Poe Springs - Sunday in my City

On Friday, we went to Poe Springs.

We are so blessed to live near many beautiful natural springs.

The temperature of the water is 72 degrees year round.  It's COLD.  When it's overcast, I can't swim, because I can't warm up in the sun and I am miserable.

It's been overcast a lot this summer, but fortunately we got some sunny time on Friday and I was able to swim.  Also, Elayna and I swam down to the river, which feels like a warm bath.  The temperature difference is amazing; as soon as you reach the river the water is drastically warmer than the springs.

This was taken from a floating dock on the river.
The river is very brown due to an abundance of cypress trees.

Elayna said I take a picture of this hollowed tree
every time we go.  She's probably right. 

It's a long walk to the springs from the parking area,
which is a deterrent for some people.
Which is great for me.  I don't mind the walk,
it's worth it, and that's less of a crowd at the springs.
Win/win!

Cypress trees and cypress knees.

More boardwalk.  Pretty.

Marshy area on the walk to the springs.

Visit Unknown Mami for more Sundays in my City posts!

Frag Slacker

I have been a Fragment Slacker!  But it's a good thing; we've been busy doing fun things on the past few Fridays.  Today we are leaving in about an hour to go to the Springs, so I am sitting down for a few minutes to Frag!

My youngest daughter and my Mother-in-Law are peas in a pod.  Mary Ellen is a teacher, Elayna wants to be a teacher when she grows up.  They love learning and they're both smart.  They're also both musical; Elayna plays the flute in her middle school band.  Mary Ellen has played piano for many years.  She plays for her church.  She also sings.  She is now giving Elayna piano lessons.

So this week, from Monday evening till Thursday morning, while I worked, Elayna hung out with her "Nana".  They shopped, swam, ate, went to the movies, and went to Wild Waters with friends on Wednesday.  Nana's dog ate Elayna's flip flop; Nana took her shopping and bought her two pair of flip flops and a dress.  (I threatened to start feeding my shoes to the dog!)  Mary Ellen has never had granddaughters, and she absolutely loves my girls!

We all went to Chili's for lunch yesterday and
shared a brownie sundae.
YUM!

Shelbie has been on a Church mission trip in Savannah, Georgia this week.  I've been getting email and text updates.  She will be back this evening, and I can't wait to hear all about it.


Tomorrow we'll be going to my niece's "Baby Sprinkle", a small shower since it's her second girl.  Heather has boatloads of girl stuff but the two girls are 'seasonal opposites'; Hayleigh was born in February and this little girl is due in August.  So we're just having a small sprinkle.  It will be FUN!

Hope y'all had a great weekend and have a wonderful weekend! 

Visit Friday Fragments over at Unknown Mami's place this summer.  

Family, Friends and Frags

~ I worked a weird schedule this week.  A co-worker asked me to switch a day with her.  She is the same one who switched with me in March, enabling me and Byron to run off and get married last-minute, so I was happy to help her out.  I worked Monday and Tuesday, was off Wednesday and Thursday, and I work Friday night, then I'm off Saturday and Sunday.  It's like having two weekends in one week.  Kinda cool!

~ Dusty is Shelbie's boyfriend.  He has cancer.  His mom is Heather, my friend from high school.  I LOVE her.  She also drives me crazy.  BUT...when she calls and asks me if I can do her a favor and take Dusty to his chemo appointment?  I can't say no to that.
It is so surreal to hear her explaining that the length of the appointment depends on his blood counts and whether or not he needs a transfusion....sigh.
He's strong. He can fight this.  That's what I keep telling myself.

~ Tonight (Thursday night) we went to my parents' house for dinner.  Hayleigh was there and OMG.  She is at my FAVORITE AGE (between one and two).  She is SO funny, cute, adorable, etc......I just wanna freeze her!  She sings, dances, talks, plays,  And my kids adore her.

~ This weekend we're going to the Springs to celebrate a friend's birthday and Memorial Day.
I can't wait!  I love this time of year.


~ More and more every day, I realize that my husband is the perfect man FOR ME.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!! 

Weekend Wrap Up

I already told y'all about the first part of our weekend here and here.

On Saturday night, I worked, and when I got home Sunday morning we went off in search of some fun in the sun. The teenagers didn't want to come along, so it was just me, John, and Elayna.

Florida State Parks were having a free admission day, so first we went to O'Leno State Park, but their swimming area was closed due to low water levels, and they also were not renting canoes. So we walked around there first, took some pictures, and then left to find a spot to swim.

O'Leno State Park

the suspension bridge was a leeeetle scary!

mushrooms growing inside of the tree

We ended up at Poe Springs park, which is not a state park but a very nice springs.

Poe Springs Park

Elayna

Me & John

me & Layna up a tree!

the water is so clear and beautiful. and COLD!!

I love weekends like this.

It was simple but fun,

and I know the kids made some good, lasting memories.

That's what it's all about!

FYI for Florida residents/visitors: there are two more "no-fee" days at Florida State Parks this year, check it out at FloridaStateParks.org!

Sunday in Rum Island

This is where we spent our day.

