We have been insanely busy for the last few weeks so we haven't been posting much! All of these pictures were taken by Dad during their visit. I haven't even taken the card out of my camera yet!
Ethan had a performance on the night of Grandma and Pop-Pop's arrival. The venue was Canal Street!
The 4th graders performing.
After their performance half of the 4th grade, including us, headed to El Palenque for dinner. The kids had a blast sitting at their own tables.
The next night, Will and Noah had a 2nd grade performance. Will had some "parts" in the performance that turned out to be pretty funny with some antlers falling off, a microphone or two getting knocked down, etc! After the performance I rushed off to the Toy Party and the rest of the crew came home and played Push.
The next morning we headed over to the parade. We were all excited to see Elise on her float!
After the parade, the crew headed over to Flip Flops for lunch and I ran some last minute errands for the boys' birthday party. After everyone settled in from lunch, we headed over to the park to set up for the party.
Needless to say, Star Wars was the theme!
The park the boys had their party at is one of my favorites. There are always dolphins, pelicans, and manatees. There were no manatees there on the party day, but the pelicans and dolphins were as entertaining as usual.
The kids enjoyed some volleyball fun.
The birthday present opening event. There were lots and lots of kids at the party. I never figured out how many, but definitely enough!
Ethan with his buds Anthony and Spencer.
Sunday morning we woke up and headed to St. Augustine. Here we walk down St. George Street.
Here we take a short break in front of Castillo de San Marcos before going in. The boys were very excited to see them fire the cannon. At some point, I would really like to spend a long weekend in St. Augustine. There is plenty to see and certainly plenty of shopping. The boys get bored quickly and won't let me explore as much as I would like!
We all had a great visit while Mom and Dad were here. It was so filled with activities that it went by way too fast!
The last week of school whizzed by. Between evening parties and events it was over before we knew it. This weekend was also filled with holiday events. I FINALLY got to go to Pamela's dance recital. She did an awesome job! On Sunday I went to see Blind Side. It was really good! Last night was GNO at Flip Flops and tonight is "Christmas" dinner with the Eagney's before we head north to my parents'.
Paige and Emma prepare to blow out their candles in the party room.
Will using Abby as a desk!
Manatees warming up!
This long weekend has been nice! The weather has warmed up enough to make it enjoyable to be outside for playing and bike rides. Last night we took the kids to an abandoned house on Riverside Drive in the dark. They have been begging to go "investigate" the house so we took them. They all got scared and refused to even step in the grass when we got there. It was fairly amusing. We spent the morning at the beach. The boys then settled in for a nap since they have exceeded their bedtime two nights in a row and it was certainly showing! 
The 4th graders performing.
After their performance half of the 4th grade, including us, headed to El Palenque for dinner. The kids had a blast sitting at their own tables.
The next night, Will and Noah had a 2nd grade performance. Will had some "parts" in the performance that turned out to be pretty funny with some antlers falling off, a microphone or two getting knocked down, etc! After the performance I rushed off to the Toy Party and the rest of the crew came home and played Push.
The next morning we headed over to the parade. We were all excited to see Elise on her float!
After the parade, the crew headed over to Flip Flops for lunch and I ran some last minute errands for the boys' birthday party. After everyone settled in from lunch, we headed over to the park to set up for the party.
The park the boys had their party at is one of my favorites. There are always dolphins, pelicans, and manatees. There were no manatees there on the party day, but the pelicans and dolphins were as entertaining as usual.
The kids enjoyed some volleyball fun.
The birthday present opening event. There were lots and lots of kids at the party. I never figured out how many, but definitely enough!
Ethan with his buds Anthony and Spencer.
Sunday morning we woke up and headed to St. Augustine. Here we walk down St. George Street.
Here we take a short break in front of Castillo de San Marcos before going in. The boys were very excited to see them fire the cannon. At some point, I would really like to spend a long weekend in St. Augustine. There is plenty to see and certainly plenty of shopping. The boys get bored quickly and won't let me explore as much as I would like!
We all had a great visit while Mom and Dad were here. It was so filled with activities that it went by way too fast!
We went to the movies at 1:00 to see Old Dogs. We all thought it was really funny. Mike, Melissa, Paige, and Pamela all joined us. We are also excited to see the sequel of Alvin and the Chipmunks this Christmas!
After Toys R' Us, we went to the breakfast buffet at a local restaurant on the river. The food was not impressive, but the outside set up was cute.
The restaurant's name is "Dolphin View" but it should have been "Pelican View."
On Saturday, Ethan had SGA duties. There was a little holiday kick off festival on Canal Street. The SGA kids had a secret Santa shop. Ethan worked the craft table and helped all the little kids make their crafts.
Here they are decorating the bags to package up the gifts purchased at their shop. It quickly got warm. We started in jackets and scarves and were down to t-shirts in no time!
On Friday we spent some time at the beach. I had stayed up far too late at the midnight Toys R' Us sale, so I was able to sit and veg out while they played!
Off to eat some birthday cupcakes! I can't believe it is bedtime already and our vacation is over. Only 3 weeks until our 2 week Christmas vacation. Woohoo!
After breakfast it was a walk along the river with the dogs. It is a bit too far of a trek for Hanzie so he stayed home. We walked up to the "sand park" and met the kids there. The dogs enjoyed the walk. It was still cloudy and humid early this morning.
Noah taking a break from skipping shells.
Will refusing to take a break.
After the walk and park time, it was directly home for coffee and the parade!
Noah took over 100 pictures of the parade on TV. I'm not exaggerating! Here Will and I are trying to watch the parade despite Noah constantly standing in front of the television!
We turned the oven on and then headed to the beach for a walk. By late morning, the sun was shining, the temps were in the low-70's, and the humidity was gone. It was an absolutely gorgeous day!
Will collecting shells.
Leano Beano
It is hard to believe that the boys will be as tall as me soon. Ethan's foot is already bigger than mine! Crazy. Noah took my glasses!
The boys walking.
Thankfully, they didn't have to make any rescues!
Ethan was an awesome helper today. He peeled all of the potatoes and helped every step of the way with making dinner.
The table the boys made.
After dinner it was time for another walk and park time. This time I brought Hanzie. Chris and the boys drove up and I met up with them again. Hanzie did catch a ride home.
