Larry and Jess

Festival of lights 5k run

2011-12-10T19:15:00.001-05:00

Larry and I took the kids to the festival of Lights 5k and fun run in San Marco tonight. The girls did good on their first 1 mile run and then had lots of fun on the bounce houses after the run while I ran in the 5k. The weather was about perfect at about 55 degrees or so and not too much wind. It was overcast which made it seem cooler than it actually was. The girls didn't complain too much and Ashtin was the only one wanting to go home and go to bed. When the race was over, she was fine with not going home and staying to play on the bounce houses! Imagine that. We had fun an we are headed to a eat right now to celebrate our fine finish!

wordle

2011-12-06T18:06:00.001-05:00

My cuties drive me crazy!

2011-11-10T07:11:00.001-05:00

My commute sucks..... 2 hours a day, whining kids, kids kicking my seat, fighting, etc. You get the picture. I spend a lot of time in my car. In fact I am in my car as I type this. But I also love the time we have together too. Even though they drive me nuts!

Trying again

2011-11-08T18:44:00.001-05:00

It is letting me add text to the title. Hopefully I will be using the iPad to post more often!

I am trying to update this from my iPad and it is acting funky. It won't let me type in the main area. Hummmmmm. Strange..

2011-09-23T21:47:00.002-04:00

2011-06-09T19:07:00.001-04:00

Ashtin had her eye appointment today. A few months ago, I received a letter home from her pre-k class recommending that she go in for a more intensive exam. They had someone from the city come in and perform an exam. Well, surprise, surprise, she needs glasses. Maybe she won't stand inches in front of the TV anymore.

2011-05-30T15:05:00.001-04:00

2011-05-30T15:04:00.001-04:00

So, Larry is a little ambitious. Beside being an awesome Dad, husband and having an awesome job that he loves, he is also an awesome gardener. Just check out this chopped salad. All of the ingredients are from his garden, except the celery. In it you will find cherry tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, banana peppers, and beefsteak tomatoes. Yum!

2011-05-30T14:56:00.001-04:00

Natalie has here first loose tooth! It is super wiggly and she is excited about the tooth fairy coming. I told here that when we go to grandma's house this summer that grandpa is going to pull it out like he would when I was a little girl. He would tie a piece of floss to the wiggly tooth and then tie the other end to a door knob and then shut he door! She was a little scared about that method!

2011-05-28T07:05:00.001-04:00

Movie night! We had popcorn, hot chocolate and watched the Princess and the Frog. Besides a few dumped bowls of popcorn(thanks to Tiggy), we had a fun evening inside.

2011-05-23T21:36:00.001-04:00

We went peach picking last weekend and also stopped by a blueberry farm. The girls had fun picking the fruits and Tiggy especially liked picking the blueberries because he could reach the berries. As you can see, we need to help him figure out his colors.

2011-04-03T14:21:00.001-04:00

Cutest picture of Tiggy!

2011-04-03T14:12:00.001-04:00

Check out our newest decoration. We are trying to increase our curb appeal so we are stepping up our efforts. This split rail fence was easy to install and will eventually will have a few citrus trees in front of it. Notice the cute little picket fence in the background? We also put one on the other side of the house and are putting the gates on this weekend. We are also finishing Tighe's new room and are just about done. Larry and I are pretty proud of it. It looks fantastic! Picture of his room will be coming shortly (I hope).

2011-03-16T16:42:00.001-04:00

Natalie has her kindergarten program tomorrow and I got a chance to sneak a picture of her practicing. One of the perks of teaching at the school your kids go to!

2011-02-20T20:38:00.001-05:00

Ashtin's job was laundry and tighe was very content to sit and have laundry placed on him. He got several rides to the laundry room and back to her room. Silly kids!

2011-01-26T07:07:00.001-05:00

I forgot to mention that Ashtin got a haircut, too! The curls are pretty much gone but doesn't she look so cute!

Tighe's First Hair Cut.

2011-01-18T20:54:00.002-05:00

Tighe's first hair cut! At first he was not having it but after a lollipop, he held steady. Way to go Tiggy!

Nat is 6!

2011-01-18T20:49:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday, Natalie! Big 6! Mom, Dad, Ashes, and Tiggy love you very much!

Thinking about it.

2011-01-01T20:53:00.004-05:00

Hiking in the woods at the cabin. It was very remote and the view was magnificent.

I am considering paying more attention to my blog. I should considering that it is a bit of family history in the making. We have been busy to say the least. For Thanksgiving, we took our first family vacation to Murphy, NC and rented a cabin in the mountains up there. It was very nice and we had a nice quiet time.

Back to work after that and then straight into Christmas. I will post those later.

Life.....

2010-10-21T07:56:00.001-04:00

Has been crazy busy lately! I just returned home from a trip to Salt Lake to attend my brother's wedding. It was non-stop driving and visiting family. I wish that I could have seen more of Larry's family and some friends but there just wasn't any time! This was an interesting trip because I went alone. Larry stayed home with the kids and did an awesome job at being a single Dad for a few days.
The wedding was very nice and the bride and groom are very happy together. I wish them the best for their new life together!

New Job

2010-09-12T20:24:00.003-04:00

So most of you know that I have been on a leave of absence for the last school year. I would have been paying for three kids in childcare and we would have gone in debt with me working. So logically, I stayed home. The last few months leading up to my return to work were full of unknowns. What school would I be at, which subject, PE or Health, will there be a position open, what about childcare, do I really want to return to work, what did I do this last year anyway, did I like staying home, am I a bad Mom if I really didn't like it? I put my return to work paperwork in and it all felt very uncertain, like I was gambling. I didn't like it. After making several phone calls to HR, I was told that there just might not be a position for me, budget cuts, blah, blah, blah. So what is the next step I asked. Wait for a phone call they say. Clay county school starts, no phone call. Preplanning for Duval county starts, no phone call. Finally on Thursday, the fourth day of preplanning, I get a call from HR. Here is your new placement, you start tomorrow. It was at k-8th grade and I was teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th graders health and P.E. Thrown into the fire, I started on Friday and then worked part of the day on Saturday getting the room ready. School started Monday and I taught first period and then had 2nd period planning and went to find the principal to ask some questions. She tells me, oh yes, I have been meaning to talk to you, you are actually supposed to be at this other school, Lone Star Elementary. And they want you there right now. I turned my keys in and left. Talk about craziness, but to my pleasant surprise, my new school is welcoming, and friendly and it is an 'A' School and the principal is amazing and the teacher are warm and full of, "You are going to love it here, we have a wonderful school!", and "We are so glad that you are here!" It was very nice. The atmosphere is totally different than the other school. I got so lucky. I am there full time and Lone Star is very supportive of resource classes. They have a full time art, music and Media specialist. I love it. The drive is quite a ways but Natalie is with me and her teacher also teaches at the University of North Florida(because she is so good!).

