Fall in Florida....

On November 1st we decided to go to the beach playground to celebrate our friend Vivi's birthday.

Here's the beautiful 4 year old birthday girl!

I dressed the kids in pants and even brought jackets thinking that it might be windy.

                                  

But before long the kids were begging to take their shirts off to play in the water.

Surprisingly the water was still very warm.

You can't see the boys very well in this picture, but I love that it captures the sun and the pier.

Sam and I...

Another beautiful day at the beach...

(and possibly the last swim of the season.)

Back to School...

The kids went back to school in August and I'm finally getting around to blogging it....

Here's Gavin getting on the bus heading off to First Grade. 

Zachary and Gabby conveniently go to the same preschool just a mile and half from our house.

This is Gabby's first preschool experience and she's loving it!

Mended Little Hearts Back to School Picnic

When Gabby was born it was somewhat overwhelming to discover that she had a heart defect.  Now she's almost two and at times I forget.  It's fairly easy to forget because she leads a normal life without physical limitations.  Fortunately we've been that blessed.

There are many children with heart defects that have physical restrictions.  Many of them continue to undergo surgeries and heart catheterizations.  Since Gabby is so healthy and being a nurse has given me a better understanding of her condition, I once discounted the idea of being involved with a local heart group.  However, over time my outlook has become very different.

It's great to see what our heart group and others are doing for their heart families.  Events like these are just one example.  At the Mended Little Hearts Picnic all "Heartkids" and their siblings were given backpacks, lunch boxes, school supplies and gift cards to help kick off the new school year.

The kids were running around doing scheduled activities.  Meanwhile a pregnant mom expecting a baby with a heart defect stood watching.  I can't even imagine how much hope this brought her.

The coordinators did an incredible job planning this event! 

Here's a picture of Gabby in front of the backbacks

Gabby was able to meet Stan, one of the inspirational speakers.

He also has Tetralogy of Fallot and was repaired by cardiac surgeons Dr. Debakey and Dr. Cooley.

If you had asked me about Debakey and Cooley in 1997 when I was a new surgery nurse, I would have told you that they were surgical instruments.  Now I understand that it was their pioneering efforts in cardiac surgery that led to many vascular instruments being named after them.

Gabby also enjoyed playing on the playground....

chatting with other "Heartkids".....

But she was most excited about getting one of the bookbags.

and there was one just her size :)

                                                  

Here are some of the "Heartkids" in our area.

Most of them are leading normal, healthy lives!

Trip to Jax

In late July we made an unscheduled trip to Jacksonville.

My mom's health has been declining over the last several years, but a acute situation warranted immediate concern and the doctors recommended that all the family come see her.

Fortunately my mom is a fighter and although she's still very ill she has made somewhat of a recovery.

Despite the fact that the visit was very stressful in many ways, it was nice spending time with family. We spent time with Aunts and Uncles from Texas and Indiana and it was especially nice to have all five of us kids together for the first time in many years.

Here's a picture of Gavin's reaction to seeing his cousin Justin after several months.

As you can tell, he was very excited.

My little sister, Kelli with my three kids.

My Aunt Candy

Uncle Bill and Aunt Candy

My mom's siblings, Judy and Bill.

Her other sister passed away earlier this year :(

Uncle Bill and Gabby

At the hospital before bombarding mom's room.

We were a lively crowd.

I'm sure my kids had a lot to do with that :)

My siblings Kelli and Jason with Gabby

Jen, Kelli, Kristen, Jason, with babies Tillie and Gabby

(Kim was the only one missing... I guess I'll have to Photoshop her in here)

On one of our last days, we made a trip to the Jax Zoo with Maggie and the cousins.

Here's my adventurous boys checking out the map.

Simona and Gabby

Sophia, Justin and Gavin

My nephew, Justin was an incredible help at the zoo.
I don't know how I would have managed all three without him.

Maggie with the little ones...

Sophia and Gabby

What a sweet girl to share her Gummy Bears with Gabby

Simona and that precious little face...

The Girls

Finally, a picture of Gavin imitating the Gorilla!

After somewhat of a gloomy post, I thought it was only appropriate to end with a little humor :)

July pictures....

Overall, it's been a great summer, but as evidenced by the picture below, there's been a time or two when bribes were necessary to manage all three of them.

After talking with friends, I have this feeling that the preschool parking lot is going to look like the mall parking lot on Black Friday.

I can just envision us all standing in lines outside the classrooms ready to knock the doors down to drop off our kids.

Don't get me wrong, I totally love my kids, but at some point this mommy needs a break :)

I know it's currently August, but in blog-world it's July for me.

In other words, I'm very behind, but here's my attempt to catch up...

Gabby had a second set of ear tubes placed in early July.
The ones placed last year had fallen out and she was getting ear infections every few months.
Fortunately she's been well ever since.
This is the last "Binky" picture you'll see of her since she doesn't use it anymore.
She still loves her "blankies" though.


She'll be starting preschool three mornings a week.
I can actually go grocery shopping without kids :)


There have been plenty of relaxing days around the house this summer.
Tons of dress up, Playmobil, and even a few pajama days.


This picture of Zach below was actually taken by Gavin.

I've been teaching him how to use my camera and he's doing very well.

Here's a few pictures of the boys after a trip to the library.
It's still a bit stressful for me to attempt this.
My kids are just VERY loud.



Gabby has been enjoying occasional rides on the back of my bike.

As you can tell, she loves it!





The kids at one of our favorite parks.








July also included several trips to the beach.
We generally like to go in the late afternoon and stay until sunset.


I saw enough of these photos on Facebook this summer that I tried to recreate it.
I don't know if it sends the same message when your whole family is playing in the background, but I thought it was fun.

We bought Gabby a new, more compact stroller and while I generally don't plug things in my blog, I must say that I love this stroller and have been so pleased with Mia Moda's customer service. So if you're looking for a compact stroller, I'd highly recommend it. It comes in this cute little travel bag and fits in an airplane overhead compartment.

Gabby loves it too!