Rainy Days

Tropical Storm Debby has been sitting over Florida for the last week.  We have been very blessed in that winds never exceeded 50 MPH and we never lost power.  We did, however get serious cabin fever.  Here's how we coped over the last week.

Grayson riding his new scooter that he earned while potty training.  Thank heavens for carports.

Landon riding his bike.  Well, getting a push from Jared.  (Don't judge him for his pink pacifier.  We lost our boy-colored ones and this was all Target had.  I wasn't going to go to another store just because they were pink.)

Friends stopped by for lunch and some couch time.

We cook!

We chase and feed the ducks that have wandered over from the lake across the street.

In unrelated news, my dad made this awesome PVC bike rack for us.  It is awesome and our carport looks so much more organized now.  Thanks, Dad! And, Pinterest for the idea in the first place.

3 of 30 Things

Describe your relationship with your parents.

I don't think I could describe my relationship with my parents as perfect, but I do feel it is ideal.  For as long as I can remember, I have loved, respected, trusted, and honored my parents.  For as long as I remember, my parents have loved, respected, and trusted me.  (Maybe not as much trust when I was a teenager.)  And, the way they love me is the perfect kind of love.  They love me unconditionally.  I have always felt safe taking risks, making mistakes, etc because I know if I fail miserably my parents will still love me.  That is something that is more unique than I thought it was.  My profession as a therapist has shown me that what my parents provided me with, continue to provide me with, is something many people do not inherently receive.  I know now, more than ever, how truly blessed I was to be sent to earth to be their daughter. 

Weeki Wachee

We spent Tuesday at Weeki Wachee Springs, located on the West Coast of Florida.  Aunt Stacey thought it would be a fun way to spend our day and she was right!  We swam for quite awhile in the crystal clear water.  Though cold, the boys loved it.  We even saw a few fish jumping.  After swimming, we took a break to eat lunch.  Here's Landon doing what he does best: taking out a PB&J sandwich. 

Grayson and Lyla taking a sweet little walk together.

Getting ready to watch the Little Mermaid Show.  This is a show in an underwater theater where the "mermaids" swim and perform.  It is something they've been doing for 50-something years at Weeki Wachee and it was so fun.

Aunt Teresa came with us for the day!  It was awesome having her with us.

Gigi came too!  It was great that the kids were equally matched with adults today.  No stress fun.

Grayson was totally captivated by the show until the Sea Witch popped out of a hidey-hole in the theater.  He was more than freaked out and Gigi had to come to his rescue.  Mommy had a sleeping Landon in her lap, so she was very grateful Gigi was there to help Grayson. 

We even got to meet a mermaid up close and personal.  Look at the excitement on Ethan's face.  Priceless.

We wanted to ride the boat, but couldn't because the wait was so long. That was a disappointment for the boys, but seeing as they were exhausted it was best we headed for home anyway. Landon wanted to sleep, but was so restless. Finally, with a little hand from Gigi he succeeded.

2 of 30 Things

Describe 3 legitimate fears you have and explain how they became fears.

1.  Losing Jared while we are still young.

This has been a fear in the back of my mind for awhile.  Scott, my first love and a true friend from my adolescence, passed away two years ago.  He was awesome to me when we were teenagers and I am sure he continued to be awesome.  He died tragically while saving two of his sons from drowning on a lake in Utah.  He left behind three boys and his beautiful wife, Shaunna. 

I am a strong, independent woman and I'm sure I could survive something like losing Jared, but I do not want to!  I want him to grow old with me and be a part of our boys' lives.  I still pray for Shaunna and hope that she is finding peace in her unique circumstances.

2.  Developing "Mom Butt".

Okay, this is pretty shallow of me.  I know it.  I admit it.  But, I'm fearful of developing "Mom Butt" aka losing my figure.  I like being petite and fit and dare I say slim.  I have curves and was nicknamed "Ghetto" in high school because of my well-endowed booty.  I am proud of them; however, I have many family members that as they grow older can't seem to stay slim and trim.  I honestly fear this.  I'm not proud of it, but I'm being honest. 

3.  Never getting out of debt.

Up until last year, Jared and I lived as students.  We were students prior to getting married.  Me for 6 years.  Jared for 1 or 2.  After we married, Jared continued in school for another 6 years!  I am so happy to be done with school, but the student loan debt we accrued is freaking me out!  I want so badly to be out of debt and to have financial freedom.  I want to believe we will one day get out of debt, but it is so far off it seems unattainable.

Fathers

I love the men in my life.  I have an amazing husband.  A fantastic dad.  A great father-in-law.  And my granddaddy was also awesome.  Happy Father's Day to my terrific men and to all of yours. 
I tried to make this Father's Day a little extra special for Jared.  We delivered lunch earlier in the week.  This morning we made breakfast in bed and cards.  Here are the boys helping Mommy.  We had pancakes with fruit, biscuits and gravy, and eggs.  Jared also got a new pair of shorts that he's been needing for awhile now.  I let him sleep in, even though 7:15 is still pretty early.  One day, he'll be able to sleep in until at least 8.  At Church, Ethan sang with the Primary (well, he stood there at least) and Grayson made Jared a tie to wear in his nursery class.  Overall, it was a pretty sweet day. 