If you click on this to see it larger,

you will notice me reflected in one lens,

and Elayna reflected in the other! =)

**It was a lovely & relaxing day!**

Visit Unknown Mami for more SIMC posts.

&

Ni Hao Yall for more Sunday Snapshots!

Alligators: Watch Out for those Humans!

We had a pretty awesome weekend. It goes without saying that it went by way too fast, but still, it was great. I was off on Sunday night, which was even better!

On Friday night, I took my girls out to dinner. We had a blast! Shelbie was being all emo because she was originally planning to go to a movie with friends, but then the friends weren't able to go. But Elayna & I got her out of her bad mood and had her cracking up! It was fun....I'm not sure we're welcome back at Olive Garden though...... ;o)

On Saturday, the girls went to the Gator game. They had a great time. After we picked them up, we went to the mall. Elayna got a new Build-A-Bear, and Shelbie got clothes for one of hers (yes, she's a teenager, and the clothes were a soccer uniform. Coincidentally, her boyfriend is a soccer player. Heh.) Shelbie had a friend spend the night Saturday night.


On Sunday, we took the girls to lunch and ran some errands. Shelbie spent the night with her friend Sunday night, and we let Elayna choose the restaurant for dinner (can you tell I did not cook at ALL this weekend? It was a nice break!) She chose a Mexican place and it was yummy. Tim was at work, so it was just me, John, and Elayna.

Since Tim was off on Monday, I wanted to take the kids somewhere fun. Shelbie stayed with her friend, and Andrew was with his grandma all weekend, but Tim and his girlfriend came with us, and Elayna brought her friend Emma along. We went to Manatee Springs.



At Manatee Springs, they want the alligators to swim with caution! The rest of us can apparently throw caution to the wind and swim with reckless abandon.

It was a beautiful day, and not nearly as crowded as we expected.

We went for a hike in the woods.

We grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, and cheetos.
Don't ask.

Elayna said grilled cheetos are yummy!

I somehow managed to not take any pics of Tim & Jess, but I found a few on my camera anyway. Sneaky teens.


I also got my new freezer ordered on Monday and it will be delivered on Wednesday. It's a small chest freezer, and I absolutely am SO excited to get it! Yes, I'm serious. What can I say? It's the little things!

I hope y'all had a great & long weekend!

Reminder: Tomorrow is the Snail Mail Project post link up!

Go Gators! But not to the springs....I prefer they stay reptile-free.

I started reading blogs tonight and saw a Friday Fragments post. "Huh?" I thought. "It's not Friday yet!" And then I checked the computer and realized...um, yep. Sure is. Duh! That's what kind of week it's been 'round here!

TGIFragging Time!

My goal for this long Labor Day weekend is to spend some quality, one-on-one time with each of my kids. I'll let you know how successful I am on this endeavor.



I found out from Brainella the Librarian that the time has come! Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes are here! Oh happy day!


Gator football starts this weekend. This means 99.9% of my conversations with John will be about Gator football. He eats, sleeps, and breathes Gator football. I love it; he is obsessed.
My daughters are going to this game with my niece and her fiance. They're going to have a great time!



Natalie loved my post from yesterday, I Want - I Need - I Love, and suggested I turn it into a weekly meme. Would anyone else be interested in that? I did have fun with it! And yes, my friends, if I ever do find that money tree, I will definitely share!



Anyone have awesomely fun Labor Day plans? We're planning to go to the Springs on Monday, and maybe grilling out while we're there.

Hope you all have a great one!

Friday = Fragments, Freewrite, Family, Free, Fun, Friends...and maybe some other "F" Words!

It's that time of week again, the time in which we dump our brains! My poor brain is small and gets full quickly. I need to dump it often. So I love Friday Fragments & Friday's Freewrite!

* So, there is this awesome blog called Boob Emancipation. Which may or may not feature pictures of ta-tas. Some of whose may or may not be mine. I'm just saying.
And I may or may not have a girl-crush on Why Mom Drinks Rum, too. She's the beautifulness.

* My friend just told me that she and some friends were eating pizza together. Friend 1 says, "Ow, I bit myself!" Friend 2 says, "Where?"
Dum dum dum!

* Tonight's Free Friday Concert is the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock Tribute. I'm thinking it's going to be verrrry interesting! Contact high, anyone?

* And then, it's camping for the weekend at the Springs. One last weekend of fun before school starts on Monday!

* My oldest child, Tim, will officially be a Junior in High School on Monday. How did that happen? Shelbie will be in the 8th grade (her last year of middle school!), and Elayna & Andrew will both enter the 3rd grade. (Andrew should be going into the 4th grade, but was held back a year when he was living with his bio-"mother". Don't even get me started on that whole story. Grr!) It's kinda cool to have 2 kids in the same grade. But Senior Year is going to kick our asses!

* Today marks 2 weeks of vegetarianism for me!

There. My brain is officially dumped. Now I'm off to read blogs so that I can refill it!

Have a great weekend!

Be sure and enter the Piggy Paints Giveaway!

Wordless Wednesday - Peace