Merry Christmas

(This should have been posted on Christmas day but my phone had technical difficulties and only saved it as a draft.  Better late than never.)  

We had our big Christmas dinner on Christmas eve, Jed put together a delicious beef brisket. Tracy and her boyfriend joined us for our meal.

For dessert we snacked on cookies the boys help make and decorate the day before.

Christmas morning we had homemade cinnamon rolls, made by none other than chef Seth with a little help from mom and dad of course.

Then it was gift time!

Evan picked out the perfect present for his little brothers, flashlights!

Kane cheering Ford on during the unwrapping process.

Then we packed up and head out to the west coast for a couple days of camping! It's surprisingly warm this year leading to an impromptu swim! This is why I moved to Florida!

After recovering from the beach we enjoyed dinner at Denny's (couldn't find a decent looking Chinese place :( ). Now we have the a/c in our camper blasting while snuggling together watching movies!

Hope you all had a great Christmas too!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Campin With Kane

   
Someone isn't a fan of hikes.  Luckily his cousin Jon likes to spoil him!

Showering before bed.

Hanging out with his new friends.  As I walked him across the street to the playground the next day he was greeted with shouts of, "Kanaaaa!  Hey guys look its Kana! Kanaaaaa!"  He certainly is our most social child.  

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Campin With Seth

Hiking to the Bald Eagle's nest.



Playing football.



Getting injured.



Recovering in a tree.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Campin With Ford

Face planting in the dirt.



Wake up call at 5:30 every morning.




Being touristy w/ daddy.



Chatting w/ grandma on Christmas before bed.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Surprise!

For Evan's birthday we surprised him with a new (to us) bike and a trip for him and Seth to the zoo to do the zip line course!   At first I told the boys we were just going to the zoo but when we got there I made the big announcement.  

Kane and I followed them on the ground through the course, encouraging them when they were scared or became tangled in their harnesses.  It was awesome to watch them make their way through getting better and faster.  Seth's height put him at a slight disadvantage (something I can relate to), he had to reach on his tiptoes to clip on and off of the safety line at the beginning and end of each obstacle, it slowed him down drastically but he was a trooper!  Evan on the other hand flew through the course.

At one point Kane had to pee which was a small problem as I was not allowed to leave the other two alone nor could I get them down off the course for a bathroom break.  I tried to convince him to hold it but he's three so we eventually found a somewhat secluded area with lots of bushes and he went potty.  Ya gotta do, what ya gotta do!  

We followed that up with dinner at Five Guys, he changed his mind about his crab dinner after I explained that that meant we wouldn't be going out to a restaurant.  He quickly chose his favorite burger joint instead.   Last but not least we enjoyed our traditional doughnut cake.  

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy Birthday Evan!

Earlier this week while getting the boys ready for school, Jed asked Evan what he wanted for his birthday.  Evan responded with one simple word, "Food."  Later I asked him what "food" he wanted specifically for his birthday dinner to which he said, "CRAB, lots and lots of crab."  

He and my dad would have gotten along really well. 

That same day was his class birthday party. I brought in cupcakes and a few decorations.  

A very special 7 year old!

Green is his favorite color and thankfully with a birthday so close to Christmas the bakery always has green cupcakes in stock! 

While I wasn't looking someone took a big swipe of their big brother's frosting!

Yum!

Poor Kane, he took the lose well.

Boys and girls really are different. :)

Doodles enjoying his snowman cupcake!

Birthday Questionnaire Time!

1. What is your favorite color? Green

2. What is your favorite toy? Car

3. What is your favorite fruit? Tangerines and Pears

4. What is your favorite tv show? Avengers

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Ramen Noodles and Fish Sticks

6. What is your favorite outfit? Gators Jersey

7. What is your favorite game? Xbox

8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit Snacks

9. What is your favorite animal? Snake

10. What is your favorite song? King Ahab 

11. What is your favorite book? Hippo Wants to Play

12. Who is your best friend?  Ethan Skees and Jacob

13. What is your favorite cereal? Raisin Bran

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play Football and Baseball

15. What is your favorite drink? Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate

16. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Baby Doggy, Pillow Pet

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Eggs and Bacon

19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Cheese Burgers or Crab

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A Football Player

21. What's your favorite dessert?  Candy

22. What's your favorite subject in school? Math

23. What's your favorite movie? How to Train Your Dragon

Last Minute

Due to some technical difficulties Joy and her room mates lost their original Christmas pictures and asked me at the last minute to take one for them.  The first attempt was at night inside their house.  I'm not well versed in how to get the best pictures without natural light and the pictures showed it.  We decided to go for round two the next day but I had to bring the boys with me.  And how did Ford decide to keep himself busy?  

By rolling in the dirty, of course!  

And while Ford was doing that Kane spent his time either begging me to take his picture or instructing the girls on their poses.   

Hopefully these lovely ladies get their cards out in time!  

Music

Jed and I noticed at quite a young age that Seth seemed to, at best, tolerate and, at worst, dislike, all music.  While his older brother would get down to just about anything from Wiggles, to the Cops theme song, Seth sat stoic.  There was that one time that he let loose at a wedding, our jaws dropped as he made his way across the dance floor shaking his booty.  I assume it was the presence of an audience that inspired him as he returned to his Baptist ways the following day.  

Our commute to and from school the last two years gave me the opportunity to test out different songs on him. While nothing struck a cord for him, I discovered that Evan would listen to just about anything but really liked rock music and Kane, well unfortunately, he has an affinity for Britney Spears.  It's unclear how he even came across her music, let alone developed a taste for it, as I am prone to change the station with in a millisecond of one of her songs coming on, in general though he's a fan of  any kind of pop. Ford isn't picky, he dances to anything with a beat.  

So I went about my business assuming I had all my kids music preferences figured out.  Then Jed made a shocking confession, he had been listening to country music when I wasn't around!  I loved that we had always been on the same page, country was "the devil's music"!  I was pretty upset with him at first, what a betrayal, but I moved on to pity when I began to suspect he might be going deaf or insane.  Jed, though, quickly pushed me passed pity and into annoyed as he's been trying to convert me by listening to it when I'm around, not to mention exposing our children to the junk.  Sigh, and wouldn't you know it as I'm protesting, out of the corner of my eye I catch Seth jamming out. 

Of course, Seth, of course.  

Friends

I took pictures for some friends a couple weeks ago.  This was my first time taking pictures of people I'm not related to.. I was a little nervous.  I had a lot of fun though and I learned a lot!  

And as a bonus I had photogenic subjects!  

  

Our Ducks

The pond out back is home to quite a few birds.  The other day I lured the ducks over to our porch with a piece of bread, which may or may not have been illegal... but whatever.  They're a breed I had never seen before called, the Muscovy Duck.  Apparently they're considered pests here in Florida but so far we're enjoying them!   I really hope we have ducklings at some point but I haven't noticed any of the females nesting. Maybe in the spring?!

 

This is my favorite hen.   

 The one on the right in this picture is the male of the group.  

 He's kind of grumpy.