So Watcha Been Doin' Down in F.L.A.? (part 2-May)

I was looking back at old posts and saw this one that was written back in February. Little did I know as we spent that month in Orlando while my husband worked, that we would be packing up and moving here less than three months later.
I have not been the best blogger since we got here, so this is my attempt to fill in some of the blanks since we arrived. I figured I'd start with May. The unpacking and getting settled are givens, but apart from that we...

Went to Sea World (yes, we love it there) for the opening of Manta, which is now officially my favorite roller coaster ever.

Ice sculpture at the event I couldn't resist taking a picture of....


Before we rode, we popped on into a nearby aquarium for a photo op...


We headed to the coast....

To find a good spot for our summer vacation...

We met up with old friends...


And I was glad Goofy and I talked that morning about what shirts we were going to wear...


Daddy helped each girl catch a lizard....


We said goodbye as we let each one go. This one ran home; but not before biting Savannah...
Mommy explored her favorite places she didn't have in Las Vegas....

Samantha turned four - and almost lost the "who can go the longest without talking" game....


Daddy's a Star Wars fan, so we couldn't miss this...


We met some of our new neighbors...



And as they left.....

We realized they couldn't read...

We drove in a lot of this....

But had fun in spite of the view....

We didn't mind because there was plenty of this....


And that concludes May.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to another round of "Not Me! Monday" hosted by MckMama. I love participating in this weekly bit of craziness. More than that, I love reading about all the other things fellow Mommy bloggers "don't do"! Some of them are downright hilarious!

It has not been one month today that we packed up our family with 3 weeks' notice, and moved to Florida for a year. I do not spend waste time each day thinking about the areas of our house I left a mess because I just ran out of time to do it.

As a person who has always thrived on change and adventure I do not unexpectedly find myself having a much harder time adjusting to this move than I ever imagined.

I do not terribly miss my friends and family....especially since when I was in the same city with them we rarely found time to see each other as it was. Being busy and all.

Having spent a lot of time in Florida; I knew what I was in for on all counts...and I really do love it!
Yet, I do not find myself completely.freaked.out by all of the Florida 'wildlife' just outside our door. (Don't get me wrong; I am that woman who actually does like reptiles...it's the other creepy crawlies that get to me....or the fact that there are SO MANY of them!)

My husband is not absolutely loving frequent "bug hunts" with our girls. My sweet little princesses do not go crazy wanting to catch every bug they see now.


I did not have to draw the line on this one...

It does not take everything within me to hide my repulsion and sometimes sheer panic, as I try to act like it's fun to bring these home to leave on the doorstep after dinner...

Or think it's okay that they actually want to pet them...

You can tell by the photo I couldn't even hold the camera still!

I do not beg my husband to let them go (down the street, of course) so that I don't have to do it later doing a silly dance to keep them from jumping on me, embarrassing myself in front of our new neighbors.

I do not cringe at the thought of what else may be lurking in here!
I don't think it is all worth it...the missing loved ones...missing my house...unexpected adjustments...loneliness....and the 'wildlife', when I see moments like these because it really is great here....for all of us!

Happy Monday!

Scenic Sunday

This was the view outside our window tonight after the rain stopped...

52 Week Challenge - 8/52

The idea of this challenge over on Carin's blog, Forever in Blue Jeans is for Moms to get in the picture with their family at least once a week for a year. The great thing is you can join in anytime...the BEST thing is that following along assures you regular pictures of your family - with YOU included!

We have had A LOT of much needed rain this week. Fortunately, we have been far from any damaging storms, but in 4 days we have seen more rain than we would have at home at our former home in an entire year.

We have a pretty nice view here; but this has been all we can see this week....

Needless to say, I have been going crazy the kids have been a little restless without being able to spend much time outside.

You can only do your hair so many times....

And the dog's patience with playing dress up is running thin....

So, this morning, we headed to the mall before Mommy pulled her hair out for the girls to have some dry play time and ice cream. It cleared up long enough to eat outside.

And get a little silly....


Smile for the camera....

And get Mom in the picture for this week's challenge! (although it was a little much to ask that everyone would look and smile!)

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52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. Moms are typically the ones behind the camera, this is OUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family.

So, get yourself in the picture every week for 52 Weeks. Be in a picture with one or more or your children and post your "family photo" on your blog every Thursday - don't forget to list your post on Mr. Linky on Carin's blog!

Ch-ch-ch-changes...and 52 Week Challenge: 7/52

We moved to Florida!

Which explains my unplanned blog break. This time last week I was scrambling like crazy to get us ready to leave. Tomorrow we will have been here a week. It feels like we got here yesterday...and unfortunately our place looks like we just got here yesterday too!

This move was very much a fast decision and a fast take off. We knew we were going to Florida for the summer, but the plans for us to move for a year all happened in a matter of a couple weeks - and sure changed the dynamics of our planning.
The best part of all is that now we will spend the majority of the month with my husband. His work will take him "back home" regularly, but we will all be here as a family most of the time!
We are still working on getting settled; the movers just arrived with our things...several days earlier than expected! I am hoping that getting some of our own stuff unpacked will make it seem more like home. We have been here so many times on vacation, I keep feeling like we will be packing up to go home next week!
There are a lot of things I have been wanting to do, but have been very short on time. Blogging is one of them! I'll share as I can - I expect life to be different for us here....in the best possible way!

Here is my submission for Carin's challenge over at Forever in Blue Jeans.
Things are kind of rough in the picture department right now... But I find as we try to take weekly photos (sleep-deprived, blurred and all!) we are getting a more realistic documentation of our life!

This photo was taken during our early morning layover in Denver last week. My husband and I had about 90 minutes of sleep the night before and had to be at the airport with three kids, luggage, car seats and our dog at 4am. We're still trying to catch up!

This was our much too quick goodbye with "Cousin Jennah". We will miss our family!

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52 Weeks is a year long challenge for YOU to be in a picture once a week for 52 weeks. Moms are typically the ones behind the camera, this is OUR chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family.

So, get yourself in the picture every week for 52 Weeks. Be in a picture with one or more or your children and post your "family photo" on your blog every Thursday - don't forget to list your post on Mr. Linky on Carin's blog!