Fun with Reed and Cass

Alas, the whole of October passed without a picture or a word posted to the blog. So, I feel compelled to prove that we have actually been enjoying all that Florida has to offer. Take, for example, this lovely first photo from Oscar Scherer State Park.

Yes, we went swimming.

Hot (a very key word) on the trail of the elusive Florida Scrub Jay.

We did, in fact, get a great look at one. Very pretty bird.

Camping a Fort Desoto. Very fun.

Fishing with Pa David. They are holding a bonnethead shark.

My little flower and her Star Wars crazed brother dressed as Boba Fett.

What, you don't know who Boba Fett is...well, just ask Reed. But be ready for a

LONG conversation - Star Wars is his life.

There you have it, folks. Five pictures to sum up about 8 weeks of our lives! And to think, I am frequently accused of being too wordy!

Party Girl!

Cassidy has successfully celebrated the Big #6! She enjoyed her family party on her "real" birthday and her big party last Saturday. She picked a butterfly theme this year and we had a good time getting everything ready.

Cassidy and her Mommy-made butterfly cake.
Blowing out her candles.

Opening presents with her friends.

Popsicles in the pool.

The poor, smiling butterfly pinata is about to meet a bitter end.

Family presents!

More family presents.

We do love our little Cass and we are SO glad God gave her to us!

The Agony and the Ecstasy

"Who is agonizing over school?", you ask. One word - Reed. But he has enough wisdom in his 8 years to know that you still have to smile for the first day of school picture!

And the ecstatic...why Miss Cassidy! She has been counting down the days until kindergarten started. I am praying that her expectations are going to be met!

Ready to face the rainy drive to school on the first day of school.
Even though we can't wear pink clothes to school, we have managed
to accessorize with her favorite color! There are no rules against pink
headbands, shoes or backpacks!


Cutie Cass with her teachers. Notice how they are smiling...maybe
I should take a picture at 2:55PM today!



My beautiful kindergartner! I am so proud of her!

Happy Birthday Reed!

Reed turns the BIG 8 years old today! What a great kid! Of course, I am a totally biased source! Here are some photos of Reed from the past few months for your viewing pleasure!

Playing ball (March)
His South Texas Trout (April)
In the bluebonnets (March)

Off Egmont Key (May)

Yum!

I grew bell peppers and jalapenos in my earthbox this spring for

just such a day as this! I'm making jalapeno jelly!

The fruits of my "labor!"
I actually had to pick the bell peppers last week and we've been eating them.
There were 15 bell peppers and are more still growing.


Ready! Set! Puree!

Double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble!

Bring on the ham!

Our sweet Cass!

Here are few pictures from the last few weeks of sweetie Cassidy. May is proving to be VERY busy, but fun. Cassidy enjoys soccer and we enjoy cheering for her. See her cutie smile? In her soccer gear.

We went out with Paul, Lori and Andrew on Paul's new boat. And what a boat it is! Of course, everyone with iron stomachs enjoyed it much more than I. But Paul was nice enough to drop me off on the island and my life was MUCH better.

What beautiful sand and water...oh, and a beautiful little girl!

See her cutie smile?


SEE HER CUTIE SMILE?!?

Cassidy lost her 3rd tooth last night! And this one was a doozy! I am still getting used to her new smile! I'm calling her my gappy girl! What a cutie!

The view from our kitchen table

The American Alligator - not so rare or endangered in Florida!

The picture isn't very good (You can click on it to enlarge it some). There ARE, though, some good reasons for that:

1. We don't have a camera with any kind of zoom. (I think this may instantly label us as "bad" parents because I've noticed that all the "good" parents have really fabulous cameras and editing software. I'm guessing Reed and Cass will survive.)

2. I refuse to creep any closer or go to the other side of the pond...It is an alligator after all.

I do, though, enjoy seeing him each morning as he suns himself (It could be a female...I'm using the universal him.) and then he spends the rest of the day in the water at the edge of the pond.

No, the kids don't play in the backyard much - mostly because there is NO shade back there so they prefer the front yard.

He really isn't very big in terms of an alligator - maybe 5 feet. That never really makes my mom feel any better.

Spring Break - Harlingen

After we spent a great weekend in San Antonio, we headed south to my parent's house in Harlingen. We were celebrating my Dad's retirement and ending the week with Easter. Needless-to-say, we had a wonderful visit!!!

The happiest kid in the world.
The happiest kid in the world and his very happy Dad!

