Hitting Some Milestones!

Hey guys! It's the last day of May already, so I thought I'd get you all caught up. I really figured I had a lot more pictures because it seems like we've been super busy. But, I have been trying to use my phone significantly less, and therefore I think I miss a lot of pictures. But, I did think it would be wise to get in a quick end of May blog because we literally have every single weekend planned until July 13th. 

So, when I last left off I was about to head to Washington D.C. The night before I left I took a picture of Hayden and Calib both wearing their red dirt shirts from Hawaii, because I thought it was a fun coincidence. But, then when I returned and they claimed they had done laundry, I got to point to this picture and say 'then why are both these outfits in the washer?!' Turns out they did Calib's work clothes, and nothing else. Boys. 

Also, the night before I left Asa put his bike together. Calib helped, and it took them about an hour- but now Asa has a new bike and he can stop complaining about using Calib's. 

Tuesday the 14th I headed off to Virginia to see Allison, Layla (and later in the week, Nate). I flew into Reagan and was happy to take the metro. I love D.C. transportation! If only Tampa had anything like this. 

I wasn't really there to see the sights though. I was there to see the Foster's! And, I may not have had Ellie to sit outside the bathroom door waiting for her morning walk, but I had Beau waiting at the bottom of the stairs every morning waiting for his. 

And, I learned how to use a coffee maker, thanks to a 45 second youtube video. I also had the world's best Peanut Butter Pie. I saw some list of the best grocery stores in America, and Wegmans was listed #1, with Publix at #2. And I was like 'no way there's a store out there better than Publix'. But, I was wrong. Wegmens is in fact the best grocery store, and they have the peanut butter pie to prove it. 

It was super nice to spend a few days in a quiet house with a  couple of girls. I'm a boy mom through and through, but every now and again even this boy house gets to me. Plus, Allison is always fun to hang out with- and I hadn't seen her since the fall. When Nate got back from his trip, Allison and I went out and about a bit down to a nature park, and to grab dinner. 

But mostly I get to spend my week with Layla, who basically is the cutest baby ever (I had boys, sure they were cute, but Layla has the best outfits and hair accessories to go with her cuteness). She's so chill for the most part, and I finally understood people who want a baby fix. Let me be clear, I have never been a baby person, but Layla totally won me over.  Hopefully it won't be too long before I get to visit again. 

I left on Saturday, but Nate and Allison had a cookout to go to, and I told them they could just drop me early. I dropped my bag off and then took the metro to the mall just to walk around. I didn't really have time for museums, hopefully next time! 

I mostly just wandered the mall and went in the sculpture parks and such. 

Shout out to Asa for holding things down at home. I left him a list to do, and he had lots of running the kids around to various places plus work, and of course he handled it all, because he's kind of amazing like that. 

Sunday I was back home, and Sunday fun day is for bike riding for me and Asa. We happened upon the Connerton Market and picked up a few things for the week. 

The tomatoes and the peppers are home grown though, we had lots of stuff ready in the garden when I came back. But holy geez does it need to rain, 

The ponds are all super low, almost to levels I've never seen them before. The afternoon thunderstorms haven't hit yet, but the heat sure has and it's turning into a rough combination. (I did spot the gator on my bike ride to Publix though! He didn't seem to mind the weather too much.) 

Asa and I also finally cashed in our BOGO coupons at Mod Pizza. Usually I prefer Blaze. But when we can get two pizzas for $8 I'm in at either place! Later that week I took some inspiration from our trip to Mod and made Naan bread pizzas for dinner. 

In a big milestone this week, Calib finally got his license! I told him Asa and I were going to Disney over Memorial Day weekend, so he'd either have to get it so he could drive himself to work (he worked all holiday weekend), or he could ride his bike. I ordered him a bike lock just in case he didn't pass his test (I mean, I'm a pretty good driver, but even I failed the first time!), and it came the same day he got his license. He actually said the test was the easiest thing ever, which makes sense given how Floridians drive. Like, the driver's license place is out on route 41, a busy highway. Yet, they never actually make you drive on that highway, instead you take back roads and never top 25. Like, what? Either way, I'm thrilled he has his license. 

Though he's mostly only driven himself to and from work. One night when we had pizza for dinner (which he understandably didn't want since he'd been making pizzas for seven hours), he went to get McDonalds. And one night he went to Publix to get ice cream, and when he got home, he complained about the price of whipped cream for like 20 minutes. He's really an adult now! 

Work has been busy, so Asa's been pretty chained to his desk, so one night we went on a long bike ride after work just to help him get out a bit. At least it isn't nearly as hot when the sun goes down. 

