Ides of March

I cannot believe it's been almost four months since my last post - yowzers!

As always, things have been quite busy around our household.

The kids enjoyed a nice Spring Break and had plenty of time to play, ride bikes, read, and get into trouble. 

We went to the Jacksonville Zoo last Friday. We hadn't been there in 3 years, so it was really good to be back.  The kids were able to touch sting rays, feed a giraffe, watch the penguins, and said "This was the best field trip ever!"  Unfortunately, Buddy Boy was sick (fever, very tired, snotty nose) so we cut our visit short.  But, we decided to get the annual family pass, so we can go again as many times as we want to until next March - woohoo!  Next time I think mom's going to join us, so that'll be great.

On Saturday, we decided to take the kids to Orlando - who doesn't like Orlando?  We enjoyed a nice suite at the Nickelodeon resort. The kids LOVED the resort.  Pictures of cartoon characters were everywhere, and the resort was very kid-centered.  We watched two episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at the pool (they called it a Dive-in movie - was pretty cool).  Before leaving on Sunday, we played putt putt golf at the hotel.  Buddy Boy (who was feeling MUCH better) had the best shot on each hole.  My little athlete.

Spring season also means baseball season.  Little Man has graduated from t-ball and is now playing baseball. His coach is great and has been working with him to throw the ball better.  He loves it!

Doodlebug is playing softball again and also has a good coach. She's playing with a group of girls that have been together for years, so they're pretty tight knit.  Her easygoing personality allows her to fit right in. She's having a great time and has kept a lot of her skill from the past four years.  It's going to be a great season.

We started our spring garden right after Valentine's day and already see radishes, carrots, and lettuce sprouting.  We've actually eaten some of the lettuce and it's quite tasty!  We can also see the potatoes starting to bud - exciting! 

I've started some pineapple tomatoes, roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and green peppers in seed trays and they're starting to sprout after 2 weeks of cold temperatures.  I plan to plant some eggplant, more tomatoes, and some fruit this weekend into another seed tray. 

We also have a golden jubilee and blueberries to plant - just waiting for this final cold snap to finish.

I'm hoping this year's garden will be better than last years for multiple reasons.  Number one - I have a little bit better idea of what to do to keep the plants healthy and happy.  Number two - we started last year's garden in the middle of June - we've gotten a four month head start.  Number three - we got the kids their very own 2x2 square foot garden and got another 4x4 garden, so we'll have 150% more space.  Number four - Ryan got me some amazing gardening tools for Christmas that have already made gardening easier.

I promise to take pictures of the garden this year and to actually post them. (We bought a new DSL camera and it takes beautiful pictures - I hope to post some of the kids soon.)

Hope and pray everyone is doing well.