First day picts

2010-09-12T20:08:00.006-04:00

So both of my girls are in school. Ashtin started Pre-kindergarten this year and she loves it. I have her in a childcare center that has a prek program so that she and Tighe are at the same place.

Natalie Started Kindergarten at Argyle Elementary which is the local elementary school. I started working at Lone Star Elementary which is about 45 minutes away so I had Natalie transferred there. I drop Ashtin and Tighe off in the morning and then Natalie and I drive to school. It is very convenient having Nat at the same school with me. It has been crazy busy with me working again but I love it. I am the school's P.E. teacher. How could I not love it! And yes, Natalie is one of my students. It will be especially nice when Ashtin starts Kindergarten next year so that they can both be with me.

Kindergarten

2010-08-16T10:28:00.003-04:00

I didn't have many of the typical feelings that one is supposed to have when you drop your oldest off on their first day of Kindergarten. Not a tear, not a catch in the throat, not a sigh, not even an extra long hug. A quick kiss and a hug and a small shove through the threshold of the Kindergarten classroom is all Natalie got. But that is pretty typical off me, I am rather emotionless.

So she is off on her educational adventure that will last the next 20 years or so(I hope)! I have complete faith in her, she is bright, she is ready and she has a good attitude towards school. I hope that she continues to enjoy school and does not become discouraged.

We love you, Natalie and know that you are a special little girl!

Good bye to Texas

2010-08-02T14:03:00.018-04:00

Larry and I just got home from visiting his sister Kimberly and her family in beautiful Mansfield, Texas. We had a great time and stayed very busy! Let's see, there was the trip to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens, Thursday night Texas Rangers game, the day at Joe Pool Lake, swimming at Matt and Emily's pool, the trip to the Dallas Zoo, back to school shopping, several trips to the movies (I think that I went at least three times, I haven't been to the movies that many times in the last year!), church, trips to the grocery store, stops at Sonic for Diet Coke, trip to the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, visiting the Dallas Farmer's Market, exercising, playing on the trampoline in the back yard, going to dinner with the adults, talking and catching up on things, planning the next Chalmers family reunion, attempting to keep Tighe on a nap schedule, and walks to the cutest corner pharmacy for candy and drinks. We had a blast and Ashtin and Natalie are already bugging me about the next trip to Texas to visit the cousins.

At the Texas Rangers game with the Moody's, us and Larry's sister Jenni.

Ashes

Tiggy

Haden, Taylore and Nat.

Larry and Tiggy

Natalie and the Moody's cousin, Kyle. Natalie became very attached to Haden, Kyle and Brickley and always wanted to be with the boys. Thanks guys for including Natalie when we visited. She loved it and had such a great time with you guys!

Tighe and Jocelyn! Thanks Joce for being such a big help! You rock!

At the Dallas Zoo.

Dallas Farmer's Market. It was so hot, we had to stop for ice cream!

Swimming at Matt and Emily's pool. Natalie loved that they had cupcakes for a snack after the pool. Talking with Larry on the phone that night, she went on and on about the cupcakes with the blue and red sprinkles!

Kim snapped this photo of the girls watching me get my hair cut. It was very cute.

Everyone at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. The gardens were gorgeous and the weather was perfect.

Me and Joce at the Botanical Gardens. It is hard to believe that I met Joce when she was just two years old!

TEXAS

2010-07-22T08:21:00.002-04:00

Hair cut

Dallas Zoo

The kids and I are in Texas! Larry and I drove out last weekend with Kim and Aaron. We left at 4 in the morning (Kim at 3 in the morning) and drove straight through. We got to Kim and Aaron's at about 8pm. The kids did amazingly and Kim's kids took turns helping us with our little ones. We have been keeping busy here. We have gone swimming, went to the movies (twice for me- the only time that I have been to the theater all year!), played in the back yard, gone to the Dallas Zoo, gotten my hair cut, jumped on the trampoline, played in the kiddy pool, gone for walks, read, watched t.v., and played, played, played. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I have to use my phone. It does an ok job, but I wish I had my camera! These are the only two images that were relevant. More updates later!

Latest Picts of Tiggy and Ashes

2010-06-30T07:29:00.006-04:00

Tighe's 1 year pictures and Ashtin's 4 year pictures. There are more but I didn't want to post them all on the blog. They're all on facebook if you are interested.

Face forward

2010-06-21T21:17:00.003-04:00

Tiggy was grumpy and tired when I took this picture.

We have officially turned Tiggy's car seat around to face the front. He was in awe for a few minutes and now has gotten used to being able to watch the t.v. and see Mom. He thought that he was pretty cool sitting the same way as his big sisters, too.

I took him to his one year check up today and little big boy (my other nickname for him) weighs in at 26 and a half lbs. and 30 and a half inches tall. He is still measuring in the 95 percentile for height and weight. The doctor spent a few seconds admiring his chunky, massive legs and declared, "They're just so cute, how could you not love them!". His legs are very thick and still rather chunky, and of course cute!

Ashtin's first hair cut.

2010-06-21T21:08:00.005-04:00

Today, Ashtin got her first hair cut, Natalie her second. I was a bit tired of dragging a brush through Ashtin rats' nest and I was tired of her always having her hair in her face. Ashtin's hair is so dense that it is really difficult to brush and she hates when anybody tries to comb it. I hope that this will help. Maybe next time I should get her hair layered so that it is easier to manage. Natalie just got a much needed trim.

The finished products!

Tighe is 1!

2010-06-20T16:21:00.006-04:00

Tighe has been 1 for a few days now but we just got around to celebrating it on Sunday. The girls and I made cupcakes and frosting and the girls had fun frosting them all by themselves. Tighe was fascinated with the candle and grabbed at the flame during the singing of his birthday song so we had to blow it out. He tentatively explored the cupcake and finally decided that it was worth eating, well, the frosting at least. I am sure the girls were more excited about his birthday than he was!

