Gramma's House and Random Pics from Florida

My mom is a talented musician and loves nothing more than to share her passion with her grandkids. Luckily Morgan cannot get enough of musical instruments and continually begged Gramma to see the trumpets and french horns. Ben enjoyed the show as well.

Good thing Gramma had an old horn and mouth pieces to spare.

Morgan taking a bow after the show. Always the rock star.

I love this picture of Pepper it showcases how anxious she is to be on the move.

She cannot just lay down anymore without trying to roll over, tuck her legs up under herself or do sit ups. She's getting pretty good at rolling and spinning herself around on the floor.

Tan Mikayla holding bright white Pepper.

I realized I was only taking pics of the younger kids so here's Kim's 3rd son Joshua.
Always a great smile on this kid!

Ben, the tannest little guy ever!

Sweet Alice in her pretty Sunday dress.

Nathan, Kim's oldest, playing trains with Morgan or rather trying to play trains while Morgan tries to destroy everything.

Morgan's lounge chair.

This kid knows how to relax.

We enjoyed Gramma and Papa's pool pretty much everyday.

Morgan wasn't brave enough to where a floatie and venture out on his own but he loved splashing about.

Nothing like a sunny day spent swimming in the nude.

Hanging out with the girls at Jill's house.

Morgan's shirt says "Big Brothers Rock" and Pepper's says "Little Sister".

I've been trying to get a picture of these two in these shirts since pepper was born and this is the best I've gotten so far...sad.

Here's a video of Morgan's harmonica skills at Jill's house:

Hanging with Gramma.

All the younger cousins decided the best thing to do at Gramma's house was jump on the beds in Jill's old room. Here are a couple videos of their antics:

The last night there some of us drove to Orlando to visit with a friend of ours from when we lived in Belgium. It's always nice to catch up with old friends. Thank goodness for blogs and Facebook!

There are a few more pictures, stories and videos for me to post as soon as I get them together but for the most part that was our trip to Florida. We love going there every summer and will miss going home for Christmas this year. We are lucky to have so much family in one place. Morgan just loved playing with all his cousins and asks for them constantly. Along with Gramma...I'm sure he misses Papa too but you know how it goes. There's no one quite better than a grandma!

Great-Grandpa Goodier and the Beach

One of the great things about visiting my family in Florida each year is going to visit my Grandpa Goodier and Inez in St. Augustine. My Grandpa is an amazingly vibrant 91 years old and still going strong. We had a great conversation about his bridge group and how he's slightly frustrated with the players that can't quite keep up!

He amazes me!

I couldn't wait to have him hold Pepper.
Is that not the sweetest picture?
I don't think I could have ever planned a picture as perfect as this one!

Uncle Kevin, helping Jane hold Pepper.

I'm glad to hear Jane is anxious to see Pepper again because I think Pepper will be happy to see her again. She was always very good while Jane was holding her or talking to her.

Alice, on the other hand...just kidding Jill!

Our 4 generation shot.

You can't tell from the angle of the shot and the droop of his shoulders but my Grandpa is 4 inches taller than my father. They had to make special beds and uniforms for him when he was in the military in WWII.

Sweet moment with Papa.

Jill's family with Grandpa and Papa.

Jill, Dad and Kim.

(Sorry for posting a picture of you guys in your bathing suits. I would kill you if you did the same to me but I thought it was a great picture.)

My family loves going to the beach together and playing in the waves.

We've taken our love to the next generation and are hoping they continue to love it as well.

What a fun day. Thanks family for letting us play with you!

Florida Zoo Trips

The kids and I are back in Ohio now and loving all the Daddy time. Morgan spent the last few days saying "In ten minutes, go see Daddy." Ten minutes is his new stalling technique; everything happens in his mind in ten minutes.

We had a fabulous time with my family and friends. Morgan LOVED all the time he got to play with his cousins and continues to ask about them daily...along with Gramma.

This is the first of many installements of our outings. It was too much to do it all in one post so here goes: To pass the time until we returned home to Daddy, we spent two days going to the Brevard Zoo with Gramma, Auntie Kim, Auntie Jill and the youngest cousins who weren't already in school (yes, Florida schools started August 8th).

