Home Again, Home Again

Little Nola in her pretty dress from Grandma Deb and Grandpa Paul.

Odessa and Dyson under the "rain" shower in our basketball hoop.

We made it home a very tired, weary bunch. We were glad to be back. The days this past week have been beautiful. We spent time playing in the sprinklers, going to the park with our neighbors, watching movies and basically chilling out. Today Dave was laid-off from his job at Cessna. We are sad to leave them. Now we are beginning the search for a new job. We hope to stay in this area, but it is hard to say at this point where we will end up. We are off on a new adventure!

Ah Florida!

Cousin Josiah, Grandma Pat, Odessa, Dyson, Nola and Grandpa Ben--Ft. Pierce, FL

Odessa in front of Cinderella's castle, Disney World.

Odessa with Minnie and Mickey Mouse, Disney World. Odessa had an autograph book that she had signed each time she met one of the Disney characters.

Our little cool chick, Nola--her sunglasses have Winnie-the-Pooh by a palm tree.

After three days of adventures at theme parks, we traveled south to Ft. Pierce where Uncle Pasco, Aunt Cindy, and Cousin Josiah live. They took us to see the ocean. It was right off the Ft. Pierce Jetty. We played on the beach, gathered seashells, and swam. Nola was a little caution at first, but soon she was on her belly letting the waves crash onto her legs. All of the kids were knocked over by the waves and tasted the salty water. Dyson had sworn that he would never swim in the ocean! He said he was going to watch the sharks eat the surfers. Well, he got into the water and didn't want to leave! And there weren't any surfers at this beach. As for sharks... well, we didn't "see" any... The waves were just the right size to give the kids a feel for the ocean. Again, we ate great seafood at The Ramp Raw Bar and Chuck's. That night we got to play in a park by the ocean. The palm trees were decorated in red, white, and blue lights and there was patriotic music playing. The kids had a blast running and dancing. Nola shook a tail feather.

Yeah----Summer Vacation

Cindy, Odessa, Josiah, and Dyson in the Tea Cups at Disney World.

Daddy and little Nola in the Tea Cups at Disney World.

Dyson at Disney World (and just a tiny bit of Odessa).

Odessa at SeaWorld.

Grandpa Ben and Dyson at Epcot.

We made it to Florida after about 2 1/2 days of serious driving. Once we got there, we met Grandpa Ben, Grandma Pat, Aunt Cindy, Uncle Pasco, and Cousin Josiah. Our first day, we went to Epcot Center. The next day we went to SeaWorld. Then it was on to Disney World, the Magic Kingdom. The kids had a lot of fun. There is so much to see and do that we didn't make it through everything, but had a great time trying. It rained every day we were there. Then the sky would clear and everything was sunny again. There was even some time to swim at the hotel's pool. Dyson told us that there was a gigantic pineapple on the roof of our hotel. We had missed that, but sure enough there it was. We got to eat lots of great seafood! (Something we don't get a lot of in Kansas!)

Last Day of School

The kids are growing up so fast! Dyson insists that he will not officially be a First Grader until school starts in August. Odessa is OK with calling herself a third grader now. I was a little emotional at the end of this school year. It seems like we traveled so far to get to this point. Dyson is now reading! We had lots of fun and went through lots of "firsts"---like the first day of school, the first bus ride, the first music program... Now things have calmed down considerably and we are looking forward to next year!