The latest from art class.....

Needless to say, we love our art teacher Miss Sandee for inspiring this budding Picasso! Just got this back today......goes great with the previous entry's beach theme!

Life IS a beach!

We spent a fun weekend in Sarasota with Papa and Pam who were visiting from Maine.....what a difference in weather from their home to ours! The beach was beautiful and the water, even though a little chilly, was just beautiful. Katey brought home 2 buckets of shells and thankfully we took them out of the car last night......Gamma got up this morning and smelled something "fishy." Apparently, there were many little creatures who came home with us in the shells that didn't make it through the night....oops! A special treat for the garbage men in the morning!!!

May I brag?

As I was busy working at my computer this afternoon, Katey started working on her new puzzle. It's 100 pieces and the age-range is 6+. Color me proud when she called me in and had finished it! I guess a 1000 piece jigsaw is next? ;)

Happy Birthday Susan!

Okay, technically, "as up she grows" is referring to Katey, but today I will give Katey a break to wish my very special niece and God-daughter a Happy 7th Birthday! Susan was our first angel sent from God (via China) and she's growing up so fast into such a beautiful young girl. So, Happy Birthday Susan from Leigh-Leigh and Katey. We love you!!!

1st bike ride...

Believe it or not, today was the first day Katey rode the bicycle that Santa brought her. Actually, today was the first day Katey rode a bike ever! Greg (always the trooper) ran along beside her as she maneuvered the steering wheel and occasionally slammed on the brakes, jolting him awkwardly forward. She did a really good job.....so good, that for a second she was on her own.......the next second she was on the ground. Slight "war wound," but overall, a successful first effort.

A "Sad" Day at the Zoo

Katey and I met The Milliken and The Griffin families (we traveled with them in China for those of you who don't know who they are!) at the zoo today. While missing our other travel buddies (Lesa & Kelsey in particular.....and our Greg who was working), we tried to smile and have a fun time. It might look like a beautiful day and the smiles on our faces may seem genuine but we were crying on the inside wishing a few others were with us. Oh, who am I kidding? Yes, you were missed, but we had a great visit on a beautiful day in Tampa! It was fun catching up and the kiddies had a good time running around and looking at the animals. Definitely will have to plan a reunion with all of us sometime soon! Katey looks a little like the "giraffe whisperer," in the last shot, huh? :)

Best Parade EVER!

It's that time again.......Gasparilla! With the threat of thunderstorms, tornados, etc., we went to the Gasparilla Children's Parade......a much milder version of the "real" parade next weekend. The parade had just started (maybe 5 floats had gone by) when they cancelled it (due to the weather that everyone knew was coming!!!) and started directing the floats down a side street. Needless to say, not a bunch of happy campers! I decided that we should walk down toward the floats to see if we could find the Wells Fargo stage coach and my co-workers.......I figured we could at least get some beads from them. WELL, on our way down, we passed a ton of other floats, the riders in the process of disbanding. We literally got pelted with beads.......we were the only ones there for a few minutes before the rest of the crowd realized what was happening and came running. As we were walking home, Katey (who could barely stand up straight from the weight of her beads) said "Mommy, that was the best parade ever!" I looked at her under all the beads, then looked at my watch and realized that we hadn't even been there an hour (usually 3 hours minimum) and I said "yes, you are right, it was the best EVER!" She hung her beads in a row this afternoon for your viewing pleasure! :)