Laura, Cassidy and Vivian on the pipe.

(My siblings, friends and I spent MANY happy hours playing on this very

pipe!)

Reed and Colten in the pipe, Hallie and Vivian on the pipe and Cass
observing the pipe.

Dad's Retirement Brunch in Mom's backyard gardens.

The ceremonial "cutting of the tie" to symbolize the end of Dad's

supervisor years.

Dad

Ready to hunt eggs.

Please note that we slowed down the 3 oldest kids by giving them little tiny baskets they had to fill, run back, dump into their big baskets and then run back for more eggs.

Happy kids in their jammies

Happy kids all ready for church!

Spring Break - San Antonio

We had quite a whirlwind Spring Break and we LOVED every minute of it! We had a great time visiting with our WHOLE family over the week and a half we were in Texas. The hardest part was getting home and jumping immediately back into "real" life!

Aunt Becky with the kids on the grounds of the Alamo.

In case you can't tell, Reed is brandishing a knife...surprising, I know!

The beautiful Texas bluebonnets!

Cassidy and Uncle Mark at Casa Rio on the Riverwalk.

Oh yes, we did! Team Blankinship taking a family

picture in front of the Alamo.

A nice,but windy, Blankinship family picture.

As you can see, the newest Blankinship had not quite made her appearance yet.

She waited until Aunt Arwen returned to Florida. We are

already counting the months until we can see little Marin face to face!

Our next stop...aka - the next post - Harlingen!

I've got a bone to pick...

...with the Gu*ness Book of W*orld Rec*rds. Why, you ask? Well, let me relate a conversation Reed and I had a few days ago.

The Scene: Reed just arrived home from school and is rapidly shedding all accouterments of civilized life (shoes, socks, shirt, etc...).

Reed: Mom, how can a man have a baby in his stomach?

Me: He can't Reed. Only women can have babies.

Reed: Uh-uh Mom, I saw a picture today in the GBofWR and it was a man and he was pregnant!

Me: (in my head) Well, great.
(Out loud): Well Reed, that wasn't really a man. On the inside it was still a woman or she
couldn't have a baby in there.

Reed: Why only women?

Me: Because only women have a special part inside called a uterus and that is where the baby
grows. (in my head) Please let this be enough.

Reed: But Mom, he looked like a man with a beard and all. How could a woman look like a man?

Me: Well, she wanted to look like a man so she had special shots and stuff to help her grow hair.

Reed: What kind of shots?

Me: (in my head) For goodness sakes...can't we just let this go?
(Out loud) It is called testosterone and it can make hair grow and muscles get bigger.

Reed: Mom,...

Me: (interrupting)Reed, let's just move on. What did you eat for lunch today at school?

So, there you have it. Some things don't need to be world records!

And here are some completely unrelated photos from the last couple of weeks:

Astronaut Cassidy at her school's Space Day
At the ball field

Coach Randy and Reed.

I'm #1!

As Reed and I were sitting at the table doing his homework this afternoon, I was joking around with him about how much I love him....a little, as a friend, not at all, etc...

I always end this exchange with telling him that, "of all the little boys in the world, you are my favorite and I love you the most because God gave you to me!"

So we keep working, and after a few minutes he says, "Mom, of all the girls in the world, you are my #1 favorite. And my #2 is....(are you ready for this)...

...Harriet Tubman!

I laughed and laughed, but hey, I am keeping GREAT company!

And yes, February is Black History Month.

Thawed!

Team Blankinship was very happy to spend a nice day outdoors yesterday after the last few weeks of freezing weather! We explored Alafia River State Park about 45 minutes from our house. We hiked a few miles and the kids kept the whining to minimum. Well, at least they quit arguing about who was the "leader" when I finally woke up and started timing their turns with my watch. The kids shimmied up the hill and then slid down on their bums. Yes, their Dad agreed to the plan. No, he doesn't do the laundry.

I love to see all the palm trees and old growth forest. Oh...and I love to see these two cuties in the forest, too.

Cassidy took our picture. She did a good job. She really enjoys taking pictures and does a surprisingly good job with centering and all.

Can you believe this?!? Same song...second verse. Reed's other front tooth came out last night! He has quite a HUGE gap in his smile. The tooth fairy is going broke. Yes, Reed is wearing the same jammies as last week...the pictures look practically identical. Well, with the exception of teeth. And yes, I washed those jammies during the week.