Shark Valley

Sounds exotic...doesn't it? Well if you ask me, it isn't. With a name such as this, you're probably thinking we saw these.... NOPE!...It is just some ridiculously long bike ride through the Everglades. We were hoping to see more alligators but we only saw two. We did have a good time. It was just very hot and not quite what I was expecting as far as wildlife is concerned. We did see this mama sea turtle trying to find a spot to lay her eggs but these terrible crows would not leave her alone. I hope it all worked out for her and the kids. But this was only our first stop on our weekend getaway!

At the Car Wash

Jason likes a clean car so of course when he didn't have any homework to do; he detailed the car. He washed and waxed the exterior. He vacuumed and removed the seats to clean the upholstery. He used q-tips and alcohol to wipe down all the interior surfaces. He replaced the brake pads and replaced a crank shaft position sensor in the engine. The check engine light is off and the car shines like brand new penny...inside and out! The kids got a kick out of the fact that the seats were out of the car. This was my project. This is like the 6th baby quilt I've made but it is definitely the best. I really tried hard to line up all the blocks and I was very successful for the first time. I hope Jen and baby Adelaide love it as much I did. This little heart patch was an added bonus. When I was in the final stages of tying the beaut, I ripped a hole in this square. I decided to sew a patch over it and I must say, it turned out pretty, stinkin' cute.

Georgia Vacay

Jason had about a week and a half off after finals so we went up to see cousins in Georgia. His first day off, I was sick with some kind-of stomach flu (not the best start). But then we went to Disney and then up to Georgia. While in Georgia we enjoyed playing with water-balloons We visited Stone Mountain... rode to the top in a gondola and climbed trees. We saw some stuffed bears and snakes (thankfully in boxes) we hiked and saw some waterfalls. We experimented with the new underwater camera. It works great. It is so much fun. Navie doesn't actually like to go underwater yet. so we got her legs under the water.

Disney x3

We went to Epcot...the last park at Disney to be visited by the Pricketts. This was like the only picture we took at Epcot. We did hit some fun rides and we saw some cool sea life. It rained the majority of the morning and that made walking around the park a little more difficult. After seeing some of Epcot we hopped on a boat that took us to Hollywood Studios so we could see Jake and the Neverland Pirates. While there we also saw Winnie the Pooh. This is Navie snuggling with Daddy on the boat to Hollywood Studios. We all really enjoyed the Disney Junior puppet show. Navie collected gold coins and we got to call for Toodles. It was a blast.

St. Mother's Day and St. Father's Day

I had the best Mother's Day yet this year. It was full of surprises and spoilage. Today we celebrated Father's Day too. Navie will be gone that day and we have a busy few weeks coming up before then. Anywho...here's the skinny. I got a new pink flotation device for the pool. So relaxing and fun! I also got a new oven mitt. It is so nice and bright and I got new dish towels. Navie drew me a beautiful picture. And Jason made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I got to take a nap that day and we played Pictionary (I love that game!) before bed. And one of my favorite parts, Navie singing with the Primary kids. I cannot believe how grown-up she is! Here's Navie looking so fancy for church in her new dress from Uncle Josh and Aunt Jennie.

Matching aprons for the cooking girls.

Mother's day cupcakes.

Father's Day celebrations include: new remote control jeep with 4-wheel drive and off-road suspension, test driving it at the beach, new headphones for studying/entertainment, family snuggle/nap, and chocolate pudding pie for lunch. Home-made wrapping paper.

Don't you love that our hair wraps all the way around under our chins?

I am a great photographer.

She chased that car all over the beach.

PS: I'm sure you noticed the title. This is what Navie referred to these holidays as. It was pretty adorable hearing her say "Happy St. Mother's Day Mom!"

It's Getting Hot in Here

...so we do lots of swimming! Actually this post is just more of a random smattering of pictures from the last few weeks. Navie playing at the beach with her new swimsuit.

Navie wearing her new goggles in the tub. That is where the goggles get the most use.

This was the swimsuit I fell in love with but took back because it was not a good fit.

We went to the zoo. Pretty sad day...we saw lots of sleeping animals.

We did see some friends too.

We saw some cool monkeys as well on a little boat ride. This is obviously not a great picture.

Navie got her haircut. She got to watch a movie and sit in a Barbie jeep and she got a sucker. I love her hair!

She made this cute little turtle too. I love a good craft!

Noisy Neighbors

That's right...apparently we are the noisy "upstairs" neighbors. We live on the top floor at our complex and our neighbors below us just starting complaining about us being too noisy. We have lived here for at least 4 months and haven't heard a single complaint. Things started to change last week. Remember the episode from the TV show Friends...The guy living below them starts banging on the ceiling with a broomstick whenever he feels that they are TOO loud. Well as a teenager growing up in a house in MO I thought this was so hilarious...who would ever do such a thing?! But apparently in apartment life it is totally normal. Last week, there were 2 or 3 times that I thought I heard a noise sounding like a broom banging on the floor below me. Thinking this couldn't be true, I brushed it off. However, earlier this week, the dad of the little baby that I watch a few times a week comes inside to pick up his little girl and he starts telling me that our neighbor says that we are making an "annoying" sound at like 7:00 am every morning. Awkward!! My poor employer has to hear the complaints about "my family's" noise from my neighbor with anger management issues. Every single time our downstairs neighbors think we are being too loud, they now let us know with broom-stick banging on the ceiling. I wish I could play you a recording of it. They bang very loudly and they don't just hit it a couple of times in one spot. They hit the ceiling like 4 or 5 times in multiple places around the apartment. Insane? I think yes!!! Today for instance, Navie ran from one side of the living room to the other. This probably took her a total of 10 to 12 steps and about 6 seconds. Immediately after we hear banging from below for about the next 20 seconds or so moving all around the apartment. CRAZY!!! Then Navie runs back and forth a few more times...I guess she was excited about something. I can understand that maybe after a minute or so of straight thudding feet early in the morning that you might hit the ceiling but 10 footsteps/6 seconds in the middle of the daytime and that calls for at least 20 seconds of banging from you...I don't think so. Then about 5 minutes after this running episode we hear an angry knock on our door. I was in the kitchen preparing dinner and Jason says "should we just pretend like we're not home?" Me: "Yes." What feels like a minute or two goes by...and we hear yet another angry knock. I don't know about you but as a mother with a young daughter, I hear angry knocking and I see that as a threat. I am not in the habit of just allowing threatening people into my home. I feel slightly guilty about not opening the door but if you can't even suppress your anger to knock on the door like a normal person...I'm certainly not going to choose to open the door just so you "can give me a piece of your mind." I would be more than willing to talk about this noise issue in a civilized manner but seeing as that does not seem to be an option, I will just hide inside my apartment instead. Hopefully I will not be posting about being kicked out of our apartment next week. We have talked to Navie about walking with quiet feet when we are inside...we'll see how that goes. If that doesn't work, we'll try strapping pillows on our feet.