7.03.2007

Michelle comes to visit

Kevin's sister came to visit. We had a great time. We took her to Gainesville where my brother Ryan is currently living (dental school) with his wife, who's expecting their first child in October. We went tubing down a river. This is something I told myself I would never do in Florida because you never know if an alligator or poisonous snakes might pop up. Luckily we didn't see any alligators. We did however get followed by a snake which came inches from our raft. I think he was just curious. After we screamed like school girls for what seemed like hours he went on his way. Usually I wouldn't be so freaked out but I didn't know if it was poisonous or not and he looked like he was going to attack. The river was nice and cold. Kevin and Michelle swam a lot. I did for about 3 minutes but the thought of something creeping up next to me was too much so I stayed in the raft with the kids. We saw lots of turtles and fish. It was great.


We also went to a bat house on campus where 60,000 bats live and fly out at dusk. It's really neat to watch. Our kids loved it. You can see the bat house in the right hand corner of the picture where everyone is waiting by the fence for the bats to come out.








We also went to "the Swamp" where the gators play. The stadium holds close to 90,000 people. It's huge! Going up the bleachers was Boston's favorite part which he did all by himself. He doesn't want help with anything anymore and the kid has no fear.




And who comes to Florida with out going to the beach?

7.02.2007

Tickets for a Show Near You


So this year we decided to splurge and get season tickets to the Theatre for the upcoming season. The main reason we decided to get tickets was because "Wicked" is coming next April. Avery and I have fallen in love with the soundtrack thanks to my sister-in-law who shared it with us on our last trip together. We love it!
When I was younger I was Annie at MVHS and that play is also coming to Orlando so I thought it would be fun to take Avery. A lot of different cities have an opportunity like this so I thought I would share the info.
SLC, Washington D.C., Las Vegas to name a few! Just click on the link below.
Broadway Across America - Broadway Shows, Broadway Tickets for a Show Near You

6.12.2007



I can't believe Avery turned 5 this year. It's amazing how fast time goes by. This year we had Avery's party at Bibbiddi Bobbiddi Boutique at Downtown Disney for a princess makeover . Avery was so excited and talked about it for weeks before the party. All of her little friends had so much fun. They came in their princess attire and looked so cute together. After their makeovers we had pizza and cake out on a picnic table. It was such a fun party.







5.25.2007

Avery's dance recital! (sorry it took so long)

Recital

Avery's first recital!



Isn't she so darling in her tutu? She did such a great job, I was so proud. I wasn't sure how she would do on stage with so many people watching, we loved every minute of it! If I can figure out how to put video on my log, I'll have to post the performance! We'll see when that happens....

Mary Elizabeth, Avery and Dara

5.22.2007

Avery's Graduation!
This was a big day for us! I can't believe how much time has flown by. Next year Avery starts Kindergarten- WOW! She did such a great job performing at her Pre-K graduation ceremony. She has met so many great friends and had wonderful teachers this year.
Discovery Zone Preschool will truly be missed!


The Fam


......................Avery and I..................................Avery and Daddy..........Avery w/ Ms. Arlene & Ms. Ellen..............

Avery and Jordan............................ Leslie and Avery ..........................Avery, Jazmine & Abby


Graduating class of 2007

5.07.2007

Disney Minnie Marathon Weekend
"Women Run the World" 15K

So I decided to start training for the 15K (9.3 miles) a month before it started and luckily I had some great running buddies to help me with my training. I finished in 1:19:21 We had lots of fun and hopefully there will be many races to come.



5.01.2007

MAY DAY

One tradition that Kevin's mom did with her children was celebrate May Day. On May 1st they would decorate baskets of flowers and put them on people's door knobs secretly. I thought it was a cute little tradition so we are keeping it alive.
During the day we decorated some water bottles and strung ribbon through them (so we could hang them on our neighbors doors) and then we filled them with water and fresh flowers. Avery and Boston decorated pictured and wrote "Happy May Day! Love, your secret friend".
Normally you leave the flowers on your neighbor's door in the early morning, but we waited for Kevin to get home so we could deliver them together. We picked four of our elderly neighbors, hoping they would remember this long lost tradition. Avery and Boston had a ball.! They giggled with excitement as we ran and hid from our neighbors. Kevin and I felt like we were kids again, afraid we were going to get caught. We had a great time.
Thanks for the fun activity Pat!


4.27.2007

Relay For Life
One day. One night. One community: By participating in an American Cancer Society Relay For Life event, you honor cancer survivors, pay tribute to the lives lost to the disease, and raise money to help fight it – all right in your community.
Much more than a walk around a track, Relay is a time to celebrate those who have battled cancer, remember those lost and get inspired to fight back. Those who have shared the same experience find common ground, hope and healing at Relay. By participating, you have the power to continue the American Cancer Society's progress toward a future where cancer doesn't take the lives of our friends and family.
Relay For Life opens as cancer survivors take the first lap. This emotional time sets the stage for the importance of each participant's contribution. Highlighting the evening is a luminaria Ceremony of Hope held after dark to honor cancer survivors and to remember loved ones lost to cancer. The luminaria candles line the track and are left burning throughout the night to remind participants of the incredible importance of their contributions. There were so many bags around the track, it was beautiful and sad because you realized how many people were effected by this awful disease.
On Friday we joined a Relay for Life team with some friends of ours. It was a great experience for our family. Kevin walked between 11 and midnight and I being the late night girl I am, walked at 12:30-3:45 a.m. We rotated all night long between teammates. The kids had fun at the beginning of the night decorating bags for the Luminaria ceremony. It really was special to see them care so much for the people we knew who died of cancer. I am glad I was able to participate in this and I highly recommend getting involved with your community to do an event like this. It was a great experience. http://www.relayforlife.org/relay/


Our Luminaria Ceremony bags