Build A Bear Jonas Brothers Event...

Yesterday, Bruce, Evan, Isabella and I spent the day together while Jonah went to Busch Gardens with his best friend, Ben. We went to see the movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs! It was different from the book, which has been a favorite in our family for years, but they did a great job of building upon the original story.
Afterwards, Isabella and I went to a VIP event at Build A Bear to launch the new, special edition Jonas Brothers dog. They had lots of fun stuff going on as Isabella built her dog...it was really fun!

Cooper's New Trick...

Goodbye Old Friend...

Today we said goodbye to a faithful and loyal friend...our beloved dog, Harley. Everyone who ever met Harley said what a great dog he was and he will be missed. He shed like crazy, but because he was so amazing, we all put up with it! Harley loved to run in the snow when we lived in MD and lay on the warm grass once we moved to Florida...and even took a swim in the possible home to alligators (the lake behind our house) on the very first day in our new house! He liked to lay on his belly with his front paws crossed and knew how to shake. One of his favorite activities in his younger days was wrestling with Bruce and he often tried, unsuccessfully, to join in the "reindeer games" with Cooper and Gracie when they wrestled with Bruce.
We love you Harley and know that you're chasing rabbits in heaven! Thank you for many years of love and devotion....

When Will They Just MOVE Here??

The day before we left for Captiva, we got together with our good friends, the Butehorns, who were visiting our area of Florida again! This time, they vacationed on Longboat Key so we got to spend the day with them at The Colony. The kids had a ball playing football in the pool, since the Gulf was really rough because of a hurricane that was heading toward the panhandle. Afterward, we all went to Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant for dinner...yummy!

Dog Tricks...

Evan is really good at teaching the dogs tricks! Here are just a few!

This is Gracie doing...Play Dead!

This is Cooper doing...Shake! The shaking back leg is not part of the trick LOL

Meet Mooch!

On Saturday, Bruce and the boys took the boat out of Venice for the day. As usual, they had a great time and this day was no exception! This dolphin followed along side of the boat for quite a while and even let them feed him! How amazing is that??

Back to School...

Jonah headed back to middle school in the 7th grade...a year I so wish that all of my children could completely SKIP!
It's hardest for me to believe that Evan is in the 5th grade! How did that happen? He was sooo excited to have lots of his friends transferred into a new group with him (since at his school, they have the same teachers for three years). And in case you were wondering? He most certainly did get a back to school haircut just last week!
And finally, Isabella went into 2nd grade at a brand new school this year...fortunately Evan already goes to that school too! She was excited to see a few friends from her old elementary school had transferred there as well! It was a tough day for both of us since she hasn't been in school since March, before her spinal tumor surgery, but we both did just fine!
After the kids got to school, Bruce and I packed up the dogs and spent the day on the boat...ALONE! It wa a perfect day on the bay, just cruising around looking for dolphins and stopping for lunch in Gulfport. The dogs seem to really love the boat except for when it's choppy (they jump into Bruce's lap) or if Gracie gets splashed by the spray and she runs to the back of the boat! We've decided that we'll do this again at least once a month!