Summer Play

Tyndell is turning into quite the ham! I feel like she's coming a little bit out of her 2-year old drama (obviously there is some but not nearly as bad, e.g. we went out to eat probably 3 times in the last week and a half and I didn't leave wanting to kill over), and she's been so hilarious lately. We really do have a blast. Some of my favorite things she has said lately:

"Mommy - Disney is for little boys and girls."

"Diego is the best ever jaguar."

"Jaguars are ok."

"I want chocolate. Can I pee-pee on the potty now?"

"Let's get out the old ladies!" (reference to a magnetic paper doll type toy)

And of course - the songs - all the funny songs she sings! I think we have a little Jeff on our hands! ;)

Surprise Girls Weekend!

A few months ago, after our good friends Aaron and Shelley from Pizza Night moved to Tampa, Aaron asked if some of the South Florida ladies would come over for a surprise weekend for Shelley's birthday - the first weekend in May. Now of course, we were all completely down for this and have been so excited about it forever and kept it a total secret from Shelley. Jeff and I even went over to Tampa to visit them last month and we didn't even let any clues out that I would be back soon. Now - here's the unfortunate part - the week before we were to go, Shelley's precious father passed away unexpectantly (bless you Lynn!) and Aaron and Shelley had to go up to Kentucky and weren't going to be in town the weekend we planned for the surprise. Now - during their week away, we had lots of secretive phone conversations and emails and even an almost-slip by Aaron's mom uncovering the plans, but we still wanted to try to make the weekend work to surprise and cheer up Shelley, so all the ladies cancelled all the following weekend plans, so that we could still make it over and celebrate with Shelley. We ended up going last weekend, and it was so wonderful. We got up super early Saturday morning and drove over together in Tammy's cool van - complete with DVD action and DJ Master Brooke for music and map support. We snuck into their back patio, and it was like a hilarious reality show! Anyway - we were all laughing and crying and jumping up and down like silly girls. We spent the day having a long lunch, shopping, and then went out later to watch, "Bridesmaids," together. On Sunday morning, we relaxed on their patio with fruit, cheese, and mimosas, and then went for mani/pedis before we drove back home. It was a blast and we got to shower them with a few gifts before Madelyn's little sister arrives next month - we cannot wait to meet Charlotte! We definitely have to thank Aaron for putting us up to it, inviting us, and for all the husbands who watched the kids while we were gone. I know we all needed it. Oh girlfriends - do not know what I would do without these girls in my life!

Meet Miranda

Meet Miranda - Jeff's favorite thing in the whole wide world right now! Miranda is a Nepethenes 'Miranda' type Pitcher Plant that he bought at the Delray Affair this year. He loves carnivorous plants, and their bug-trapping "pitchers" are pretty impressive you must admit. She has become the symbol of hope for revitalizing our yard! We have so far reclaimed our front garden, bought some colorful things to plant, wiped out the dying screw pine that we were in denial of losing, and started watering the grass again. Amazingly enough - in just 2 weeks - the yard looks a ton better! It's been a joy to come home and see things looking so much better around the house and it also helps us to forget our frustrations with our home value in this economy! So - Miranda - we salute you!

A Royal Wedding Pizza Night

I loved the Royal Wedding last week! And our friends, the Gallants, did too and invited the Pizza Night gang over to watch the wedding on DVR and have dinner. It was so fun - the kids wore princess dresses and crowns (except for Max who HAD to be Buzz Lightyear instead - too cute) and we all had wedding cake! Tammy gets some major props for putting the whole night together - we had a blast! It was just so fascinating to see how the whole event happened and well, if you love weddings, like we do, this was the best EVER. William and Catherine seem like a pretty normal couple...as far as normal could be in this situation, that is. And I think if everything works out, it would be a great symbol for the institution of marriage which seems to have such a negative connotation to so many people. They were adorable - smiling and looking like they were enjoying their day! And how gorgeous was that church and her dress?! Ah - love it. Blessings to Will and Kate! Thanks for a great celebration, Keith and Tammy! Note to worried parents: Samantha is NOT drinking champagne! We were toasting with sparkling cider - I promise. Ching...ching!

Easter Weekend

I LOVE Easter - it might be my favorite holiday after Thanksgiving actually. I love everything about it: the energetic feeling from the reminder of what Jesus did, celebratory church services with songs, the recognition of springtime, lilies and flowers, family and friend gatherings, feasting, egg hunts, and of course - the candy (Easter candy is by far the BEST of all the holiday candies)!

The weekend started with a beach day on Friday since schools were closed so Tammy and the kids, Samantha and Max, and Kaitlyn and Bailey and Tyndell and I all hung out for a few hours on the beach, relaxing and getting sandy! Then that evening, we had our whole Pizza Night gang over and did an Egg Decorating/Hunt Pizza Night, which was a total blast. My favorite moments from the night were: the fact that the egg decorating reflected the majority of girls in our Pizza Night crew - most of the decorated ones from the kids were pink and purple with glitter, Bryan and I debating whether dunking the egg in hot water or using a hair dryer was the best means to get the egg wrap-a-rounds the smoothest, seeing Tyndell understand Egg Hunts for the first time and get so excited to find each one, Tyndell abandoning the actual hunt when she figured out that some of the eggs had chocolate inside, Kaitlyn and I realizing that adding vinegar to the egg dye REALLY does make the colors brighter and better and talking smack about the non-vinegar dyes haha, Hiding the eggs in our newly reclaimed front yard garden amongs the new flowers that Jeff has been working so hard to water the last two weeks, Kaitlyn's baked brie appetizer and our late night slumber party on the back patio after it was all over, and of course Awarding Samantha the "Golden Bunny" for finding 27 eggs and Reilly Sue for finding 12 eggs in their respective kid categories!

