Florida Part 3

On Easter Sunday we enjoyed breakfast out with Jon and Cassie. Then we headed off to Sebring to spend some time there with my parents and grandparents.

Grandpa Jerry got a new golf cart! Jack, Josie, and Nolan took plenty of rides! We saw a mama owl & her babies, some monkey squirrels, and a GATOR!

That night we went out for dinner to celebrate my grandpa's 88th birthday! Chocolate cake for everyone (which made Josie, my chocolate queen, VERY happy).

Before we left - we took a dip in the Sun'n'Lakes Community pool. That was pool #1 of 3 my kids swam in THAT day. See - I wasn't kidding when I said they were in water 80% of their visit to Florida.

After a full 7 days in the Sunshine State - we were ready (or at least our plane tickets said so) to head back to Michigan. Not a day has gone by - that my kids haven't said "I miss Florida" since we've been back. We are ALL so sick of the Michigan cold. I believe Uncle Jon is still recovering from our visit.

Florida Part 2

1) Josie met a dog named Josie. 2) The whole gang. We have grown from a group of 4 to a group of 9!

When we visit Florida - we always look forward to seeing our good friends Jeff & Jaime Moses. Our friendship goes back to our days at IU. We've spent plenty of FUN times with them over the years. It has been SO fun watching our families grow together over the past 6 years!

 Our crew...Landon (2), Nolan (1.5), Josie (4), Cameron (5), and Jack (6).

We spent the morning on the beach! It was crazy fun! After the kids were completely worn out - we headed off for a late lunch and ice cream. Then we let them burn off their sugar highs at a park... Our drive home was a 15 minute battle to keep everyone's eyes open. And my kids were ALSEEP by 6:45pm.

We HEAR that the Mosi will be planning a trip up north this fall. (If I write it on the internet - then it MUST be true). Come NORTH, Moses family! We can't wait to show you MICHIGAN!

Florida Part 1

We spent our Spring Break in Naple, FL - visiting Uncle Jon, Cassie, Grandma Shirlee, Grandpa Jerry, and my grandparents (Grandma & Grandpa Gigi). We made a decision to fly this time - since Nolan would go crazy in the car for 20+ hours. The flights were a bit stressful - but a 2.5hr non-stop flight was definitely the way to go.

Once we arrived at Uncle Jon's we were SO excited to be in his pool! The kids were in water 80% of their visit. Uncle Jon's back patio has a pool, hot tub, and plenty of room for family dinners.

Nolan dipped his tiny feet into the ocean for the very first time and LOVED it. He was a little hesitant at first...but ended up loving the sand and the waves.

Jack and Josie had SO much fun digging in the sand and Jack had a great time playing in the water. He tried boogie boarding for the first time and did well! My Michigan kids are Beach Bums after all...

And...Nolan put in some time consulting for both Clevenger Insurance and Arthrex (Uncle Jon's company). His opinions were highly valuable. All he does is work, work, work, work, work...

(More to come from our trip)

And it's March...

Whoops - doing a TERRIBLE job at blogging. I've been a little busy. Michigan decided to recognize WINTER - just as winter was leaving...so we've had some snow days and that's always interesting.

Baseball season is underway. We dusted off the Tigers gear and we are ready to see what Detroit can do this season.

We've had some lazy days spent watching movies on the couch. Cooper isn't complaining. Such an old man.

Snow arrived - then left - then dumped on us - then left again...and, wait for it... CAME BACK last night.

Our faces say "we like it" but our hearts say "STAY AWAY SNOW!"

For the record - there is nothing cuter than a baby in a snow suit.

Nolan discovered legos. He likes them and he does a decent job using them correctly. Third child - leave them alone and they find ways to entertain themselves appropriately.

Josephine is channeling her inner "Florida retiree" with this get-up. We are heading to Naples/Sebring for Spring Break, so she's just getting a head start.

Aside from Legos - Nolan is also OBSESSED with reading books. Obviously, this is 100% fine with me. 

