Butterflies and Cousins

After a full day of cooking (and cleaning up), Connie suggested we all drive to Gainesville on Friday to enjoy the Natural History Museum's butterfly exhibit. We headed out and stopped at Sonny's BBQ for lunch before getting to the museum. The butterfly exhibit was very crowded and we arrived just as one of the butterfly experts was giving a talk and releasing several different kinds of butterflies, so the crowd was really backed up. Once she finished, we walked through and looked at the many beautiful butterflies but it was still crowded and hard to keep eyes on all the kids. After finishing that exhibit we walked around the rest of the museum and really enjoyed it. Olivia, Sofia and Chandler hung out with CK and I as we walked throughout the museum and saw the exhibits. Finally, we headed home and CK and Sofia took a sunset flight in the Cub before we all enjoyed leftovers from Thanksgiving and the kids played. It was a fun day and the cousins had a great time together.

Sofia and Jillian pose together

Chandler and Sofia

Chandler, Sofia and Olivia check out the woolly mammoth together

One of the butterflies at the exhibit

All the cousins together....briefly

Rowing in their canoe

Chandler and Olivia finish their rubbings

Chandler and Sofia writing a message to the museum

Chandler and Sofia's comments

CK and Sofia head out for their evening flight

Buddy

Heading down the runway

Off they go...

Heading Home After a Fun Week

We headed home on Saturday morning, after a leisurely breakfast and getting all of our things together. CK has a trip to New York scheduled for early Monday morning and he wanted to get home to unpack, get organized and pack again for another week away. Plus, we wanted a day to be home and get ready for the week ahead. We had such a fun and very relaxing week in Florida. It was so much fun watching the cousins play together and be able to take morning runs with Buddy, knowing the kids were well taken care of and enjoying time with their Grandparents. It was great fun and we enjoyed the week together and look forward to another visit. Of course, Buddy will be very sad to leave the farm and return to his little fenced backyard.

Grandpa and all the grandkids before we headed out

Love this picture!

Just before heading back to Texas

Fun with Cousins

The cousins had a fantastic time playing and being together. Once Chandler, Jillian and Jackson arrived on Wednesday afternoon, Sofia and Olivia immediately wanted to hold "the baby" who they both adore. Sofia held Jackson first and then Olivia before we convinced them both to go play with Chandler and Jillian. The four older kids ran off and had hours of fun over the next few days bouncing and acting silly in the bounce house. Each night before bed, Sofia would read her books to Chandler and Jillian, which was so cute to watch. In the morning, Sofia would usually be the one sitting on the couch holding Jackson and both looked so content. If he got fussy, she would use her rubber band bracelet to entertain him and he'd calm down. The cousins also sat at their own little table for breakfast, which was really cute and worked better than expected. On the last night together, they came up with a story and played in the living room with Sofia and Chandler as the "king" and "queen," Olivia as "Lily" and Jillian as "Silly" who were both the princesses. Their story went on and on and they were having such a great time playing together without running around which was nice. They had such a great few days together and we look forward to seeing Chandler, Jillian and little Jackson again soon.

Ready to hold Jackson

So happy!

Giving kisses

Sofia loves Jackson

Kisses

Sofia reads stories before bedtime

Thanksgiving morning finds Sofia calmly and happily holding Jackson on the couch

Breakfast together

The closest thing I could get of them all posing together on the bounce house

Jillian and Olivia

The last night of stories together

Jillian "reads" to Olivia

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving morning started with Buddy and I going for a quick run around the farm, which he loves. He's now gotten brave and goes into the tree line while I run along side the field. At one point, he couldn't figure out how to get out of the shrubs and vines and had to backtrack before he could rejoin me. It's so fun to go out with him in the morning. We returned to the house and Connie made eggs, waffles, and bacon for breakfast which was delicious. After breakfast, CK took me up in the Cub and we flew over Orange Lake and took our time returning to the farm. It was below freezing the night before and still cold as we flew, but very relaxing and fun as usual. Then the Thanksgiving cooking started and Connie put the turkey in the oven and started on the sides while Cynthia made her sweet potato casserole and coleslaw salad. CK and I moved the table into the living room to put the food on and set the main table up for our meal. Connie made up cute settings for each child along with a little bag that included a light up bracelet, a toy solar-powered turkey, a movie, socks and a cute scarecrow. It was so thoughtful and all the kids loved it!

Once Grandma Van arrived with Cynthia, we were ready to eat around 4pm, as planned! Everything was delicious and it was a great Thanksgiving meal. After the delicious meal, we all dug into the various desserts and then sat around and talked while the kids played until bedtime.

All set for a Thanksgiving day flight

Off we go!

My attempt at a photo of us....

CK organizes the kids as they make "pilgram hats" with small reese's peanut butter cups, frosting and a cookie. The peanut butter cups were a little too small so they looked more like sombreros, but they still tasted great.

