My Escape to Florida

I went to Jupiter, Fl for the weekend - ALONE! Jeremy gave me this trip for Valentine's Day - thanks, Sweetie. You know how much I needed it! Anyways, my friend, Tina, moved home to Jupiter in 2005 and I haven't seen her since. I have really wanted to visit but haven't had the opportunity until now. I had a wonderful time and realized how great the quality of life is there - especially if your parents have a killer house on the river and a boat! Below is a picture of Tina's parent's pool - cool, huh? On Sunday we took the boat out onto the sandbar in the Jupiter River/inlet. At low tide the bar is exposed and all these boats drop anchor and everyone hops out with kids, dogs, etc.. Talk about fun...It was here that I realized how envious I was of them and their spot on this great big earth. Here are Noah and Tina living it up in sunny southern Florida.
Here is the beautiful Jupiter Lighthouse. Tina and I went up the lighthouse on Saturday. I actually didn't make it all the way up. I began to get sweaty palms and hideous flashbacks of walking up the Statue of Liberty as a child and couldn't continue. I have a thing about circular staircases with see-through steps and no risers...I did make it about 3/4 of the way though. Tina said it was good that I turned around when I did because the railing at the top was really low and I would have had a panic attack. Thanks, Tina!
Here they are on the boat. Their little girl, Sara, had fallen asleep. We actually say a Loggerhead Turtle out in the ocean. I couldn't snap a picture soon enough, though.
"Where is Leah?" you ask? I avoid pictures of me in a bathing suit being posted on the internet. I figured Tina could handle it though. You can actually see that she has abs, unlike me!
Tina and I spent 2.5 glorious hours sitting on the beach all by ourselves. Other moms will understand how FANTASTIC that sounds. I would have actually flown all the way down there just to do that and then gotten back on the plane if necessary! It was that good! The weather was absolutely perfect as you can see in the picture.

I am now back in Pennsylvania and the weather is mercifully warm. Thank you, Lord! I did miss my kids and husband and have a renewed appreciation for them. But I am sure that my thoughts will still drift back to my feet in the sand....

Easter Weekend in D.C.

Brooke is petting an otter statue. She was just glad that I had let her out of the stroller!
We woke up Sat. morning with snow on the ground. This is Max and Sandy's building.
Here is a famous D.C. cherry tree in full bloom but covered in snow. Neat, huh?
The kids really liked the "Jungle" at the botanical gardens.

We went to Washington D.C. for Good Friday and Saturday. We stayed at our friends the Schulz's who live in the district while they were in Rome. We went to the National Zoo, the Botanical Gardens and the Capitol steps.

Wolfe's 8th Birthday

Wolfe's birthday party was so much fun. The boys played outside, went to Chuck E. Cheese, and ate cake and ice cream. Wolfe loved it! Here they all are on the deck. The sun was so bright that they had a hard time looking at me.
I stuck in a picture of Wolfe at the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. He come in first place in his Wolf den. Good job, bud!
He designed the cake. He wanted a cookie cake with a baseball on it. Anything you say, sweets!
Brantley and Brooke got to go to Chuck E. Cheese too. They had a great time. We went on a Friday from 4:30 to 6:00. It was a good time to go because no one was there until we were leaving.

Survey

1. How old will you be in 10 months? 34
2. Do you think you'll be married by then? If not-wow, that came out of nowhere!!
3. What do you look forward to most in the next 3 months? Trip to Jupiter, FL to see my friend Tina
4. Who was the last person you called? My neighbor, Abby
5. Who was the last person to call you? Brantley's teacher - Mr. Richard
6. Do you prefer to call or text? call
7. Do you have any pets?Yes; Penny - golden retriever, Tigger - cat, and 5 fish
8. Are your parents married/separated/divorced. Were married 38? years, Dad died in 2004
9. When is the last time you saw your mom? Thursday, March 29th
10. How many states have you lived in? 2-Alabama and PA
11. Do you prefer shoes, socks, or bare feet? bare feet
12. Are you a social person? yes
13. What was the last thing you ate? pretzels dipped in mustard
14. What is your favorite ice cream? chocolate peanut butter
15. What is your favorite dessert? coconut cream pie
16. What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwich? blackberry preserves
17. Do you like coffee? yes
18. How many glasses of water a day do you drink on average? 2-4
19. What do you drink in the morning? Diet Coke, baby
.20. Would you rather sleep with someone else or alone? With Jeremy!
21. Do you know how to play poker? No
22. Do you like to cuddle? Yes
23. Have you ever been to Canada? yes
24. Do you eat out or at home more often? At home
25. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you? no
26. Do you speak any other languages? No, Dora has taught me a bit of spanish though!
27. Have you ever gotten stitches? Yes, my little brother threw a coke bottle at my head when I was 5.
28. Have you ever been in an ambulance? No
29. Do you prefer an ocean or a pool? ocean to read a book by, pool for swimming
30. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seat? window
31. Do you know how to drive a stick shift? yes
32. What is your favorite thing to spend money on? kid's clothes
33. Do you wear any jewelry 24/7? yes, wedding rings and cross
34. What is your favorite TV show? 24 and America's Next Top Model
35. Can you roll your tongue? Yes3
6. Who is the funniest person you know? Susanne
37. Do you still have clothes from when you were little? yes, I went to a real uppity girl's camp when I was little and we wore special uniforms on the weekends - Blue ones on Sat. and white on Sun. I still have them. I used to keep them so that my girls could wear them when they went there, but I think it costs around $3000 for a session of camp now. Definitely out of the question! I also still have my Brownie uniform.
38. What is the color of your bedroom walls? Bleeker Biege
39. Do you shut off the water when you brush your teeth? No
40. Do you sleep with your closet doors opened or closed? Closed
41. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees? Bees!
42. What do you dip a chicken nugget in? try to avoid eating them
43. Can you change the oil on a car? No
44. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket? Yes, several.

I tag Angie! Have fun..

Last of the Snow pictures, I promise!

I can alway get a great picture of Brantley. She was having so much fun that day!

Here are Wolfe, B, Will and Lily in their "snow cave".
This pic perfectly captures the joy my kids feel in the snow.
Brooke smiling in all her bucktoothed glory! Oh, the orthodontist bills we'll have...
Our first snowman! It was supposed to be a family project, but the kids quickly lost interest and Jeremy ended up doing the whole thing. I did add the cute scarf at least!