Trip to the ER...

Nothing like a trip to the ER for chest pains to ruin your day. Luckily, it wasn't anything life threatening (don't know what it was actually) so a few hours and a few tests later they had us on our way. 

 

Wonder Works Field Trip

The day the kids went back to school after Spring Break was the day of Benny's 2nd grade field trip! This year the 2nd Graders went to Wonder Works. (Jackson went to Epcot and Ivy to Legoland). I have to admit... Wonder Works was not my favorite. It wasn't very spacious or well lit. There was a lot to do but it had an overall "grimy" feel to it. Benny had a great time, which is all that matters. 

 

Spring Break 2023

We started our Spring Break off at the movies!! Kids were all done with school, we had no Friday night plans, we were feeling a little adventurous so we decided on a whim to go and we did! Ate at Five Guys beforehand and saw the Space + Dinosaur movie "65".  It was pretty lame but the kids liked it and we had a good time!

We were originally supposed to go skiing in Utah for Spring Break. We had our plane tickets and everything!! But a broken arm + shattered elbow doesn't go well with skiing. Jackson tried to convince us we should all still go and he would just hang out with his cousins that live in Utah (and we almost tried to make that work) but when it came right down to it, I just didn't want to ski without him!! So we will try for maybe next winter. In the meantime, we had a whole week off school with nothing to do so we had to plan something!! Not a whole lot that Jackson was cleared for (no boogie boarding, so no beach. no waterslides... etc...) But the boy can fish!! So on Sunday we left for Miami to do some fishing! We did the same thing last year for Spring Break and had a great time. This time I splurged just a little on the accommodations and booked us at a resort rather than just a hotel and we really enjoyed it! The pool was super nice, with a hot tub, ping pong, put-put golf, and right on a man-made lake so the kids could fish on the grounds. It was perfect. Both boys caught fish, Benny caught a whopper!! He also, unfortunately, fell on the rocks and really busted his foot and leg which put a real damper on him for awhile.  

Daniel had this primo location for us to fish. Nevermind the big red "Restricted Do Not Enter" signs... nevermind the fact that we had to get out of our boat 4 times to lighten it because it was too shallow to motor thru. Nothing was going to stop us from getting to the honey hole. And oh my, was it a honey hole!! We caught 120 fish collectively!! Just about every time I cast my pole I had a bite. I might not have pulled a fish in every time but the action was incredible!! After a couple hours, though, a few of us were ready to call it quits... I mean, how many fish can a person possibly catch?! Unfortunately, as we started heading back, our motor failed. I didn't let myself freak out right away (we were in a restricted area... how in the heck could anyone come rescue us?) and after about an hour, and a facetime call with a boat mechanic, Daniel was able to McGuvyer something or other and had us up and running again! Back to the hotel for the afternoon! Next day Benny, Ivy and I opted to stay back at the resort and enjoy a pool day and just Jackson and Daniel went fishing. Everyone had a great time! We were back late Tuesday and able to enjoy the last half of Spring Break at home, with friends and cousins. 

The kids won milkshakes for winning the Jenga contest!

Free afternoon appetizers and strawberry lemonade!

Our taco plate for dinner.

We went to the beach on Friday. It was a beautiful day!! Jackson wasn't feeling well (he actually ended up with strep!) but he relaxed with me under the umbrella. 

Think it's time for a haircut?

March Fishing

We went to Bass Pro the day of Jackson's birthday and while we were there I bought some baits for him... some baits I thought were cool that he probably would never in a million years buy himself. Well, he has decided he's going to try his darndest to catch a fish with these silly baits! (A mouse, a frog, a cute little fish and maybe another thing or 2). Anyhow, he's had some success! First one he tried was the mouse!! And it worked! The next one was the little frog... and it worked too!

Jackson is 14

After Daniel's birthday comes Jackson's!! He turned 14 this year. A whole lot is changing with this kid, I feel like right before my very eyes!! I remember when he started the 6th grade thinking that there was a huge difference between the 6th grade boys and the 8th grade boys and now I'm on the flip side!! Now I have the tall, deep voiced man-child! I'm baffled at the idea that he will be in high school in a few short months. 

Jackson is smart as a whip, gets really good grades, is a fishing maniac, loves his friends, is very good at pushing the envelope with all his teachers, is witty, is funny, and is the most antagonizing to his siblings of all brothers in the entire world, enjoys a good meal, hates affection from his mother, can stay up really late, and is the most handsome 14 year old a mother could ever adore. He may be challenging at times and we certainly don't always see eye to eye but I am so grateful for him in every way and feel lucky to be his mother. 

His birthday fell on a Saturday this year so he and Daniel ditched school and work Friday to fish down in Miami. They drove down Thursday night, enjoyed some really good Peruvian cuisine and fished all day Friday. I don't have very many pictures of that. 

Even though he fished all day the day before, he wanted to get up early on his birthday and fish Lake Okeechobee. Benny came along for that one. They pit stopped in Harmony on the way home. 

Had to get my birthday hat pictures when he got home because I was not awake at 5:00 am on a Saturday to see them off. 

That afternoon Daniel and I took him shopping. He wanted to go to the Nike store and few other places. We had a some really nice 1-on-1 time with him. There was  UFC fight that night so naturally he wanted to watch it. We had all the "guys" over. All in all, I think he had a pretty good birthday. 

But of course that wasn't all! The NEXT Saturday we had a pile of his friends over to the house to fish, swim, pickleball, play basketball and box! Pizza, soda, chips, and ice cream cake. It was really fun time! (no pictures though) Love our birthday bubs!