Busch Gardens, Bed Head, and Bike Rides

We finally had a day, but only one, that didn't hit 90 degrees.

Clare and I jumped at the opportunity to visit Daddy at work.

Clare enjoyed playing at the best park a girl could ever ask for!

She was fascinated by the glass floor...

...and the "treasures" on the ground.

I don't know if she ever saw the orangutans, but she had fun trying.

After a day a Busch Gardens, she took quite a nap.

Daddy was home when she woke up, and he got to see her bed head.

Would he still be smiling like that if my hair looked the same way in the morning?

We recently found a bike trailer at a yard sale,

so we've enjoyed some family bike rides in the last few weeks. 

This was the one "cooler" day that we had, which is evidenced by our need to wear long sleeves.

Yes, that is a noteworthy event in Florida these days.

Clare enjoys her chariot!

Fall Festival with POPCORN and Tattoos

Buried in Books

This is a daily occurrence at our house...

Empty the bookshelf!

Where's the one I want???

This isn't a book.

Ahhh...a sock. 

That's more fun than all of the books I just pulled out of the shelf.

Can't wait to do it again...

right after Mommy picks them all up.

$5 Rocking Chair

We recently found a Clare-sized rocking chair at a yard sale

(thanks, Sarah and Tory), and it was only $5.

Since our daughter's name isn't Courtney,

Phil had a perfect excuse to pull out the tools and start a project.

Clare was delighted!!!

We still have plans to add hand prints and other fun colors...

...but this will suffice for now.

This little chair has already provided hours of entertainment...

for both Phil and Clare!  :)

Fall Cleaning

Our sweet Clare Ann gave us a reason to do some fall cleaning.

She knocked over a glass of Coke,

and it splashed all over the shelves.

Little did we think that cleaning all of our games and books would lead to a complete scrub down of the entire house.  Thanks, Clare!

This is our entire living room transported into the dining room.

We tried to corral her, but she was not a fan!

This was Plan B. 

Clare sat in the middle of the room and watched the action.

Doesn't Phil look good with a mop? 

Nice work, hubby!!!  :)

Michigan Apples

Fall, in Florida, is missing several things:

cool weather, falling leaves, and changing colors.

The #1 thing that we miss in Florida is apple season!

Phil and I LOVE Honeycrisp apples, but at $3.99 a pound we would need to take out a second mortgage in order to afford them.  When my mom surprised us and sent a huge box of these treasures, we were in apple heaven.  I think we averaged about four apples a day, and our supply didn't last long.

Clare quickly caught on to all the hype and joined right in the feast.

YUM!

Need I say more?

Marathon #20

My dad finished his 20th marathon this morning!

My dad inspired us to start running several years ago.

Even though we never actually ran "with" him (he's MUCH faster), my sister and I finished five marathons with my dad.

It's hard to believe that these pictures are from five years ago. 

Unfortunately, my running days are a distant memory, but I was still VERY EXCITED as I listened to my mom (over the phone) as she cheered for my dad during the race this morning. 

Way to go, Dad!

You are an inspiration to me, and I'm proud of your accomplishment!

The Red Balloon

Clare received this red balloon from our waiter
at Cody's Roadhouse on Saturday evening.

Little did we know that it would provide hours of entertainment.

Phil tied it to an old remote control,

and that made the new treasure even more appealing.

We could have gone out on a nice date,
and she would have never even noticed our absence.

For all of you Grandmas, namely Grandma Durham, out there, we made sure that she didn't pop it in her face or choke on the broken pieces.  I figured that I might as well just come out and make that clear rather than respond to the comments that were sure to address such imminent dangers.

Accessory to the White Onesie!

Clare has style.

My sister, Ann, is always teasing us about the multitude of pictures with Clare in a white onesie.  What can I say?!  It's nearly 100 degrees every day; they are cheap and easy to clean.  Clare, on the other hand, wanted to spice up her classic outfit with some accessories.  :)

99 Degrees and Snowing!

We love living in Florida, but we're ready for it to start cooling down.

Today, October 7th at 2:17 PM, it was 99 degrees!

We decided to create a snow storm for our Southern Belle.

She loved it, and it was a whole lot easier than bundling her up in all of the winter gear that we don't even own.

Wishing all of you northerners a happy winter...

for the next six months.

Hershey Kiss

Our Little Hershey Kiss

UH OH!

Glass and tile aren't compatible!

Phil and I don't drink, but we have (or should I say, "had") this one bottle of wine that we use ("used") for making a terrific sauce for some beef recipes. Our sweet Clare Ann managed to sneak in that cupboard, in the 20 seconds that I had it open, and pull out the one thing that would create the biggest mess all over the floor. She did quite well, wouldn't you say?


As soon as I looked at her, she said, "Uh Oh!" Even though I had a few other things running through my mind, I just smiled back and said, "Uh Oh!"

Our Orchard

This is our orchard!

The 1st tree is a Brown Turkey Fig, the 2nd is a Tangelo, the 3rd is a Mango, and the 4th (after the box of 8 pineapple plants) is a Key Lime Tree.

Clare enjoys touching the leaves of the the trees that will one day bear great fruit.

Just a few more pictures in the cute, red overalls.