We started off Saturday morning with a trip to the new beachfront park in Ormond. I took Anna to a birthday party there a week ago, but John and Will hadn't been yet, so we all went together Saturday. The park has a splash pad, a playground, and a lifeguard-manned beach (with no traffic!! a major plus in our area). We went early, anticipating a crowd, but still shared the beach with lots of people, and saw no less than four of Will's classmates and their families! Small town. :-)
John and I had a date night on Saturday, with a yummy dinner followed by "The Great Gatsby." John had never read the book, so he was attempting to speed-read my copy of it this past week but wasn't close to finishing it on Saturday. I decided to have him watch the 70's movie version (with Robert Redford) on Thursday night so he'd get the gist of the story. I don't know if that was such a good idea--I forgot how horrible Mia Farrow is in that movie, and we spent most of the movie marveling how sweaty everyone is in that version. Anyway, we both really, really enjoyed the new version.
On Sunday afternoon, we took the kids to Toys R Us and Walmart to spend some of their birthday gift cards. Anna quickly settled on a Disney Princess fishing pole and pink fishing net at Toys R Us (Thanks, Uncle Tim and Aunt Cynthia!), while Will weighed all his options, made John do some price checks on his iPhone, talked us into going over to Walmart, and ultimately picked out a Star Wars Lego set. He is so my child. On the upside, like me, he rarely gets buyer's remorse. :-)
On several nights this weekend, we grilled out and enjoyed our new patio set:
It is totally awesome. I've been watching a few sets for awhile, and decided to go for it when Pier One had their Memorial Day sale. I picked it up last Wednesday and we've been doing a LOT of outdoor dining while the weather is nice.
On Monday, we drove over to DeLeon Springs State Park. We've been wanting to go to breakfast at the Old Spanish Sugar Mill for awhile--it's an open-air cook-your-own-pancake-breakfast restaurant inside the park.
The kids were ready to cook!
Will and I stuck to blueberries as toppings, but Anna came up with an innovative version using apple slices and chocolate chips:
Waiting patiently:
Time to eat!
We also scrambled some eggs on the griddle, which was fun. We reminded the kids at least ten times not to touch the hot griddle--and they didn't, but Anna did make a quick grab for the wrong end of the hot spatula, which resulted in some tears...
...but not much real injury! Well, nothing another pancake couldn't fix.
After breakfast, we paddled a canoe down the creek:
And later took the guided eco-boat tour, where we saw lots of alligators, herons, and turtles:
I was heavily chastised by both children because I didn't think to bring our swimsuits or fishing poles. The spring water started looking pretty inviting as the afternoon got hotter.
After the boat ride, we hiked a few of the nature trails, then headed for home.
The kids were itching to do some fishing after seeing everyone fishing at the springs, so, after naptime, they headed for the backyard pond. Anna was especially eager to try out her new fishing pole--and it seems to be a lucky one. On her very first cast, she reeled in her first ever all-by-herself catch:
She admired him, patted him, then let Daddy chuck him back into the water.
And then tried to catch a few more of his friends:
1 comment:
Way to go, Anna!
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