Relevant

Here is a great article that's well written and not too long. I only wish I had the same ability to articulate my thoughts. But the truth is I have a hard enough time drinking my coffee, as I sit hear with it dripping off my chin and down my shirt..... poor me ; )

two's day

1. Today is Penny's Birthday!!!!!!! ( Happy 35)!!



2. Raise your hand if you miss her blog!

not my finest hour...

After taking Luke to school (only because our car pool people are out of town) I spent the day trying to get the house in order after being completely irresponsible over the weekend. Libby just hung out in and around the house for most of the day. However, the open road was calling our names so we decided to go for a ride on our bikes. I thought it would be fun to bring Maggie (our black lab) with us, so I put her on the retractable leash. I figured it would take some concentration to ride a bike and walk her at the same time but doable. I underestimated however, the over all difficulty. At one point as Maggie was pulling me down a hill at a very high rate of speed and Libby was left way behind calling for me, my life did indeed flash before me. The bike I chose to ride only had one hand brake and no foot brake, and the one hand brake isn't that great. I didn't realize this at the time of choosing.
Anyway, with my pending death so apparent I just let Maggie's leash go. The road was coming to an end and I was at mach 1 with Libby even farther behind. Maggie ran off but came back before going too far. She knew I was furious with her. I’m sure it was my yelling that gave that away. I decided it would be best to walk her and the bike home with my head down. I didn't even want to look around to see if anyone was laughing at this crazy neighbor lady screaming at her dog.
I got the idea from seeing it done while we were in Florida. It didn't appear to be difficult, I saw a few people manage. Oh well.

Blogger who?

This weekend has been so beautiful I almost forgot about blogger. We haven’t been inside for more than a few minutes at a time. It started with t-ball ball at 5pm on Friday and ended with motor cross (mx) at 8 pm tonight. Normally the kids are in bed by 8pm but it was one of those times when everyone is having so much fun that even Mom can’t call it quits. In between the t-ball and mx-ing we had dinner with the "Tilays" (my phonics spelling), a soccer game, rode bikes at the park, and hiked Laurel falls. We didn’t make it to the falls, they are 2 miles in but we did go a mile in then back. The kids decided we should start training for the entire hike so our goal next time is to get further than we did today :)

Tonight at bed time I didn’t hear one complaint, not even the regular request for water.






























For pics of the boys on their mx bikes check out Tim's blog.

Wahooooo!

two's day...

1. When we came home last night we found a backhoe in the yard (we are building right next door and have been waiting rather patiently, I must say for things to get started). Although, it is hinting of rain so there is no one here to operate it. These “fellas” must be real gentlemen not wanting to get to work in the fear of getting wet.

2. I’m thinking it couldn’t be too hard to operate…I am stranded at home with no van and nothing to do...hmmmmm.

To make matters worse.....

That's my ride.

Stir Crazy!

Well, if there was such a thing as post vacation depression, I should be in the throws of it. It is probably by the grace of God that I’m not. Since we have returned it has been cold and snowing. We like snow, but this snow has been mixed with periods of rain so nothing sticks. Therefore, the beautiful flakes falling from the sky have been meaningless with nothing to offers us as in sledding and snowmen.
The kids haven’t left the house since Thursday. Luke is perfectly happy with that, though Libby is starting to show some sever signs of cabin fever. Yesterday, Luke and Lib were eating lunch. Libby told Luke to stand up so he did with pizza in hand and Libby pushed him so hard that he flew back into the cupboard and his pizza landed across the kitchen. She told him to stand up with the sole intent to push him over. Then earlier today she was tired of Luke giving the computer more attention than her, I guess. So, she stole the cordless mouse put it in her room locked the door, shut it, and walked off. It is a good thing I can pick a lock.
Finally, I coerced them into putting coats and gloves on to rides bikes in the driveway with snow falling, anything to get them out of the house. They are still out. I hope Libby comes back a changed person.
And to beat it all, Tim has been struggling with some serious sinus issues so he is not 100%. This comes as a big let down for a 6 year old boy that lives for Saturday so he can ditch us girls (can’t blame him).
You might be asking why we don’t go out somewhere. Well, it is race weekend. That means there are an extra 150,000 + people roaming around town and everything is packed.
Chili is in the crock, it’s not a cure all but it should help.

the sunsets...

the kids......

the wildlife...

