Florida in January

In mid-January the kids and I flew down to visit my parents in Florida because we hadn’t seen them over the holidays.  Now that the kids just sit in booster seats in the car, flying with them is so much easier—they just carried their booster seats onto the plane themselves, and all through the airport actually—so the 2-hour flight made a 4-day weekend visit to my parents near St. Pete, Florida totally doable.  It actually snowed here in Charlotte the morning we flew out, not enough for any delays, but the kids played in snow and then we got on a plane and flew to Florida and that evening swam outside in Nonni and Papa’s pool.  It was a fun turnabout and the trip to Florida was a nice break from this long winter.

We got to celebrate my dad’s birthday with him (that photo and more from our trip were posted to instagram), Ellla and Jack did lots of swimming in the pool and cuddling with Nonni and Papa, and we even had time for a wonderful beachside dinner (the kids spent more time playing on the beach than eating, but I guess that was the point).  Of course, 4 days did not feel like a long enough visit, but we’ll take every moment we can get with Nonni and Papa.  It was a nice, albeit brief, visit.










{the lovely spot where we enjoyed dinner.}
And some pool time and then cuddling.

Pinewood Derby

Just a few weeks after Ella’s derby, Jack’s cub scout pack had his Pinewood Derby event.  Ella’s event was a 4-hour affair with 6 to 8 heats racing in 6 rounds, whereas Jack’s car raced 6 times out of 12 consecutive races as Jack’s car only raced against other Tiger cubs’ cars.  Jack’s portion of the Pinewood Derby event was over in about 15 minutes.  Jack and Jonathan enjoyed watching their races, with Jack’s car usually in the middle of the pack.  And, as always, Jack loved hanging with his cub scout buddies.  It was a fun morning.

Instagrammin’ in January

Here’s our round-up of Instagram pictures from January.  I am still loving Instagram, for the social part of it, yes—I never really took to Facebook—but mostly I love Instagram because it has gotten me back to recording some of the details of our daily lives.  Things have just been so busy that the big camera doesn’t come out as often for little stuff, not to mention that even if it does, you won’t see those images for months, right??  Anyways, here’s our January in a nutshell…

happy new year! | new year’s eve party—they all made it past midnight! | with energy to spare… |  poor post-op puppy. | powderpuff derby | magical barry | gator’s christmas present | piano practice | no definite diagnosis from gator’s biopsy, but it’s not cancer or lupus. | my christmas present. | making oatmeal together. | warm enough for dinner al fresco with friends. | sometimes it’s hard to say goodbye. | making room for lego town. | getting’ a haircut. | she did my hair and instructed me not to take it out all day. | some schoolwork—the penguin obsession continues. | yes, he’s wearing a tape moustache. | snow! | friday morning | friday afternoon | happy birthday, papa! | sigh. | drinks beachside | a walk on the beach. | check out those mussels! | headed home | sky high | getting a makeover | she wore these nails all day. | a little homework frustration | school let out early for snow chance. | she loves that hat. | twin day—he’s deangelo’s twin. | puppy burrito | pinewood derby | end of january, finally getting the tree put away. | daffodils are on their way. | how can you resist this face?? | rockin’ the moto jacket and chucks. | chucks and a leo | sk8 on his brain | catching like his uncle randy taught him. | she needs a bigger bike. | new year’s resolution #flywheel | they love the piano duets. | she’s getting better—i’ll have my own little hair stylist soon. | straight A’s celebratory dinner—nothing but noodles…and, well, breadsticks.