The dressed table!

Sofia's place setting

CK carves the turkey

Someone is ready for desserts

Happy Thanksgiving!

Someone loves their cupcake!

Uncle Jay plays Bingo with the kids

All the cousins together

Grandma and Grandpa with all their grand-babies

Great Grandma with her Great Grandkids

The four of us and Buddy

Wide Open Spaces.....

Buddy absolutely loves the Farm and it's been so much fun taking him for long walks and watching him enjoy himself so much. He loves to sniff everything and run off into the fields and tree line. If he's really lucky, there is a squirrel or two to chase up a tree. Here are a couple of pictures of Buddy having a great time on the farm....

Fun at Grandma and Grandpa's House

We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Sunday afternoon. Our original plan was to spend the weekend at our house and head to Florida on Monday morning, but CK decided we either needed to leave on Sunday morning to miss the winter weather coming to Texas or could possibly get out on Wednesday after the weather passed. We packed our things and headed out Sunday. At the last minute, we decided to take Buddy with us, after CK asked his Mom if it was ok to have him in the house with us. I'd planned to drop Buddy off at my friend's Adrienne's for the week but texted her that we'd be taking him with us instead. I was a bit leery since he still doesn't always respond to being called and I was a bit afraid he'd get carried away exploring and could be hit by a car on the road in front of their house.

The flight went well and we stopped in Bay Minette, Alabama for a rest break and lunch which we ate at the Shrimp Basket. We sat outside since we had Buddy and the food was great! We returned to the Baron and flew on to the farm, arriving around 5pm. Once we arrived and got out of the airplane, Buddy ran around like he was in Heaven! He sniffed all the trees and ran around. The next morning, I took him out for a long walk down the runway so he could get a sense of the farm and stretch his legs. He was so happy and we loved watching him lop along and sniff everything.

This was the first trip to the farm with CK Sr. being retired, so CK was very excited to spend the week with him and help him with projects, wash his plane, etc. Before leaving home, we all searched for Sofia's horses which she'd played with on Saturday night and wanted to take with her to Florida. We looked everywhere and couldn't find them, so we told her we'd buy more horses in Florida which should could leave with Grandpa and Grandma and then play with each time we visit. So, on Monday the girls and I went with CK to the Cowboy Superstore (it's no longer named that, but I love that name better) and bought a couple of small Breyer horses for the girls. Then we went to Tractor Supply and bought a cowboy set which included a few horses, a truck and trailer, a few cowboys and saddles. We also got another set that included a truck and a few horses. The girls would be all set with horses for the week! That night we went to our favorite restaurant for dinner, Sonny's! Delicious BBQ and such a splurge.

On Tuesday, Connie, Sofia, Olivia and I went into town and met CK, who was in town for a meeting that morning, for an early lunch. After eating, he took the girls back to the house so Olivia could nap and Sofia could play. Connie and I went on from there to Sam's Club to get the final fixings for our Thanksgiving meal. We returned to find Sofia out in the hanger helping Grandpa sweep, clean up, organize and help in anyway she could. CK told me that she said to him "Papa, I get to see you all the time and I don't see Grandpa that often, so I'd like to help him and spend time with him." After Olivia woke up, Grandpa took each girl for a Gator ride around the farm. Then, CK, drove the girls and I over to Leslie and Charlie's farm across the street so the girls could pet and visit the horses. They each were able to feed one of them a carrot and loved being around the horses.

On Wednesday, I took Buddy for a long run around the farm, which he loved and it felt good to stretch my legs. Connie made her apple pie and pumpkin pie and then took Olivia to the orange grove to pick oranges while Sofia and I hung around reading and playing Temple Run, which we both are a little addicted to (we just started playing on Monday). After they returned, CK, Sofia and I took a walk down the runway to see the donkeys, cows and goats in the next pasture while Olivia slept. Once we got down there the donkeys and ram were very interested in Buddy and kept wanting to sniff him and figure out exactly what he was. Finally, the ram butted Buddy and send him into a frenzy of barking, pawing the ground, and slightly backing up. It was the most we've seen him bark since we got him and he was a mixture of upset, confused and mad. We finally convinced him to stop barking as we headed back to the house. That afternoon, Cynthia and her family arrived from their drive down from Atlanta and the cousins soon were busy having a grand time together. Grandpa got out the slide and bounce house and the kids spent hours bouncing.

Someone is happy to be at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Sofia and Olivia play horses

Buddy thinks he's in Heaven!

Sofia adds sprinkles to her donut

Playing with the new horses and barn

Grandpa and Olivia go for a gator ride around the farm

Driving over to see the horses across the street. Olivia LOVES to drive

Feeding the horse a carrot

Meeting the other horses

Buddy meets the donkey and goats at the end of the runway

Sofia loved petting the donkeys

Olivia at the orange grove

Picking oranges with Grandma and Grandpa