Birthday Boy!

The birthday celebrations were so much more fun this year because Jack understood what was going on. He knew we were planning a party, his friends would be coming, and he would get lots of presents! He was so excited to turn 3. The party day welcomed us with beautiful, chilly weather and crystal blue skies. We had the party at the Hal Brady Rec Center playground and hosted about 25 guests.

Jack sporting his new Gator helmet. He starts to hum the fight song when he wears it.

I created t- shirts for us to wear that day. Jack's shirt had the number "3" written all over it. My shirt said," Mothers hold their children's hearts forever, but their hands only for a short time." The gel flattened as it dried so it wasn't as clear as I had hoped, but it was a lot of fun to make them!

Time for our annual family photo. We can never manage to have all 3 of us looking at the camera. Oh well, we look cute.

At the party pavillion singing "Happy Birthday" to Jack. He was so excited and he sang along with us. We decorated the tables and hung streamers, put noise makers everywhere, and had pizza delivered for everyone to eat.

Found a great idea for "gator" cupcakes online. The eyes are gumdrops, white chocolate chips, and black icing dots. The nose ridge is a green Sunkist gummy. The nostrils are Reece's Pieces. All the kids got a gator cupcake and we made a dozen more for the grown-ups to enjoy that just had sprinkles on them.

New Playground (to us)

In my attempts to plan Jack's birthday party, I have been scoping out the playgrounds around this area to see what would be the best location. I had just about settled on the little kids playground in Alachua when someone told me there was another was down the road a bit. We decided to take our Labor Day to check this park out. It is for bigger kids but Jack and Jolene had no trouble finding lots of fun here.

Kevin attempting to get inside the rock wall mountain. Jack is trying to push him through the peek hole.

Daddy! Here I come down slide!

No playtime is complete without our good buddy Jolene around.

Jack showing off his daredevil skills while he rides around the merry-go-round in the middle and with no hands!

Super secret dinosaur fossil under the rock wall. Jack is really into dinosaurs now so this was cool to see.

All in all I think this is the best choice for Jack's birthday party. The bathrooms are much cleaner here, the playground is more centralized, and it has a bigger pavilion and parking lot. 4 more weeks till the party!

First Movie: Winnie Ha Pooh

We of course had to go with our very good friends, the Brown family. We posed with Jolene after the movie to always remember this fun day.

Say Cheeeeeeeeseburgers!!!

Jack learns all about buying candy before we go into the theatre. We mixed these with some smuggled in goldfish crackers for a perfect movie snack. We also got a large popcorn and 2 drinks for the big kids. Way too much food for an hour long movie.

After the movie we had a yummy dinner at our favorite place, Moe's! We all ate way too much and were waddling back to our cars when we were done. Jack was holding Jolene's hand to make sure she was safe.

Big hugs as we said goodbye!

I like Daddy!

Jack grabbing Kevin's glasses one day and trying them on. It is really funny when he tries to walk when he is wearing them.

Hoggetown Creek

Hunting for Sharks Teeth

Nestled behind a neighborhood in the center of Gainesville is a sleepy little creek. It has several different arms wiggling its way through an area full of trees.

We brought buckets, sifters, and shovels to help us dig for sharks teeth. Jack is a pro shoveler and quickly filled up his bucket with sand.

We always have to much fun with Jolene! They play really well together.

This is the last shot of both of them completely dry. Soon after this they both fell in, getting soaked from head to toe. The first time was an accident, every other time after that was for pure fun.

Cedar Key Visit

I had heard about this little beach from a few of my friends. It is exactly how they describe it, small, not crowded, and incredibly relaxing. Just an hours drive from our house!

Jack digs into some oranges as we take a break from walking in the water.
Such a brave boy, walking in deep water all by himself! He wanted to hold hands at first but then decided he was a big boy and had to do it alone.

The view from the beach. There's a rope blocking off any kayaks or boats from coming into the swim zone.

Jack and I walking towards the rope, he wanted to touch the "beach balls". The water was so warm and the sand was squishy.

There was an amazing playground there too! After we spent a bunch of time in the water Jack put his shoes on and tackled the big kids playground. Huge slides, a fish ladder, and fun swings kept us busy.

Flowers & New Tree

The red maple Gail gave us is doing very well. It's exciting to see how much it has grown since we planted it.
One of the sunflowers that sprang up this year. None of the seeds I planted did well due to the drought, but the ones that had fallen from rain fall last year are doing great!

More of the sunflowers that just popped out in the middle of our yard.

Wild flowers, so unique.

The only seeds that sprouted this year were the wildflowers. Orange petals with mini yellow flowers in the middle.