Our Trip to South Florida

My mother and stepdad got a new couch... that means we got a "new" couch too! Their hand-me-down is our new comfy spot! Very exciting! We had to plan an impromptu trip to South Florida in order to retrieve it, so we made a little vacation out of it!

We left Thursday night and stayed through Sunday and drove a Uhaul back! On Thursday and Friday we spent time with the Myers in Palm Beach Gardens and had a BLAST! The beach trip on Friday was a definite highlight! Here are some tips for a fun and safe time courtesy of the Myer Fam!

First things first: you MUST wear sunscreen at the beach in Florida.

Mommies must keep an eye on their babies, and their hubbies too to make sure no sharks come (okay, so that's a little ridiculous, but common, you never know!).

You must convince little ones that the waves are your friends when mommy and daddy are with you.

You should always check out your surroundings.

You should have a Papa John with you to show you some fun games: like putting shells and other beach goodies into a bucket!

You should bring a skim board to catch some waves.

Snuggle up for a family photo while the little one is little (that will change when you blink your eyes after the shudder snaps!)

Teach your baby how to spell their name in the sand, look how well Aaron did!

Tell your baby that you "heart" them... better yet, show them!

Allow them to walk away when their done being "hearted."

Find some beach treasure.

Then find some more.

Write your initials in shells.

AJ stand for Aaron Joseph!

On Friday after a nap and a yummy family lunch we went to the mall with Nana and Papa John and Aaron rode his first carousel! First with Mommy and then with Nana!

Nana is so much fun!

We had a WONDERFUL time in Miami too, but I have to wait till Joey sends me the pictures to post them. We went to the zoo and Aaron got a kiss from a little girl in the splash park, saw all kinds of animals, got hooted and hollered at by monkeys, rode in a bike-carriage thing, and fed a giraffe all by himself!

After the zoo we went in MeeMee and Poppy's pool and that was lots of fun too! Aaron practices his newly acquired breath control skills from his ISR lessons. Gotta love that boy. After dunking him under water he comes up smiling and laughing! What a hoot!

These are the couches in their new home and the rearranged furniture that really opens up our living room!

Before (well... long before, we'd changed it since then):

After:

Before (same deal, this is a little while ago):

After:

Here is some footage of Aaron's first swim lesson! I am so proud of the progress he is making, he is such a big boy! He cried a lot at first, but always stopped crying to give a high five when it was requested of him! :0)

*Plug: if you are interested in infant swim resource (ISR) this is a link to them: ISR SWIM

There is not yet one case of a child who graduated from ISR drowning. It's pricey, but I think it's worth the money personally.

Blessings!

Egg Hunt, Passover and Resurrection Sunday!

First lets start with a few shots of Aaron's favorite Spring/Summer pastime; the Splash Pad! Lori was brilliant and brought the shade and chairs! Thank you Lord for Lori! She brings so much joy to our lives (and shade too).

Can you even find Aaron in this picture bellow?

Aaron got his first Easter card this year from Papa Steve, so he decided he would read it himself.

What a smart little guy. He was very interested in what Papa Steve had to say.

We went shopping for Passover at Publix with Aunt Rachel and Ari. There is a lot to get to prepare for a feast!

Just had to share a little picture of our new backyard haven from heat. We may not have a lot of grass, but we do have space and we're gonna use it!

Aaron's first Easter egg hunt was the Alachua Egg Drop. The plan was that eggs would be dropped from a hot air balloon, but it was too windy! We were a little disappointed, but we had a great time and Aaron didn't know any different!

Ms. Danielle and Mr. Dave brought their new bob stroller to the event and since Finley is still in the womb, Aaron hitched a ride with Cori.

Joe, a good friend of Joey's from work, has been joining us on Wednesday nights for dinner and Survivor. He brings along the most ADORABLE pup named Tombo. Aaron is smitten!

Celebrating Passover was a lot of fun! I re-read Exodus in preparation and we even had a mini-passover meal with our Microchurch (but sorry, I did not take pictures at that one). Here is Joey sporting a yamaka.

And Heather and Stephanie with their beautiful smiling faces!

Jim, Mr. Bernice, and Troy boy at our table.

And Megan and Jade (Troy's little sis) too.

Ari Paul wore his little yamaka and was fascinated with all the commotion.

Rachel's sisters, Hannah and Rebecca, made it there too!

And more friends enjoying the anticipation for the Passover celebration to begin.

Eric wore his tallit and yamaka and lead the Passover.

Aaron borrowed Daddy's yamaka for a photo, we will have to get him one fore next year!

Aaron prepared to partake of the cup

His was grapejuice and not Manischewitz of course!

After the feast Aaron was tuckered out. Troy carried our sleeping boy to the car and Aaron loves him enough to sleep on his shoulder!

On Resurrection Sunday we went to the Graves family farm to celebrate. Aaron got to see all kinds of baby animals in a little "petting zoo" but those pictures are on Daddy's phone, so we'll have to wait to post.

I love these boys so much!

We had a wonderful, blessed, joy-filled Easter weekend and we hope that you did as well. I am so thankful for family and friends that make seasons like this all the more enjoyable.

More than anything else though, I can't thank the Lord enough for the love He poured out for all mankind on the cross. I am so glad that You (Lord) came to die for my sin. That without You I would be a sinner unfit to stand in Your presence, but because You shed Your blameless blood for me I am washed clean and can stand blameless before Your throne and spend eternity with you. Hallelujah!!!

Santa Fe Zoo

This weekend we had planned to go to the Jacksonville zoo with our Microchurch (bible study one might say). But one by one the families all had things come up and no one was able to make the trip! Joey and I decided that we would rather wait to make that venture with our friends and so we decided to visit the local teaching zoo. Joey and Aaron had never been there, so it was adequately exciting for the two!

We got there just in time to catch the Otter training session! Those little guys are pretty smart. Apparently the session before us the otters refused to come over to the trainers, but when we went they were perfectly obedient!

Daddy and Aaron are in front of the Tree Kangaroo here, Aaron was so interested in all the animals, though I think he would prefer them all to be dogs!

At this one exibit there was a lepord looking cat. A lot of the children were afraid to go into the viewing box until Aaron walked right in... that gave them the confidence they needed. Our little guy isn't afraid of anything! Maybe it's because that is exactly what we pray for him each night: to fear nothing but the Lord.

They had two bald eagles. I don't know how they get them to stay... their nest is HUGE!

There were two big alligators too. The male was much larger.

We love these big ol' tortoises. Wish we could take one home for Aaron to ride on! (though we really do not need more pets).

This little monkey was sucking his thumb! Sweet little guy!

We saw a table where they taught about eggs. This is an ostrich egg! Massive!

Honey bees making honey: and we got a taste!

Hard to tell in this photo, but this monkey was swinging all around with it's little baby holding on tight!

We had a lovely day! Thank you Jesus for great weather, finances that allow for flexibility and fun, and a wonderful family!