Mini golf

We went to play miniature golf as a family a little while ago. There is a place near us that is really cheap, and kids under 5 are free!

Here is Aidan getting ready to putt.

Zoie was so focused on her game that she couldn't even be bothered to look at the camera.

Jim and Nolan

And here's everyone in one of the caves that you play through. See Zoie? She is still very focused on hitting that ball. I didn't get a good picture of her the whole night. Maybe we have a future LPGA star on our hands. Ha ha

You've got mail

When we moved in, the house we live in now had no mail box. And, to make things more interesting, the street our address is on is not the street our front door is on. It was a little confusing and we saw more than one person drive past our house while trying to find it. This is the side of the house facing the street we technically live on.

So back when my Dad was in town we tracked down the mail lady to ask her if we could put the mail box on the wrong street. She agreed, and so off we went to find a mailbox. We found this beauty and didn't realize until we got it home that it is HUGE!

And, is very fancy compared to the rest of the mailboxes on our street.

But oh well, if we can't have the biggest/nicest house on the street we can definitely have the biggest/nicest mailbox. He he

On a side note, we live in a neighborhood with tons of trees and our back (side) yard has a bunch, which is nice because of all the shade. However, every few weeks we get the joy of raking leaves and picking up branches. Here is a look at what we came up with the first time we raked.

Luckily Jim's parents were here and helped a lot, because this was definitely not a one person job. So we are definitely keeping busy in our new home.

Pinewood Derby

This year was Nolan's first pinewood derby. He was so excited. It took us a while to get the car finished, so Nolan had to learn some patience. He was bugging us everyday to get it done, and we finally finished it (the night before).

Here is Nolan sitting by the track waiting for his race. The derby here is done on a stake level which was nice but it took a really long time because there were so many kids participating.

Nolan's car is on the right.
Aidan entertaining himself Zoie entertaining herself

Nolan with his friend Noah.
He didn't place 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, but he did win several races and he had a good time. I happen to think he might have won if there were a few less cars, but it was still fun for him. :)

Jim's 5K

Last year Jim and I ran in the 5K Edison race in Fort Myers, and (he will kill me for writing this) Jim was beat by my friend Kari Ann who was pregnant at the time. Granted she is a runner, and runs every day but ever since then he would not let up about how he was going to beat her the next time. So this year Jim trained (sort of) a few weeks before the big race so that he could improve his time and hopefully beat Kari Ann. Unfortunately she did not enter the race this year but Jim still ran it anyway just so he could try to beat her time from last year.

Here he is before the race
Run Jim, run!

Coming toward the finish line.

Proudly, Jim shaved three minutes off his time from last year and he did beat Kari Ann's time, so he was very happy. I was a bum and didn't enter this time, but I have started running again so I'll be ready for next year.

Cruisin

For a belated 10 year anniversary celebration, Jim and I went on a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas. I have been wanting to go on a cruise forever, so I checked online and found a last minute deal. So we asked Jim's parents to watch the kids and a week later we were on the boat. It was great, and we had such a good time.

The first night was a little iffy because the boat was rocking a lot and I thought I was going to lose it. Jim just laughed at me because he was smart enough to wear a patch. I have never gotten seasick before, but luckily after the first night I was fine.

And there was so much yummy food. It was everywhere, 24-7.

I am pretty sure I packed on a good 5 lbs, but it was soooo worth it.

Must......eat......more......

I think I probably would have still eaten it all even if I was sick, it was that good.

Here is Jim in front of our big boat.

We decided to go on a shore excursion to go snorkeling. The water was so pretty and it was crystal clear, but it was FREEZING! Next time I don't think we'll do the snorkeling unless it's August.This is a reggae band that was playing in one of the buildings we walked through in Nassau. Here I am enjoying some sushi. I was so mad because the sushi bar closed early one of the days so we only got to eat there once, but oh well. Jim was happy.Here is Jim with his sushi, he is not a big fan.
Here is Jim going down one the of smaller water slides on the boat.
(He's the one on the right, ha ha)

This is the big water slide on the boat. It was fun but it was up so high that it was really windy when you got up there, and kind of cold. We had to go down it twice just so that we could say we did it.

Playing mini golf on the boat.


Nassau

There is nothing better than chips with salsa and guacamole at midnight.

We were a little tired but of course we couldn't miss any of the food.
Here we are all dressed up after our nice lobster dinner. Yum!

Here is Jim in our tiny room. I am standing at the door while taking this picture, and that window? Yeah it's fake, if you move the curtain it's just a wall. But we still loved it, it was very cozy.

Well that's a summary of our cruise. I highly recommend taking one to anyone who is thinking about it. And hey, let us know if you go on one, we may join you!

My husband is a rock star!

Or at least a rock star look alike.

I was told today by the Relief Society president at church that her husband thinks Jim looks like the drummer from Blink 182, minus the tattoos. Ha ha! Of course I had to come home and google him to see for myself, and weird.... he kinda does look like Jim. What do you think?

Sorry for the picture quality. It was really hard to find a picture of Jim where he wasn't with anyone else.

Happy Birthday Zoie!

When Zoie and Aidan's birthday's come around it is crazy for at least a week. There is always a lot going on and the festivities are always spread out. This year was no exception. They sometimes get stiffed because their birthday's are only three days apart and they are forced to have a combined party, so this year we separated them a little more. (although they still had to share a cake)

On Zoie's birthday we picked up the boys early from school and we all went to the pool at the YMCA. The kids love it there because there are slides and toys that spray water. After we were all worn out from the pool we decided to eat out for dinner. So we all went to a favorite restaurant and Zoie lucked out because when our waitress found out it was her birthday she brought out a yummy ice cream sundae with a candle in it.

A few days after Zoie's birthday we headed to the Animal Kingdom at Disney, because the kids still had 2 days left on their passes and Zoie really wanted to go for her birthday. It was a lot of fun and we hadn't been to that park for several years so we were able to do some new things.

We are now moving into that phase of life where almost all of our kids are big enough to go on every ride. There are only a few that Zoie can't go on. At the park there is a fun excavation site where the kids can dig for dinosaur bones and we also went on a new ride called Dinosaur that was really fun. We had a great time, and with that the birthday festivities are over (until June).

Happy Birthday Aidan!

For Aidan's birthday this year we hit a Rays game in St. Pete. There was a special deal through the boys' school so we were able to get discounted tickets, and the game just happened to be on Aidan's birthday. He was so excited and talked about it for weeks before.
On the big day, Elaine and Will drove up from Fort Myers to go the the game with us and we all met at our house before the game for dinner and cake. Our friend's the Ojukwu's and the Larsen's also came for dinner. Then it was on to the game.
The kids had a great time and they were all really good through the whole game. There were fireworks after the game inside the Rays stadium which was neat. Then after the game, a door at the back of the field is opened and everyone can walk across the field to get out of the stadium. It was a great night and the kids were all tired after which made it even better!

Shoes... how do I love thee

Solving the dilemma of where all my shoes would go as we now live in a smaller house was frustrating. I had almost accepted the fact that my shoes would live in bins and under the bed permanently, when much to my delight we found this awesome shoe system at Lowes. Love it! Now all my pretty shoes have a greatly needed new home. Luckily I got rid of some shoes after we moved so there was just enough room. Although, we could always add more shelves if needed. he he And as an added bonus this shoe rack is in the perfect position for me to stare at as I lay in bed. Here I am with my friends Emily and Jen. Emily found a shoe store that we just had to stop at, every pair of shoes there was under $20! Score! This was before the new rack was put up, so the new shoes fit fine, in case you were wondering.Here is Zoie with her bff Jocelyn, doing some shopping of her own.