Fun Filled Weekend

One KK, one Pop Pop, two active little boys and a long labor day weekend! Whew! Who needs the gym? Saturday afternoon we hit our first park. We started off the weekend with a busted lip. The five year old was spinning on some equipment, jumped off while dizzy, fell and hit his lip on the base of it. He's our rough and tough one but usually freaks at the site of blood (on himself). He said can you believe I'm not freaking out, that's because I turned 5 now. Well, what do you know, maybe he's growing up on us. While I was checking out the injury and Pop Pop had gone to the car to get a paper towel, I turned to check on the little guy and caught him just before he relieved himself.

Sunday afternoon we went out to Stanley Pond Farms, located in Astatula. A retired couple live there and have created an amazing place for kids to visit. They also grow and sell day lilies on the grounds. Admission is free but if you want to do the "fun stuff" you purchase tokens. You can ride horses, Skippy the air boat, a cow train, a hayride or play on a huge sand pile. We did everything there several times. They have stocked the pond with catfish, bass and brim and beginning October 1, you can pay $10 per child and fish all day. They have an indoor area with games and a play area and they have a huge gazebo for birthday parties or celebrations.

While we were on the hayride, a torrential downpour came out of nowhere. We had to seek shelter for about 30 minutes before heading back. The boys had a blast playing in the rain. So much that I am sure they will be disappointed if we go back and it doesn't rain. I think the boys brought enough sand home in their hair and clothes to fill their own sandbox.

Today, we headed to Sanford to the Central Florida Zoo. When we were there last month, we noticed the obstacle course that wound through the trees around the zoo.We promised the boys we would come back another day to do the "hang gliding", as they call it. Well, the requirement is 36" tall (which he is) but they have upped the age to 4. Needless to say, the 2 year old was disappointed he wasn't going to be able to do it. He cheered up when he realized he could follow along and pick up sticks and "stuff" on a nature walk under the course. The five year old thinks he is a super hero already so this was right up his alley. When we were turning in his harness, they ask us to complete a survey that ask his favorite part of the course. He said it was the part where you didn't have anything to hold on to and you had really tiny boards to step on because you might actually fall off. I didn't even need to ask, I knew that would be his favorite part.

We took the two hour trip through the forest to take them home and kept them awake by looking for bear and deer. They are back in St. Augustine now and sound asleep. Sweet dreams little guys. We hope you have had as much fun as KK and Pop Pop.

Terreckly,

Kathy

Grace United Methodist Church - St. Augustine, FL.

Are You Ready For Some FOOTBALL!!!

FEAR THE SWAMP!

It is finally here! I don't think I have shared with you yet that I bleed orange and blue. I am a "FGFF"! That would be a Florida Gator football fanatic. I love me some Gator football!!! I am blogging right now during the game (commercials, of course!). I must admit, I miss my Timmy Tebow but the Denver Broncos gained a fan. I grew up in a little town outside of Gainesville and there is no other school. Now don't get me wrong, the SEC rocks and I root for all of those teams (now that UT ran Lane Kiffin out of town) unless they are playing the mighty Gators. Over the years, I have attended many home and out of town games and I loved every minute of it, from the tailgating to the after game celebrations and everything in between. For several years, my nephew, who is a UF grad, was in law school in Mississippi and my Mother and I were "treated" to his season tickets. My Mother is a die-hard gator fan! Even though she attended FSU, she came to her senses. She is a blast to be with and we always have a great time no matter where we go. Hubby loves football but prefers to watch from his recliner so he can do what men do best, flip through the channels with the remote to catch all the games. When we got married, he was playing football at NCSU during the Lou Holtz era. We lived in Raleigh until he graduated then we headed back to Florida.

The little guys are here and we are having our halftime party then they are off to the park with Pop Pop. (A four hour football game televised is a bit much for a 2 and 5 year old.) They were born into a big family of Gators so I am sure they will be watching their share of games in the years to come.

Goooooo Gators!! Chomp! Chomp! (Score 34-12)

Terreckly,

Kathy

My Flowers

While I was outside in my yard today I took a few pics of my pretty flowers.