Yesterday and today were pretty humid, but before that it was still pretty dry. So the boys took advantage of the nice evenings and played some basketball. 

With Calib's birthday coming up, he's been getting lots of free stuff, so one night we went to PDQ to collect. We even left Etta out of her crate while we were gone. So we're still making progress there! 

Asa and I also made a trip to the Magic Kingdom. I'll get to that blog later and update our Disney Quest list. But in the mean time, you can enjoy this picture of the Disney celebration donut. It's only available until the end of June, and we're blacked out until August starting tomorrow so it was my only chance to try it. Also, it was HUGE and delicious. 

Speaking of food, I went to pick up cupcakes this afternoon for Calib's birthday tomorrow! 

And in a scheduling win, Calib got his braces taken off today. You guys his teeth are so straight it's crazy. (I mean they should be for the amount of money we spent to fix them!) It's been just over two years since he had them put on. You get five free brackets if you break them but he never used a single one. He mostly stayed away from all the foods they told him too. But an unforeseen casualty was Publix Chicken Tender Subs. He tried once and it just got all kinds of stuck in his teeth. They're like his favorite too, so I promised him subs the day he got them taken off. we'd get Publix subs. He had to work tonight though, so we had them for lunch. 

That's it from here. My mom just called, she's about an hour away. She's coming for at least the next two weekends, for Calib's birthday and then some time with the Sattler's. I hear there might be an index-card-o-fun in my future. 

Until then I leave you with the only two pictures of dogs I've taken over the last two weeks. 

Next Up: Calib turns NINETEEN tomorrow! 

May Flowers

Hey guys! We're nearing mid-May here, and things about to get crazy. I am off to D.C. tomorrow to visit Allison, and meet Layla for the very first time! This weekend Asa is on call, then it's Memorial Day and I have Disney plans, and then starts our crazy June. For real, it's bananas. So, I thought I'd get in a quick blog before I jet off. 

When I last left you, my mom was here visiting helping the boys get ready for the S.A.T. She mostly did math with them- but we did fit in a couple pool trips. 

And she took us all out to dinner at Ford's garage on her last night here. No worries, she'll also be back here in 2 and a half weeks! She just can't stay away. 

Oh, and Dipper had just gotten home after his time on the streets. (He was missing for all of three hours, but still.) 

 

Asa's diploma finally came in the mail. We were hoping to have it show up before mom left, but of course it showed up the day after she headed home. 

Speaking of school, you can Duel Enroll in summer classes at PHSC now, so not only is Calib taking a summer class, but Peyton is taking two. Thank goodness books also come free of they would have been sharing that Biology book (since they're both taking the same class). Also, it's not even a book you guys, it's like pages you have to put in a binder.... FOR THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS. We're trying to skirt the cost of college the best we can here for as long as we can, so duel enrollment it is. 

Also, I took his picture working on his computer class to document 'Peyton's first day of college'. 

And he was super annoyed with me about it. 

Anyway, Calib's been working a few days a week, and Etta is just not adjusting well. She spends most of her time pouting on the couch or laying by the front door waiting for him to get home. She does, however, enjoy that he smells like pizza when he comes home. (This week he graduated to making pizzas instead of just working the front). 

Hayden, meanwhile, has been working away with me on more math. I told him we'd do some funner projects this summer, and he has been going to every library event he can get his hands on. He even got made Vice-President of Anime Club, and the President is going to be gone all summer, so he'll have that to do. He's also doing Teen Volunteer Training next week so will have that to do, too. 

He did make a pretty cool mug, and a mug rug at two different events. Good planning on that one. 

A week ago Saturday we were up super early to take Peyton and Calib to take the SAT. 

So, Asa and I made a morning out of it. We went over to the Starkey Ranch Market. 

It's super cute out there. They have lots of local goods, flowers, produce and even a little coffee bar. 

And they had fresh Cuban bread from the place in Tampa that makes the BEST Cuban bread ever. We bought some to take home, and Asa made us all Cubans for lunch the next day. It's a freaking BIG loaf though! 

We nosed around the trails at Starkey Ranch too, and even came upon a little library. I love these, and they seem to be in quite a few spots around here.

It was also free comic book day, so I went with Asa to collect some for Hayden, who bailed on wanting to come with us. 

Which he was really kicking himself for, since we were killing time waiting to pick up the boys by doing some grocery shopping at our old Publix, when Asa spotted Big E (He's a WWE guy for those of you who don't know). A lot of wrestlers live around here, and we've seen some others at Costco. But, nobody as known as Big E. Asa was pretty excited about it. 