Anyway - needless to say, it was a great night! The next morning, Jeff, myself, Tyndell, Kaitlyn, and Bailey all went to the Palm Beach Zoo to hang out and we saw a sloth close up and caught both animal shows (this has never happened EVER on our visits). Isn't Jeff precious holding both Bailey and Tyndell? Then Jeff, Tyndell, and I had a lazy Saturday night together and watched "The Princess and the Frog" until we all fell asleep. On Sunday, we went to church which was an awesome service of music especially and then went to my parent's house for lunch. They made so much food and we definitely feasted with them and their friends, Rosemary and Harry, and I brought the strawberry trifle for desert! We rehid eggs in their yard and Tyndell had a good time finding them all over again. After naptime, it became pool time and marked our initiation of their pool for the year....I'm still holding out for warmer pool temperatures though to really enjoy myself haha.

Hope everyone had a fantastic Easter weekend with friends and family like we did and really felt the true meaning....and I can only hope we keep that energetic feeling moving forward all year long in our thoughts and prayers and actions.

Bedding Update

We haven't done any room updates for Tyndell in a long time, but I picked out this fun tree bedding that matches Tyndell's rug, and Mom and Dad A got it for Tyndell for Easter! She loves it and it definitely makes the room look better given we have the toddler bed in full swing finally (yes, we were those parents that enjoyed keeping her captive in a crib as long as possible and yes, we can't hide the 100 blankies and stuffed animals that get thrown in there any longer!), so this is a big improvement. We love the fun fabrics and Tyndell thinks they are all apple trees. I miss the pretty netting that flowed over her bed for a while, but you know who dragged that down a while ago.

Check out our new friend from Disneyland, Minnie! Don't worry - Elmo is still tops!

Palm Desert, CA Vacation!

Last week we went on vacation to Palm Desert, CA! Palm Desert is adjacent to Palm Springs, which is famous (well - from what I read) for being the hangout of all the 1950s celebrities, like Frank Sinantra and Elvis, and it's located about halfway east of L.A. and San Diego, AND it's absolutely beautiful! Jeff, Tyndell, and I were invited to meet Jeff's parents out there for a week's vacation since they could trade their timeshare for a nice resort out there and it would be a fun and different place to see, so that's what we did! I couldn't believe how cool it was out there (though I shouldn't be - we definitely like California, in general) seeing the desert landscape and then these huge rocky snow-ladden mountains. And it was so nice to see something different other than our flat tropical landscape from Florida - I think a new landscape can give you a new perspective on life.

Anyway - these pictures show some of the amazing things that we got to do while out there - we had an absolute blast! The first full day we were there, Saturday, we just took it easy since we were all pretty jet lagged, we decided would be a good day to drive around and just get a lay of the landscape....we also decided to check off a few of Jeff's "Roadside America" obscure destinations and saw some fun statues of Gene Aughtry and Lucille Ball, a palm date garden, a spider made out of a VW beetle, and Sonny Bono's grave. On Sunday, we went to the Living Desert zoo, which was super cool - we saw some cool catus gardens, different animals, an amazing train set, a desert-themed carousel, and Tyndell and Jeff rode a camel together! On Monday morning EARLY, Jeff, Mom A, and I went on a hot air balloon ride over the desert and agricultural areas! It was so beautiful and peaceful and not scary at all like you might think. Very cool experience that we all highly recommend, including the champagne toast at the end! Afterwards when we met back up with Dad A and Tyndell, we visited the Palm Springs Air Museum and saw some really cool planes and vehicles from the WWII era. On Tuesday, we drove over to Anaheim and visited Disneyland! We weren't going to do it at first, but Jeff really wanted to and we were all a little curious to see if it was any different than DisneyWorld, and I have to say, as compared with Magic Kingdom, specifically, it definitely is much cooler. Tyndell seemed confused and overwhelmed by the whole experience, but she definitely loved "It's a Small World" best, and rode it twice! We loved the Yeti on the Matterhorn ride, seeing all the cool Storybookland areas via train, the pretty New Orleans district, and the fun differences on the Pirates of the Carribean ride. On Wednesday, we just took it easy at the pool most of the day to recover the previous long day, and then Thursday, we did the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, which was amazing! We took this cable tram up the mountainside and the views up there were incredible! Tyndell got to touch/see snow for the first time and we all got our moutain fix (Tyndell said "I want more snows!" at the end of the day). It was crazy looking one direction and seeing nothing but desert, and then looking the other way and seeing a beautiful mountain with snow. What a great time! I think we hung out at the pool again later that day to relax and then got everything ready for packing and flying home on Friday.

Our resort was beautiful too - lots of pretty pools and golf courses and nice views all around. We had a really nice room and Tyndell got pretty spoiled staying in bed with us and sleeping in with her new friends - Minnie and Diego aka "Diego's Jaguar" from Dora the Explorer. Jeff and I got to go out one night on our own to celebrate our 8-Year Anniversary too and we found this really fun and delicious Hibachi place - they even had grilled tofu! Contrastingly, Mom and Dad A went out one night too to find as much meat as possible hahaha....

Thanks for a great time Mom and Dad! Back to the grind now....