Daddy - Daughter Dance

Merry and Jacob's elementary school had a Daddy- Daughter dance for Valentine's Day.

The girls loved it.

The girls in their fancy finery.

Who is that crazy person in the background?

Brian with his 2 pretty girls.

The theme for the dance was frilly dresses and fishing poles so they had gold fish for snacks and a fishing pond and other cute fishing activities. The girls had a great time dancing while Brian supervised. This is all I could get out of Brian. He will have to add more commentary on the event.

Pinewood derby

Jacob's 1st pinewood derby.

He wasn't sure which number was lucky so he put 10 different numbers on it just to make sure it had some luck.

I like the car jumping the track in the background.

He ended up winning 3rd place. Good job Jacob.

Brian's birthday

Happy birthday Brian.

Thanks for being a great husband and dad.

Sorry you didn't get any new socks for your birthday.

What does Dade City celebrate?

Kumquats! Of course.

They are a bite size citrus with edible peels.

Some varieties are tart and some are sweet.

I prefer the tart.

I went to help sell Kumquat pies for the kids preschool. It was really fun but crazy. They sold 715 pies in 5 hours. The pie tastes like an orange cremesicle, who doesn't love that?

The kids came latter to see the crafty stuff. I tried to talk them into riding a camel but for some reason they all opted for sand art. The pollen counts were really high so we all came home wheezing and with itchy eyes.

Day camp at the Cotee River

We went with Jacob to a cub scout activity at the Pithlachascotee River Preserve. Try saying that name 10 times. Luckily people usually call it the Cotee River, so much easier to say. You would think from the pictures that Grace was the only person there. Jacob was the photographer and I guess Grace is the most willing subject.

Grace on the hiking trail. We saw a couple of bobcats running around. I haven't seen one since I was a child so it was very cool.

Grace posing.

Grace and her fairy hat and ritz cracker crumbs.

The huge fire pit. I want a fire ring like that, only I am not sure what I would write on it.

Another mom and I made a ton of tin foil dinners- they turned out pretty good or maybe we were all really hungry.

Merry's birthday

A few things about Merry at 6:

1. She has been able to cross the monkey bars since she was 4- mostly by pure determination.

2. She loves to paint her nails and then go dig holes in the back yard.

3. She is a fabulous sister, she plays baseball and star wars with Jacob, dolls with Grace and loves to read to Adam.

4. She loves school, her teacher lives on the other side of the orange groves by our house and she is always trying to talk me into letting her go visit her or inviting her to our house.

5. She loves to help, cooking, crafting or pretty much anything she is there to lend a hand.

I love her smile.

This is the "Mom, why in the world are you making me do this" smile.

She requested red velvet cupcakes with red frosting for her birthday.

Love the tongue twist. My side of the family are all nervous tongue twisters.

Huff and puff.

Then blow the candles out.

She requested a trip to Busch Gardens for her birthday. She decided that she wanted to ride all of the big roller coasters for her birthday. After about throwing up on the first one, she decided that she would wait to try the other rides. She always wants to get her face painted, so we let her for her birthday. A butterfly wins every time.

Merry turns 6

In a couple of days Merry turns the ripe old age of 6. I wanted to take some pictures in her winter clothes and since the winter in Florida is just about over I had to take these a few days early. (It was 78 today so I think we might have to go to the beach to finish up.)

You can see the sunset in the shiny balloons- funny.

It is a good thing I haven't mowed all the weeds down. They make a great backdrop.

Love the half in, half out teeth.

Merry plays like Jacob- you can tell by the worn knees on her jeans. I am glad shorts weather is right around the corner.