Summer day at Sea World

Sean and I took the boys to Sea World for just a bit to ride a few rides before we jump back into the school routine. We didn't stay long, just long enough to do what we like and out the door before the crowds came. It's great to have passes because you don't feel like you're losing anything by only being there a few hours. These pictures are of Sean and the boys riding "ocean comotion", which is their favorite ride. I've never been on because I get sick just looking at it...not a sea person, that rocking doesn't agree with my belly at all! The other picture was the boys being boys outside of the Polar Exhibit.

Meet the teachers

We got to go to the school and meet the kids' new teachers. Matthew's 3rd grade teacher is Mrs. Gendron and Hunter got Mrs. Whetzel for kindergarten. Hunter had hoped to get Mrs. Whetzel because he knew her, just happens to be the mom of one of his good buddies from pre-school. We didn't really know any of the 3rd grade teachers so we had no clue what to expect but I have to say that we've had a wonderful year and couldn't ask for better teachers! Matthew's teacher is really good to push him because as she says "he has the L-A-Z-Y gene". ha! He's such a smart kid but will only do what he's pushed to do, not a real self motivated type. Hunter is a great student from what we hear, I think he saves up all the bad for us at home. ha! They're both great kids though and doing super in school. They are both on the honor roll so we can't ask for much more than that.

Garrett came for a visit

My nephew Garrett from Va came to visit. It was so good to see him, it had obviously been entirely too long because he totally grew up on us this time! He's so cute and such a sweet kid, we really had a good time hanging out with him but we didn't get to see him much because his dad had plenty of travels in store for him. We did get to keep him for the first night to have dinner and hang out and we got to see him before he went home. I took him out for a birthday shopping spree, and he has GREAT taste! We ended up at the surf shop and then ate almost an entire pizza with just the 2 of us. We had a really fun day.

As for my birthday this month...I had a really good one. We went to Outback with friends to celebrate on my actual birthday and then all the girls took me to Macaroni Grill the following week. I got a lot of nice gifts too...who says getting older is a bad thing? The problem is I don't really have any pictures....you know since at that point I had lost my camera and didn't have a new one yet. That makes updating my blog a bit easier because I get to skip ahead some. ha!

Picking up in July 2008 with my trip to Norton

Okay, so we had a wonderful time in Norton but it was time to head back home. So we drove to Roanoke and spent the night because we had to be at the airport so early the next morning. Did I mention that you can fly from Tri-Citis to Orlando for $19/one-way on Allegiant Air? Highly recommended airline, we love it! Anyway...on the flight back I left my camera...no wait, my entire camera bag with extra lenses, batteries and charger...on the plane! ....you guessed it...never to be found again! I was so upset, but fortunately I had 2 of my memory cards in my purse so I didn't lose all my pictures. The worst part is that I had a wedding to do in 3 days. I scrambled and begged and borrowed and it all worked out okay. I've since bought a new (well used but new to me) camera and I also got a handy point and shoot to take places so I don't stand to lose my good camera anymore. Anyway....on with my posts.

The slacker is back...but for how long?

Okay, I know what I blog slacker I've been...that just goes right along with everything else I've totally slacked on too: Birthdays, scrapbooks, house cleaning....the list goes on and on. I tell you, I've really got to come to terms with the fact that we ARE NOT on vacation, we are actually living here in sunny Fl. Anyway, this weekend it's supposed to be cold (60's, you know that's arctic here) so I'm going to do my very best to post pictures from past events and get back up to date and post more often. So here we go....I promise to attempt to do better.
By the way...did I mention I'm working 5 days a week now? Oh, and that I'm still taking classes? ...and VP of the PTA, and on the School Advisory Committee, and doing the school memory book, and helping with cub scouts, and classroom mom....don't even get me started on the rest of the list. Ha! I know that's still no excuse to be a slacker...so I'll try to avoid any more excuses. Hope all is well with everyone who reads the blog, and to my long lost friends and family....HELLO!!! Still waiting on visitors!

Hiking on High Knob

High Knob is one of my favorite places back home. I have such fond memories of going sledding with my family when I was younger and flying down the mountain and crashing into a snow bank. My sister and I used to go up there with friends and hang out, and now I love to take the boys up there to go for hikes and explore some of the caves. They had a great time hiking and exploring and it had been so long that they really didn't remember any of it, so it was like a whole new experience. There's a place there called Flag Rock and it's literally just this rock that is out by itself with a flag in it, the boys were so impressed and wanted to know how that flag got there. I've hiked to it several times in my younger years but hear that it's illegal to do it now...so I guess they'll never find out how it got there. ha! You do have to go through several scary caves and it's a tough hike for sure. Here are some pictures from our adventures.

Trip to Norton in July

We finally got to make another trip back to Norton to visit family. We flew into Roanoke, VA and drove the 3 hours in to Norton because fares were so much cheaper that way. We've been away from mountains for so long (I mean honestly, Orlando doesn't even have so much as a hill) that when we were landing the boys were in awe! With all the clouds that looked like snow Hunter thought we had taken a detour to the North Pole. ha! We were all very excited to get to town and see family...and turns out they put together a little family reunion while we were there as well. Not all my cousins made it but I did get to see a few. We had a really great time hanging out. Here are some pictures of me with my tiny baby brother Adam, me and Aleisha with dad, me with all my cousins that got to attend, and my Mamaw with all the great grand kids that were there.