Jared is a great dad and he really loves our family.  A few weeks ago we were just all sitting together and he said to me that he was so happy with our little family and our life together.  You know what?  I'm happy too.

I wanted to share a couple of things about my Granddaddy today as well.  His name was Edward William Pomar, Jr. and he served in the Army during WWII and then made a career in the railroad.  He married my sweet Nana, Grace Elizabeth Andreu, and they had 6 children together (4 boys and 2 girls).  My mom is their youngest child.  Granddaddy loved his family and worked hard to provide for them all of his life.  His and Nana's is a true love story and they adored one another for all of their lives.  Granddaddy loved baseball, buying things off of infomercials, traveling, collecting novelty hats (he and Nana had ones that read "Old Fart" and "Old Fart's Wife), and John Wayne.  A portrait of John Wayne actually hung in their dining room for a long time.   
I have fond memories of staying the night at Nana and Granddaddy's house as a child and staying up late to watch Hee Haw and The Smothers Brothers.  He would fall asleep and snore soooooooooo loud.  Granddaddy died 16 years ago on a rainy day in April.  I miss him very much and look forward to giving him a big hug up in heaven one day.  I am proud to be his granddaughter. 
Here is a photo of him hanging out at a Flagler College baseball game.  (I believe he became a devout fan the year my cousin, David, started playing ball there on a scholarship.  He remained a fan long after David no longer was on the team.)

1 of 30 Things

  List 20 random facts about yourself

1. I love pigs! This obsession started when I was 11 or 12 years old. I've got it under control now, but if you look closely you will find at least one pig in each room of my house. 

2. My middle name is my Grandmother Hesson's first name, Marie.  Each of my boys have a middle name that came from a grandparent or great-grandparent. 

3. Green is my favorite color.  It used to be blue, but I changed my mind nearly 10 years ago.  Subconsciously, I believe I made it my favorite color to honor my cousin, Tara, who passed away.  We were close and I miss her.  Green just makes me feel closer to her.

4. I am proud that I call shopping carts "buggies," even though Jared likes to tease me for it.

5. Making lists is one of my favorite things to do.  I think it is because I love crossing things off of lists.

6. I joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when I was 16 years old.  This August, I will be able to say I have been a member of the LDS church for most of my life.  (Man, I'm getting old.)

7. My siblings and I used to hold amazing concerts on our front porch.  We lip-synced, danced, and utilized our very own PVC microphones and microphone stands (built by our dad).  We were a hit. 

8. I was teased a lot as a kid.  Mostly by boys.  They were awful.  Throwing pine cones (many made contact), stealing shoes, getting put into and ultimately stuck in garbage cans, etc.  I know what they say about boys teasing girls, but this was a bit much.

9. I was captain of the high school cheerleading squad my Junior and Senior years of high school.  And, I never dated the quarterback. Honestly, I couldn't tell you his name if you asked me.

Can you find me?  I'm the second from the left.

10. I love that I grew up in St. Augustine.  It is the best city I've ever been to.  I also love that even now when I visit, I feel like I've entered a time warp.  My parents have the same house, same jobs, and same telephone number that they did 25 years ago.  Where do you find that?

11. It is really important to me to eat dinner as a family.  We do so every night the traditional way: at the table, no TV, no phone calls.  I hope I can keep this up as my children grow up. 

12. Back before they had digital cameras, I took a photo showing off my newly acquired driver's license.  When the photos were developed you can clearly see a couple totally making out in the background of the photo.

13. When I was 7, my dream job was to be a garbage man.  I thought riding on the back of the truck looked so exciting.  This was a favorite pretend game my siblings and I played on our grandparent's porch swing.

14. Billy Joel is my favorite musician.  His personal life is a wreck, but his music is amazing.

15. Reading is one of my favorite things to do.  Currently, I find myself reading mostly science fiction/fantasy novels. 

16. I am about 20 months older than my husband.  It used to really bother me to be the "older woman," but now I don't really care.

17. I have fond memories of being at my Nana's house.  I love that I used to call her before I left my house and when I arrived she'd have made me grits or rice and beans to enjoy.  That's love.

18. My oldest friend is Kenton.  We did a lot together, especially our senior year in high school.  We served as President (Kenton) and Vice President (Me) that year, got voted Best All Around for Senior Superlatives, and a host of other things.  I love that guy and although our lives are at totally different junctures, he is a person I know I can count on.

Kenton and me at our first grade awards ceremony.  I'm sporting the pink skirt and Kenton is in the foreground wearing some sweet cords.