We picked the boys up around noon and took them to lunch. They opted for Taco Bell, so Hayden was again really bummed he had decided not to go. 

Sunday's are usually for long bike rides. Asa and I try and get in around 8 miles. Last Sunday we came across a gator and a gate someone had Hawaii-ed. 

This Saturday we had lots of errands to run, Peyton and Hayden had a library thing, and Calib was working. At least those errands included an Earth Fare trip, they had all kinds of new cookies to try out. 

Since there wasn't a lot of time for something fun, Asa said he would make me whatever I wanted for lunch and dinner all weekend. Since this job requires much more attention, I have to cook a lot during the week, and I'm not a fan. So him cooking super appealed to me. I got a tater tot bar for lunch, but there were so many toppings I couldn't decide what to put on mine, so I got the divided bowl and made three different mini totchos. He also made me burgers and fries for dinner. 

And for dessert, he made the ever famous Moroccan Orange Cake. (I didn't take a picture until the next day and it was half gone, but this one is so yummy!) 

Sunday we thought about Disney. But, we ended up sleeping in, and past our first set of Fastpasses, plus I'm leaving tomorrow so a day at home didn't sound terrible. But of course, first, we had to do our Sunday bike ride! Asa actually went out to get himself the new bike at Costco. He's been using Calib's, and it isn't awesome, and Costco finally had their's on sale! I'll post pictures once he puts his new one together. I mean, I assume he'll do it while I'm gone so next Sunday he'll have it for our bike ride. 

I asked for pancakes and eggs as a brunch on Sunday, and he delivered, complete with lemon curb, berries, granola, and blueberry syrup. 

Then it was off to the pool. Everyone but Peyton tagged along for that. 

Now, everyone knows my Mother's Day tradition includes making everyone play the games they would never play otherwise. This always includes Lifeboats. We almost never play this unless it is my birthday, or Mother's Day. 

About a third of the way through the game Calib got mad at me and said 'How do you do it, you just say something and everyone follows you!' and I said 'You really just have to be the first to say something loudly and everyone else goes along'. But then he started doing that before I could, and it worked! Everyone found it hilarious, though, and nobody ever got mad about getting voted out. In fact, they all agreed it was their favorite game of Lifeboats ever. Then Calib told me how stupid I was for giving away my strategy so easily. 

Hayden actually ended up winning. Calib and I each had a respectable showing, and Asa and Peyton only got one of their guys on the island. 

For dinner I was nosing through the Around the World cookbook to see what I wanted Asa to make. But, I was also trying to balance it with what we had on hand. I settled on our Uganda meal. I didn't exactly remember it, but it earned five spoons up, we had most of it on hand, so I went with it. And it was delicious! The boys all commented on how they didn't remember it either, but they loved it (Peyton passed on the yogurt sauce on the meatballs- but ate everything else). Everyone agreed we should be having dad cook out of the Around the World cookbook more often! 

Also, we have a wasp that made a little nest on the kitchen window that the boys were just fascinated with. You could see the wasp super close up without any fear of being stung! 

After dinner, we played a 5 person game of Spy Alley. 

In the end, it came down to me and Calib. He knew I was one of two identities (and that the other was in the box) since he had gotten everyone else out and seen all their cards. So, in an effort to throw him off, as a free guess I went with German, even though I knew he wasn't German, because I was. So then, the next turn around he guessed me American (the identity still in the box, that nobody drew), because of my previous guess.. and I ended up winning. It was amazing. 

We played some Apples to Apples, which is much funner now with older kids. 

And then we played some Go Nuts for Donuts. 

Overall, a lovely mother's day with these nerds. 

In other news, Spring is dead here in Florida. We've moved on to summer. There's been a heat index of nearly 100 the last couple days. It's super humid, and was in the mid-80s this morning at 9 when I took Ellie on her walk. This is sad. I will miss not sweating to death. But, it's the price we pay for living here. The garden, however, seems to LOVE this weather. Everything is blowing up, but nothing more than our two tomato plants. You guys, we have nearly 30 tomatoes on the two plants. And these guys are big. We're getting a couple ripe ones every day. 

I did also finish my project a couple weeks ago, making a baby quilt for the newest Hannifin! 

I am about to head off to drop Hayden at the library, but I will leave you with the cute dog pictures from the last couple weeks. I love my furry family members. 

Next Up: I'm gone for a few days, so the boys will be fending for themselves!