Friends

My kids love to play with other children. They would put Paris Hilton to shame on the social scene if you didn't consider high society to be a factor in comparison. If there is an opportunity to get together with friends, Harrison and Brooks will jump on it and they will do it all day, everyday. In the past week we have had some exciting times with friends both old and new. First, our best friends, Noah, Brayden and Bransen came from Palm Coast to visit our new house and have lunch with us at Chuck E. Cheese. We also met some new friends, Samantha and Allie, who live across the street from us. And yesterday, Brooks had her very own playdate with her best bud from Palm Coast, Garrett.

I know that Harrison and Brooks are going to enjoy it here because they seem to be making new friends every time we step out of the house. There is certainly nothing like our old buddies from Palm Coast who we miss dearly but I am glad to see my kids meeting new people like it is second nature. If anything, I might need to be concerned that they are so uninhibited by almost any social scenario. Harrison has been in gymnastics for 3 weeks and took to it like a fish in water. He also made a friend there who will be joining us for a playdate this Friday.

Harrison has met and become friends with several kids in the last month. Maybe it's because he feels like a high five is in order any time he plays with a boy or girl for more than 5 minutes, and if they don"t high five him back...he'll just keep asking. His persistence is unwavering which may be how he has collected so many buddies. But I know one thing, this guy loves making new friends. And Brooks isn't afraid to get out there and meet other kids either. She has had to compete with Harrison on almost everything so this girl can hold her own with kids younger and older than her. Actually, she can almost hold her own a little too well. But I can see that she is becoming a people person just like her brother and it makes me happy to see the both of them having such a great time!

St. Simons Island

Last weekend was a busy one. You would think that after moving into a new house and a new city, you might just stay put for a little while. But, no, not us. We got places to go. First we went back to Palm Coast on Saturday for a friend's wedding. And on Sunday, we headed in the opposite direction, to St. Simons, where we got to spend the morning with Mama and Da and the afternoon with Angel, Reint, Finn and Sophie. We love seeing family and friends so it was all well worth the effort. Robert and I even managed to squeeze in a bunco baby shower that Sunday night for Amy and Mitch on our way back from St. Simons. And here are some pictures of our morning at the park with Mama and Da and a few pictures with Finn and Sophie as we chilled in the backyard. The kids were too busy to get a picture of all 4 at one time but what else is new??

Moving Time

Please excuse my lack of blog postings for the last month or so. My schedule had a wrench thrown into it when we started moving from Palm Coast to Jacksonville and even though the move started over a month ago, I am just now starting to feel like we have a normal routine in the works. Sweet relief! The last few weeks, minus the amazing vacation that Robert and I took, have brought on some unwanted stress to my life. Aside from the usual dramatic changes that coincide with any move, other obstacles have taken place that have kept me preoccupied and unable to communicate with the rest of the world. First, Harrison took a nasty spill in the shower that required 2 stitches in the back of his head. This took place the morning after we got back from vacation...a blunt reminder that we are back to reality. And on the day we got his stitches removed, Brooks decided to compete by falling in the tub, only to get a slice right above her left eye. Clearly we have issues in the bathroom and it might be time to start rethinking the the level of cleanliness that I want for my children. On top of all this, Harrison and Brooks have been a little difficult to manage due to the abrupt changes in their schedules. Harrison has found it more settling to come into our room in the middle of the night and sleep with us rather than sleeping in his new, scary, monster infested bedroom. Brooks has had a cold since we left Athens so she is not sleeping so soundly either. And news flash: sleep deprived children do not make for the best behaved children. So I have had a hard time getting out into any public scene...without making a spectacle.

The good news is that things are starting to come together. Harrison has been at his new School, Advent Preschool for a week now and he is doing great. He is going 5 days a week from 9 to 12 and I can already see a change in his behavior. Once we get home from school, Brooks is so worn out from spending the morning with me that she is napping and Harrison, oddly enough, likes to chill out for a while with a movie or a computer game. I am hoping to use this time in the future for painting since I have 3 art shows coming up in the spring! When Brooks wakes up I send them outside into the backyard or we will walk across the street to the parks in our neighborhood. We all are loving the new community that we moved into. I think Harrison feels like he is in paradise because there is something exciting to do almost everyday. Kids are all over the place and he meets new friends each time we go to the park. We fed the ducks at the pond, yesterday, and soon, the pool will open and we can walk out our door and go swimming at the water park. The neighbors are really sweet and, just today, the girls next door brought over their 4 year old cousin, Evan, to play along with their puppy. So even Jojo is making friends! We'll also be getting into some sports this summer so that Harrison's energy is well spent when school gets out!

Here are some pictures from the last 2 weeks. We got to spend some time at the Hammock Beach Club with our friends Reint and Angel last weekend so I added those too.

Paradise

It might not have been paradise getting there, thanks Air Tran, but Robert I managed to make it to paradise for almost an entire week. We drove the kiddos to Athens on a Friday where Lee Lee and Bill got the deluxe package treatment of watching our mild mannered children for the week as Robert and I snuck away for an amazing vacation with Natalie and Zach and our good friends, Ryan and KK. I won't go into the details of our little airline snafu out of Atlanta but let's just say it wasn't a pretty scene trying to get to Mexico. Regardless, our vacation to Isla Muejares was incredible and it was a much needed break from the chaos that has insued in the last few weeks. We had such a good time with everyone on the trip and the island was absolutely breathtaking. On top of that, great food, fun adventures, and lots of laughs made for a perfect vacation.

Robert and I were so excited to see our little monkees once we returned. And I think Lee Lee and Bill were really excited to see us. They even booked a vacation for the following week just so they could recover. We were also able to spend a short visit with Mama and Da. Now it is back to the reality of moving and settling into a new place but more on that later. And I am pretty sure that I am ready to start planning our next vacation....any takers on babysitting???