Ft. Meyers and Port Charlotte

Last week we headed out on our first big family adventure to Florida. Most days I am a natural procrastinator, but seeing as traveling with two small kids was novel to us, I actually tried to get my act together ahead of time and pack over a period of days. I got some great advice from friends and family and when the big day came, we left with one big case and two carryon bags for the four of us and two backpacks with "plane entertainment". Amazingly we had everything we needed and nothing more! :) The girls talked for weeks in advance about going on a plane and were super excited. They did great both ways! Sabrina even cried when we landed because she was sad to "get back to the Earth".

The girls and I on the plane enjoying modern technology :)

When we got to the Pink Shell, it was late (10PM!) but the girls were so excited we took a quick tour of the pool and the hotel and then to our room There were two kissing swans in the master bedroom and the girls got quite a kick of this and they inspired lots of canoodling and giggling.

Each morning we would head down for the breakfast buffet. Great food and lots to choose from.

Our days then were filled with lathering up with sunscreen and heading down to the pools or beach. They had so much fun in the water and meeting other kids. Sabrina even perfected her "cannonball!"

The old folks looking on :)

A couple of family shots...


After pur time at the Pink Shell, we headed to Port Charlotte where Brads Grandma lives. We spent the night there and the girls had so much fun with Grandma Gert feeding turtles in the canal, playing with her beanie babies, reading books and playing Uncle Wiggly. Such special time getting to know Grandma better!

The last day we came back to Ft. Meyers to catch or plane but had a couple hours to spare and ended up at My Aunt Jans condo with My Aunt Lisa, Cousin Corrin and her friend Erika. The girls got to spend some time in the pool one last time and got tons of fun play time :) Perfect way to get some energy out before the long ride back home!


The weather the whole time was perfection and it was great to have some time away from "real life". It was so "easy" with kids 4 and 2 1/2. It was a good reminder to soak up all the fun this summer with them as things will become more complicated in September with a new little one to integrate into the family schedule :) Don't get me wrong, we are so excited for this little addition, but we do rememer what having a newborn is like...and being outnumbered will be a new adventure. :)

Our 2011 Valentine

Green cleaning

I dont claim to be one who has been super into the "green" revolution. I know it may not be cool to say that, but if I'm truthful, it seems like alot of extra work for a mom of two busy little ones (YEP...i'm full of excuses here). But, recently, I have been thinking more about the health of my kids. Not just the day to day health (colds and flu, etc.), but their long term health (the big stuff).
You see, cancer is all over my family tree and My Bro in law is currently putting up a fight against the awful C-word. (Please pray for him this week as it is surgery week!...for more see Durham Diary on the right)
I also have family who battle multiple chemical sensitivity (in a nutshell, the body has been overdosed with toxins and "reacts" to even minimal exposure to everyday chemicals).
Both of these things combined have gotten me to think about what I'm exposing my girls, myself, and Brad to on a day to day basis. Have you ever sprayed cleaner in your shower and then gone to scrub and practically choked on the mist? It just cannot be a good thing to be sucking that down, right?
So, after a little research I have decided to begin to clean green. Not just buying "green" stuff from the store that still has chemicals in it...but really cleaning with things I have around the house or with concoction I make on my own. I know this will be a process of trial and error, but I feel like its worth it. I'm planning to keep anyone who is interested updated on my findings on here!

Week 1: So my first step was to get organized. I found an app for my phone called green shine that breaks down every room/surface in your house and give suggestions for what to use! Also i went and bought some empty spray bottles to put my mixtures in. I made sure to find ones with spaces to label them with what its for and what it contains for easy refilling.

My first two surfaces to try were mirrors and tile floors.

For mirrors: create a solution of 50/50 water and white distilled vineger. spray on mirrors and wipe off. It also suggests to use newspaper instead of papertowel as it lets off no "fuzz". I didnt have any lying around that day so i used paper towel this time but will try newspaper next time and let you know how it goes!

Review: Very effective! Got the mirrors super clean, no more scrubbing than usual. The vinegar smell is definately there, but not unbearable!

For Tile floors: fill bucket with warm water, a couple drops of dish soap, and 3oz of vinegar. Wipe and dry floor!

Review: it worked fine, no strong smell. On one tile it left a little residue, but the other three...no issue whatsoever. I'll keep tweaking this one!

more to come!

Let me know if you have any green techniques to share or if you try these out!

Christmas Card 2010

Great Wolf Lodge

A couple weeks ago, there was some time off of school so Brad and I took the girls to Great Wolf Lodge. Truthfully, its always been fun, this time was the most fun we've had there yet! The girls were able to do all the slides and were excited to do so! We got to do more as a family and didnt just stay in the kiddie areas! They also had trick or treating and a costume contest for the kiddos which we took full advantage of!

My Punkins Pumpkins

Blogger and I have been in a bit of a fight. I keep trying to post, it wont let me. I stick my tounge out, It shuts down. Hence the 5 week absence. I have a big gap to fill, but we'll start with the present and work back. :)

Monday night we decided to bust out the grubbs and knives and do a little pumpkin carving! The girls had picked out thier gourds the previous weekend at the farmers market with Mommy and Nana. Sabrina immediately went for a biggun while Anabelle gravitiated towards the very petite. We had to keep encouraging her to think bigger so we could actually carve the thing!

In true Anabelle style, she got a little attached to her pumpkin and initally she didnt want to carve it at all! We really had to convince her that she would like seeing it all glowing at night after we carved it! (this is the same girl who has slept with and dragged all round the house the small pumpkin she painted nearly 4 weeks ago!)Sabrina dove right in with all kinds of gusto directing what shapes she wanted for each feature! Sabrina wanted happy cheery and Anabelle wanted something more scary!





Since it wasnt dark enough when we finished carving, we went in and got jammies on and brushed teeth and then headed out to enjoy them all aglow :)

Hola Treescolar!!!

Bienvienidos a la mundo de escuela Sabrina! (Welcome to the world of school Sabrina!)
This last week Sabrina began Threeschool in the El Puente program at Zeeland Christian. This is a spanish immersion program in which the kids will be exposed to and immersed in the Spanish language! Sabrina has been SO excited to begin school and this week could not have come fast enough in her eyes! She picked out her own backpack (had to be purple, her fave color) and wore in aorund the house constantly. She and Anabelle became comnsumed with playing school and it was almost all she talked about at bedtime snuggle time! When the day came there was not a bit of hesitation on her part and she dove right in! The first day I got to go with her for the day and then the second day she went on her own for the two hours. After picking her up I had nonstop chatter about every moment of her day...needless to say she loves it! She is already using a number of Spanish words she's learning at home and is teaching Anabelle as well. I'm finding I am going to have to brush up on my Spanish to answer all her questions! WIth Maestra Hernandez
Doing a craft with Maestra Uribe


Most partents talk about being sad or teary on this day, but with all Sabrina's excitement, it was hard to not just be super excited for her! Right now she goes just two days a week for a couple hours, I imagine when she starts going evey day all day it will be much harder. Anabelle really enjoys the time she gets with just mommy and I do too, her personality is really evolving lately with the influx of language and I so enjoy getting to know this much more chatty Anabelle!

DOnt mind the goofy poses, Sabrina is a tough one to take pics of, she does not sit still and I think she things she's a high fashion model :)