19. I really want to learn how to grow a working veggie garden.  It would even be awesome to have a few chickens.

20. Second day of school, Sophomore year, I could be seen pushing Gena's truck down SR 16 because it died.  I was wearing a skirt and it was super embarrassing.

Summer of Service

I wanted to make this summer meaningful for the boys and me.  It is our last summer before Ethan starts school.  I know it's just Pre-K, but he is going to be gone for six hours three days a week.  I am going to miss him sooooooooooo much.  The scary part is that once he starts, it will just be a blink and they'll all be in school.  I am really sad about it to be honest, but that is another post for another day. 

Back to our meaningful summer.  I was reading the Friend, a children's magazine our church publishes each month, and they had a great idea on their Bulletin Board feature: A Service Box.  Basically, you decorate a box, fill it with service ideas on slips of paper, choose a slip each day, each week, or in our case, a few times a week, and then do the service activity. 

We kicked it off on Family Night last week.  I prepared a little lesson on service and the boys decorated our service box.  We filled it with slips of ideas, ranging from simply smiling at others to running a lemonade stand and donating the proceeds to a cause. 

We've pulled four slips so far.  We drew pictures for our elderly neighbor who doesn't get out much.  She was thrilled and informed us that she hung them on her refrigerator. The boys helped me with the dishes all day on another day.  We also made an effort to say "hello" first when out and about--basically being friendly.  And, today, we drew the slip that gave us an opportunity to bring Daddy lunch.  Great timing, seeing as Father's Day is on Sunday.

 

Our Service Box.

Headed to see Daddy. 

We made this little root beer gift for Daddy (Thanks, Pinterest!) and he was just a little sad that it wasn't cold because he really wanted to drink one.

Jared loved seeing the boys in the middle of the day.  This was a very successful service field trip!

We picnicked on the hill by the little lake they have there and saw so much wildlife.  About five different kinds of birds, including the pair below.  They came very close and I was grateful they didn't try to steal our food. 

Stay tuned for additional Service adventures throughout the summer!

Summer Fun and Super Heroes

Summer is officially here. It is hot, it is almost muggy, and it is my favorite time of year for sure. Here are some recent photos to show you just how awesome summer is!

  Fun in the sprinkler and the pool. 

 Homemade donuts and donut holes.  Pretty delicious, but should have cooked them a bit longer.  Plan to try again for perfection this week on family night.

Ethan's super hero pose.

 Grayson's super hero pose.  He is potty training and be glad that he has underwear on in this shot.  He has a newfound love of nakedness.

Landon's super hero poses.  He wants so badly to keep up with the bigger boys.  He is still a little too slow, but it won't be too long before he is right in there with them.

We were invited to spend the day with Rae Rae at Animal Kingdom yesterday!  It was super fun.  We saw so many animals (Grayson loves the animals) and due to afternoon thunderstorms we also were drenched at one point.  This didn't put a damper on our fun, we just headed over to the Magic Kingdom and joined Brad after his shift for more adventures.  Thanks to the Cottles, we had an awesome day!

 Giraffes on the safari.  They were right off the road.  So cool.

 Gorilla!  They even had a baby gorilla, but I didn't get a photo of him.  I wish I could have recorded Grayson saying gorilla.  I'm pretty sure he hadn't said it before and it was cuteness overload.

ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Dumbo self-portrait!  Grayson loved this ride.  He would have done it again and again if we'd had the time. 

Ethan's very first roller coaster.  I think he's trying to do a thumbs up with Brad, but it looks more like he's trying to shake my hand.  He said it made him a little bit nervous, but he rode it twice and laughed the whole time.  Grayson rode also, he was just at the 35 inch requirement, but only rode once.  He didn't like it. 

Friday, Friday

So, it's Friday and it is now June.  What the what?!  So many things have been going on and I have not been keeping up with my blog.  I can't even really say what has been so time-consuming, just mom life I guess. 
Grayson is potty training and that has pretty much been all I think about and do each day.  He is actually doing quite well and I think we are further along than I was with Ethan at this same point, so go us!  He has been bribed with a bike of his own (not a hand-me-down) and it has been the perfect bait. 
In other news, I am more than thrilled for my sister-in-law, Melissa, and brother-in-law, Kevin.  They are expecting a little girl in November after a pretty tough couple years of trying to get her here.  I won't spill their deepest, darkest, just want to share my complete joy for them.  They are two of the best people I know and they totally deserve this blessing.  Melissa is someone I have always admired and if I could be more like her, it would do me well.  She is beautiful and genuine and I am so proud to have her as a sister. 
It seems at any given time someone in my family or a dear friend is struggling with something and it is often something big.  As I've gotten older, I've noticed that life really doesn't seem to get easier.  However, the tough stuff is always manageable when you have loving, supportive, uplifting family and friends.  It is even more manageable when you learn to rely on the Lord's strength instead of your own.  This is a humbling thing, to rely on the Lord, but in the end it is the only way (I believe) to truly progress and reach one's potential.