Panama City...Again

My sister, Crystal, came down last week from SC to visit. While she was here, we drove over to Latisha's in Panama City. We had a blast swimming in their pool and taking a trip to the beach. My primary purpose in going was to help Tish decide how to hang their pictures/decorations in their new house. Crystal's primary purpose was to get some sun. We got both things done and had a really fun trip! Jeffrey ready to jump in the pool. He has turned into quite the little swimmer since the beginning of the summer. He's totally independent now and I love it!

Jeffrey swimming and the rest of the gang at the pool.

Catilyn jumping into the pool.

Crystal holding Andrew after the pool. He loves his thumb!

Caitlyn was all tuckered out. Crystal was kind to sit and hold her while she took a little nap. Jeffrey and Kaylee painting. I rarely do this kind of thing with Jeffrey, which is sad becasue he loves it! It was so nice to have an older child to supervise the fun so I could observe from a distance.

Jeffrey and Caitlyn playing at the beach. We drove down to Saint Andrew's State Park, which the little kids loved because there is a little area jettied off from the big waves. They can go out pretty far without getting very deep at all, and never get knocked over by big waves. Note the dark sky...it caused a few problems on our trip...

The kids running in the shore.
After we had been at the beach for a little while, the rains came. And they came with a vengence. We took cover in a bathhouse and decided to eat our lunch while we were waiting. We were SUPER cold from having gotten wet in our dash to the shelter, and from the winds that really picked up. It was an adventure.

Well, we made it back out to the beach eventually, but Crystal made grim discovery on Latisha's head...her first gray hair. You can't see the actual hair that Tish is holding in her hand, but you can clearly read her feelings on the finding in her face. It was rather humerous...well, not for her.

Jeffrey was getting much braver than I've ever seen him at the beach. He and Caitlyn would go out and jump in the waves by themselves. He would lay down on the shore and let the waves pick him up and move him just a little. They had a blast.

Crystal went out with them for a few minutes and while she was standing beside Caitlyn, a pretty big wave came and knocked Caitlyn down. She got pulled out a little away from the beach and Crystal dove after her so Caitlyn wouldn't get swept away. Crystal was a little shaken from the incident and made Caitlyn hold her hand after that, and of course Caitlyn's response was...."That was a big one!!"

Video of Jeffrey & Caitlyn out with Crystal.

Of course you have to spend sometime digging in the sand!

And Andrew has to get his naps in...I enjoy the quiet time when he decides to take a nap while I'm holding him.

We left from the beach, bathed the kids back at Tish's and headed home. It was as quick but fun 2 days.

8 things

Well, I've never been tagged before, and I'm not positive that I was tagged this time, but my friend, Justina, tagged an "Emily," so I'm going to assume it's me.

8 Things I did Yesterday
1. Did an exercise video (super short because I pulled a muscle in my back).
2. Drove all the way across town to go to a produce stand, not sure why I went so far, but got a great cantaloupe!
3. Ran more errands with the kids - never super fun with 3 little kids, but it went okay because the cashier at Save-A-Lot gave Jeffrey & Caitlyn a really cool sucker that lasted them for a couple of stores.
4. Took the kids swimming - not too long because 'cause big storms rolled in.
5. Tried to get my kids to take naps, but they were too scared of the big storms that drove us out of the pool.
6. Made dinner for the missionaries. It's amazing how much work can go into a not-so-spectacular meal.
7. Cleaned poop out of Caitlyn's panties. I could list this for any given day... often multiple times a day.
8. Finished the 3rd Fablehaven book - I've really enjoyed this series!

8 Favorite Shows
1. American Idol, when it's past the auditions. I really don't like how they blatantly make fun of so many people, just for the sake of being mean.
2. Flip that House, or any remodeling show, but we don't get TLC or HGTV, so I never watch these shows.
3. What Not to Wear - again, we don't get that channel, so only when we're visiting family or in a hotel!
4. Cosby Shows - we end up watching reruns many nights while we get other things done.
5. Not C-SPAN, unfortunately, because my husband could watch it all day.
6. Cops - I know. I can't explain why I like this show.
7. Judge Judy (or People's Court) - another odd show to like, I know.
8. Can't come up with any more. Sadly, the only show on this list that I've actually watched in the past week is #5.

