"La La Land" - by Brandon

As I was working on the computer, I heard the melodious sounds of Brandon singing from the bathroom. He doesn't often compose and perform, so this was a chance for some rare eavesdropping comedy. I started scribbling notes so I could remember some of his phrases. You have to imagine the melody - there was a nice steady beat and a rap-like quality on occasion. Also, a lot of the phrases were drawn out dramatically and several were repeated more times than I wrote them.

" I live in la la land, la la land, la la land. It's a nice place to live. It has lots of food in the stores and toys in the houses. It's a fun place, a fun place, a fun place to be. It's fun to live with little kids and play with toys. It's a great day, a great day. It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, all day or night, how many toys you get. The store doesn't matter how many pieces of candy or toys you get. And that's the end, the end, the end."

I wasn't sure if he was aware that anyone could hear him, but a few minutes later I heard, "Mom, was that good singing? 'Cause I was trying to keep up with the words and that was a long song. I'm gonna try to remember it and when someone asks me to sing a song, I'm gonna sing that song - without even any song paper! Whew - I have to take a little breath. Actually, I have to take a lot of breath! 'Cause that's a long song!"

I'm thinking la la land isn't such a bad place to be.

Spring Break in Panama City

We spent Spring Break in Panama City visiting Roger and house hunting. We also had the pleasure of spending a good bit of time with our friends the Hawthornes at their parents' condo on the beach. It was wonderful to share the week with friends and much better than spending the whole week in the camper! Unfortunately, we dealt with icky weather, expensive car trouble, and a 24-hour flu bug that hit several of us, but all in all, it was a fun trip and a nice break from the norm.
On the way up, we stopped in Tallahassee for the night and visited with Emily & Dan. The kids were elated when Dan broke out the gamecube. They kept oooh-ing and aaah-ing about how lucky Emily and Dan were to have it.
The kids weren't deterred by the frigid temperatures in the pool. There were plenty of blue lips when they were done, though.Since the weather wasn't conducive to spending all day every day at the beach, we decided to check out the local children's museum one morning.

Can I get one of these for my house?

Brandon on the nature trail at the museum.

That night we splurged and played a little mini-golf.

Here is a rare moment where all the kids were getting along at the condo.

A view of Panama City Beach in the rain. At least we couldn't complain about crowds!
On our last day, the sun decided to show itself again, so we spent some time on the beach. The boys dug a gigantic hole and buried themselves with a friend. We had to help cover them up after they finished their legs. They seemed to learn two things: 1) it isn't as fun as it looks, and 2) it really is quite impossible to get out on your own!

Up a tree

When we first moved into this house, we took one look at the trees on our property and envisioned broken bones. These trees just beg to be climbed in. Fortunately, although the higher branches are great, they are hard to access. A couple of weeks ago, the boys finally got the bright idea to use a step ladder. I found them napping in the tree after their backyard campout. I'm sure they are sad that we will be moving away from the great climbing trees, but I have to admit that I'm a little relieved!

This is called faith in action! I don't think I would trust those ropes!

Kaylee turns 8

Kaylee started out her birthday celebration by inviting her best friend Taylor over for a sleepover on the Friday night before her birthday.
This was Kaylee's mommy-daughter birthday outing. We went to get her pictures taken and then we headed to the mall for her much anticipated gift of having her ears pierced. When we arrived, there was a baby crying her eyes out as her ears were pierced. That was enough to make Kaylee decide that she would wait a while longer. Instead, we headed for Baskin Robbins for her free birthday ice cream. Still all smiles!
When we got home, we had a small birthday party and opened a few gifts.
Kaylee's baptism was on Saturday. She was beautiful, and we are so pleased with her. She is such a blessing to our family.

For Sale

I think everybody probably knows by now, but we are moving to Panama City. Roger started his new job today, and hopefully the house will sell within the next couple of months. The kids and I plan to stay in Lakeland until the end of the school year. It's definitely seeming real (and a little sad) now that the sign is in the yard. We've lived in this house for 6 years (and in Lakeland for 8). It's definitely a whole new adventure for all of us!

The next best thing

A friend gave us this crate back when we had a dog. Now that we no longer have a dog and are vigorously cleaning out the house, we are returning it to her. Consequently, the crate was in the garage waiting to be picked up. I had to laugh when I looked out and saw that the kids were locking each other up and playing "dogs."

Matching cousins

When Emily & Dan came to see us in February, we discovered that Kaylee & Caitlyn had matching pajamas. It was cute!