His gifts included book and ball from grandma/pa Chalmers, book and cash from grandma/pa Bryant and a fire truck bike from Mom and Dad. He totally loves the fire truck and hasn't fallen off of it yet!

This, That.

2010-06-19T22:01:00.006-04:00

The girls boxing on the Wii. We have recently resurrected the Wii. We haven't touched it since Christmas when my brothers were here. We just started using netflix on the Wii and we love it. Especially since we have super basic cable and we get maybe 8 or so channels. We like it that way.

The most recent picture of the kids. Ashes-4, Tiggy-1, Nat-5.

Tiggy started walking, and getting into everything. He has started playing with the girls a lot more and loves to be with them always.

Barney

2010-06-17T18:07:00.002-04:00

Oh my, Tiggy is in love with Barney. He claps and and sits and watches for a long time. He loves the songs and claps when they start singing. It is so fun to watch!

Natalie's PreK Graduation

2010-06-12T11:17:00.011-04:00

Waiting for the graduation to begin.

Natalie graduated from PreK today! It was a really nice ceremony and the students put on a small show. They sang a couple of songs and then received their diplomas. Moms and Dads were taking a ton of pictures and I was able to get a few shots and then we took some at home. We got out of their asap because Tighe was getting fussy because he missed his first nap and we wanted to escape the craziness of all of the pictures being taken!

Isn't the cap and gown just a little ridiculous for a prek graduation?!

Summer fun, Kinda...

2010-06-10T09:25:00.005-04:00

Natalie's last day of school is tomorrow but we have already been having some summer fun here in sunny Florida. Our back yard provides tons of shade (not from the trees that were deliberately planted for shade but from the wetlands on the back fence line) starting around 5pm or so and we have been taking advantage of the shade (though it is still plenty hot in the air). We get home from school around 3:45 and then it is snack time and then we slather on the sunscreen and head outside. I have already gone through about two or three bottle of sunscreen this year and am continually looking for coupons and deals to get some more on the cheap (that stuff is expensive!).

Our Bounty

2010-06-10T09:18:00.002-04:00

We started harvesting our garden about 2 weeks ago and it has been hard keeping up with the amount that we get. This has been refreshing because last years garden was ruined by about two weeks straight of rain.

steps

2010-06-04T18:32:00.001-04:00

Tiggy is taking his first independent steps! He looks so cute.

Oh, the emotions of Ashtin!

2010-06-02T13:56:00.003-04:00

Poor girl, she gets very frustrated very easily. Her melt downs are triggered by anything. Not being able to find something, not being able to do something, watch something, have something..... The list could go on for a while. She reacts so severely and it is very frustrated for me and Larry.

Memorial Day

2010-06-02T13:37:00.011-04:00

For Memorial Day weekend, Larry and I went down to visit my brother and his wife at their home in Ft. Myers. It was a nice visit and we had a good time keeping busy with swimming in their pool, helping with tiling their shower and playing with their baby girl, O'lena. She is such a sweetie and is a happy, strong little girl! Tiggy was fascinated with her and thought she was a play toy. It was nice to see them and I wish that we lived closer to them.

Orlando Trip

2010-06-02T13:11:00.005-04:00

Last Wednesday, Casey, her sweet baby boy, and me and the kids took a drive down to Orlando. Our first stop was a bit of an experiment because both of us hadn't been there before and we found it on the drive down using our phones. It's a place called Black Bean Deli, a cuban hole in the wall with awesome food. I had a cuban sandwich with fried plantains, salad, and black beans and rice. Casey had empanadas with a side of black beans. It was amazing!
Our next stop was to the LDS bookstore. The kids had fun looking through all of the fun stickers and books and I was able to get some things for FHE and for the primary class that I teach. After the bookstore, we had some yogurt at TCBY and then went to the temple. The girls started talking about the holy ghost and wanted to go find him in the temple. It was really cute.

More home improvements

2010-05-25T13:03:00.009-04:00

The final product. I sanded it, filled the cracks, painted it twice and replaced the lock and dead bolt. Now I need to work on the trim around the door.

We removed the bushes in the front, weeded, tilled, removed all of the roots, lay ground cover down and put rock in. Eventually we will be adding plants and maybe a fountain or something but for now, just rock.

I just love this picture of Tiggy. This is my favorite shot of babies with their bottle knocked back. It is just so cute.

Keeping children entertained while you are busy doing other things takes a lot of effort, planning and a bit of luck. I was able to keep the girls entertained all morning by putting the slide of this climber in the water and zip-tying the hose to the side so that the water from the hose falls on the slide. I was able to get some caulking done and finish the sanding on the front door.

Tree Down

2010-05-19T16:39:00.002-04:00

Larry and I have been needing to cut down this tree for a while now and we finally did it. It was a scraggly tree with huge roots and we worried about it damaging our foundation. We used a hand saw to cut the whole thing down. I climbed on top of the roof and cut all of the branches that I could reach from there and Larry cut the rest. We can now scratch this off of our to do list. Only several hundred more to go......

Tighe is 11 months!

2010-05-18T09:28:00.004-04:00

Tiggy turns 11 months today and he is finally breaking in some new teeth. He has one on the bottom that is totally out and the one next to it is pushing through. He also has one on the top that is showing and just barely breaking through the gums. Needless to say he is chewing on everything! One of his favorites is on the handle of the broom! I often find him standing up in the middle of the room. I wouldn't be surprised if he walks before 13 months. Both of the girls started walking then.
He is a big boy and I often get comments from strangers to that affect. One guy guess that he was 18 months! Yikes! I stood him up to our measuring chart and at 10 and a half months old, he was one inch shorter than Natalie at 15 months.
He is a sweet boy and still likes to be held when he is drinking his bottle. I think that he said the word bottle the other day. Baa-baa is how it came out.
I am teaching him some signing and he is starting to sign 'more' and 'all done'.

Happy Birthday, Ashtin!

2010-05-10T08:24:00.006-04:00

Ashtin turned 4 yesterday and she likes that she is 4 but is trying to convince me that she is still a little girl so that I can hold her. She likes it when I pick her up but she is so heavy and I usually have to sit when I hold her. She directed me on her cake and icecream and she picked pink cake with pink frosting but I don't know what happened our red dye so she chose yellow instead. She got lots of tinkerbell stuff, new paints and a cd player for her room. She loved it!

Notice the #5 on the cake? That is because we lost the #4 a few minutes before birthday time and had to improvise with another candle. We later found the #4 candle on Ashtin's bed.

