Riding horses

Last year the kids went to a birthday party where they got to ride horses and feed farm animals and 'paint a pony.' They had a blast last year, so when the same family gave us an invitation to the same place, we were really excited to go. Last year Jeffrey apprehensively rode the pony. Caitlyn wouldn’t have anything to do with it. This year she was convinced that she would ride the pony IF she could ride the tiny pony. When the time came to actually ride, she wasn’t happy about it, but she did give it a try. By the end she was really glad that she had gone through with it. Other than the “terrifying” dog that wandered around the farm (the oldest and calmest dog I’ve ever seen, yet managed to elicit extreme terror in both of my older children), it was a really fun party!

Jeffrey riding his pony.

Caitlyn – not really excited about getting on the pony!

Starting out around the field.

She finally decided that it really was okay.

Coming back in from her lap around the field.

At least she didn’t look scared any more!

Some firsts for Jeffrey

The past few months have been an exciting time for Jeffrey. He started Kindergarten at the local public school and has LOVED his teacher and friends in his class. It has been a really good experience so far for all of our family.

Jeffrey on the morning of his first day of school.

He also started playing soccer with the YMCA. He got hooked on soccer after watching a couple of games during the World Cup.

Jeffrey with his team and coaches during their first practice (Jeffrey's in the yellow shorts).

Stretching at the start of practice.

Two of Jeffrey's good friends who are also in the class at school, Annika (in the orange) and Hyrum (standing in the back).

They've had 4 games so far this season, and have done a good job. It’s quite entertaining to watch a bunch of 5 year olds chase a ball around. Jeffrey isn’t the quickest runner on his team, and he’s pretty apprehensive about getting knocked over by all the other kids. So we’re working on helping him go after the ball a little more. He really loves being goalie – and he does a good job at that. It’s been a fun season so far.

Camping in Jacksonville

Last week my parents let us tag along with them while they went camping at the beach. They were kind enough to meet MUCH closer to us, instead of making me drive up to SC with the 3 kids. Dan had classes to teach, so on Monday I headed over with the kids to Little Talbot State Park in Jacksonville. We all stayed in a pop up camper, which might sound cramped with 4 adults and 3 kids, but we actually had plenty of space, especially since my kids chose to cram themselves into tiny spaces to sleep. Andrew took up the most space in his pack and play, but Caitlyn just folded right up...

Andrew hanging out in the camper.


Jeffrey & Grandpa Leckie out in the waves.

Mom & Andrew kicking back on the beach.

The reason that we got invited, and the reason that we wanted to go with Grandpa: grandpa plays with the kids on the beach and they keep each other occupied! For as long as I can remember, my dad has brought a shovel to the beach....and built really big 'sand castles.' The kids loved it!

The kids getting buried in the sand. It turned into more of a slide than a castle, but it was fun either way!

The only real casulty....Jeffrey was pushing a truck along on the hard sand and fell. It looked pretty rough for a long time!

An inverted castle - a few days later Grandpa dug a hole instead of mounding up sand for a castle. Never a dull moment!

Grandpa also brought rope and a swing. Another big hit!


One day Jeffrey & Grandpa went out with hotdogs tied to strings and tried to catch a crab. Within about 2 minutes they caught this guy.

Andrew out watching the crabbing action.

All the kids were excited by the novelty. Aunt Sara was trying to get another sting ready and lost several pieces of hot dog in the marsh. A few minutes later we saw another crab prancing by carrying our hot dog pieces. Lucky day for him!

Jeffrey & Grandpa heading back after searching for who knows what. They often wandered off together.

Grandpa & Jeffrey racing cars. I think there was some major cheating going on, but Jeffrey's cars managed to win the 'race.'

I would have taken a few more pictures of the camper and the nature walk and another unsuccessful fishing trip, but I dropped the camera in the sand and haven't been able to get it to work ever since. Don't know if it's repairable, or if another camera purchase is in the near future. Even with the loss of the camera, it was a great trip! Thanks, mom and dad, for letting us crash the beach party!

