Downpour!

 

I usually walk to pick up the kids from school but when it was time to leave it was raining a little bit so I decided to drive. It's a good thing I did. Just as the kids came out of school it started pouring really hard with huge raindrops.

It was kind of fun running to the car. Austin was crying, Kaylee was worried "Where is the car mom?! Where?!!" And Brooke and I were laughing. By the time we got in the car I felt like I had just got out of the shower! Brooke took a picture of Kaylee and I.

We are still in a drought here so I am always so happy when it rains!

Yum

 

 

Emma has been so interested in food lately. We all went out for ice cream Saturday for a treat before school started and Emma would not relax until she got her taste. She got so excited any time the ice cream got near her- feet kicking, hands grabbing.

 

 

 

Yesterday I gave Emma "real" food for the first time. She had oatmeal and she loved it! I couldn't get it to her fast enough!

First Day of School

School started on Monday. Kaylee is in 2nd grade. Her Teacher is Ms. Austin.

 

Brooke started kindergarten! Her teacher is Ms. Dominy.

They picked matching outfits the first day.

It was Jake's first day of fall semester so I made him be in a picture too.

Brooke was excited but did want to hold my hand walking to her class.

Kaylee knows several kids in her class from last year so she is happy about that.

 

I was a little sad leaving them. I just worried if they would have friends to play with at recess. I should have worried about them. They love school. It's been nice getting errands done with just 2 kids and it will ne nice to have a little more time to focus on Austin.

Before Vacation

These are a few pictures from before we went on vacation and I didn't have time to post.

Kaylee learning to ride a bike... she needs more practice.

Emma 5 months old! She rolls all over, tries to sit up and is a pretty happy baby most of the time!

Florida Vacation

Last week we went to Florida for the annual Williams Family Vacation. (This is the view from our hotel room balcony.)

We flew to Fort Lauderdale and the kids did awesome on the flight! I was worried about getting there with 4 kids, 4 car seats, luggage and I worried about Emma on the plane. I shouldn't have worried! Emma slept most of the flights (we had layovers) and only cried a little.

 

We got there on Saturday night in time to go to bed. Sunday we went to church and then took family pictures on the beach. (They are at the bottom of the post.) The kids played in the sand after pictures and got all messy.

Monday we went on an airboat ride through the Everglades. The kids really enjoyed it. I would have to had I not been wrestling Emma the whole time. She screamed for a while and finally fell asleep...until the boat stopped and the driver yelled and whistled for the alligators to come and I had to fight her all over again. It was cool to see the gators but it was REALLY HOT!! We were all dripping with sweat.

 

 

 

We also had a 60 birthday party for Jake's parents that night complete with the traditional family favorite spumoni cake.

Tuesday we headed to Key Largo and Coral Reef State park where we snorkeled, paddle boarded, and enjoyed the beach. 

I tried snorkeling for the first time there. It was fun but also a little uncomfortable breathing through a tube. Jake's mom had the right idea....

 

Emma and Austin were exhausted...

After the beach we were into Key Largo to get some Key Lime pie! It was delicious! We also tried some fried gator and truffle fries.

Yum! Tastes like chicken.

After dinner we went back to the beach by our hotel to play some more.

Wednesday we went... to the beach again! My mother-in-law stayed at the hotel with Emma and Austin while they napped so I got to go play with just Kaylee and Brooke! It was so fun!! The girls have a blast with their cousins and I was able to chat with my sister-in-law April. We played for 3 1/2 hours!

 

While we were enjoying the beach the guy all went deep sea fishing. Jake has always wanted to do that and I think they all had a great time catching barracudas, bonito, and king mackerel. The captain of the boat wanted to know why they didn't bring any beer with them so they explained. He spent the a while looking up info about Mormons while the guys fished. 

 

After dinner that night we went to the temple. It was beautiful!

The next morning we went to the beach with just our little family. It wasn't quite as much fun without cousins. Our little beach baby had another nap before she played.

After the beach we went to a nature center to check out some wildlife. We saw a ton of spiders and crabs. We didn't see much else because a huge thunderstorm came along and we had to head back to the hotel.

Friday morning we packed up and headed to the airport. I again was worried about my kids since they were all so tired and we had 3 stops on the way home but once again they did great! Despite a delayed flight and a lost car seat (they found it the next day and gave us a $50 voucher) we had a good day.

 

We had a blast! It's never fun to come back home and unpack but it was nice to be home and get more sleep. We were staying up until after midnight and then the kids were up early.

Here are the family pictures.....