Ellie's Field Trip

All 8 second grade classes from Mill Creek Elementary took a field trip to the Jacksonville Zoo on March 22nd.  It was a hot day but the kids were so excited and had such a great time running around the zoo together and checking out all of the animals.

One of the newest members of the zoo family was a super cute baby zebra.

The newest area of the zoo that just recently opened is called All About Dinosaurs.  They have added 16 animatronic dinosaurs that are very lifelike.  They move and make noises as you walk by and a couple even squirt water at you out of the blue!  It was a fun exhibit!

Ellie rode the zoo carousel and chose to ride the zebra...maybe in honor of the newest member of the zoo?

My favorite animal at the zoo and Ellie's second favorite animal is the giraffe.  At our zoo, you can purchase leaves that you can hand feed to the giraffes as they walk up to a platform to eat.  This time Ellie and I counted more than 10 giraffes, many of which were youngsters and just so cute!

Feeding them is so much fun that it really does make you want to spend the entire afternoon there!

On each trip to the Zoo we always get our picture made with the elephant statues.

This time Elllie even took one of me since Dan swears that I'm not in a single picture on this blog!

The class had to leave early so that the school buses could get back to pick up all of the children but Ellie and I hung around for a few more hours to enjoy a fun day together. 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Spring Soccer Begins...

The spring soccer season kicked off on Saturday, March 12th with games for both Emory and Ellie.  It was a beautiful spring day that started off a little chilly but was the perfect day for playing soccer.

Ellie is playing with the same coach and group of girls that she did in the fall.  This season their team name is the Mustangs, which she loves because that is the mascot for her elementary school also.

The Mustangs played great and had smiles on their faces throughout the game.  They won in the end but it was a close on there for a while. 

Emory is still playing with the same travel team that he has been with since the fall.  They are the Creeks Clash B team with Coach Derick.  They had a great first game that ended with a score of 5-1.

Emory scored twice during the game but one was called back beause he was offsides.  It was Emory's best opening game of the season ever!!!

If Emory and his team can keep the scoring up at this pace it will be a really fun soccer season to watch!

Go Clash and Mustangs!!!!

Piper's 2nd Birthday

On March 8th, Piper celebrated her 2nd birthday!  It was a busy day with school, soccer and other activities but we managed to squeeze in a little party for her in the evening.  We put a candle in her Puppy Paws ice cream and sang Happy Birthday.

It took a while for Owen and Piper to make it through their cold treat but they finally did and we moved onto her presents.  She got a new collar, a squeaky toy and a fluffy dog toy that she could pay tug of war with with Owen.  It was her favorite!

Happy 2nd  Birthday, sweet girl!  We love you!!!

Emory's New Room

One of Emory's requests for his birthday was that we redecorate his bedroom.  It was time for the space pictures loving painted by Ga and little space man border that we put up when he was three to go.  So sad but he was definitely right.

Below are the Before pictures of what his room has looked like since we moved into this house...

With so many legos, storage was a major problem.  Emory also needed a desk where he could get his homework done and just hang out.

And now for the After pictures...
We picked out a darker blue paint and added a two foot wide orange stripe all the way around the room.  It really made the whole room come together once it was up.

Emory's favorite part is his new loft bed and desk.  It has really opened up the room and created so much more space on the floor.

There are still just as many legos but now there are shelves on the desk and bookcase to house all of them.

Emory's original idea for his room was to go all Gator colors....royal blue and bright orange.  The colors that he chose in the end were a nice compromise but he still got a big Gator head to go over his door.

We really like the way it turned out and hope that Emory will enjoy this room for many years to come.

Happy 11th Birthday, Emory!!!

It's hard to believe that our "baby" boy is celebrating his 11th birthday today!  What a fun and absolutely wonderful 11 years it has been watching him grow up.  He is a great kid to be around...very smart, easy going and usually very happy.  We love you so very much, Emory!

Emory started off his birthday just how he likes it...with no school!  Most people were celebrating President's Day today but Emory will tell you that it's really a holiday to celebrate his birthday.  He started off the day opening his presents before heading off to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast.

He had a fun day doing a little shopping with some of his birthday money, attending another friend's birthday party and going out for a special birthday dinner of his choice at a Japanese steak house.

After dinner we headed to Cold Stone Creamery for a HUGE ice cream cone with candles to wrap up his birthday.

Emory's birthday party with his friends was held at The Edge Rock Gym this year.  It's a facility dedicated to rock climbing.  Emory and his friends had a great time trying out all of the different walls from the easiest up to some of the ones that were much more challenging.

Emory had been here a few years ago for a party and was a little afraid to go all the way to the top but this time he showed no fear.  He climbed straight to the top on each of the different walls that he tried.

Ellie loved the climbing too.  She brought along her best friend, Sydney and they had lots of fun too.

Dan joined in with all of the kids and enjoyed the climbing too.

No party would be complete without an extra special birthday cake for the birthday boy.  Just like all of his previous ten birthday cakes, I made this one for Emory.  This year we had a rock wall birthday cake complete with a figure of Emory made out of fondant climbing up the side.

After cake and ice cream (sugar!), the kids were ready to finish up their last hour of climbing.  Emory found a little more energy and showed lots of determination to make it to the top of some of the much harder walls.

Finally, the sugar wore off and they were all exhausted but still had smiles on their faces.

The group:  Jonathan, Zach, Johnathan, Derek, Ellie, Mack, Emory and Sydney.  Happy Birthday, Emory!

Father Daughter Dance

Ellie and her Daddy attended their second Father-Daughter dance on January 26th.  The theme this year was Under the Stary Skies.  Ellie talked about the dance for weeks ahead of time she was so excited!  This year she was excited not only about what dress she would wear for the dance but also what her Daddy would wear.  She was very concerned that they match.  So, after we went out shopping for just the perfect dress for Ellie...it was time to go out shopping for the perfect matching tie (pink of course!) for Daddy.  They made quite the cute couple!

Dan said that they had another wonderful evening dancing and spending time together.  They have their own special spin with a dip at the end.  Ellie loves it!  Ellie also had lots of fun with some of the other Brownies from her Girl Scout troop who attended the dance. A couple of her friends from our neighborhood are in her troop.  Ellie loves spending time with Kimberly and Sydney.

2nd Quarter Report Cards

Last week, report cards were issued for the 2nd quarter and once again we are so PROUD of Emory's and Ellie's academic achievements!  Emory brought home his 10th quarter of straight A's and Ellie brought home all M's and P's.  Great Job Emory and Ellie!!!

Carriage Ride through St. Augustine

We were lucky enough to have Gee and Pa come down to St. Augustine to spend New Years with us again this year.  It's becoming a fun tradition to have our 2nd Christmas with them on December 30th and then to spend New Year's Eve together watching fireworks on the beach on the 31st. 

On the last night of their visit, we all went out to dinner and then for a horse drawn carriage ride around historic St. Augustine.  It was beautiful with all of the lights still decorating the buildings and trees for the Nights of Lights celebration.

We had a beautiful horse named Prince to pull our carriage on this evening.  He was HUGE!  We were surprised how well he followed verbal commands from the carriage driver.

 It was a wonderful evening to see St. Augustine and a fun way end our visit with Gee and Pa.

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!

May 2011 be the year that all of your dreams come true!