Hutchinson Island

Tuesday Aubrey & I drove up to Stuart to have breakfast with Doranda and her two girls, Rylee and Gracyn. Then we carpooled over to the Hutchinson Island Oceanographic Center. It's a small Martin County "park". We fed the stingrays, experienced the touch tank, walked the nature trail until the mosquitos got to be too much and took a stroll on the boardwalk to look at the lagoon. It was miserably hot and humid, so we cut the outdoor fun short and headed inside. They have aquariums inside set up with different kinds of fishlife. They also have an indoor touch tank and a little gift shop. The girls talked us into buying them books. Hey, at least it wasn't a request for stuffed animals or candy, lol.

We went to eat lunch at the yummy Big Apple Pizza. They have the BEST Italian Wedding Soup and House Dressing. We had antipasto salad with the dressing, roasted red pepper pizza and the soup. It was delish. The girls did so well: 4, 2 and 1, but had experienced enough, so we headed back to Doranda's. The girls played for a bit longer and Doranda and I got to chat. We explored our business partnership a little more with our craft endeavor and decided we COULD do it living in separate states and want to look into it further. It's a secret, but once we have our ducks in a row, we'll make a grand announcement :) Wednesday and Thursday will be spent cleaning house and organizing/packing. I'd like to finally get all the homeschool stuff separated by subject and boxed up and into the garage.

Fun-filled Weekend with Daddy

I have to say a great big THANK YOU to my mom and dad for using some of their airline miles to get Mike down here for a long weekend to be with us. We didn't tell Aubrey that Mike was coming. In fact, I told Aubrey we were picking up a friend of ours from the airport, so the entire time she was looking for Kerry. :) Once she saw Mike, she was actually in shock, I think. She turned around and looked at me, shrugged her shoulders and said "huh, there's my daddy". We got her good. We didn't get home and get into bed until after midnight, closer to one actually. Mike, who on a work day is up at 4:30 AM and who NEVER sleeps past 7 on the weekends, slept until 8:30, YAY! He got some much needed and deserved rest. The grass was out of control from all the rain we have been getting and he spent what we thought would be the morning doing the yard work....until the riding mower died. We have a backup mower, but it doesn't have as wide of a cutting base and is slower, so the yard actually took most of the day. Then we moved the patio furniture and power washed the patio. I scrubbed down all the back windows and french doors. We got done just in time for the afternoon severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings, lol. We stayed home and I grilled tuna. We played games with Aubrey and hung out watching some TV together.

On Saturday, we went down to Cityplace and watched Kung Fu Panda. It was cute in some places, but slow the first hour. It had a good point...if you believe in yourself you can be anything, but to truly enjoy it, I think you would have to be a fan of actual kung fu movies. We stopped and got Mike's haircut and then came home to get ready to grill out with the family. Zack and his girlfriend Macy along with Mike's mom came down for the evening. We had Porterhouse steaks, new potatoes with a chive butter sauce, honey bourbon carrots, bread sticks with fresh roasted garlic, deviled eggs and spice cake for dessert. We watched Aubrey with her antics for a while and took some family pictures. Mike also got to go out during a tornado warning and get gas for our grill...wouldn't you know that it ran out before I even got the grill heated up. :)

Sunday was an extremely LAZY day. We did not get up until after 7, and we napped (several times), played games with Aubrey, snacked and watched the Nascar Race. I made pan seared salmon with a citrus, ginger marinade that was delish with fresh garlic roasted mashed potatoes, tossed salad and biscuits. Did I mention it was a lazy day? We were in bed and asleep by 9:30, lol.

Monday, Mike had to go back to TN. We went to take Aubrey for her dental cleaning, ran a few errands and then spent an hour or so at the South Florida Science Museum. We left from there and went to eat lunch at one of Mike's more favorite spots "The Gun Club Cafe". We had a few hours before he had to be at the airport, so we went back to the house for a bit. After completely breaking down at the airport (both Aubrey & I), Aubrey and I went to run a few errands. I treated her to a little ring pop (her request to help her take her mind off daddy leaving). Mike called to let us know that not only was his flight from West Palm to Tampa delayed, but his flight from Tampa to Nashville was also delayed. Instead of getting home at 9:30 PM from Nashville, Mike got home at 3:45 AM. When I spoke to him earlier, he was exhausted and was heading to bed early.

