making us proud! Elsie just enjoys the extra time with Daddy splashing around in the shallow end!

Granny's surprise party in Freeport

The weekend after the river trip found us a little further west in Freeport for Granny's birthday! It rained ALL weekend and we found ourselves entertaining the kids by taking them on long golf cart rides and cooking and movies! After church Aubriyah planned a sweet surprise party for Granny complete with party hats, birthday cake after l

unch!

Potty at my house!

Hope this isn't offensive to anyone but these pictures were just too cute not to share! Love my little poopsies!

Kimble Suwannee River Vacation

Mom and Dad treated us once again to a truely amazing vacation on the Suwannee river! All my siblings, neices and nephews gathered with Mom and Dad in 2 beautiful cabins at Fanning Springs State Park. We gave Mom a break from cooking with Dad's great idea: Everyone had a day to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner for the crew. Katie showcased her apple glazed pork chops, Becka grilled up burgers and hotdogs, Becky treated us to a cuban feast and I made chicken pesto lasagna. Leftovers abounded and we ate so good! Running was fun with Becky and Becka! I loved running over the bridge looking down on the Suwannee and I loved jumping into that freezing water afterwards! We probably swam on average 3 times a day on this vacation in crystal clear cool water! I saw lots of fish and a little turtle with my mask and snorkel. Katie and Ramona's birthdays both fell on this trip so we had a crazy "Labyrinth" themed party for Katie's 30th and Tinkerbell cake and bubbles for Ramona's 2nd birthday! Movies every night to settle the kids down, riveting games of spoons and spades, a great visit from Grandma Jane, Aunt Mary, Sarah, James and Princelia, naps, coloring, books, snorkeling, sleeping, runs, boating, beach combing, creative team building exercises, cuddle time with small people, good talks, cooking, eating and more naps! My favorite day was the last day where Mom and Dad rented out 2 pontoon boats. We took them all the way out to the gulf! We found our own private island and just got stuck there all day! Boating through the marshes was just beautiful and I loved the wildness of the Suwannee with all those alligators! We had to tow Bill's boat back because it ran out of gas-no sweat for this family of experienced boaters! I love my family and really needed a good vacation like this with all of them! Thanks for everyone for making the time for it-sure loved hearing your laughs! Most of all, Thank you Mom and Dad!

Happy Birthday America!

For the fourth of July we celebrated by attending a very patriotic church service Sunday morning (choir sang Battle Hymm of the Republic before the preacher talked about "Freedom from you sin!") Then on Monday we all loaded up the car, accompanied Jason to a few of his patients' houses for visits and then drove over to St. Augustine for a day of fun on the beach!