Lots to Update!

Here is the quick rundown of what we've been up to the last month! I am going to go from most current and work my way back because of most exciting news Joey had his Preschool Graduation this past Wednesday! I can't believe it! As usual there were teary eyes in saying goodbye and moving on. The classes did a great program of songs and poems. Joey wasn't feeling great that day but he managed to make it through the program with a smile! He will be moving to Evergreen next year, but Jillian will still be at this wonderful preschool! The week before graduation we took an early summer vacation! We went down to Nonna and Grandpa's condo for a fun week. First was the plane ride: The next morning after waking up and looking at the birds and fish we headed out to Sarasota Jungle Gardens for a fun day with Florida's finest. After cooling off in the pool in the evening it was off to Daddy's favorite restaurant- Phillipe Creek: The next day was a beach day! We needed this so that we could be ready for our surprise day. We kept telling the kids that we were going to have a big surprise for them on Wednesday. They were good and went to bed when we told them too and woke up without a problem (Jill had a case of croup so this was a big accomplishment!) and were awake and patiently waiting to find out their surprise. The surprise was not Rainforest Cafe as Joey initially thought. We had them look out the front windows and they saw the sign with Mickey and Minnie on it which meant one thing...Disney World! We got there very early- 3 row 4th parking spot, thank you! We took the ferry over and saw the opening of the park and stayed all the way until the very end. No naps, no complaints (again even though Jill was just getting over a bout of croup), they were awesome and lasted the entire day until the ferry ride back for Joey and the last few fireworks for Jill when they hit the wall and were out til the next morning. It was truly a fun and magical day, seeing princesses, riding lots of rides, shopping, and enjoying all the wonder the Magic Kingdom has to offer! The next day was a bit more relaxing again. We went to the Sarasota Car Museum where we saw some very impressive cars including John Lennon's and Katharine Hepburn's cars. We finished the night at Sharky's on the Pier for dinner and walking by the beach. (I was proud of Jill when she showed me her princesses were doing planks and then got down and did one herself!) Our last full day was spent relaxing, going back to the pool that the kids loved, walking around Venice, Siesta Key (which we also did back on Tuesday as well), and then stopping at Historic Spanish Point for a historic hike and then some ice cream! The next day it was flying back home again... In other news on the homefront: We have been redoing our bathroom, and while we don't have a finished product to show yet, here is a glimpse of how it is all going... Some random things we've been doing the past month: riding bikes, visiting the Arboretum while Jill was at Enrichment and going on a tram tour, reading some cool books that had some neat activities to do, lots of misc. things! Wow! That was a lot, I know I need to get better at keeping up with this. It was a busy month for sure and I don't think we are going to slow down anytime soon. I just finished signing the kids up for summer activities! Joey will continue hockey, Jill will continue dance, and they are both doing swim lessons, nature camp, vacation bible school, Joey is going to try karate, and Jill is going to try soccer. Phew--its going to be a full summer, but I feel like now is the time to figure out what they really like to do and then skim back later when we know where their interests are. I know some of you are saying it will never scale back, but its wishful thinking!