Kim and Aaron visit

2010-05-04T14:46:00.003-04:00

We were able to see Kim and Aaron while they were in town on business and pleasure. We had a nice time and wish that we could have visited longer. Thanks for coming guys!

Catching up!

2010-05-04T13:44:00.014-04:00

Easter came and went....

Ashtin is almost 4!

Tighe is just plain cute!

Tighe has a new favorite toy. Really, it is a doll.

We started a garden (a little while ago). Larry has done the majority of the work, I just water it occasionally.

Bell Peppers

Corn

Squash, Pumkin

Bush Beans

Tomatoes

I started a landscaping project. I am removing all of the grass from around the house and will be planting shrubs and flowers. It is taking a while!

Tighe turned 10 months!

I mean, REALLY?!!!

2010-04-05T12:59:00.003-04:00

Larry and I have a neighbor who we code named Midlife. When he moved in he bought a motorcycle, shaved his head and grew a goatee. We took these for signs of a midlife crisis, hence the name Midlife. Midlife has a snowmobile in his garage. Yes, I said SNOWMOBILE and yes, we live in FLORIDA. So what is Midlife doing right now as I write this and as I just got one very fussy little baby boy down to nap? Oh, of course, revving the engine up as loud as he possibly can! Do any of you have neighbors whose behaviors make no sense at all? I would love to hear about them! Right now, however, I need to start praying that Tighe stays asleep. Gotta go......

Fun at the Fair

2010-04-04T09:01:00.018-04:00

The weather was absolutely perfect for a day at the fair. My Brother, his wife and their baby girl O'lena were visiting us for a few days and they came with us to the fair on Friday. The drive out was nice as we went through rural clay county. We parked in the dirt and grass (everyone did) so we all got dirty within seconds. Next year I will not were flip flops! Natalie was absolutely fascinated with the activity that she saw from the parking lot. You could see all of the rides and the huge barns and all of the concession stands from the parking lot and she stood there for several moments just looking and looking(standing still is very unusual for Natalie).

In we went and the first thing that we did was buy some cotton candy. The girls loved it but Tighe didn't even touch it.

Inside one of the huge barns were tractors and other farm equipment on display. Luckily the kids were able to climb on them because both of them took off and started climbing. They could have played on the equipment all day!

After looking at the prize pigs and poultry (where Tighe cried because of all of the roosters were calling - they were so loud!), and watching part of the bull frog jumping contest, we had lunch. Corndogs and soda for us, corndogs and sweet tea for Derick and Whitney. They were super yummy and huge. Natalie only ate a little bit and Ashtin loved it.

Uncle Derick and Tiggy. Derick and Whitney were a huge help. I couldn't have gone to the fair with out them! Thanks guys.

Derick and Whitney with Tiggy and their sweet baby girl, O'lena. P.S. the babies did really well and were very cooperative.

Dora was at the fair with her friend boots. The girls were so excited and when I asked them if they wanted to get a picture with them, Ashtin was all for it and Natalie shied away! My girls are so different! So that is why I only have pictures of Ashtin with Dora and Sponge Bob.

The girls really wanted to go on the Ferris Wheel so we went. They loved it! I thought that Natalie would get scared at the last minute and not want to go but she did great and loved the view from the top. "We can see the whole world!", is what Natalie said when we got to the top.

Auntie Whitney feeding Tighe some yummy ice cream!

Ice cream goatee!

The girls torturing their Uncle Derick.

Babies in the car. So sweet!

Happy Birthday, Larry!

2010-03-30T16:19:00.002-04:00

I surprised Larry at work for his birthday and took him to dinner (thank you, Casey for covering the babysitting!). On the way home we picked up a small cake and ice cream and the girls were tickled that it was a ladybug cake. Happy Birthday, Larry.

Tiggy is 9 months!

2010-03-30T16:11:00.003-04:00

Sweet baby Tighe is 9 months old and doing well. He is eating everything and crawling everywhere and pulling up and walking around furniture. Wasn't he just born yesterday? He loves his sisters and his favorite place is in their room and in the bathroom. He managed to climb over the edge of the tub and realized too late that he would fall face first and took a dive into the bathtub. He accomplished what he wanted but found that the accomplishment hurt that way. Maybe he will wait for mom to pick him up next time.

St. Patty's Day Surprise

2010-03-17T17:10:00.007-04:00

Tiggy loved them. Luckily we know he is not allergic to peanuts!

More Blarney Stones please, Mom?

What a nice surprise it was to check the mail today and find a package from my mother, Grandma Bryant. In it, were little easter bunnies for the girls, easter egg plates and cups for the kids and best of all..... Blarney Stones! What makes Blarney stones so special besides that they are an absolutely delicious cake cut into squares, covered in frosting on all sides and then rolled in crushed Spanish peanuts is that my family would make then every St. Patrick's day. My mom's family is mostly Irish and Irish pride runs strong. This is tradition people! And what a sweet tradition, mmmm, yummy. Thanks Mom! I will pull out my recipe and make them every year from here on, promise.

Spring time

2010-03-17T09:44:00.002-04:00

The weather has been getting nicer and nicer and we are acutely aware of it this year because the winter was sooooo cold! We have been having fires for a few nights now and this night was particularly nice because it was in the mid 70's and a bit humid. Usually that kind of weather mean rains and of course the next day -rain. I left out my cell phone and my camera but both survived thankfully!

Broken horse!

2010-03-09T20:23:00.001-05:00

Uncle Scott, you broke my Daddy's horse, that was very rude!

Landscaping and Larry's Pride and Joy

2010-03-09T08:12:00.004-05:00

So we removed the shrubs from the front of the house and are transplanting them to the back of the house along the fence. I might as well call them trees because the roots systems were enormous and when we broke two ropes trying to remove them with the jeep, we removed them by hand. First, I trimmed the branches by half. I hope by moving them to the back, they will grow tall and cover the fence and make it nicer to look at and help soak up some of the water back there.

Larry's pride and joy: One Lemon tree and one Tangelo tree. Larry has been talking about getting citrus trees for a long time now and we finally got some last weekend. He is so excited. We will be planting the garden this coming weekend. Hopefully we will have better luck with weather this year. Last year was super rainy and flooded the garden for several days.

Lemon trees are very pretty as the song says!

No babies allowed!