Not a very sucessful blogger, lol

I am trying, I really am. I have not posted since January. 5 months have gone by. Let's see...my Gramma Wolske moved permanently to heaven on January 23rd and Aubrey & I drove to TN to pick up Mike and then we headed over to Indiana for a few days. Thanks to Gramma Irene that Aubrey & I were able to see Mike. :) We spent a week in TN with Mike and I have to say it was a little chilly, lol.

Aubrey enjoyed her year at The Children's Academy with Ms. Sylvia and Ms. Stephanie. They did tons of fun stuff. Aubrey enjoyed herself and made lots of little friends, but mommy is enjoying NOT driving 25 miles each day to take and pick up Aubrey. :) We carpooled with Mitchell Grenier two days a week and that helped me tremendously with Mike being gone.

Mike has been gone for 5 months and this has been harder than I ever expected. I have been reminded that he IS my best friend, my provider and my protector. Aubrey misses her daddy tremendously and I pray every day that our home sells quickly. Mike has moved his office from Sevierville to Knoxville, which will be closer to the area that we like and want to move to. Hopefully, he will only be a 15-20 minute ride to and from work, woo hoo! And he said he might be able to work some from home which means we might actually get to eat breakfast together :D We have found a home that we like, but aren't sure it is "the one". We are also looking into trying to get some land, so that we can have a mini-farm. Mike would like to have some animals: Cows, goats, pigs, chickens and I would like to have: Horses, chickens and a garden. With the cost of food and wanting to eat healthy, a mini-farm would work well for us, I think.

I am excited about homeschooling Aubrey in the fall. I have almost everything picked out, I just need to sit down and put all my ideas into lesson plans. Aubrey is excited too and we plan on getting Mike in on the action as well, lol. Aubrey has begun doing a little homeschooling now, but mainly just worksheet type stuff and reading. I want to get her in the habit of reading daily. I used to and have gotten out of the habit. I am going to continue to work with some of the clients I have in Florida with Faythe and will also work on IRS/Tax projects as needed. I plan on getting my scrapbooking stuff organized and getting started with card making, scrapbooking and sewing once we get settled, once again which I pray is SOOOOOOONNNNNNNN! LOL

I have adjusted to the idea of moving and living in a totally different home, city and state. I have to say with some sadness that I will definately miss South Florida. Everytime I go into town, I see someone I know at Target, at the intersection sitting at a light, at the bank....it's that familiarity I will miss. I lived here for more than 10 years before I began "running" into people, lol. I am also going to miss Publix, lol. They just announced that they are buying several South Florida Albertson's....wish they would buy some Food Lion's in the Knoxville area. I have yet to find another grocery that is clean and has as good of customer service at Publix. I am looking forward to good BBQ and have found several good places up there, but still none that hold a candle to Park Avenue. I can't wait to have a Sonic close, lol We are getting one here, and it opens on Monday....woo hoo!!!! Wonder if I can be the first customer, j/k :D I would like to have a home that allows us plenty of room, but I know that God will provide what we "need." I have mixed feelings about finding and joining a new church. As you all know, we LOVE our church! We love the people, we love the opportunities in growth they offer. I know God has a plan for us, and I know he will reveal it in due time.

I celebrated my 34th birthday this April in TN with Mike & Aubrey. We had a great day. Breakfast out at Cracker Barrell, just me and Aub. Off to the salon to get pedicures, lunch with Mike & Aub at Bennett's and then dinner at The Park Grille in Gatlinburg for a delicious steak! It was a teriffic day. Mike and Aubrey each got cards for me and Mike picked up a cake....that was Aubrey's favorite. I got a new digital camera that I love for my birthday. It is fantastic. It is the Panasonic Lumix and I highly recommend it. Now, I need to add digital video camera to my list of wants, lol.

Aubrey is growing so tall and is so smart. I don't say that because she is my baby, but because she truly is. I am amazed every day at her sayings and comments. Her latest thing when something exciting happens is "geez o pete" lol. I thought "where on earth did she get that from?" Then I heard myself when I looked out the window and saw the ferocious lightning this afternoon *snort* She is such a sponge and has a servant's heart. She loves to watch the cooking shows on Food Network and always asks if she can help me in the kitchen. I hope that sticks, lol.

I am getting tired and have a super full day tomorrow, so I will sign off for tonight.