Happy New Year!

Wow, it is 24 days into the new year and I am finally downloading pictures and updating the blog.  Sam's approaching birthday made me realize how behind I am.  Cannot believe she is less than a week from 6 years old!

The day after Nick's parents left, we went on a beach trip with our good friends the Woods.  I went to High School with Sally and college with Scott.  Scott and I are responsible for introducing each other to our spouses.  So when they come to FL, we jump at the chance to see them.  It was a wonderful trip and the kids played really well, especially Samantha and Isabelle.  The food was fabulous too!  A big thank you to them and Sally's parents for hosting us.

We were one of a select few people who got to spend New Years Eve on a beach.  Lucky us!  The water was a tad cold for me, but the kids had fun.

Sam the mermaid.

There was also a heated pool.

The hot tub was more my temperature.

And had the bonus of a rainbow view!

We ended our trip with a visit to the turtle center.

Not sure what Sam's deal was, but no smile from her :)

Sam also went to another skating party.  There have also been lots of playdates, including oens that introduced her to German and Russian.  We have a diverse mom's club.  We also did a charity drive and event with Kidpack, which provides food for kids to take on the weekends if they depend on school lunches and would have to do without.  It was a great experience other than Zoey getting bumped and falling on the hard floor.

And we squeezed in a trip to legoland.  Zoey was tall enough for the small rides.  Sam was mad she had to sit alone.

They let Sam drive the big kid cars since she was so close to 6.

And Zoey was close enough to 3 that they let her drive the little cars, but she did a horrible job, running into the curb all the time.  Even though she can drive our gator.

She finally got better on straight.  But thank goodness the worker was really patient.  :)

I talked Sam into beetle bounce.  They looked freaked out, but they asked to ride it a second time and swore they had fun.

The line for the big kid cars was too long, so she got one more little kid ride in.  They cut you off if you are 6.

And Zoey got to drive the boat again.

We plan to hit 2 more special events and then decide to renew or not.

So now on to the final details for Sam's party and birthday.  And then to plan Zoey's.  Yikes, holiday/birthday season is crazy.

Happy 2014!