Hello 30!

Today is a big day... for me at least... Today I turn 30! I have had mixed feelings about 30 for a while - 30 is old, or so Audrey tells me - 30 isn't even halfway - 30 is the new 20 - you get the idea. So now I have come to the conclusion that 30 is not as bad as I have feared. After all when I look at my twenties, I realize that they have been unforgettable. So many wonderful things happened in my twenties... I married the love of my life! I graduated college! I became a MOM - the best blessing ever! I moved to Denver with my little family of three. I realized that with my husband I could do whatever I set my mind to do. I learned that I could be a fabulous mom. Later, I moved to Florida and with another tiny addition, I had my perfect little family of four. I visited lots of wonderful places including a fairytale trip to Paris. It's extraordinary to know that I am among a very limited group of people (mainly kings and queens) who can say that they celebrated their birthday with 600+ guests at a gala party at the Castle de Versailles. So when I think about what my twenties gave to me I feel very, very blessed and if my thirties are even half as good to me then I will be a very lucky woman! So bring it on 30! I am ready for you!!! :)

Up to Date!!!

Okay! So, I have finally gotten everything up to date. I feel much better about myself and my blogging abilities. :) I hope that you enjoy the newest entries which have been "backdated" to be true to their actual date. The new entries include:

Simply Egg-tastic (April)
A Musical Evening (April)
Island Camping (May)
Audrey's First Surf (May)
Claire's First Surf (May)

I hope that you enjoy the entries and keep coming back for more exciting snip-its of our family life!

Horrible Blogger Alert!!!

I must apologize because I have been a very BAD blogger lately!!! Not to make excuses for myself, but we have been really busy and our computer needed some TLC. Now that the latter is remedied (because with two children I know the former will never slow down), I hope to be better with my posts. I am adding new posts of things that have been happening and "backdating" them so that they are true to the date. So if you haven't checked out this blog in a while, you probably haven't noticed my lack of posts. But for those of you who have been checking it out and not getting anything new, please know that I am going to do better... much better. So go back a few posts and catch up on the fun and crazy snip-its of our family life!

Claire's First Surf

While Claire isn't quite big enough to surf yet, that didn't stop her from getting in on the fun. She used the boogie board and made her own style. At first, Brock took her out a short distance and let her coast back toward shore. Although she squealed with delight and said it was "so much fun", she wasn't ready to go back out. She sat with me and we watched Audrey surf. Then she made big sand piles, sorry, castles and got really upset when the waves took them away. When we were starting to finish with everything, Claire decided she wanted one more go with the boogie board. However, this time going to the waves was not on the agenda. As everyone knows, if you are a princess (or a stubborn three-year-old) then things should come to you. This was Claire's approach to her final boogie board surf. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, or in this case, a video...

Audrey's First Surf

Living minutes from the beach, I knew that this day would come... eventually... We have watched people surf the waves at Cocoa Beach since we moved here four years ago and every time Audrey would tell us how much she wanted to learn to do it.

Well, today was Audrey's first day of surfing. Our neighbor, Justin, had volunteered to teach her how to surf and Audrey was over the moon with excitement. While she didn't stand on the board or even kneel, lying down on her tummy was a good beginner position. She went out a few times with Justin and Brock. They would help her line up her board and then help her onto it and send her toward shore with the next wave. She was a bit nervous (as expected) with the bigger waves and clung to Brock's arm a few times. That said, the waves were never above her head - they just looked "big and scary" to her. She came in and said that she wasn't going back out. She was cold and tired. So not wanting to be the pushy parent, I let her build in the sand with Claire for a while. Then, on her own, she got up, grabbed her board and headed out to try it by herself. It was a very proud moment! She didn't go out quite as far as she did with Brock and Justin, but she went out alone and that was a huge step in itself. She was very proud of herself and you could tell that she was beginning to relax a bit in the water. She is really excited to go back again soon.

Enjoy some photos and a short video from the big day...

Justin and Brock lining up Audrey for her next wave


Surfing toward the shore


She had lots of fun!


Audrey in action...

Island Camping

We love island camping! It may seem crazy to some people, but it is one of our family favorites. We load up our boat with all of the necessary gear and head out to enjoy a laid-back weekend on the island. The islands where we camp are actually islands, although not like many of you are probably thinking. They are not out in the middle of the ocean. They are spoil islands in the Indian River. When the intercoastal waterway is dredged (to keep the depth deep enough for the larger vessels that travel the river) the dirt, sand, etc. that is removed is put in the middle of river creating the spoil islands. The islands have been there for a long time as they all have plant growth and large trees. The island that we like the most has a long sand bar that extends out into the river. The girls love to run with Duke up and down the sand bar and look for exciting finds, which does two things - 1) it gives them something fun to do - we have lots of cool shells to prove it and 2) it allows them to exhaust a lot of their energy with helps all of them (Duke included) sleep really well.

So some of you may be saying "I don't do camping" or "My idea of 'roughing it' is staying at a Holiday Inn". Well to those of you who think that, you are truly missing out on a really fun, family-oriented experience. And we don't rough it too much. Our tent is really big - we only have 4 occupants (2 big and 2 small) and it could easily sleep 6 adults. Also we sleep on queen-size air mattresses, seriously, the ground can be hard and the air mattress makes it wonderful. Also, we usually have steak, corn on the cob and other fresh vegetables at least one night. Then we will have hot dogs, hamburgers, etc. for lunch one day. Each morning we have a full breakfast - eggs, bacon, ham, toast, etc. All cooked by my wonderful husband on the campfire. We always roast marshmellows because it just wouldn't be camping without those. We have found that our favorite way to create smores is with our roasted marshmellows and Oreos. It's not as messy as graham crackers and chocolate squares.

During the day there is a wide variety of things to do. Audrey and Claire love to explore the island and find lots of different things. They also love to play hide and seek, which can be quite humorous, especially when Claire hides where she thinks is "out of view" but is actually in plain site from many angles. The hammock is one of everyone's favorite spots - it is my go to spot when the girls are napping. With a good book in hand, I lean back, read and enjoy the quiet sounds that the island offers. Brock loves to fish and the girls join him a lot. We also love to snorkel around the island looking at the different fish and habitats that we find. Duke loves the freedom that the island offers him. He doesn't have to stay on his leash during the day, so he is free to run like mad all over the island barking at birds and sniffing to his heart's content.

All in all, it is just a great way to spend the weekend. As I said before, we love island camping!

A Musical Evening

Ellie, Audrey and Sarah

at The Magic Tree House: The Musical

As part of her birthday, Audrey received tickets (for her and two friends) to see "Magic Tree House: The Musical". She invited Ellie, her best friend from her old school, and Sarah, one of her best friends from her new school. The evening started with dinner at Steak n Shake - the girls' choice. They enjoyed their meal and of course their milkshakes. We then drove to the King Center in Melbourne for the show. We had great seats - in the center orchestra four rows from the front. The girls loved the show. There was lots of special effects with lights, sounds and smoke. The play was based on the book series by Mary Pope Osborne, "The Magic Tree House", which revolves around two siblings, Jack and Annie, and the adventures they share as they read books they find in the tree house. Essentially as they read the books, the books come to life outside the tree house. In the first one, Dinosaurs after Dark, Jack reads a book about prehistoric animals and the tree house magically whisks Jack and Annie away to the prehistoric past. The books are really cute and Audrey loves to read them. Although she says they are "too easy" for her now! I have to say, as a side note, that I love that she has such a wonderful love of reading! While I have read to her since she was a baby, I have to thank Mrs. Reimer for the encouragement that she gave Audrey while she was in her Kindergarten class.