Here is a better pic of the alligator. I am having a hard time getting my manatee picture to upload. I decided to quit and try later.

Picture Day!!!! ....the family

I'm going to try and put all my favorite pictures of our trip on the blog today. Beginning with Grandma, Joe, and my sister Leslie.

We are home!

Well, its not warm and the sun is no where to be found. But, at least we have Tim :)

Almost home.

Almost home. I can see the moutains. It does not look warm.

Just arrived in Memphis

Just arrived in Memphis. Flight was good. Kids were great!

We are on the plane!

We are on the plane! The kids are happy with their frootloops, just waiting to taxi.

Alligator Park

Just a short walk from my mom's place is a park. It is has a bike and fitness trail with a small pond and benches to sit and alligators! Yes, alligators! On the days that we haven't left Clearwater we have either ridden our bikes there or just walked. Everytime we have seen the alligators. It is a small pond. I asked my mom is anyone concerned that there are wild alligators loose in a residential/recreational area? She said there's no problem until they become a nuisance. Hmmmm..... so no worries until someone gets eaten, OK.
Today, we made our last trip to the park before going home tomorrow. The kids and I headed to the only bench in the shade to eat our snack. I was casing the pond, just to find the whereabouts of the gators. I don't know why but I was looking out in the water. Then suddenly there was some unexpected movement and a splash just below where we were standing. Unknowingly we had walked up on one alligator and surprised it. I was just as surprised. He stayed in the water but hid in some floating pond scum and just watched us the entire time we were there. Except for when there were bikers then he would turn full circle and watch the bikers ride by. No kidding! Later today I was talking to a women at the pool and she said she had been chased by one of the alligators down the bike path and now she only rides her bike there. Well, no worries we are going home in the morning and none of us got eaten.

















Luke on a borrowed bike.

















The alligator is on the bank. Hard to see. I got better pictures but I wanted to get this sign in too. I'm not sure what to think about the sign, hmmmmmm......
















Notice how close the trail and bench is to the gator ( it is right above Luke 's elbow). This was our first time at the park and Luke was deciding if he should go any further on the trail. We did.

I will put better pics of the gator on the blog after I get home. I have one or two on my camera but I can't put my pics on here until I get home.

We leave tomorrow at 6:40 am. I will try and post on my way.
Later....Gator.

Its all a blurr....

I think it was the day before yesterday, (its all a blurr) we drove to TECO, (Tamp Electric Co.) Big Ben power station. They have a manatee veiwing center there. On the way we stopped for some awesome deviled crabs and ate them at a quaint little park. Then headed on to see some sea cows. No luck. So we walked through a small museum, the kids played with a stuff manatee, and they got a little one to take home (thanks Grandma). On the way home we hunted down some slushies and went over the infamous Skyway Bridge. I love bridges for some weird reason. They make me nervous as heck, especially the huge ones. But, the architecure is amazing. We came home and rode bikes on the Pinellas Trial. It is a greenway that streches for about 3o miles and it is in mom's backyard. That's nice. We came up on two alligators sun bathing. Uh....yeah. Alligators, wild, on the loose.
















Libby and I pretending to fight for the deviled crab. ( she really wasn't as in to them as the rest of us).

















Just a swinging.






















This stuffed manatee is the actual size of a newborn.

















The Skyway.

I've got pics !!!!!

Our first full day was spent at N. Reddington Beach. It was beautiful and we had a great time.
This is my first attempt to get Libby in the Gulf. She was in above her waste by the days end.
Luke feeding his lunch to the birds. Grandma with the kids.

ps: thanks Tonya for putting these pics on for me....ugggh!

Our 2nd Day....

Our 2nd day was spent at Phillippe Park. We grabbed some lunch at Chipotle (I like Barbaritos better) and took it to the park. This park is amazing you can easily spend the entire day there. It has an awesome playground, white beaches, and the biggest Oak trees that kids can climb on forever. It sits right on the Bay and offers the most amazing breeze. Later in the day we went swimming at the pool, mom's very cold pool. The kids didn't seem to care, not until they turned purple anyway.















Libby could have spent the entire day throwing rocks in the bay.















Luke wrestling this very scary dinosaur.

We have had tons of fun but we all miss Tim. I wish he could be here. I am a day behind on my post. I will post tomorrow of all the fun had today. But, I will say that we met Al. E. Gator in person!.....more tomorrow.