2010-03-04T12:53:00.002-05:00

My girls love their brother but I guess sometimes babies are a bother. They put up this pillow wall so that Tighe couldn't get into their room and "mess up our stuff". For sure, they do a good enough job "messing up" their stuff without the addition of a baby.

More construction

2010-03-02T08:53:00.002-05:00

We are finally working on putting the wall back up in the rooms that used to be Larry's Dads office. These two rooms will be the kids rooms. We will finally have the kids all in one area of the house and close to the bathroom. By these pictures one might think that Larry did all of the work. I promise that I helped. It was fun and relatively easy to do. The next step is the wall board (sheet rock). This part might be a bit trickier than the 2x4's. I am so excited to finally be starting this! I have wanted this done for years!

Tighe is 8 months....

2010-03-02T08:41:00.005-05:00

A couple of days ago. I have not been keeping up with his monthly updates like I should so he turned 8 months a few weeks ago. Anyway, Tiggy is doing well and is such a sweet boy. He hasn't sprouted any teeth yet but that sure doesn't stop him from eating anything we put in front of him. His newest favorite is cheese. He refuses to allow me to spoon feed him so he does it all by himself. This morning was cheerios and cranberries for breakfast and last night was asparagus, flour tortillas, chips, and cheese.

Seriously?!

2010-02-25T08:39:00.002-05:00

Okay, so yesterday I had an extra 30 minutes before I had to pick Natalie up. Tighe was content and playing and so was Ashtin. I thought, could I possibly clean my bathroom right now? I thought no way but I wanted to see how far I got. So seriously it took a total of like 15-20 minutes to clean the whole thing. Sweet! It seems that the thought of cleaning the bathroom is way worse than the actual event!

Babysteps

2010-02-24T18:20:00.002-05:00

No, Tighe isn't walking yet (thank goodness!). I have started following the Fly lady and I am taking babysteps toward taking control of my house and ending my CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). She recommends taking babysteps towards a cleaner, happier home. One of these steps or recommendations is having a control journal. So I am using my blog for this step. You may see a odd things on here for a while but I am really hoping that it will help me establish a regular cleaning routine. So far I am to SHINE MY SINK, GET DRESSED ALL THE WAY TO MY SHOES, LEARN ABOUT HOTSPOTS, START A CONTROL JOURNAL OR REMINDER SYSTEM, AND RECOGNIZE THE NEGATIVE VOICES AND CHANGE THEM.

Okay, my hotspots include the end of the kitchen counter, kitchen table, desk, and buffett. I Shall attack!

Randoms

2010-02-13T10:11:00.004-05:00

Can you tell that it is laundry day from the first picture and that I use my couch to fold and sort? I had Larry take a picture of me with Tighe because I never seem to be in the pictures, always the picture taker. The second picture is of the girls making Tighe into a super baby. They put a red handkerchief in the neck of his shirt and were calling him superbaby!

Ashes and Tiggy. Ashtin is becoming much more involved with Tighe and it is very cute. She wants to sing him a song at bed time and she wants to hold him and feed him and tell him stories and she thinks that he just does the silliest things.

Tighe is 7 Months!

2010-01-29T09:08:00.006-05:00

Sorry for the blurry pict but I just have had the hardest time getting any good pictures of the kids lately. Tighe is 7 months now and he is officially crawling! He is still at the fun part though where he still wants to be held and doesn't always want to be on the go. That will be happening soon enough! He is on a good sleeping schedule too where he sleeps from 7 to 7 and takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap. He still is not really that terribly interested in solids and I can get him to eat only occasionally. Let's see, he has had green beans, asparagus, broccoli, strawberries, applesauce, bananas, grapes, carrots, and mandarin oranges. He doesn't really like the applesauce and he likes green beans. He is a strange sort of boy, but a good boy!

Happy Birthday, Natalie!

2010-01-20T08:29:00.005-05:00

Natalie turned 5 on Monday. She helped make her cake and directed me as to what color it should be and how big. She had fun liking the bowl when we were done.

Natalie got a new pair of running shoes (which she has not taken off except to sleep), a helmet for riding her bike, exercise shorts with a matching shirt that says 'girls rule', a hello kitty t-shirt, lip gloss, hair ties, a care bear movie and a bag of M&M's. I really think that the candy was her favorite!

Cold, Cold, Cold!

2010-01-11T08:12:00.002-05:00

It has been so cold here for the last several weeks, unusually so. This is a picture of a neighbors yard. She always runs her sprinklers even though her lawn has been dead for years. We have passed this winter reminder everyday for a few weeks now. Typically, this would have been melted by mid day but it has stayed so cold here that the ice sticks around all day on most days. Crazy! This is Florida!

Ft. Myers

2010-01-01T21:17:00.013-05:00

New Baby O'lena with her Mommy, Whitney.

Larry, my brothers and I drove down to Ft. Myers to visit my other brother Derick his wife whitney and their new baby O'lena Lynn. We had a nice trip and the girls had fun getting to know a new baby cousin.

Baby girl, O'lena.

Tiggy Tighe!

Whitney said, "Is everyone in your family a bunch of monkeys?" We kept busy climbing up the mangroves down at the river when the boys were fishing. It was fun but the girls were a little scared because the trees were in the river.

Nat with Baby O'lena.

Tiggy at the gun range.

Christmas

2010-01-01T21:01:00.004-05:00

For the last several years, my friend Dick Melkerson has invited Larry and I to the Sawgrass Marriott in Pointe Vedre Beach to their lunch buffet on Christmas Day. We always have a good time and eat too much. This year my brothers were with us and they loved it. Thanks Dick for the yummy lunch!

Finishing the siding

2010-01-01T18:27:00.013-05:00

We finished the siding on our house! I can't even tell you how long we have been working on it. It has been going on years. Anyway, Larry, my brothers and I nailed, caulked, trimmed and sprayed the house and it looks awesome. I will post finished pictured when I can. We still have to paint the trim but the big work is done!

Caulking..... and more caulking.....

We didn't have a paint suit by Larry's old Orkin man coveralls worked just fine!

Tighe is 6 Months

2009-12-18T17:56:00.003-05:00

Tighe is 6 months old. I took him to his 6 month check up today and he grew 2 and 3/4 inches and is at 20 and a half lbs. Once we had our guests out of the house, I started training him to sleep through the night (can you believe it! My girls slept through the night way faster than Tiggy). When he woke, I would change his diaper, stick his pacifier in his mouth and put him back to bed. Oh, he cryed and cryed the first time I did that but not so much the second time and gradually, after a few nights, he slept from 7:30pm to 7:30 am. It is so nice not having to get up several times a night. And he really doesn't need to eat in the middle of the night- he is growing just fine!