No Tears Today Please

KK is back home now and Mommy and Daddy have school duty today. (Whew! Don't know if I could have done it one more day!) It has been a rough week with school(for me) and the little guy. We started out in the floor of the car before I coaxed him out to get into the car seat. Grandmothers don't like tears! We just want to fix it but nothing seemed to be working this week. I pulled out all my silly "stuff" and bribery and even though he would buy into it for a few minutes, he would revert back to the tears and begging me not to leave him. It was soooo hard leaving those big blue eyes filled with those big crocodile tears. When I picked him up he did seem to be having a good time dancing with the other 2 year olds. (even though the teacher said he had been crying and asking when KK would be back to get him) They have "dress up" the last 10 minutes of class and he was a sight to behold. He had on basically the same outfit both days with the exception of the top half of a cheerleader uniform on one of the days. Oh and he was wearing fireman boots and a few other pieces of clothing I did not recognize. I want to share a few pictures with you and I am sure you Mommy's and grandmothers out there have had a few of these tearful moments. Oh, by the way, his mommy saw Wednesday's blog and sent me a message last night saying, now she realizes why he doesn't want to go to school. ( she said she would like to stay "home" with KK too!) Pop Pop is having withdrawals as he has not seen his little boys for three weeks. Guess who will be staying with us this Labor Day weekend?? Pop Pop and I will be getting them Saturday afternoon right after T-ball practice. We have some fun things planned so you can surely expect to see pics in my upcoming blog.

Terreckly,

Kathy

Hangin with my little guy!

Oh the joys of being a grandmother! After getting the kindergartner off to school this morning, the little guy and I headed out for a day of fun and sun. I told him it was his day and we would do whatever he wanted to do ( within the perimeters of St. Augustine). He wanted to go to the "pirate ship" park and the beach (and get a toy, of course). There is a great park near his home and the boys refer to it as the "pirate ship" park because there is a big wooden ship on the playground. We packed a couple of snacks, water and apple juice and headed out. After spending about an hour at the park, playing, feeding the ducks, and taking pictures, (I am posting a pic of me that the two year old actually took and he almost got my face in the pic.), we headed for the beach! Oops, KK forgot the sand bucket but I did happen to have a plastic bag in the trunk of the car for our shells. He has a little head cold so I didn't bother putting his bathing suit in this time. Hurricane Earl is kickin up the ocean quite a bit so there were signs posted to stay out of the water anyway. (Didn't stop those surfers, you know, hurricanes create the "best" surf conditions!) It wasn't a very good day for picking up shells, tide was all the way in, so we only spent about an hour before giving it up and heading to one of our favorite stops. (That was my idea!) He either orders an original with fresh diced mango and strawberries or just an original plain. Today was a plain day. After yogurt, we went down by the bay to watch the workers repair the bridge.

He loves to read, draw, color, paint (basically, do anything that involves markers or the little water pens that color on those special paint books) so I knew I would be able to afford the "toy" he would choose. He did not let me down, he picked out a poster with markers that could be erased and colored over and over again.

Before going home, we had a couple more stops. First was Publix! I consider it my second home! We got our groceries then headed to the elementary school to pick up his big brother. The kindergartner explained to me all the way home that his teacher had written a long note and put it in his folder and in his words, it wasn't about him not being a good listener like the day before. It was only for not following directions. The reason he wasn't following directions is because he didn't know what directions he was supposed to be following. He said, when it's that kind of not following directions, you are not supposed to get in trouble for it. He is so full of it, sometimes he can almost convince me he knows what he is talking about. I just listen, smile and say, okay, Mommy and Daddy will take care of it when they get home. (Been there, done that, not my job anymore!) Funny when Mommy got home and checked the folder, the teacher did write a long note and he was right, he wasn't following directions. Seems as though, Mommy had sent a note to the teacher asking why the Ziploc bags, markers and glue sticks she had ask for in the "open house" letter kept coming back in his backpack. Guess he was supposed to take them out and put them in a specified place in the classroom. In other words, he had not been following directions. He didn't get into trouble, just a little lesson in why you need to listen and follow instructions.

I tried to help him with his homework yesterday and when Mom checked it, she let me know that I had shown him the wrong way to do one page. I also had made him do all 12 pages as the note said to do them before Wednesday. Well, I said, it is Wednesday. Not today Mom, by next Wednesday. Oops! Oh well, right or wrong, he is done with it and now she doesn't have to worry about forgetting. Right ? Okay, so maybe KK's not smarter than a kindergartener, but she can cook. (and she knows how to have a really fun day!)

Amazingly, with those two monkeys, I managed to prepare dinner for us and the neighbors. (They just returned from South Carolina and her Mother's funeral). They are a sweet young couple with two adorable children. I prepared chicken and dumplins, rice, fried okra, green beans, broccoli corn bread and peach cobbler. (All homemade mind you and I snapped the green beans myself.)

Terreckly,

Kathy