Ben (Kim's youngest) and Morgan were to afraid to hold the cups and let the birds land on them but Gramma did just fine.

However, they loved the birdie popsicles.

By far the fattest alligator I've ever seen.

Ben and Jane (Jill's oldest) and my old Magic Nursery doll.

The Florida humidity does not agree with Morgan's internal thermometer. He runs on constant boiling hot!

Pepper runs the same way (I guess they take after their Daddy). She was a little sweaty so my mom decided to cool her off with some cold grapes.

Sweet Alice (Jill's youngest daughter)

The stroller brigade, minus Morgan who refused to be in the picture and thus distracted most of the kids.

The zoo has set up a new area for the kids called "Paws On." It has a petting zoo, indoor science/vet area, playground made like a giant block of dirt complete with ant tunnels and giant bugs, and a water area. The kids had a blast in the water area.

Auntie Jill holds Pepper up in her beautiful bathing suit from her Auntie Chamaine.

There's a huge whale's mouth with a slide inside.

The little ones. It took a lot of coaxing but we finally got them in the frame together.

The last day we were there we decided we had so much fun the first time that we went back again. This time Mikayla (Kim's fourth child and only girl) stayed home from pre-school and came with us.
The second stroller brigade. This time Morgan is in the picture but hiding his face in the background. What a party pooper this one!

Morgan was desperate to see the fish tank up close but was a little afraid of crossing the deeper parts on his own. They had a painting of a sting ray on the ground and Morgan refused to go near it. Gotta love my super white legs.

Pepper just loved it!

Life is rough for these guys! It cracked me up that they made a designated nursing area and then completely set it in the woods. There wasn't even a covering, good thing it was a cloudy day.

Great Weekend Gone Too Soon

Friday morning I was feeling a bit blah because once again it was raining and I feared we would be stuck inside the house. Alas, the clouds parted early so we headed outside for a little fun in the sun. A wonderful lady in our ward who had a surplus in her garden offered free veggies to anyone who wanted to come pick them up. I jumped on that bandwagon and then headed to a nearby playground that has a water/sprinkler play area.
Morgan had a great time with the water until some day camps showed up with too many older kids. We're going back again this week for playgroup so hopefully we get to stay longer.

Friday nights are usually pizza night and this one was no exception.

It's nice actually having dinner together as a whole family.

And Pepper is now getting in on the action.

She really seems to enjoy her Bumbo chair and will sit happily for sometime. Check out the clenched toes; she always does that and it makes me laugh.

Saturday was a busy day of chores and fun. We cleaned the house in the morning and Cody took Morgan to a make-up Little Gym class. Around lunchtime a YW in our ward came over to babysit so Cody and I could go see Harry Potter. I was a little stressed about leaving Pepper for so long but I pumped a bottle so at least I was hoping she would take it if need be. She did and slept for a little while but did a lot of crying so we paid the poor girl extra. Hopefully she'll babysit again!

After naps we set out for Canton to see the Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Balloon Festival. I had no idea the Pro Football Hall of Fame was nearby and that they had a big-to-do every year but we're excited.

Because of weather the balloons only blew up a little, hung out for a bit then deflated. But it was enough for a 2 1/2 yr old to get excited by the festivities. Hopefully we get to see the full show next year.

We did however get to see some skydivers come down right near us and one had fireworks shooting out of his feet. Morgan talked about them the whole way home!

Once again I need to express my gratitude for this little lady and her nursing capabilities. I struggled a lot with nursing Morgan for various reasons but did manage to do it for awhile before he weaned himself earlier than hoped. Although I do complain a bit that Pepper doesn't take a bottle very well and formula put her in the E.R., I am so grateful that I can nurse her without any issues. For moms who have struggled with nursing you know what a huge blessing that is. I stressed before she was born that once again nursing would be difficult but it has been a joy with her. I've always said that I would only nurse until the child could walk but I must admit Pepper could make me change my mind. Although a girls weekend away from the kids also sounds pretty appealing...we'll have to revisit the idea next spring!

Well, that was our weekend. Sunday was a chill day for us, which is always a nice way to wrap up a busy weekend. I just love spending time with my little family!