Ron, Mary, Cheyenne & Alexis meet us at Sea World. The kids also dressed up and went Trick or Treat down Spooktacular Lane.

Well, Mommy cat did it again. She had more kittens. She brought them to the front door and was so relived when I started helping her feed them. Now we just have to find homes for everyone.

This is the kitten that went to live at Brent and Emily'sThis is our favorite one. Hannah named her PumpkinAll the little kittens laying on Sarah

Learning to Fish

We decided to not do any "work" today. We slept in. I made french toast for brunch. We all got in the pool and drank frozen strawberry daiquiris (non alcoholic)...I made those, too :-)took a nap and then Richard took the kids down by the lake and taught them to fish. I sat on a log and watched. We finished the evening with steak and corn on the cob that I grilled. Now the kids are in bed and I'm about to go to bed, too.I'm not sure what they were looking at, but even Boo was interested in it.Hannah found some raccoon tracks. At first we thought they were otter prints because we had seen the otters there earlier, but I don't think that they have hands like raccoonsAndrew making sure that no alligators were lurking aroundAndrew was a natural. He got the line out in the water on the first try.Richard is giving Sarah some casting tips.Sarah finally gets a line to throw.

Hannah's Birthday

Hannah had three of her friends spend the night for her birthday. As a mom, I think that I winced a little when Hannah said that she wanted a sleep over for her birthday wondering how much sleep I'd get after the long work week. But Sarah made invitations for Hannah and they planned her party. Hannah picked her cake and Sarah baked it. It was a chocolate ice cream cake. We had to laugh because the layers of the cake were still warm and she was putting the ice cream in between...so we had some sliding going on...nothing that some toothpicks and popping it back in the freezer couldn't fix. But I forgot to pick up candles, so we had to do a "6" and two little candles to make the 8. The girls were so good. They swam, played with make up and watched the Bratz Movie and were asleep by midnight. Up by 7am and in the pool again. We all got our sleep that night and Hannah told me after everyone went home that her party was awesome! We LOVE you, Hannah Kay!Hannah reading her card from Mama and PapaAutumn didn't get to stay the night, but she was part of the party.

Labor Day Weekend

One of my favorite places to eat is Deck Down Under. You actually go across the bridge and then back under the bridge to get to Deck Down Under. It is a very casual resteraunt on the Intercostal in South Daytona Beach. You stand in line until you place your order and then go find a table (Unless you send the children off to find a table a head of time) But they have the best food. While the wait can be long, you end up making best friends with others that are standing in line with you.

Father's Day - I know it's a little late

Richard and I popped in on his Uncle Bill and Aunt Priscilla for Father's Day. His cousin, Lyn, and her husband, Max,were vising from Jacksonville. We looked through some old photos and slides and then we ate:-)Uncle Bill's hamburgers, Aunt Priscilla's carrot salad and carrot cake. It was soooo good and we loved our time with them. With Richard's parents being gone, we're thankful for them.
While taking the first picture, a neighbor, we think, came over and offered to take a pictue so that all of us could be in the picture. Funny thing,Uncle Bill and Aunt Priscilla don't know her and when we turned to say "thank you", she was gone.

Mama and Papa's Visit

It seemed that the time flew by when Mom and Dad were here. I guess one of the bad things about owning your business is that it is hard to take time off. I felt like Richard and I were either on the computer or the phone. But Mom and Dad said that they were able to relax. Mom went to the SPCA with Sarah, Papa went to the races with us, we stayed out by the pool and went to the beach. Sarah with the help of Mrs. Debbie Sikora made a wonderful dinner for all us. (It was so nice of the Sikora's to open their home to us) I just wish that I would have spent more time with my parents.

Sarah had fixed Mama's hair and Mama had fixed Hannah's hair. The girls wanted a picture together and Andrew kept sticking his foot in their way.Hannah has to watch Andrew's footFinally, a picture without Andrew's footThe girl's getting their revenege on Andrew for sticking his foot in their faces

Wonderful 4th of July Week

Mom, Dad, Todd, Ron and Mary came in for a visit over the 4th of July week. Brent and Emily opened their home to all of us. They grilled hamburgers, hotdogs and sausage dogs. We had all kinds of cookies and brownies that Sarah and Hannah made...and lots of good food. Avalon Park puts on a "carnival" theme at their town square. The kids loved playing/climbing/jumping...there was even a man that was wrestling alligators.Tyler and Sarah - the two TeenagersYummmm...the hamburgers are really good...maybe it's the ketchup that is sooooo goodColton, the wonderful Big brother, helping Dakota climb the rock wallDakota going down the slideAndrew going down the slideSarah and Hannah at the top of the three story jungle gymWatching the fireworks...we were right across the street from where they were shooting them....pretty closeMary got us tickets to see the Coke Zero 400 on July 5th. It was Andrew, Dad, Todd and my first experience. Prior to going there, Richard would make comments about the "thrill of seeing cars pass by while sitting in hard bleachers and drinking half cold beers out of a can" But I have to say that I'm a little hooked on the whole Nascar experience. We had beautiful weather and I was so amazed that I could see the cars race around the track, but as they passed directly in front of me, they were nothing but a blur. We rented the Fanview, so we were able to listen to the drivers. There is so much more than just a fast car to win the race...there is bumping, drafting, when to bring the car in for a pit stop, how many new tires that are put on. We were there to watch Carl Edwards who is sponsored by Office Depot (Well, Andrew loves Jeff Gordon)and we had an increditble ending that included Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch. Kyle Busch won....not our pick...but we loved being there...we took home little pieces of tire that were all over our shirts from the tiresAndrew stepping in Jeff Gordon's shoesMary got us Pit Credentials which meant that we got to go down on the track and back by the cars. Here we are on the track at the top of Turn Four. Andrew got to wave at several drivers: Mark Martin, Tim Burton, Tony Stewart,Andrew in front of Jeff Gordon's car

Just Cuz She's So Cute

Andrew Turns 11

Andrew had his cousins over for his birthday. They spent the day together. We saw the movie Get Smart at the theater with everyone, then came home and grilled Richard's hamburger and had Birthday Ice Cream cake. The boys said they stayed up until 4:30amRon, Mary, Cheyene and Alexis were vacationing in Orlando the weekend of Andrew's birthday. We sent Saturday with them at their resort...eating and hanging out at the pool. Then on Sunday, we went to North Turn where we had lunch and played on the beach and in the ocean...then we came home...grilled steaks (more eating)