Uncles visit!

2009-12-18T17:38:00.003-05:00

My brothers Calvin and Wesley are for a few weeks and they simply amaze me. One of the first things that they did was fix up the old Jeep that has been sitting on the curb for several months. Their knowledge about vehicles and all things mechanical is profound and I am glad that they are here and they love to have the Jeep to run around town in.

For Christmas, my brothers are finishing the siding on our house! We appreciate all that they do for us and love that they are here. It is nice to see them and catch up. They really have grown up. I am so used to remembering them as 9 and 10 year olds.

Catching up

2009-12-12T14:39:00.012-05:00

I have a lot to catch up on. I will start from the present and work my way backwards. We just said adios to Larry's parents who have been visiting the last week. It was a nice visit and I am sad to see them go. In January, Sally and Alan will be headed to Bogota, Columbia to serve their second mission together for the perpetual education fund. The girls loved to have them and wanted them to stay with us at our house because they don't have a house (as grandma explained when they asked where their home is). It has been nice having Larry back from India! We picked him up from the airport about a week ago.

We welcome the newest addition to our household though I wish that it were under better circumstances. A few weeks ago, Ashtin thought it would be a grand idea to stick the running garden hose into the dryer vent. The dryer was running at the time. Larry and I tryed to fix it and we thought that we had until I dryed a batch of clothes on Saturday and the dryer felt hot on Sunday, 24 hours after the last load. We figured that a dryer is cheaper to replace than a scorched house so off to Sears we went. Larry's dad recommended Maytag so that is what we went with. I love my new dryer!

Tiggy grew! No surprise there but he sure has sprouted. Before our trip to Texas he was in the 18 pound range and when we arrived home, he was in the 21 pound range. We said goodbye to the infant seat and put him in a convertable car seat. He looks so grown up in this picture!
Tighe turned five months and is growing into a happy, smiley, playful little boy. He is a joy to be around!

We started Tiggy on solids, sort of.

We had a great trip to Texas. Larry's parent helped drive out to Texas and I dropped them off in Lumberton at Larry's sisters house. I drove to Dallas the next day and stayed with Kim and Aaron for just under two weeks. While we were there, the girls saw snow, went for walks, played with the cousins, celebrated Taylore's birthday, enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast, explored downtown Dallas, and generally had a great time. Thanks Kim and Aaron for your hospitality. We had a great time!

Grandma and Grandpa are here

2009-11-17T10:42:00.003-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa Chalmers are here for a visit and the girls are very excited. It has been nice to have them here as Larry is out of the country in India. They have been helping with the daily chores (thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!) and entertaining the kids and letting my run errands by myself! We are having a great time!

Cute, Cute, Cute!

2009-11-09T09:30:00.002-05:00

My boy is growing up so fast! He is grabbing at everything and he rolls from his tummy to his back and just thinks it is so cool. His grabbing is hit or miss when it comes to his bottle but I managed to snap a picture of him holding his bottle just before bed time. He is so sleepy and stinking cute!

New beds

2009-11-09T09:24:00.002-05:00

The girls are so excited about their new bunk beds! Natalie gets to sleep on top and they just think it is the coolest thing. My mom described it as their own jungle gym right in their room! So true! So true in fact that after several near falls, Larry and I separated the bunks and put the top bunk on the floor. We will try again in a few months. It was so nice to have the extra room that the bunks provided. But I would rather have sad girls than broken girls!

Finally.......

2009-11-09T09:13:00.002-05:00

I like to think of myself as an honest person. Sometimes to a fault. If someone asks me a question, I tell the truth whether for better or worse. (Anyone ever wonder why I am so quiet sometimes? Silence is how I sensor myself.) Ok, so to the point. I have been getting questions for several weeks now about how Tighe is sleeping. Of course, I reply, not very well at all, he wakes every few hours, it really sucks, I want to throw him out the window, etc. People are usually rather quiet in response, I think that they are not sure what to say and I think they assumed that I was going to answer in the positive. Not so.
However, I am happy to report that last night, Tighe slept really, really good! He went to sleep about 8 and didn't get up until about 3:15 and then fell back to sleep quickly after a feeding and slept until about 6:30. Hooray! It is about time, I feel great from a semi-restful nights sleep. Let's see if this pattern lasts or if it's just a tease!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-01T15:21:00.011-05:00

The Loot!

Naps

I promise

2009-10-29T08:41:00.006-04:00

My Sleeping Beauty and Tinkerbell

"Can we play with our pumpkins? I promise, promise, promise that I will not eat the candy," Says Ashtin, with her hands up and pumping every time that she says promise. Our ward had a Halloween Carnival last night and the girls got some candy in their pumpkin buckets. I knew that no matter how serious Ashtin was about keeping her promise, candy would still disappear. So we compromised. I took out all of the candy, placed them in a zip lock bag with their names on it and let them play with their buckets. Now the candy was out of reach and not their coveted pumkin buckets.

First Parent Conference

2009-10-26T21:01:00.002-04:00

I had my first parent/teacher conference today at Natalie's prek class and I must say that it felt a little strange being on the other side of the table. For 7 years, I was the one who was meeting with parents about their child's progress. It felt good and Natalie is doing well. Her teachers say that she is a leader to her peers, she is compassionate and she is trustworthy. By the end of the school year, her teachers want her to count to 50, recognize all shapes (she only doesn't recognize hexagon and a crescent), recognize the numbers 1-20, and write her last name. She already knows her colors, recognizes numbers 1-11, and can write her name, and has learned the word 'calm' and 'two'. The only thing that her teachers say that she needs to do is work on staying quiet and still in circle time(no surprise there!) Natalie has always been active and busy and full of energy. I am proud of my little Nat and she thrives in school, she just loves it and is so excited to go every day!

Tighe is 4 months

2009-10-22T08:23:00.007-04:00

Tighe is 4 months and he is turning into a very sweet baby. He loves his Momma(translation- he loves to be held). He has found his hands and makes good use of them by sucking and chewing on them. He is just starting to grab a little and when the girls get close they make sure that he grabs their hair (literally-they put their hair in his hand) and then get all dramatic, "He is pulling my hair, HELP!" The ladies are very sweet to him and will go up and talk to him and make sure that he has his paci. When he cries, Ashtin will make this pained face and put her hands over her ears. He enjoys his exersaucer which gives me a break. His nickname stuck and we are increasingly calling him by it. Thanks to Scott who misspronounced Tighe and thought that is was pronounced Tiggy. So Tiggy it is.

