She Sells Sea Shells by the Sea Shore

The Stone House

On a beautiful weekend in February, my girl scout troop had a "Mom and Me" weekend at the Stone House (a rustic yet comfortable and cozy lodge owned by the CT Girl Scouts). It was a wonderful time full of food, fun, and friendship.

Two of the best days chucked full of board games, badge earning, warm ovens, snowball fights, letterboxing, laughter and crackling wood fires.

Over the past six months, Megan and I have spoken of our time there repeatedly...it was everything we'd always thought Girl Scouts should be.

Sea World

Why most people know better than to go anywhere near Orlando during Christmas!

This was an absolutely wonderful show and they make it look so easy and

not at all dangerous, which we all now know is not the case.

Magical Memories!

Jacksonville Zoo

On Christmas day, after the presents had all been opened and the omlets had been made, we kissed Grammy and Grampy goodbye and embarked on a very long journey. We packed the car from floor to roof with every electronic entertainment device known to man and drove straight through to Florida. (Dan and I are VERY thankful for good audio books!)

We arrived at Grammie and Papa's house a mere 19.5 hours later, bone tired and sore, but surprised at how easy most of the trip was. Blessing us with a dip in the hot tub and a good cup of coffee, we actually went back to feeling human amazingly quick!

One of the first items on the girl's wish list was a visit to the Jacksonville Zoo...

Thankful

2009 was year of job loss and major pay cuts in our home. It was a humble year of savings depletion and cutting corners. It was stressful and worrisome. It was and still is scary.

Thankfully we weren't alone. Our parents were there with a helping hand, just when we really needed them. Again and again. Their love and support for our family is a lifesaver and is something we can only hope we'll be able to do for our children when they're on their own.

The magic and wonder of Christmas as seen from a child's eyes!

In the end, we only bought presents for the girls and frugally collected and added the gifts mailed to us from out of area family. On Christmas Eve, Grammy and Grampy added their presents and it was perfect!