Sanibel Island

The highlight of our vacation time with the Seamons family was Sanibel Island. After a 4 hour drive south (past Fort Myers) we were thrilled to arrive at a beautiful beach on the Gulf coast. We stayed in a cute little beach house, and it was awesome to be able to just walk right out on the beach. The sand and water and waves were perfect, as well as the countless shells.

Sunset on the beach: pretty much perfect

Fun in the sun

Georgia and Florida Vacation in the Spring

We were so thrilled to have the Seamons family come for a visit in the month of April. We had a wonderful time visiting with them and seeing some of the sights in Georgia and Florida. It was also really great for our kids to get in some fun cousin time, since we don't have that opportunity very often.

We have had some busy times lately, so it has taken me awhile to get around to posting this. But here are just a few of the highlights.

Crescent Beach

We were surprised by the jellyfish that were all over the beach. Jellyfish were new to us in our Florida beach adventures.

Memorial to Nathanael Greene in Savannah, Georgia: Jared had recently read his biography, so it was fun to find his burial place and memorial

  The cannon at Fort Jackson outside Savannah.

 Sentry guard Lily at Fort Jackson

 

 Okefenokee Swamp in Waycross, Georgia

 Strawberry picking in Gainesville

 Florida Museum of Natural History

Cute cousins in the matching skirts made by Aunt Becky

Visiting UF campus

And more to come...

Mother's Day Interview 2011

Today during lunch we conducted our annual Mother's Day interview. This year Lily was old enough to give most of the entertaining responses. As you can tell, Anwyn was not so thrilled about the photoshoot.

How old is your mom?
Lily: 3
Anwyn: Mom is 31 years old
Lily: No, that's how old Zach is.

How tall is your mom?
Lily: same as dad

What makes mom happy?
Lily: Toys
Anwyn: Nice and happy children. Lots of hugs and kisses

 

What is your mom really good at?
Lily: Teaching Primary
Anwyn: Drawing

What is your mom’s favorite food?
Lily: apples
Anwyn: pizza

If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Lily:...a person?
Anwyn: Cinderella...or Pocahontas

 

What do you and your mom do together?
Lily: make dinner
Anwyn: big crafts

What is something that Mom always says to you?
Lily: Thank you

My mom loves to relax by... doing Primary (Lily).

The best thing she cooks is... noodles (Lily) and potato soup (Anwyn).

When my mom shops she likes to buy... milk for Zach (Lily)

My mom’s favorite household chore is... cleaning up (Lily) and dishes (Anwyn).

If she could go on a trip she would go to...the Glenn's house (Lily) and to Canada to see her mom and dad (Anwyn).

 You can read the 2010 version here and the 2009 version here.

Atlanta Temple Open House

We decided to visit the Atlanta Temple for its open house to give our children the opportunity to see inside the temple. I (Jared) went to two temple open houses when I was growing up; I remember both vividly. We hopped in the car on Friday and drove home on Saturday. We went through on Saturday, the last day of the open house. It was lovely inside, as expected. The Celestial Room was radiant. It was a lot of driving but the kids did well and were placated with technology when they started getting really bored near the end of the trips.

Our hotel room.

Lily making faces (squinting in the sun).

Being on the temple grounds didn't stop the kids from running around.

Mom and Zach.

All 3 kids smiling at the same time (that's about as smiley as Anwyn gets); it's a miracle.

Family photo.

Zach recently had his second haircut. We think his hair gets lighter each time. It looked really white out in the sun.

It's a pretty temple.

Standing, cruising, and crawling but no free walking quite yet.

Lily was tired (and getting sick); she isn't sad, just pensive.

Anwyn doing what she loves to do - run.

Heralding the nations: "Come ye, to the house of the Lord!"

First Tooth!

Anwyn lost her first tooth today. It's been loose for a while and we finally got it pulled out. The new tooth is already coming in.

A Birthday for Zach

Our Zachary turned one year old!

He has been growing up a lot lately. He is a fast crawler, and he loves to explore the kitchen cupboards and pull everything out. He is starting to prefer reading books over eating them, and his favorites are by Sandra Boynton. He always giggles at the silly animal illustrations.

He says "mama", and Jared thinks he also says "Anwyn" (in his own way). He likes to play with balls and blocks and animals and little people toys and the remote controls; basically anything he can put his mouth on and toss around. He likes to go for walks while riding in the stroller. He brushes his hair when he finds a comb on the ground. He fetches balls when we ask him, and he drives his toy cars saying "vroom vroom". He sings whenever he hears a choir or group singing, and he likes to dance (wiggle). He also smacks his lips (like a kiss) when he wants a drink or something to eat.

We had a small celebration for his birthday, complete with dinner, presents, and cupcakes. We invited our neighbors (the Glenn family) to celebrate with us.

His sisters gave him lots of help with opening presents, and he had fun with his new toys.

He was a little shy with all of the attention when we sang Happy Birthday to him. Then...cupcake time!

After a little encouragement, he enjoyed exploring the cupcake for a few minutes. He was more interested in playing with it than eating it!

We are thankful for this fun sweet boy!