La Chua Trail

We went to the La Chua trail again with our new friends the Luff's. It was a fun morning. Here are a few pictures from our adventure.


This tunnel has some mock tribal drawings on the inside of it. We went pretty early in the morning so the light was just beautiful.


It was HOT! We were all sweating and chugging our water half a mile into the walk.


The boardwalk borders the Alachua Sink and then heads out to the lake where all of the alligators like to hang out.


It's butterfly migration season again in Florida. One of my favorite times of year! Jane wanted to hold this butterfly so badly but she wasn't patient enough to let the butterfly walk onto her hand. Every time the butterfly would start moving in Jane's direction she would grab at the poor thing and scare it away.


We all got really hot about half a mile away from the tower that lets you get a panoramic view of Payne's Prairie. Jane was so sad when we decided to turn around!

Summer Time = Pool Time

It is summer time in Florida and, man, it is HOT this year. I think the last two weeks have had temperatures of 95 or higher. And that is not including the heat index. I'm hoping and wishing for some hurricanes or tropical storms to cool the place off! In the mean time, we spend nearly every afternoon at the pool.



Sawyer is a lover. He gives his Mom good kisses to show his appreciation and I love every second of it.


I love this girl so much! Can you tell?


The best job I've ever had.


Sawyer's cute swimsuit with an inner tube inside of it. I love this thing. He is completely independent in the pool. He can get in and out all by himself and swim safely any where he wants. It is the best. And it makes life a lot easier when I am trying to watch two kids at the pool by myself.


Jane loves the water. She is getting better every day at jumping in without holding my hands. She is also trying to get her head to go under the water these days. It is a huge improvement over last years fear of getting her face wet. Every time we go to the pool we spend the last twenty minutes or so letting her swim back and forth between me and the stairs. She loves it and is so proud of herself but she still could use some swim lessons to teach her how to keep her booty up so she can do more than just tread water.

Jane is one happy girl!

Our Sweet Baby Jane is one happy girl. Can you tell why?




She got her ears pierced!


Jake and I took her one week ago tomorrow and I must say that I was so proud of her! She didn't cry when they pierced her ear! She just said "OW" really loudly.

She hasn't LOVED Having her earlobes cleaned and prodded three times a day since the piercing but that only lasts for five more weeks so she can handle it.

Next time you see Jane give her a high five for being such a big girl! If you don't see me around, it's probably because I'm crying in my room about how fast my sweet little girl is growing up.

I don't want to forget!

Jane has been saying some crazy lady things lately and I just don't want to forget them:

1. (at snack time Jane says) "Mom, can I have a bag of meat?"

2. (at bedtime Jane says) "Mom, will you do me a really big favor? Will you clean the front of the house?"

That girl is so smart to know that it's a big deal to spend my free time cleaning!

3. (changing her undies after a close call Jane says) "Mom, you put your hands on your pee-pee and ruuuuuuun to the bathroom when you have to go potty"

Oh, really Jane? Bahahahahahahahahaha! I love that girl

Sawyer Smith has been doing some pretty grown up things lately.

1. He likes to walk around the house while doing the splits half-way. I'm getting a picture of this because it is so cute.

2. He has been copying my and Jake's hard core P90x moves by doing "Downward Dog" all over the house

I don't know what it is with my kids and downward dog. Jane was obsessed with this when she was Sawyer's age also.

3. When Sawyer sees a friend that he likes he walks up to said friend and belly bumps him! I'm not sure where he learned this at all but he did it to his friend when the little boy came over a week or so ago and then I've noticed that he and Jane do it to one another all the time!

My kids are wierd... and totally wonderful!

4. He got a bike and he loves to scoot around on it. In fact, if we put it outside of the front door he'll run out the front door and start riding, straight for the stairs! Good thing Jake and I are fast. SCARY!

Alright, I've got a lot of pictures to post in the next few days. Keep your eyes peeled!