Spring Break

We finally got through all of our illnesses (me and the three older boys), so we decided to take a trip down to Florida to see Papa and Nana and TJ (my dad and stepmom and nephew) for a few days. Michael had some deadlines at work so he couldn't go, but I decided to take the kids down there myself. It was a wonderful trip. The kids were so good, and the drive wasn't bad. It took us 9 hours each way, which includes an hour worth of stops. We had so much fun while we were there. My dad was sure surprised when I called him Thursday morning and told him we were on the road and we would be there that night!

Here we are at Brooker Creek Preserve in Tarpon Springs on Friday. We had a great time on our nature walk. Jonathan was an angel, as usual.

This was at a train show in St. Petersburg on Saturday. Within minutes of this photo, Andrew knocked poor Thomas and Annie and Clarabel (his coaches) right off of the outside track. As my dad said, "He's the only one who knew they were on the wrong track." :-)

Emily was such a good sport, and she had a great time even though she was the only girl and we did mostly "boy" stuff.

This was taken on Saturday at Sawgrass park. TJ got to come with us.

This raccoon was too cute.

Dad said you can always see an alligator at Sawgrass, and he was right. This one is really far away--I just zoomed in a lot.

My sweet Andrew--he cried for Daddy on the way there, and he cried for Papa and Nana and TJ on the way home.

Here are some things I learned on this trip:

Even with a GPS that shows expected arrival time, the kids will still ask, "When will we get there?"

The May family should stay away from train shows.

A house full of tile + the May children = LOUD!

Portable DVD players are one of the greatest inventions ever.

Sonic has outdoor bathrooms--thanks for the tip, Ginger! This was especially helpful in rainy weather.

We need to take more opportunities to do fun things as a family.

My kids are awesome, and they are excellent travelers!!!

My Guys

Can you guess what they are watching?

It's on the Food Network.

It's Alton Brown's Good Eats. The episode that has their rapt attention is about chocolate. :-)

The other day Daniel was upset about something and so I was comforting him. All of a sudden he yelled, "I NEED CHOCOLATE!" He's a boy after my own heart!

He wore this Burger King hat until it disintegrated.

Yesterday, I said, "Andrew, how about grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch?" Andrew: "No, steak!" Mommy: "What, no shrimp?" Andrew: "Yes!" Note to self: sarcasm is lost on a 4 year old.

He loves his Emily!!

Here is Nathaniel, being an awesome big brother. Jonathan hasn't said anything cute yet, but he sure is adorable when he coos. He is a big boy--24 pounds. He outgrew his car seat a month ago. My new nickname for him is Chunky Monkey, because he is so cute I could eat him up! I am so lucky that I get to kiss those puffy cheeks every day! He will be 7 months old tomorrow.

Poor Nathaniel has been sick all week. He's been a trooper, though. I can't believe he will be 10 next month!

Birthday Girl

We had a wonderful time last weekend while celebrating Emily's birthday. My dad, stepmom, and nephew and Michael's parents all came to visit. Emily was in heaven! We had a fun, crazy party with 9 little girls on Saturday. The theme was (Wii) "Sing It," which is like karyoke. Each girl had sunglasses, a tiara, a boa, and a play microphone (thanks again, Dad(Papa)!) to dress up like a star. Each girl had a chance to sing and we also played musical chairs.

We also hung up some Christmas lights.

A homemade cookie cake was Emily's request. :-)

OK, next time I will write something about the boys!