Lexi on a two wheel bike!

A few months ago Lexi asked the question "Will you teach me how to ride a bike with no training wheels?" I kept putting it off until finally I dumped the responsibility onto Dan. Dan (the great dad that he is) takes Lexi out to the culdesac to 'give it a go'. Not even 5 minutes later lexi comes in the house and storms upstairs to her room crying. I ask her what was wrong and she said "Daddy let go!". At that moment Dan comes in smiling and shaking his head. "She did not even need me. She had the balancing down on the first try."

Once she figures out the starting and stopping part (which is pretty important) we can check this off her milestone of childhood events. We finally talked her into letting me see what a natural she was. The video is her second attempt at riding a bike.

About a week after Dan 'taught' her to ride a bike we decided to go on a family bike ride to the park. We got about 200 yards and lexi decided she had no more confidence on her own. We discovered as long as I was touching her she was fine. It is amazing the amount of comfort my index finger gave her. So off we went. (Dan, Jared, Jamie, and Lexi on their bikes.) I had the chore of jogging along the side of Lexi so that I could touch the spine of her back. (The things a mom will do for her children.) It would have been a nice little jog except for the fact that I had one arm extended to the side of me with my index finger stretched so that it was pressed against Lexi's back. (It sounds easier than it actually was.) It was a constant struggle to keep just the right amount of pressure. Too much pressure and Lexi would start leaning towards me. Too little pressure and she would not feel it and start crying. So the next time any of you are out jogging I suggest you try running with your arm stretched out at a 90 degree angle while pointing your index finger towards the front of you. See how you like it! In the end we were so proud of Lexi- it was a long way to go for her first trip off of our street!

St. Augustine Beach here we come!

After our time at Disney and the Lake we stayed at a condo in my home town. We usually stay at my parent's house but this year my sister (Traci) and her family rented a condo next to ours. I have mixed feelings about the condo. Don't get me wrong-our family thoroughly enjoyed it. However, at the same time I did not have as much time to spend with my mom and dad. I missed the late night talks and morning hang out times. There is something deep within me that gets recharged when I get to spend time in my childhood home with my mama and daddy. If there was anything missing about my vacation it would have been that and that alone. (Maybe Dan will have to just send me for a week later this year to complete my ultimate Florida experience....What do you say Dan?) These are pics of the condo we stayed in. Jared is of course setting up his play station!

What a cute family!...........Oh wait.... that is my Family! This is our very first time heading out to the beach! I should have taken before and after tan shots!
Jamie's little buddy on the beach was her cousin Megan Welburn! Lexi's little buddy on the beach was Katie welburn. The two of them taught themselves how to swim this week. The first day they would not even get their faces wet. By the last day they were under the water swimming after dive rings in the pool. We are so proud of them!
Jared's buddy on the beach was Cameron Welburn. They seemed to fit in wave riding, pool swimming, video game playing, and Star Wars Trilogy watching!
The Welburn's have one more child but unfortunately we do not! Brady had to settle for hanging out with his dad (sorry Brady-smile). They did seem to fit in a little beach time with all of the golf they played.

More Lake Fun!

If you look really close you can see the fish Jared caught! (Be careful when you click on the picture to enlarge it- the fish will just jump right off the screen at you!) Papa has an awesome fish feeding system set up on his dock. He has the fish trained to come to the dock at certain times of the day. It is a gauranteed catch for the grandkids! The ducks who don't know they can fly! They also did not know they could swim for a while! My Uncle Zane and Aunt Linda bought ducklings for Easter. They brought them out to the lake when they matured. It took them quite some time to even get into the lake. (It seems this story could be turned into an analogy or maybe even one of dad's famous poems!)

They have blended in nicely with all of the other ducks and geese on the lake (so we think). For all we know the other ducks probably taunt and tease them because they are "city ducks"!

Jamie, Jenna, Megan, Katie, Jamie (Cousins feeding the ducks) We roasted hot dogs and marshmellows with cousins, Aunts, and Uncles. Country life.....I think I could get used to it.......maybe for a month or two out of the year.
More pics of duck feeding. The simple things in life!

Pictures of the Day!

Lexi being mad/stubborn! (look at those eyes)

Jared riding some waves!

Jamie at the lake!

Lake House Fun in Georgia!

After our trip to Orlando we headed for my parent's lake home in Georgia. It was so much fun (thanks mom and dad)!! My Aunt (Linda and Bob) bought the property next to my parents so we were able to stay there with my sister Traci and her family. (Isn't it nice to have family!?) My sisters (Paulette and Chrissy) were there as well. It was nice for me to sit on the dock and chat with my sisters. It was even nicer to watch my mom entertain all the grandkids in the lake. My mom Rocks!

We had kayaks, a canoe, paddle boats, fishing, and a camp fire. Jared commented he loved the lake house even better than Disney. (Ouch...the money we spent at Disney) Jared has discovered a new love with kayaks. My parents are definately making the lakehouse a grandchild's dream. It is a perfect place for all 19 of their grandkids.

We also got to spend time with our cousins David, Lynn, Robin, (and their kids) and Aunt Gladys. It was good to see them and catch up with everyone's lives.

Florida here we come!

The weekend after school let out we packed our bags and headed cross country to Florida. My mom turned 6o......(pause for a moment of silence) on the 16th of June. It was the perfect excuse to go spend time with family, see Disney and to ride a few waves on the beach. I've decided my husband is part super hero- there is no shutting him down when he drives. He just does not stop driving until we get to our destination.

We arrived in Orlando on Sunday so that we could get a fresh start (and get our money's worth) Monday morning. We stayed at the Beach Club Resort on the Disney property. The kids loved the pool it had a huge water slide perfect for Jared and Jamie and a little slide perfect for Lexi.

On Monday we went to Animal Kingdom. On Tuesday and Thursday we went to Magic Kingdom. We went to Epcot on Wednsday. Jared got sick (we think it was food poisoning) He was down all day Thursday-so we did the Epcot thing in shifts. We made lots of memories in Orlando! I think by the end of the week we were all ready to leave- except for Dan.