Happiness is...

I saw this plaque in a catalog the other day...

H aving
A bsolute
P erfect
P leasure
I n
N ormal
E eryday
S imple
S tuff

If my life had a motto, this would be it. I have always cherished those fleeting moments of everyday simple stuff. I've never thought that tons of money or tons of stuff equaled happiness. I believed it was something bigger, but much more simple. Like a husband who makes Sunday breakfast. Like a son who pushes the grocery cart and entertains his little brother. Like the son who helps his sister with her spelling. Like the daughter who gives "just because I love you" hugs. Like the baby who reminds me everyday that he is not  the baby, but still climbs into my bed every night. So simple, so perfectly perfect.

Feeding the goats.

One of the benefits of living in a more rural area is the variety of animals living nearby. Aside from the ducks and deer we see on a daily basis (with the occasional boar sighting) some of our neighbors have their own collection of livestock. We like to load up our buckets with cracked corn and walk down the road to feed the goats. Usually when they see our wagons pull up, they come running because they know we bring food.

Helen likes to feed them by hand and she isn't afraid to reach in and pet them.

Will prefers to just hold the bucket and let them come to him.

Alex and Jimmy (like me) are more content to be spectators. Although this last trip Alex was actually letting the goats eat out of his hand and even pet a few. Here he is doing a Billy Goat Gruff imitation.

Nickelodeon.

A couple of weeks ago we decided to take the kids to the Nickelodeon Suites. Originally, we were heading to Fort Lauderdale for Aunt Juanita's 85th birthday party. Unfortunately, two days before the party she fell and fractured her pelvis. (She's better now. She didn't need surgery, but is still doing rehab.) Mike had always wanted to try the Nick Hotel and we were already packed, so we did it.

The kids couldn't wait to try out the splash park. It was pretty cold out, but that didn't stop them. Helen was the first one to go down the slide, then the boys followed her lead.

The main pool was heated so they would warm up in there and then run across to the park and then jump back in the pool. Will just spent the entire time in the pool. Smart boy.

The room was cute with a separate bedroom for the kids, but they weren't as big as they looked online!

In the morning we went to the Character Breakfast and got to meet Dora and Boots, The Fairly Oddparents and of course, SpongeBob SquarePants.

Jimmy wasn't too impressed with the whole thing. Here he's trying to ignore Dora, but she wouldn't leave him alone. I guess twelve-year-old boys aren't into cartoon characters. 

Before we left we got to meet every one's favorite, SpongeBob. Such a great weekend!

Happy Birthday.

This guy turned 37. 37! Even though today is officially Mike's birthday, we celebrated yesterday. I don't think he wanted to be reminded that he had to work on his birthday. We all pitched in and made breakfast (Mike usually makes it on Sunday). Alex made the eggs, Helen made the orange juice and toast, Jimmy made corn beef hash and I made the rest. After breakfast Mike wanted to open his gifts.

Helen made her own card. I am so proud.

Alex wrote a birthday letter and drew a picture since Mike said "hand-made gifts are the best."

Will helped open presents. Mike got the crab traps he picked out weeks ago. New baking sheets and cutting boards (since we needed them). New socks, aftershave, The Clash of the Titans DVD (the original), Almond Joys and a new lunch container from Planet Box.

We spent the afternoon hanging around the house and then headed out for an early dinner at Cariera's. After a quick shopping trip at Publix we came home for cake and ice-cream.

Helen was so happy she was able to push Mike's face into his cake. (He did the same thing to her on her birthday.) We hope you had a great day and we look forward to the next 37 years.

Thank you.

So much to be thankful for around here. These are the cards I made for those who sent us Christmas gifts. The patterned paper is from Becky Higgins Project Life kit and the stamp is from an old kit by The Scarlet Lime.

So thankful I have this little guy to keep me company all day. (What will I do when he starts school?) He's wearing his favorite Christmas gift...the Backyard Explorer vest. He always asks me to put it on and go outside with him to go "hunting." Anytime, buddy. Anytime.

Ringing in the New Year.

We spent New Year's weekend in Vero with Yiayia and Papouli. Jimmy and Mike put on an awesome fireworks show. They said next time they're definitely getting more!

We also had a fire on the beach. We made hot dogs and s'mores.

On New Year's Day we had breakfast at The Lemon Tree and then walked to the playground.

Uncle Nick came over later that night. He and Will had a great time playing together.

Good-bye Vero. Until we meet again...

Christmas 2010.

We celebrated our first Christmas in our new home. It was just the six of us. Very simple.

The kids woke up early, as usual. They unwrapped their presents in record time. (I was barely able to get a few photos.) I love this one of everyone together.

Jimmy's number one gift was a new BB gun. Now that he has 5 acres to explore he needed more fire power. Yes, that's an old 4J's shirt from when I was younger. I explained to the kids that in my family all of our first names started with the letter "J", so we called ourselves the 4J's. And we had a boat called the 4J's at Sea.

 I guess that's why I came up with our nickname, The Land Six.

Will's number one gift was a Backyard Explorer vest. It has all of these pockets and hooks. It came with tools for digging, a lantern, binoculars and a compass. He wears it all the time and hardly takes it off. A few times he's even fallen asleep wearing it. A true backyard explorer.

Alex's number one (and two) gifts were the Harry Potter LEGO train and the Halo LEGO set. He's still really into building with LEGOs. It's amazing all of the little details they come up with now.

Here's Helen with all of her loot. I think she would have a hard time deciding which was her number one gift. She had a lot of fun playing with her Magic Fabric Studio. You take some fabric stickers, place them on the tray, then put a foam piece on top, cover it with more stickers, put it through the press and then out comes a mini "stuffed" animal. She thought it was the greatest thing that something flat could turn into something 3D. Oh, to be seven again!

Mike spent most of the day cooking. For lunch he made spanikopita, pigs in a blanket, brie wrapped in puff pastry and crab-stuffed shrimp. For dinner he made roast beef, ham, mashed potatoes, roasted potatoes, squash casserole, green beans with prosciutto, sauerkraut and rolls. Needless to say, we had leftovers for the next two days. Now comes the part I hate...taking down the tree and putting away all of the decorations. Can't we just leave everything up for next Christmas? It's only 354 days away.