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Moe's - Chicken club burrito (well, they don't actually have it on the menu anymore, but most employees know what it is)
2. Panchero's - we just ate there for the first time in Orlando on our temple trip. It was so good! And we learned there's one in Tallahassee, yeah!
3. Olive Garden - can't go wrong with Italian.
4. KFC - not really one of my favorites, but we tried their grilled chicken the other day, so it's on my mind. I love their corn on the cob!
5. Cold Stone
6. Wendy's
7. Sticky Fingers
8. Chinese food in general. Sesame chicken...yum!

8 things I look forward to:
1. Caitlyn being totally potty trained...please let it happen soon, before I lose my mind...
2. Visiting an old mission companion
3. Andrew to start sleeping through the night again, like he did nearly perfectly for months. Maybe he's teething??
4. Getting the 4th Fablehaven book from the library
5. Watching Bedtime Stories with Dan. It was such a cute movie!
6. Finding a good source to get bulk oats - weird, perhaps, but I just got these great new lids to fit on pickle-size buckets and I want to use all my buckets!
7. Going to bed - #3 is keeping me up all night while I listen to him cry
8. BUYING A HOUSE AND MOVING OUT OF APARTMENTS. Oh, did I write that in all caps? Huh, I don't know why, I don't even care about it that much, or think about it all the time, or care that I've never had my own yard....

8 people I tag: (I'll use last names lest anyone wonder if they have actually been tagged :))
1. Crystal
2. Latisha
3. Stephanie Bailey
4. Amanda Gunter
5. Jennie Zabriskie
6. Natalie Gunter
7. Geri Leckie
8. Angie Archibald

Panama City

Several weeks ago, my sister, Latisha, moved from Lakeland to Panama City, FL. Since my parents were headed down to help them fix up a few things and Panama City is only 2 hours away from Tallahassee, I decided to take the kids over to check out Latisha's new place and to see Grandma and Grandpa Leckie. While we were there for the day, we also made a trip to the beach. Jeffrey and Caitlyn love the beach, and while Andrew isn't a huge fan, he puts up with it for the most part. Luckily for my mom, Tish and myself, my dad was there to entertain the kids - it was a nice day.

Andrew didn't really enjoy his trip out into the ocean with Grandpa.

He sat with Aunt Latisha for awhile...

Then crashed on mom.

Jeffrey & Caitlyn, on the other hand, loved every minute of the trip.

Caitlyn getting buried in the sand.

Dustin, Jeffrey, Grandpa Leckie & Caitlyn playing in the sand.

Jeffrey & Caitlyn.

Sandy Caitlyn.

We were worried about what Caitlyn might have sagging in her swimsuit, and were happy to learn that it was only sand.

Grandpa Leckie took Jeffrey out in the waves. We have tried to take Jeffrey out many times, and he never seems to enjoy it too much, but this time he actually enjoyed himself. He was still happy to come back to the sand, but had fun. Caitlyn couldn't get enough of the waves. My dad has always been up for action, and hasn't always been able to get Jeffrey to join in the fun. Caitlyn, however, is always up for anything. I think my dad was pleasantly surprised to see how much fun Caitlyn had. Anytime they would practically get knocked over by a wave, dad was worried she would finally decide it wasn't fun. Instead she would say, "Wow, that was a big one!" They had a blast!

Tish took a short video of the gang at the beach...

Miss Independent

So...I have a very independent daughter. Jeffrey was quite the opposite, so at first it was kind of nice that she wanted to do everything by herself. But now I dread hearing, "I can do it myself." It's for everything - getting out of the car, going down the steps, climbing into her carseat (after picking up - and eating - old cheerios from the seat), sitting on the potty, turning on the water to wash her hands, turning off the water when done...the list could go on and on. It's been a painful lesson in patience to let her learn all that there is to learn...on her own of course.

Brothers

I was recently looking back at some pictures of Jeffrey when he was about Andrew's age. I think that they look so similar. It always drove me a little crazy when we would look through old family pictures as a child and mom would say, "I think that's Emily", or "Sara" or whatever. I thought , "I'll always know who's who when I look at pictures of my children." But, only 3 kids and 4 years later, I can already see that I will most definitely have a problem telling them apart. Let this be a lesson to me that I need to clearly label all pictures!Andrew - 6 months

Jeffrey - 8 months

Of course, since Jeffrey was a preemie - their sizes have been quite different. In these pictures Jeffrey is 8 months old, and is wearing clothes that Andrew has already grown out of at 6 months old.