Just for the record- at his 4 month check up, Tighe was 25 inches long and 17 lbs. 4 oz.

Newest pictures of the bambinos

2009-10-08T20:47:00.008-04:00

e-mail

2009-09-27T15:33:00.001-04:00

Natalie just asked if she could check her e-mail........ Isn't she like 4?

Tighe is 3 Months

2009-09-25T14:23:00.004-04:00

Tighe is seriously a tummy sleeper. Just like his dad. I know, I know -that is a big no no for babies but if I didn't, I swear he and I would never get any rest. If it makes you feel any better, I just started putting him on this tummy a few weeks ago. And yesterday, I put him on his side for a nap and he quickly rolled on his tummy and fell sound asleep. He has gotten into a pretty good routine. Bedtime for him is around 8:30 with a feeding around 2 or 3 in the morning. He wakes around 7 and has a morning nap for an hour or so and takes a long nap around 1. He catches catnaps in the afternoon and is always ready for bed!

He is not quite ready for his seat but he looks so cute in it. He has started sucking on his fists and telling me stories and he gives me plenty of smiles. He is doing much better in the tummy department and rarely seems bothered by his gassiness. He is one gassy guy, too -always making barking spiders. The girls get a kick out of it.

Thanks, Grandma!

2009-09-22T14:15:00.003-04:00

The girls were so excited to get a surprise package in the mail from Grandma. In it they found some princess crowns, necklaces, rings, a dress, princess wands and best of all, fresh Washington apples! They were in heaven! Thanks Mom!!

Rooted to the chair

2009-09-21T16:33:00.003-04:00

I was holding Tighe in my usual spot the other day when Natalie got a hold of my camera (the girls tend to get into things they are not supposed to when I am occupied with him). So instead of freaking out and demanding that she hand over the three hundred dollar piece of equipment, I coached her in how to use it. She snapped this shot. Do I have a photographer in training here? And she got a pretty good shot without breaking it. Sweet!

Little Man

2009-09-14T14:50:00.002-04:00

Labor Day

2009-09-10T08:43:00.012-04:00

For Labor day, we spent the day at Uncle Dick's house. The girls spent the day in the pool and we had roasted chicken, potato salad and bread for lunch. Uncle Dick, as the girls know him, is a friend of mine who I taught with for the first 5 years at Peterson. We were the only two P.E. teachers at a high school of about 1200 students. Can you say budget cuts! Dick lives in Jacksonville Beach and it was nice to go out there and get away from the house for a few hours. It was a great day! Thanks Dick!

Tighe got used to the water after a few minutes.

Dick, Larry and Tighe.

Nat and Uncle Dick.

Ashes and Uncle Dick.

Discount Diva

2009-09-01T17:11:00.003-04:00

I have long considered myself thrifty and somewhat of a Discount Diva. Recently I have been shopping more often at the Goodwill and scanning the clearance selection at Target. I have found some great buys. Perfect -never been worn jeans for Natalie at the goodwill, awesome dress for myself for half off at Target, P.J's for Tighe at the goodwill and at Target and shorts for Ashtin at the Goodwill. I like going to the Goodwill on Roosevelt -It is clean and organized. I just love a good buy but you have to take your time and not be burdened with impatient kids and spouses! What are your favorite discount stores?

Mud Fun

2009-08-27T09:18:00.005-04:00

Larry and I had a dump truck full of dirt delivered so that we can fill in the area for the garden and I could not deny my kids their right to play in the dirt. This was our favorite past time when I was a kid. That and pine cone wars! They had the best time and loved to get all muddy!

Natalie's first day at preschool

2009-08-25T14:34:00.006-04:00

Nat is enrolled in the afternoon session of preschool at Tutor Time. She is so excited about school. Last week I told her that she was starting school on Monday and she would not stop talking about it and asked a million times when was she going to go to her class. Drove me nuts but I am happy that she is excited about school. She needs the additional activity and does well in class. She excelled in the school that I had her in last school year and I hope that she continues to find school enjoyable and interesting.

2 month check up

2009-08-24T08:39:00.002-04:00

At Tighe's 2 month check up on Friday, we found out that he weighs 14 and a half pounds and is in the 95th percentile for both height and weight. Big Boy! Life with him has gotten a little more routine and he is usually a little more fussy when he is trying to poop. He is sleeping about a five hour stretch at night and hopefully will continue to sleep longer and longer for me soon. He just likes to eat!

Tighe is 2 months!

2009-08-20T15:04:00.004-04:00

Baby Tighe is 2 months old already! It has not been a super pleasant experience since Tighe still suffers from some sort of tummy troubles that makes him uncomfortable. He is taking medication for it and I am thankful for that. But other than that, he is a pleasure. He started smiling around 6 weeks and still loves to be held- I don't mind that too much. The girls just love him and I am glad that I am taking the next school year off. It would have been rather ridiculous trying to juggle three kids, work and family responsibilities. Especially with Tighe being a bit needy. I would have been a walking zombie -even more than I am now!

Reunion Pictures

2009-08-19T15:52:00.012-04:00

Tiny toilet just for tots!

Ashtin's loot after the pinata.

Larry and Tighe.

Lynette, Andi, Ashtin, Kylie and Bailey.

Ashtin on her favorite crab float. She just floated on that thing for ever. I had to keep an eye on her or she would just float out to the middle of the lake and then someone would have to go fetch her. Crazy girl!

Kade and Natalie were inseperable!

Paul and Larry with their baby boys.

Paul pulling the tots around.

Ashtin.

Natalie.

Family reunion pictures

2009-08-17T08:07:00.002-04:00

Jenni Myers sent me this picture of Ashtin. She took it when we all went to get milkshakes in Garden City. Thanks, Jenni! Too cute!

Is it Colic?

