Lettuce Lake Park

There is a county park just up the street from me, Lettuce Lake Park (Hillsborough County), and for the past year I've been wanting to check it out - but haven't. Today I finally did - and it's beautiful. I can't believe I've let a year go by without visiting it. Man! The good news is now I know and can go there weekly. Cody liked it too, and was running around like a dog of half his age...they even have doggie drinking fountains! Shanna took me around the trails, and I figured it all out. We even saw a LIVE armadillo, and huge turtle! I'm sure there were plenty of gators that saw us, however we didn't get to walk on the boardwalks by the water since Cody was with us...though he REALLY wanted to. It was about 90 degrees (humidity at 60% and "feels like 102 degrees")...mostly sunny...but shady - however the mosquitos were having a party in the shade. Cody is now sleeping on the bathroom floor. Check out my pics from our adventure! ...oh...the picture where you can see part of my car, is the only pic I could get of the armadillo (you can barely see it, in the very center of the pic). It RAN into the bushes...I didn't know they ran!!

Michigan is cool...literally.

My visit home was super short, but it was so great to see the kiddos! The hardest part was leaving. I sucked it up until we were out of sight, and then the tears starting pouring. UGH! The hardest thing for me is being away from them. There is seriously nothing more difficult. I know they're too little to understand why I can't be there everyday anymore, heck - some adults don't even seem to understand...I can only make the most of the precious few days I do get to spend with them. Unfortunately we sometimes have to make sacrifices in order to fix mistakes that we've made...and that's what I'm trying to do - fix stuff.

I can't wait for them to experience Disney World for the first time!! I want to see Olivia's face when she sees the castle, and the princesses. And Ethan's face when he sees Lightning and Buzz Lightyear! Thinking about these things, and about my quick trip home, really makes me start wishing for that teleporter again! :)

I just got back to Florida a few hours ago...have all my stuff unpacked, dog walked, got some groceries, and am now uploading all my pictures to snapfish...and making a slide for this blog.

In uploading my pictures, I realize that I didn't take any pictures on Friday at my Aunt Deb's house! Dang it all. We had so much fun though - but I'm going to do a quick recap of my trip in order.

On Wednesday I flew in to Lansing Airport, and Brittany picked me up. We had a yummy lunch at Marie Catrib's in GR (Diamond & Lake). Then I unpacked some things at my moms, and went over to see the kids! I can't even begin to describe how much I miss them - and to see them after 4 months is very emotional! This time Olivia was on the porch happy to greet me and ready to play, and Ethan didn't seem to miss a beat. I think Skype really helped with that. It was so great to see them and to hug them and kiss them! They are SO TALL!! Then we all went over to my dad's for a grilled chicken dinner, and my Grandparents were there too.

Thursday started with the kiddos again, of course! I picked them up, and we went over to Karen's. Her kids are 1 and 3, so all together the kids are 1, 2, 3, and 4 - an active bunch! As soon as Ethan saw Ella, he just wanted to hold her hand and give her kisses on the cheek, and hug her, it was so cute! Then later that night, I went to dinner with Karen and Sharon at Bistro Bella Vita downtown GR, and then met up with more friends at Rocky's Pub. I even got to play a couple songs at the bar! AND I think Meghan may be ready to move down here before it snows! :)

On Friday, I went to my Aunt Deb's with Margo and the kids for swimming and grilling and birthday cake! We had lots of fun in the sunshine, and I was whooped by the end of the afternoon. Then my mom and I met Scott, Margo, and the kiddos for pizza at Fricano's in Muskegon, and ice cream at Temptation's in Grand Haven.

Saturday - today - started sad. My mom and I went over to Scott & Margo's to say bye to the kids. Oh man, that was tough...it's so sad to know I won't see them until December...or maybe if I'm lucky, October. And I hate that I will miss Olivia's first day of pre-school.

All in all, a great trip. I just wish it could've been longer.
Enjoy!

veggies, veggies, and more veggies!

We went to the Farmer's Market today and wow! We bought big tomatoes, little tomatoes, medium tomatoes, avacodo, garlic, red peppers, cherries...and mmm mmmm mmmmm!! The tomatoes are so yummy. Shanna and I have decided that we are going back every week. I spent a total of $4.50 and Shanna spent $6.00! Had we bought this in the grocery store, we easily would've spent 3 times as much. Amazing. Shanna had the best value purchase: 5 garlic bulbs for $1.

Here are some colorful pictures! We had so much to choose from.

only one week til: michigan here i come!

I only have one more week before I can give hugs & kisses to my niece & nephew! YAY!! I can't wait!! I was just talking to my brother on the phone, and realizing how little time I have there. *sigh* It's tough to fit in everyone in just 2 1/2 days. eeeeks!! Oh well, better than nothing.

As you can see, I added a new little feature to my blog page. A flikr badge in the left column. This will show 5 different pictures from my flikr albums each time you refresh my blog! Neat-o! Typically I only upload my very favorite pictures to flikr, whereas I upload ALL of my pictures to snapfish. Uploading can be time consuming when you take as many pictures as I do.

Speaking of pictures, prepare for a new slide show tomorrow night! Shanna is taking me to a Farmer's Market and Flea Market tomorrow here in Tampa and I'm SO excited!! I've been jonesin' for some fresh fruits and veggies!! I can't wait to see what types of characters visit the Farm/Flea Markets down here. Should be interesting...

mad photographic skills

I have taken some pretty great shots over the last couple years - basically since I bought my digital. I wanted to share some of the shots that I'm proud of with you! There are some pics of the kiddos, some self-portraits, pics of Mackinac, of the Upper Pennisula, Grand Haven, Memphis, Tampa, Ludington, Walt Disney World, Wisconsin, Anna Maria Island, Maui, Chicago, Vegas, and more! I also like to take pictures of signs.

Skype Rocks

I just wanted to reiterate how fabulous I think Skype is - and thanks to Bernadette who introduced me to it!

I had the opportunity to talk to my brother Scott, and the kiddos this morning before they headed out to Aunt Deb's to swim. It seriously makes my day to be able to talk with them and SEE them for just a few minutes.

So anyway, I thought I'd put together a Skype Slideshow of some shots that I've taken during our conversations - yes! you can take pics during your chat!! You'll see how much fun the kids have with the webcam. There are some pics of the kids opening a gift that I had sent them too (Ethan's bday present, and something special for Liv). And there are a couple funny pics of Aunt Deb and Emily too, because they have also joined the Skype community. (It's FREE and a great way to keep in touch with long distance family members and friends!!)

...and this concludes my Skype commercial...