Andrew trying solids

At some point recently, Andrew managed to turn 6 months old - crazy! I figured it was time to try him on some solids. It always cracks me up to see a baby's face when they try new foods for the first time!

Travel, travel, travel

Don't get me wrong - I LOVE to travel, but I think I've had my fill for a few months at least. Back at the beginning of May, we made a trip to Lakeland to visit Tish and her family, then went from there to Orlando where Dan's mom was staying with Dan's Grandma Parish. We had a great time visiting with them, and also made it out to Ocoee where Dan's other grandparents live. Some of Dan's family out there hadn't even met Caitlyn, which is pathetic since we've lived in Florida for almost 2 years now. We really do love our family! It was so nice to see them and spend time together. After that pretty short trip, we came home for a few days. Then on May 19, we left for a summer trip up to visit our families.

Atlanta

On our way we decided to stop by the temple in Atlanta since the Orlando temple was closed. We got a hotel in Atlanta that was SUPER nice and about 1/2 a mile from the temple - very convenient!

The kids love riding on the luggage racks.

Down eating breakfast in the lobby.

Greenville

From there we went on to Greenville to visit my family. We were only there Wednesday to Saturday, so pretty quick, but fun. Crystal, as usual, took us out to lunch one day - yummy pizzas and subs (Thanks Crystal!).

Sitting outside at Bellacino's in Downtown Greenville.

We were there for Brian's birthday on the 22nd and the kids loved playing on the blow-up jumper!

Jeffrey, Brian and Kate jumping.

Caitlyn joining the action.

Fun times!

Aunt Geri holding Andrew, who isn't terribly impressed, obviously.

Uncle Nathan thought it was very funny to start letting the air out and then blow it back up. The kids also thought it was fun, except for Caitlyn - but 3 out of 4 isn't bad.

Grandpa always has fun swings around - for all ages.

Caitlyn and Grandpa Leckie swinging. Jeffrey swinging.
Caitlyn riding back home on Grandpa's shoulder's.

Utah - Emily and Andrew; Durham - Dan, Jeffrey and Caitlyn

On Saturday, May 23, Crystal, Andrew and myself flew out of Greenville to Utah. They had really cheap tickets and Crystal wanted to go out since she had a day off of work for Memorial Day. We mostly visited with some family, friends and ate out. It was so nice to see our Aunt Andrea and Uncle Gene before they leave for their mission to Africa. I also loved visiting with Rhonda - an old roommate from our BYU days. Crystal and I also managed to hike the Y, walk around BYU campus (and see TONS of changes!), go to a BYU single's ward (a little odd with 6 month old baby) and swim at the hotel pool. Crystal is a picture-taking-maniac, so I didn't take any pictures. Someday I'll get them from her...

Dallas
We left to come home Tuesday and made it to our layover in Dallas just fine. However, in Dallas, we boarded the plane on time, then ended up waiting for a little bit for some paper work to be straightened out by the airline people. Well, by the time all that was settled, a huge storm had blown in and we ended up sitting on the runway for about 2 hours. After those 2 hours passed, we were told that Greenville had a curfew and we wouldn't be able to fly out that evening. So, back to the terminal where we planned to just get a cot and sleep at the airport. Well, our luggage had been sent to baggage claim - outside - and of course we couldn't get back in through security except through another terminal on the other side of the airport. So, off to get luggage and catch the inner-airport shuttle. En route, we happened upon a girl who also didn't want to pay the $49 a night distress rate for a hotel room that they were offering and asked to tag along with us so that she didn't have to sleep alone in the airport. No problem. When we make it back around to the terminal that is open, they tell us that we can't check our bags until the day of our flight. Well, when we planned to sleep in the airport, we envisioned being in a quiet knook of the airport, not right out front where everyone was coming and going from. So, we decided to get the hotel afterall and split it 3-ways with our new-found friend. We made it to the hotel, and finally managed to get a few hours of sleep before our early flights out. The good news was that I had originally planned on flying back into Greenville, then catching a train from Charlotte to Durham (where Dan had been staying with Jeffrey and Caitlyn while Crystal and I were in Utah). Well, with our delayed flights, I would have missed my train, so they rerouted me to fly into Durham instead of Greenville, which was nice, because it saved me the 4 hour train ride. ANYWAY - it was a long evening and was VERY nice to see my husband and kids again.