Jack is doing well in Kindergarten and is really enjoying making art. He's meticulous and detailed in his drawings...and he's a perfectionist. I have no idea where he got that trait...

So that's the update for half a month - that I failed to blog about. I'll be better.

Our Journey Home

We started our journey back home last Friday. After a stop at a nearby Publix for some snacks & drinks - we hit the road and said goodbye to the warmth. No one in the car was very excited about the trek home. Jack asked if he could just live with Mickey Mouse.

Stickers, coloring, and pipe cleaners made the journey a little more tolerable for the kids. We also used the iPads and a couple Red Box movies.

We made sure to stretch our legs when we could. Jack and Tyson had a sword battle at a truck stop in Georgia.

Josie engaged in the newest phenomenon to sweep Truck Stops - shadow dancing. You can see part of her routine below.

Of course, there was also plenty of napping on the way home. Disney wore us all out! And - not surprising - we returned home to a snow covered yard & piles of snow everywhere. I was really hopeful, too, because we hadn't seen much snow cover...until we hit Metro Detroit. Oh well.

Have a great weekend!

Disney - Part 2 {the evening}

As I mentioned - we broke our Disney Day up into two parts. FYI - tickets are pricey and Tyson & I decided to "get our money's worth." It was a smart move. After naps, showers, warmer clothes, and dinner - we made our way back to the "happiest place on Earth." We weren't sure how long the kids would last - but we had a couple things going for us: 1) neither were interested in the parades or the fireworks 2) they were SO excited to be back there

Our first stop was Pirates of the Caribbean. We realized pretty quickly that the lines had dissipated A LOT. And once we were on the ride, I realized it probably wasn't the best parenting move for Josie's sake. She buried her face in me and I felt awful. Oops.

Next we visited Belle to for her interactive tale. Jack was cast as "Chip" - pretty appropriate. He felt like a real movie star and had so much fun!

There were NO WAITS for any of the rides our kids wanted to go on...and even better, NO WAITING to see the characters! This was HEAVEN for Josie. As you all know, my kids aren't afraid of creepy characters (only old men who bring them presents). Josie's reaction to seeing Minnie was hilarious. She was totally in awe.

Before we left we stopped at Mickey's Magic Show to say hello to "the Big Man" himself. Both kids were SUPER excited. Jack hugged him and professed his love...very loudly. "I WUV YOU, MICKEY!!" By the time we got to our car it was midnight and we had two VERY tired kids...and TWO very tired parents.

After a good night's sleep - we woke up for our journey back to Michigan. But Jack tried one last ditch effort to convince us we should go back to see Mickey. I found him studying the map of the park.

It was a great day, full of so many memories! We can't wait to go back!

Disney - Part 1 {the morning}

We woke up early last Thursday for our Disney Day. It was WAY too early for Josie {our 2 year old, living in a 15 year old's body}. Per usual, Josie swatted me away as I tried to wake her up. Jack, on the other hand, bounced out of bed, ready to go. The child honestly has an unprecedented amount of energy.

We walked into the park around 10am - because parking, tram, tickets, a monorail ride, and bag checks take FOREVER. Once inside the park Tyson jetted off for FastPass+ tickets and everyone else took a bathroom break. It was chilly - but we were ready.

We made our way to a few different toddler-friendly rides. Both kids LOVED Dumbo, the race cars, and Jack had fun on the Barnstormer roller coaster.

Josie and Grandpa Jerry took a ride on the carousel - which was, quite possibly, the highlight of Josie's day. She thought it was "the best ride at Disney!" {good news, kid, carousels are easy to find}

After a brief nap for Josie and lunch for everyone else - we headed off to It's a Small World. Both kids LOVED it! We also went on Buzz Lightyear's ride and met Chip & Dale. By 4pm we called it a day. Grandma & Grandpa headed back to Sebring, while we left for our hotel room.

No surprise - everyone napped well....which meant we were all ready for Round 2 that night.

