A Few More Pics from the Holiday Program

Here are a few more shots from the Cirque du Soleil quality Christmas show @ the Critters school:

The Critters gearing up for thier big performance.

Brother rockin' out on the bells.

CarCar goin' to town.

Chris

Ponce de Leon Springs State Park, a/k/a The Pancake Mill

The Sunday after Thanksgiving we all headed down to Ponce de Leon Springs State Park. While it houses the supposed 'Fountain of Youth,' these days it is better known for the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Bakery. Here you get to cook your own pancakes on griddles built into the tables. The pancakes were pretty good and it was pretty funny seeing the kids try to get in on the action.

After breakfast Grandma B, Grandma Kate, the Critters, Rian, and I decided to take the boat tour. We read on the sign that there were river otters on the boat tour and Carson about flipped her lid. I am still not sure how a 2 1/2 year old becomes so obsessed with river otters. To add to the excitement Grandma B bought CarCar a stuffed otter (now named 'Otter,' inventive, I know), Haddie a manatee (named 'Manny'), and Reese a raccoon (name 'Haa-coon'). After the kids ran around the springs and playground for a bit we jumped on the boat. Unfortunately, river otters are early morning creatures so there was little chance we were going to see them. We did get to see a ton of birds and an alligator. Haddie kept yelling 'Gator bait' the entire boat ride. Unfortunately, for the Gators of Florida, they had been scalped by the FSU defense the night before. Notice I said defense, that was a painful game to watch if you enjoy offensive football. The Critters had a great time on the boat, but were definitely ready to get off when we reached the dock.

Here are a few pics from the adventure:

The Mr. and Mrs. @ The Sugar Mill.

Pancakes cookin' on the griddle.

Carson getting in on the action.

View of the Mill.

The boat.

Brother locating the floatation devices.

Haddie with 'Manny.'

A Heron.

The Ponce de Leon Swamp Monster.

Checking out relics before we head out.

The 'Fountain of Youth.'

Chris

School Christmas Pagent

Hadley, Carson, and Reese at their Christmas Program. (Hadley and Carson are in the red dresses and Reese is in the green jumper.)

The video goes crazy part way through, but you still get the gist.

Chris

Brother's New Digs

This post is extremely behind the times, but I wanted to wait until I had finished Brother's headboard to publish.

When splitting up the Critters we kept Brother in the old nursery. Unfortunately, the striped walls did not seem to appropriate for a toddler boy room. We decided to got with a nautical themed room in honor of Grandpa Dave, who spent many a year in the United States Coast Guard.

Let me begin by telling you what a task it was to paint that room. It took two coats of primer and two heavy coats of paint, four coats on what was the striped wall. We went with Sherman Williams Nantucket Dune. Luckily, they were having a 40% off sale around the time we were getting ready to paint.

After tackling the walls I had to take care of the dresser. We repurposed the old white guest bedroom dresser. I removed the attached mirror and gave it a good sanding. We chose True Navy by Glidden. It is a very (I repeat very) thick gel/oil based paint. (Note: Make sure to have paint thinner or mineral spirits on hand before you start to paint so you don't have to head to Home Depot with blue smurf hands. As I found out water does not remove this paint from your hands, it actually just makes it worse.) To finish the dresser I found nautical looking rope knobs called monkey fists on etsy.

Finally, we couldn't find a headboard that we really liked. After scouring the normal stores nothing seemed to match what we envisioned. Leave it up to Grandma B to find plans so we could build a headboard. Grandma B and I built the headboard in 3short hours when she was up for a visit. We later chose to paint it in a striped pattern to replicate a buoy. I used the same Glidden paint that I used for the dresser, this time is was True Red and Classic White. Building seemed to be the easy part compared to the taping and painting. It took quite a few coats to get the look I wanted.

All in all we are extremely happy with how Brother's room turned out. There are still a few things that the room needs but nothing that he can't live without for a while. I think he is just happy that he now has his own space.

Here are some pics:

Vintage oars from The Tin Shed (Apalachicola, FL), Linens and Pillows from The Land of Nod, and Curtains from Pottery Barn Kids.

Note the United States Coast Guard pillow.

Repurposed dresser, dresser knobs from Etsy, buoys from The Tin Shed, Nautical Knot shadow box from The Tin Shed, Buoy Lamp from The Land of Nod.

Close-up of dresser knob pulls.

Close up of vintage buoys.

Repurposed wicker toy box and rug from Pottery Barn Kids, coat rack from The Land of Nod.

Chris

Haddie v. Kermit the Frog

On our way back from Orlando we popped a few DVD's in for the Critters to watch. Apparently, one of the Big Bird DVD's had Kermit the Frog in it. Haddie does not like Kermit one iota.

Here is her reaction when he comes on:

Trying to hide from Kermit. Notice Carson isn't fazed.

This was taken after I got Kermit off of the DVD. I just really like this picture.

Chris

I wish I were...

an Oscar Mayer Weiner. That is what I truly wish to be, cause if i were a Oscar Mayer Weiner everyone would be in love, oh everyone would be in love, everyone would be in love with me.

On our trip home from Orlando after Thanksgiving we saw this cruising down I-75:

Sorry for the poor picture, this was taken at about 80 MPH. (Note: that was my speed, certainly not the Weinermobile's.)

Chris

The Critters and the Ambulance (Don't Worry)

On Thanksgiving Rian, Grandma B, Adrienne, the Critters, Uncle Billy, and I headed over to Uncle Billy's work to see (and play in) some ambulances. To say the Critters had a good time would be an understatement. Reese and Hadley had a great time turning the sirens on and off and 'helping' Uncle Billy 'drive' around the parking lot. They also had fun exploring the back of the ambulance. Reese seemed pretty comfortable which is good because apparently Rian has already decided that he will be a doctor. I could just imagine Brother back there yelling, 'I need 30cc STAT!' CarCar had a good time but she wasn't super keen on the loud noises. She did have fun once she was in the back of the ambulance.

Here are some pics from the day:

Uncle Billy helping Brother get acclimated in the ambulance.

Brother 'helping' Uncle Billy drive.

CarCar getting some distance from the sirens with Grandma B.

The girls taking over.

CarCar getting in on the action.

Brother checking everything out.

Haddie in the drivers seat.

Haddie taking her shoe off on the gurney.

CarCar taking a rest in the back of the ambulance.

We headed to Steak and Shake afterwards for some lunch.

Chris