Durham
So, we were all together in Durham, where Jeffrey had his 4th birthday. I have a picture of the cake, but nothing else because I was taking pictures with Dan's brother's (Ben) fancy camera. So, again, I'll have to get those pictures some other day...

Jeffrey's monkey cake.

Our kids are really in a game-playing phase, so they love playing games with Grandma Milton and Uncle Ben!

We also went strawberry picking one day. Caitlyn wasn't so good at finding the berries, so her job was to take them to the basked after I picked them. When we got home and were washing off the berries we picked, almost everyone that Caitlyn has carried back to the basket had a little bite taken out of it. Guess I should have been watching the help a little closer...

Daniel and Andrew in the fields.

Caitlyn 'helping'.

Jeffrey actually did a pretty good job. Much better than the last time we tried to take him several years ago!

We also had several big storms during our stay in Durham. The kids are TERRIFIED of big storms, so one night we let them come out and just lay on the couch. Jeffrey will keep his hands on his ears for hours after he hears a single roll of thunder.

Andrew (my first thumb-sucker) was sleeping in a travel bed while we were in Durham. He started getting more mobile, but I didn't realize how mobile until we found him laying on the floor.

Starting to roll out of bed. Almost all the way out. Guess his days in the travel bed are over!

Greenville - mom and kids (again); Jacksonville - Dan
So, the next adventure started on Saturday, May 30. The day before, on Friday, we heard that Uncle Dave had passed out having blood taken during a physical. The actual passing out wasn't terribly uncommon, but he was also experiencing very low blood pressure and several other symptoms, like blurred vision and dizziness. He was admitted to the hospital and on Saturday Sara learned that he wouldn't be coming out until at least Tuesday. Finding this out (and having two children to take care of at the same time), she mentioned that she would really appreciate some help, since it wasn't realistic to stay at the hospital with her 2 kids, leave Dave all alone the whole time, or try to get constant babysitters. So, Saturday evening Dan and Mindy left to drive down to Jacksonville. The kids and I left at the same time to go back to my parent's house in Greenville. While in Greenville, Jeffrey and Caitlyn loved swimming in the little pool that Grandpa made. It is the perfect size for little guys!

Jeffrey and Caitlyn at the pool - it was a little cold at first, but didn't take them very long to get in anyway.

Justin, Brian and Kate also came down a couple times. Standing room only in the pool, but they had a blast!




Jeffrey and Caitlyn just getting into the pool.


As previously mentioned, my dad has swings for all ages. It had been a really long time since I had gone off of one of his big swings, but once I did it, I remembered how much fun they are!



Me going off of dad's latest swing.



Crystal doing it for the first time - notice the ladder clanking from her legs shaking so much! She did a good job.

Jacksonville
We stayed in Greenville, until Wednesday, June 2, when we left about 7 am to drive to Jacksonville. We made it there around 2:30 and went straight to Chuck-E-Cheese. Jeffrey had a BLAST playing with Joshua and trying to make Samuel laugh. They all played really well together and we had a fun time visiting together. We went swimming that evening, then our family went to stay in a hotel so the kids could have some quiet time.

Jeffrey and Caitlyn sleeping in the same bed - they're so sweet asleep.

I tried to get a picture of the boys playing together, but as soon as I showed up, Joshua took off. They really did a great job playing! Of course there were other camera's around, so I didn't take many pictures on my camera. I'll have to get them from Sara someday... Can you tell I have a bad habit of letting other people take pictures and have a hard time actually getting them in my posession?

We hung out again on Thursday, had lunch all together and left to come back to Tallahassee around 3:00 that evening.

Jeffrey and Joshua hugging goodbye.

Wow! What a post. I'm sure only the closest of kin have made it to the end! It was a really nice trip and we had a blast everywhere that we went (except for Dallas :) ), but it's nice to be home. Since our Chicago trip at the beginning of April, Andrew and I have slept in: Lakeland FL, Orlando FL, Tallahassee FL, Atlanta GA, Provo UT, Chicago IL, Greenville SC, Durham NC, Dallas TX and Jacksonville FL. We're ready to stay home for a little while. Although I'm sure I'll be ready to travel again before too long.... :)