Outside + Pool = Happiness

It was no secret that the Becker Clan was ready to be outside as much as possible during our Florida visit. I feel like we've been inside for WAAAAY too long this winter. It's gotten the best of me. So we were all excited for sunshine, pool water, and green grass!

Jack did a great job practicing his swimming. He loved the freedom to swim all over the pool. Surprisingly, Miss Josie was also quite the fish! She loved every minute of being in the water. Grandma Shirlee worried the whole time...but Josie showed her there wasn't anything to fear.

 The kids also loved Grandpa Jerry's new golf cart. It was a hit! Our goal each day was to wear our kids out as much as possible - so they were ready for bed by 7:30. It was never too hard.

Of course, how could we be outside without playing baseball? Jack was so happy to have people to pitch to. Grandpa Jerry used baseball practice as an opportune time to partake in Cocktail Hour. I'll be honest...I was jealous.

Now - we just need the temps to rise about 40 degrees, so we can enjoy our pool in Michigan. At the rate we're going...we may see the pool in August. Maybe.

Tigers in Florida

Last Tuesday afternoon we loaded the family up (along with Grandpa Jerry) and headed to Lakeland, Florida for a Detroit Tigers Spring Training game. It was HOT. But we weren't complaining. Snow was heading to the Detroit area that day...so we were happy to be in sunshine and warmth.

The game was SOLD OUT. I was shocked at how many Tigers fans were there! I guess we weren't the only ones hoping to escape the Michigan winter! We sat in the outfield - and despite some bugs - had a fun time. Tyson thinks he was able to watch about a half inning of actual baseball...guess that's what we get for dragging the kids along.

We enjoyed some hotdogs, beer (not for me), and popcorn. And everyone around us was talking about the Tigers or our awful winter. Felt like home.

She's still chewing on her hotdog...

Overall, we enjoyed the day! Grandpa Jerry was disappointed the Cubbies weren't playing and his efforts to get Jack to become a Cubs fan were foiled.

Looking forward to Opening Day in Detroit! 

Naples

On Monday we headed West to Naples for a fun beach day with our good friends - the Moses family. Tyson & I met Jeff & Jaime when the husbands were at the Kelley School of Business together.  Jeff & Tyson rode the bus together (isn't that cute?) and Jaime & I became fast friends. We lived it up in Btown! Now they live in a suburb of Miami and we LOVE seeing them when we visit the Sunshine State. They have TWO adorable little boys - Cameron (3) & Landon (5mths).

We spent the day playing on Naples Beach! The boys played in the sand, took a walk to the Naples Pier for ice cream with their daddies, and had a really fun time squirting each other. Josie loved the ocean for the first 15 minutes - then took a big gulp of salt water and didn't think it was AS great after that. She still had fun running around the beach.

It was so fun to see the kids together and to catch up with our good friends. We hope the weather in Michigan warms up soon, so we can lure them north for a lake weekend!

After the beach, we ate a late, light lunch. Josie slept through most of it. She was SO tired. Not only did she play hard on the beach, she also had to make sure her mommy didn't hold baby Landon. (let's just say, it got ugly when I did hold him...poor Josie) Tyson & Jeff left the restaurant early with Cameron & Jack...but they didn't make it far. They were quickly sidetracked for some ice cream along 5th Ave. The boys thought they hit the jackpot - TWO ice creams in ONE day!

After the beach, we headed north a bit to Uncle Jon's Bachelor Pad. He lives in a gorgeous house! Jack thinks Uncle Jon is awesome because instead of having a boring old dining room table - he has a ping pong table. So fun!

Jack tried to win over the dogs by playing some fetch. Blade seems to be enjoying his new {warm} home.

We left the three dogs (Hogan, Hunter, & Blade) at Jon's house and went out for a quick bite. Dinner was interrupted by a phone call from one of Jon's neighbors informing us he had Hunter. It seems Hogan {aka: Houdini} opened the front door and let all of the dogs out. They were "terrorizing" the neighborhood. Jon & Dad rushed back to coral them.

It was definitely a fun and exciting day in Naples! So good to see so many people we MISS SO MUCH!