This weekend we drove to Gainesville for Jay's commencement ceremony (left at 5:30am Thursday and drove all the way, ~11 hours, then drove back Saturday night/Sunday morning to split the car time a bit for the kids, and ourselves...) and were busy with celebrating his 36th birthday, attending the reception hosted by his graduate advisors, visiting the Butterfly Rainforest, going to see The Hobbit, eating out a lot, and spending some quality time with Gramma. We sure had fun, but we're definitely tired now! I'm just going to throw all the photos into one post with captions to document the trip (with graduation photos in their own special post).
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| We started the weekend off right with pizza from Leonardo's. And yes, the kids were already in their jammies and we took them out like that. Don't you sometimes miss the freedoms of childhood? |
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| Drawing letters in the sand outside the hotel |
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| James made a "J" and told us "James is for J" (it cracks us up that he does that, always, instead of saying "J is for James") |
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| Making sand castles near the little lake beside the hotel |
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| "Walking" on campus, headed to daddy's degree reception |
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| Playing around while trying to find the reception location... |
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| Soil and Water Science degree reception |
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| Where's James?... |
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| Dancing with daddy under the blue trees |
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| Family photo near the bookstore (where we picked up Jay's cap and gown, as well as some fancy new Gator Gear for us all) |
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| The only naps James took on this trip were in the car, and usually from 4-5pm when he just couldn't last any longer |
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| Daddy picked a Hibachi Grill for his birthday dinner. The kids liked most of the show (except the big fire), but what they REALLY loved was feeding the Koi out front. |
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| Learning to use chopsticks. First time at a Hibachi Grill! |
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| Not impressed with "Mr. Yummy's" big fire... |
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| The scene we came back to after a late night showing of The Hobbit |
We LOVE that our boy is so gentle with animals, no matter the shape or size. The rules were that you couldn't pick up the butterflies, so James knelt down of his own accord and held his hand out, waiting for one to climb on. When it worked he was pretty darn proud of himself, and held very still until it flew away. Cora, on the other hand, screamed in terror anytime a butterfly flew past her or she had to side-step around one on the ground. Seriously. The butterflies scared her...
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| This little guy was one of many itty-bitty ground birds inside the butterfly house. They were super cute calling to each other all over the place, and they cracked me up when they hit ledges as they walked around - they looked like cliff divers jumping/falling down into the bushes below! |
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| Only in Florida do the water tables have airboats and alligators... |
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