Hello Everyone,

If you look at our website you will know we have been busy in the last few weeks. We took a vacation to Florida with the Furlongs and then went to Indiana to see family. We have been all over the country, so that explains why this is late.

Before our trip we were busy too. Jeremiah and I were taking advantage of the warm weather. We went to the Wild Animal Park 2 weeks in a row. The first week was just for an hour, before we met Sharon, Isaac and Reece at the park. Jeremiah now knows we are about to see the animals when he sees the waterfall at the entrance to the park. He LOVES the elephants and monkeys. The first week we were there it was not very busy, so we got to see one of the baby lions up close – just a piece of thick glass between us. The baby was taking a nap. Jeremiah thought it was really neat and didn’t want to go when other people came to look at the lions. I really wish I had my camera. We also played with Sarah and the kids she is a nanny for. The kids really missed each other while we were gone.

New Venture (the school I worked at) had it’s annual Fun Run. So Jeremiah and I went to cheer on the kids. He walked about 3/4 of the way around the big loop they were running. I was really surprised he walked that far. He thought it was funny when the kids splashed water on themselves. Miss Margaret gave us a kitty-cat that meows while we were there. Jeremiah loves that cat!!

Jeremiah’s other big activity is watering the garden. He would do it 3-4 times a day if we let him. I learned the hard way that we need to water the garden in our diaper only. I fill up the bucket and he dunks the duck watering can in it and then sprinkles the garden (and the weeds and pavers and his legs and ants – you get the picture). He does a pretty good job though!

We started our trip by driving to Phoenix and saw my dad’s aunt and cousins. We left the next day and saw my Aunt Peg and her family in Florida before we headed to Marco Island. Jeremiah did a good job traveling, but was ready to be out of a carseat! We spent Saturday evening to Friday morning relaxing and having fun with the Furlongs. The house they we stayed in was huge!!! It had a pool and hot tub. The Gulf of Mexico was pretty close. We walked there one day and had to wade across a lagoon like thing to get to the Gulf. It was quite the experience.

Jeremiah loved playing with Emma (almost 3) and Baby Jacob (almost 2 months). Emma and Jeremiah chased each other all around. They like to shovel sand together and swim. He liked to tickle Baby Jacob’s toes. Jeremiah decided it was fun to walk off the ledge in the pool and go under. We were not as thrilled as he was. Andy kept having to put him back up on the ledge. Even the few times he came up coughing didn’t stop him from doing it. I really wish this kid had a little fear!!

On Friday we went to Bubba Gumps Shrimp Company in Fort Lauderdale, so we saw the Gulf and the Atlantic the same day! That was the highlight of the day until we saw Mam-ma and Bap-ba at 10:45 that evening after a 4 1/2 hour delay in the airport. Jeremiah was a good boy through the whole thing.

Saturday we saw the other Mam-ma and Bap-ba in Muncie. Jeremiah was a little confused which grandparents we were talking about but he loved visiting with both. Grandma Merrill had Blue Moon Ice Cream for us and a cake for me. But more importantly she had CATS!!! The mama and 5 kittens were around. Jeremiah kept going back and forth between them meowing the whole time. We had to visit the cats twice and we wanted to at least 4 more times. Grandpa Merrill had an old digital camera that kept Jeremiah’s mind off the cats for a little while. We had a great time there!

We saw my parents and grandmas for the next several days. Nich and Julie came up to see us on my birthday. We went mushroom hunting. Jeremiah took a nap and Andy stayed with him, but when he woke up I asked if he wanted to go mushroom hunting and he said “Mhmm”. That is his yes. So we went again on the four wheeler. I think Jeremiah liked riding the four wheeler with Grandpa more than looking for mushrooms. Jeremiah had fun exploring Mom and Dad’s house and outside. He almost walked off the sidewalk where the pool used to be. He loved being outside, “smelling” the flowers and “riding” his tractor. Murphy and him were even in the same room together and were fine. He did pet Murphy a few times, but only on his terms. We had a good trip. The way back was long but we made it home the same day we flew into Phoenix.

We are still adjusting to time change. Jeremiah woke up at 4:45 the first morning back, but we are doing better now.

I know this was really long, but there was a lot going on in April! Hope all is well with you guys! The attached picture is Jeremiah’s 17 month picture. He went and got the ball himself and sat and smiled while I took pictures. There was no fighting at all! He is getting to be such a big boy!!

🙂
Nichole