Mykonos

I just finished downloading pictures from our trip, and I thought I'd start with just a few from our favorite island, Mykonos.

All packed and ready to go!

It's been awhile since we've last blogged - end of the year and packing have kept us quite busy. On Tuesday, we leave for our month-long European trip. This time, we're going to try to keep in touch with Everlater. Here is a link for it:

http://www.everlater.com/karenweinrich/from-rome-to-athens

Chris is also going to have his own everlater account. It is:

http://www.everlater.com/christopherweinrich/from-rome-to-athens-plus-some-family-time

Check these everlater websites throughout our trip. We'll be updating whenever we get free wi-fi. And then when we return, there will be a ton of pictures!!!! See you in a month!

Benjamin's spring musical

Last weekend, Silver Sands put on their spring musical. It was written by the 7th and 8th grade musical theater students. We were so impressed - they used Broadway tunes but wrote all the dialogue and wove them together into a story. The students did everything, from stage manager to costumes to crew. The two teachers were there as support, but the students ran everything!!

Benjamin was the only 6th grader in it. Every day at lunch, he goes to the drama class. They needed more boys, and he needed a place to fit in - what a perfect match. This first video was the opening. He's the boy in the middle. Partway through, music starts to play (one of the dangers of middleschoolers running the whole production) but they got through it very well!

This video is the last number they did. It starts with the cast on stage, trying to do a grand finale, but they have no money for it. Benjamin comes in, with a lottery ticket, and solves the problem!

Mother's Day Fun

We decided to go to Ponce Inlet after church for a picnic lunch and some beach time. It was a perfect day. Sunny skies and highs in the low 80's. A bit windy, but beautiful.
We parked by the lighthouse and found an empty picnic table for our lunch. We had subs from Subway, plus fruit, chips, and Alexander's freshly baked cookies.

Conveniently, there's a playground right by the picnic area.

We walked about half a mile to the jetty. On the nature walk, we saw this gopher tortoise hole. No sign of the tortoise, but definitely his home.

The waves were strong at the end of the jetty. Here the boys are waiting for some to splash them.

The whole family

We were walking back to the beach, when we noticed a teenager pretty far out with his boogie board. He was getting pulled not only further out, but also closer to the rocks. A lifeguard came running out and swam to him. It was not an easy swim, to say the least. The waves were stong and fast. I was so impressed with how quickly the lifeguard got to his victim.

The lifeguard made it out there and handed his buoy to the kid. The rip currents were to strong to bring him back to shore, so he kept swimming parallel to the beach, keeping them out of danger from the rocks.

We saw him motion to the lifeguards on shore to bring the jet ski. It was amazing to watch him get it into position without hitting either of the people. The boy climbed on the back of it, while the lifeguard held on and was towed in on the water.

Now the second lifeguard is pulling the first lifeguard and the victim back to safety. Everyone watching breathed a big sigh of relief.

While watching this drama on the north side, we looked to the south and were amazed to see a manatee so close to the ocean. It was eating the algae off of the rocks. We all "oohed" and "ahhed" when the nose surfaced.

We let the boys play for awhile, but they had to stay only knee-deep. Benjamin and Alexander spent some time in the water...

...while Jonathan played trucks in the sand.
They built a castle that stood for about 10 minutes until the tide started to come in.

All in all, a great Mother's Day! When we came home, the two big boys made us pancakes and sausage for dinner.

Goodbye, braces!

Look who got his braces off!!!! He looks good, even with bed-head.

Happy 7th birthday, Jonathan!!

Well, the much-anticipated day was finally here. The night before, Jonathan informed us that we could leave the presents waiting for him on the dining room table. He woke up bright and early, with crazy hair, ready to celebrate his 7th birthday.
He has been complaining that his bunk bed is uncomfortable, so we got him a mattress topper, plus one of "They Might Be Giants'" kid CD's. We've heard it non-stop ever since.

One of his favorite presents is this lego. It can be made into 3 different vehicles. So far, he has made it, taken it apart, and remade it at least 6 times!

Here's his birthday cake - right up his alley with a vehicle and roads.

We had a nice party for him on Sunday. Friends and neighbors stopped by to celebrate.

Benjamin's modern and tap

Here is Benjamin's modern dance. It's a huge class, but look for the one boy.

Here is Benjamin's tap. He's in the back just about the whole time, wearing a black shirt. Really cute song and choreography.