Jeffrey's 5th Birthday

Jeffrey celebrated his 5th birthday on May 28. I was in Italy, so I missed his actual birthday (although I heard that Dan put on a great party up in NC !). We celebrated again later at Grandma Leckie's house where he requested a "Lion Cake" - so we did our best. Before we left home, we had talked a lot about how we would have a 'second birthday party' since I would miss his real birthday, and I think he had a fun time getting even more presents and having cousins to party with us!

Jeffrey, Kate and Caitlyn with the cake and presents.

Jeffrey's Lion Cake (okay - I'm sure there's an easy fix for this, but I can't seem to figure out how to get the picture rotated. It's too late to spend more time working on it!)

Jeffrey with some goofy glasses that he got from Grandma Leckie.

Dad & Andrew watching the action.

Jeffrey with his gifts.

He even got to have a sleep over with cousin, Kate!

Hard to believe I have a 5-year-old son!!

Andrew walking

So there are a million things I should blog about - Jeffrey's birthday, vacation with family, MY TRIP TO ITALY!! But, I wanted to show the grandparents how advanced our little boy is....walking at only 18 months! He's a cutie!

Sara's visit & Disney

I'll first start by saying that Andrew is doing awesome! He seems to be totally back to himself - except for still being slightly more clingy. I suspect he will still be wary of strangers and only want mom or dad for awhile (which I fear will be problematic for nursery which he should be starting next month...)

Happy Andrew

Andrew's shunt - Crystal keeps asking for an updated picture :)

So Sara got back from her mission to Italy at the end of March and came to visit us in mid-April. We mostly just hung out and enjoyed visiting, but we did manage to do a few things out of our norm. We made a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese which is Jeffrey & Caitlyn's favorite place to go lately.

Caitlyn & the water game.

Dan playing football.

Jeffrey and his infamous ski ball (apparently when we were at the hospital with Andrew, Grandma Milton took the kids to Chuck-E-Cheese and Jeffrey got the jackpot on skiball 2 times...175 tickets each time - he was so excited to tell us about it!)


We also went up to FSU campus one night and went for a walk. It was a really nice evening.

Aunt Sara with Jeffrey & Caitlyn
A family picture - so rare since we usually don't have anyone to take pictures for us!

Even more rare to have a picture of just Dan & I!

Jeffrey found a little bug and carried it around the whole walk. He kept talking about his new friend, "Furry." We had to really convince him that Furry would rather stay with his family in the leaves than come home with us. It was sad to see them part!

Aunt Sara & Caitlyn.

Hanging on the bars...

We wanted to work in a trip to the temple while Sara was here, so we had her fly out of the Orlando airport and went camping at Fort Wilderness (Disney's camping resort). We had a BLAST!

Riding on the boat between the Disney resorts - so fun to see the other awesome Disney hotels! And the kids loved riding on the boat!

Jeffrey waiting for the monorail.

The gang hanging out with Mickey.

Jeffrey excited to get back on the ferry.

This was definitely the hit of the trip - the pool at Fort Wilderness. It was heated, but still pretty chilly. Caitlyn had been sick the week before, so she wasn't so excited. But Jeffrey couldn't be deterred. He could have played there ALL DAY! They are still thankful in almost every prayer they say that we could go to Fort Wilderness!

Jeffrey going down the slide - Caitlyn never worked up the nerve.

The 'big kid' slide - Jeffrey's very favorite place at this pool!

Jeffrey going down the slide.

Dan took Jeffrey to the Chip & Dale Fireside Sing-a-long while Sara & I took Andrew & Caitlyn back to get them dinner and put them to bed. Jeffrey was so excited to tell us about the songs. He was totally caught up in the Disney spirit :).

Jeffrey dancing along to "She'll be coming 'round the mountain" - he looks a little spastic - makes me laugh! Jeffrey with Chip

The next morning we swung by the stables and saw the ponies & horses, then played on the playground before we headed off to the temple.

Jeffrey and a pony.

Me and "Bob"

Caitlyn sliding.

Jeffrey climbing.

We had an awesome trip! Sara and I kept the kids at the park while Dan went to the temple, then we checked into a hotel in Downtown Orlando, swam in the pool there (which of course paled in comparision to the Disney pool) and Sara & I went to the temple later that evening. She caught a plane early the next morning and our family headed back to Tallahassee. We loved spending time with Sara and had a blast the whole 10 days she was with us!