2009-08-13T17:17:00.005-04:00

Tighe started out his life as a normal easy going baby and then at about 3-4 weeks, he became very fussy. My first two babies were very easy and started sleeping through the night very early. Tighe continued to become more and more fussy and finally at the end of his fifth week I took him to the doctor. He was so bloated and his tummy movements were so loud. The doctors gave his some medicine for the pain that his tummy spasms were causing and he is a totally different baby. Unfortunetly, he picked up a cold while at the reunion and he has been very congested. This is making him uncomfortable at night when he is on his back and he wakes frequently because he cannot breathe. I figured that he has about another week of congestion and then he should be feeling and sleeping better. I am looking forward to a few more hours of uninterrupted sleep. So far, he has slept a 4 hour stretch a few times and the rest are anywhere from 1 to 3 hours at a time. I haven't slept more than 4 hours at a time in several months. During my last trimester, I woke every few hours to pee! He did give me his first smile about a week ago and he is very cuddly and likes to be held.

Keeping the toddlers busy

2009-07-12T16:53:00.006-04:00

I guess that it is not fair to call Natalie a toddler but keeping her busy is always a full time job and has been since she was born. She was always on the move. I remember trying to put her pajamas on her when she was not yet a year old and she would never hold still. She still doesn't! Having to be homebound more than we are used to has presented its fair share of challenges. One of them is to keep my 3 and 4 year olds busy without relying too heavily on the TV. Natalie is constantly asking what we are going to do next and where are we going today and what are we going to do tonight? I ordered the highlights magazine for her and she just recieved the latest copy and in it was a fun and easy recipe for popsicles. 1 1/2 cups strawberries and 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt. Blend and put in cups with popsicle sticks and freeze. The girls already enjoy cooking and had a good time with it. The next activity(which they are doing as I type) is pop beads. They like this one but get distracted if I walk away and most of the beads end up on the floor or in places they were not meant to be.

Life with Tighe

2009-07-03T19:38:00.005-04:00

Tighe is doing very well and is a good baby! He hates his diaper being changed and loves to be held and loves to eat! He had his two week check up yesterday and has gained almost a pound over his birth weight. He now weighs 8 lbs 13 oz. He has gotten into a pattern of sleep and waking and spends a bit of time in the late morning and early evening awake and alert and then spends several hours sleeping and eating in the middle of the day and all night. Here are a few recent pictures of our little man.

Newest Addition

2009-06-21T08:44:00.014-04:00

Here is what I looked like right before they hooked me up to the I.V. and started the induction. Everything went pretty smoothly and Larry and I spent the morning reading books, watching T.V. and chatting with the nurses. Our nurse's name was Joy and she was such a nice lady and made sure that we had everything that we needed.

Right after birth. I pushed through two contractions and within a few seconds, he had entered the world.

Has anyone had a newborn with one of those bumps in the middle of his chest? The nurses said that it was normal and I am assuming that is it the end of the sternum -the xyphoid process?

Larry brought the girls to meet their brother and they were so excited! Ashtin immediately started giving him kisses and Natalie held and held him. Taking turns was an issue and they of course wanted to both hold him at the same time.

Proud Daddy!

Finally home!

Baby Tighe Arrived

2009-06-19T10:18:00.006-04:00

Weight: 7.14
Height: 21.25 (shorter than both sisters, poor fella)
Both Jess and Tighe(aka Tiggy) are good
Still a boy

Ready or not.......

2009-06-17T17:42:00.003-04:00

Baby boy is supposed to arrive tomorrow. Ready or not, here we go! It is always an adventure to have a new baby in the house. Very exciting and challenging.

Baby Tighe update

2009-06-10T12:19:00.003-04:00

I went to the doctor yesterday for a check up and a non stress test, you know because now I supposedly have gestational diabetes. I have had to check my blood sugar since last thursday and gosh, what a pain. My sugar has been within normal ranges and I lost 5 of the 6 pounds that I gain in that one week. Pregnant bodies are very strange. For a non stress test, they strap your belly up with a heart rate monitor and a contraction monitor and then you hold this thing with a button on it and everytime you feel the baby move, you push the button. They are looking for lots of fetal movement and when the baby moves, they want his heart rate to increase. Tighe did a splendid job and was moving like crazy and his heart was responding well. The only annoying part was that I had to lay down on my back for a half hour and when I got up everything hurt. The doctor explained that they do not like to keep gestational diabetic babies past 38 weeks and so great news, they scheduled me for an induction on the 18th at 6:30 in the morning. Only 8 more days.

swimming

2009-06-08T16:25:00.003-04:00

larry and I have been taking the girls to the pool recently and they have been getting used to the water. Little miss Ashtin is quite the brave little swimmer and usually insists on swimming "all by myself!" Natalie has been very shy about the water and even she has made some big improvements. She will now try and swim into the open water without clinging to one of us or the sides of the pool. It is very fun to see the girls enjoying the water. We are planning on signing them up for swim lessons this summer before we go to Utah for the family reunion.

Natalie's first haircut

2009-06-06T12:13:00.007-04:00

Notice the sad face. She did not want to get her hair cut. But that is typical Natalie. She tends to resist everything at first. The first three pictures are before the haircut and the last three are after.

The total time of the haircut was a ridiculous three minutes. She just trimmed a few inches off. This last picture shows the back of her hair and it looks crooked because she is bending to one side. Natalie was happy with the results and she showed her dad and Ashtin as soon as we got home. It does look better than before, nice and neat.

Baby Update

2009-06-05T14:38:00.004-04:00

I went to the doctor yesterday and found out a few surprises. First, I gained 6 lbs. in a week, second, they found sugar in my urine, and lastly, my blood sugar was really high. They put me on a diabetic diet and sent me home with a prescription for a blood sugar checker (I don't know the technical name). I have to stick my finger 4 times per day and check my blood sugar. My next appointment is on tuesday and they are doing a non-stress test on baby Tighe. I have checked my blood sugar three times since I left the doctor's office and 2 out of the 3 times my levels have been normal. So that is good. So what the heck is going on? I am so frustrated! What else could possibly go wrong with this pregnancy? (Where is some wood to knock on?) Luckily, I only have a few more weeks until Tighe is here. I can last that long, can't I?

Picking Peaches

2009-05-30T16:35:00.008-04:00

Today we drove to Citra, FL and picked peaches at a u-pick peach farm. The drive was nice, Larry drove and I laid out in the back seat. I won't be able to do that for much longer because Natalie will have to move back there to make room for Tighe. The ladies watched Finding Nemo the whole way down and back again. We definately have some city girls because the girls didn't quite enjoy it as much as I would have liked. It was too slow for Natalie, she wanted to pick every peach she could reach and didn't quite understand which ones were ripe or not. But it was fun and the peaches are super yummy!