Owen's 2nd Birthday!

On May 20th our sweet little Owen turned 2!!!  It seems like just yesterday Dan was bringing him home to us as a complete surprise.  He has turned into such a sweetand snuggly little guy.  Very mellow and calm for a JR...until Piper runs by and then he is usually ready to take off and play.

Owen celebrated with a Puppy Paws ice cream cake with dog bone sprinkles this year! 

Piper was there share Owen's special day. 

Next came Owen (and Piper's) favorite part.  Opening the presents!  Anytime that either of them see a gift bag they think it is for them and will sit and bark at it.  It's really kind of funny and cute.  (Except when it's Ellie's birthday and the presents sat in our bedroom for a couple of weeks up on the dresser and Piper barked and howled at them every day!) 

Owen dug right into the bag and it wasn't long before he came out with his first present. 

He loved this bone for the squeaker inside and had pulled the green fuzzy off of one end of it before the next morning.  Just one of the joys of having a JRT!

He loved this ball too and would actually bring it back a few times.  That is a talent usually reserved only for Piper in our house.  She LOVES all balls and will bring them back for you to throw until you finally quit!

 Owen let Piper open one of his presents (he's very good at sharing) and soon it was tug of war time.

 Happy Birthday, Owen!  We love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Space Shuttle Endeavour Launch

In the early morning hours of Monday, May 16th ( 1am to be exact!) I woke the kids up and we drove down to the Kennedy Space Center to get ready to see the final launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour.  We missed having Dan go with us, but he had to go out of town later that day so he wasn't able to join us on our adventure.  The kids were groggy after getting up in the middle of the night, but excited enough that they changed into their clothes without fussing and then curled back up with their blankets and pillows in the car for a little more sleep.  Traffic was light so early in the morning and soon we are at the Kennedy Space Center.

All activities at the Space Center were open and after we found the perfect spot to set up our chairs to see the shuttle launch we headed off to explore.  It was around 4:30am, dark and a little chilly but there was a buzz of excitement in the air.

Emory, Ellie and her little elephant posed as astronauts...

 After a while walking around, we headed back to sit down for a little while and watch the astronauts get into the shuttle on the big screen.  Ellie also decided to curl up on the ground for a little nap...it didn't last too long.

Finally the sun came up and we knew that it wouldn't be too much longer before the launch.  There were lots more people everywhere by this time and we were glad that we got there early for a good spot. 

The shuttle was scheduled to blast off at 8:56am and went off just as planned.

 We were able to see it blast off but...

...the clouds had rolled in over the morning hours before the launch and we couldn't see it for very long at all.   

The neatest part of the launch came about 36 seconds after blast off when we were able to hear and feel the rumble of the shuttle blasting off.  The sound came toward us slowly and eventually surrounded us. You could feel it.  That was something that we had never experienced before when watching launches from the boardwalk near our house. 

We packed up our chairs and spent the rest of the day at the Kennedy Space Center seeing the IMAX movies, riding in the shuttle simulalator and enjoying all of the space exhibits.

It was a really fun day with Emory and Ellie and one that I had really wanted to share with them before the end of the shuttle program.  Now there is only one left.  Hopefully the memories will stay with them for many years to come.  Bon Voyage, Endeavour!

Ellie's Piano Recital

On Sunday, May 15th Ellie performed in her piano teacher's Spring Piano Recital.  She played two pieces:  Spanish Dancer and A Concert Piece.  She did a great job and we really enjoyed listening to all of the performances by each of the students.

Visitors...Quack, Quack!

This  morning as the kids were getting ready to head to the bus, they looked out and found two visitors by the pool...a pair of brown ducks!  They flew in for a little morning swim but were scared away when the kids and I went out to take a picture of them.  They didn't fly off before each leaving us a little "present" though! 

Mother's Day

I had another perfect Mother's Day this year!  It started with the kids and Dan making me coffee and breakfast before heading out to the beach.  The weather was warm and breezy, the water was surprisingly clear and the kids really were nice to each other...the BEST part of my Mother's Day for sure!

 At school, Ellie decorated me the most beautiful Mother's Day cake ever and brought it home for me as a surprise.

I love you, Emory and Ellie!

Battle of the Books

In early May, Emory participated in a contest called the Battle of the Books.  It is similar to the Battle of the Brains competition but this time the teams had to work together to answer reading comprehension questions about eleven different books that they had all read throughout the school year. 

Emory was one of five students to represent Mill Creek Elementary in this competition that was held among all of our counties elementary schools.  Great job, Emory! 

Easter

Easter Sunday saw us up again this year before dawn as we headed out to the beach in Ponte Vedra for sunrise service.  We were all a little sleepy but the cool ocean air woke us up and both the sunrise and service were beautiful.

After the service and a quick walk down the beach, we came home to search for Easter baskets.  Emory and Ellie were ready for some chocolate and the Easter Bunny did not disappoint.

 Emory in all of his silliness couldn't stop quacking!

After brunch the kids had an egg hunt in the backyard.

 Happy Easter!

Happy 8th Birthday, Ellie!!!

I know, this post is VERY late in getting made as Ellie's birthday was over a month ago.  Sorry EllieBean!

Our sweet little girl is now a crazy 8 year old as of April 11th.  She had (several) wonderful birthday celebration(s) first on her birthday with us and then with her friends and Aunt Tammy a week or so later.  This one was definitely a birthday that she will not soon forget...and might just be her favorite!

We tried to take Ellie out to one of her favorite restaurants, Mango Mangos, on the night before her birthday to celebrate her last day being 7 but when we got there found that it was closed for two days of renovations.  No worries, we just headed to another favorite beach restaurant instead and then for a sunset walk on the beach.

 Ellie drew herself a birthday cake in the sand...

 April 11th was a Monday this year so Ellie headed off to school with cupcakes to share with all of her classmates.  At home we celebrated with a dinner of her choice, a big red velvet cupcake and of course presents!

Ellie opened her presents and Emory couldn't help getting in on the fun.  He decided to put on Ellie's new gown, new flip flops and one of her baby bows and be her!

Ellie's birthday party with her friends was held the following Sunday afternoon on April 17th.  Aunt Tammy flew down to help out with Ellie's Spa Party and give all of the girls facials.  The best part of the party might just have been having Aunt Tammy here!  :o)

Aunt Tammy and I made the cutest little marshmallow pops for the party.  They were so cute and yummy too! 

To go along with the spa party theme, I made Ellie a cake shaped like a bottle of hot pink nail polish. 

Ellie had a great time with her friends doing crafts as she waited for all of the guests to arrive.  Her first friends to make it to the party were Kimberly and Nikki.

We had several spa activities planned for the girls...manicures, pedicures, making body glitter gel and the most fun of all, facials!  Aunt Tammy flew all the way from Richmond to do these for Ellie and her friends and Ellie loved every second of it.  

Each girl had their turn getting a facial...and doing lots of giggling!

 Then it was time to relax with the cucumbers on their eyes.

 We wrapped up the party playing games in the hot tub. 

 It was a birthday party packed with lots of fun activities.  Extra special thanks to Aunt Tammy for first of all coming down to share Ellie's birthday with us and then also for all of her help with the party.  It just wouldn't have been the same with out her!