Sand, Sun, and SMILES!

Here are some shots from our time at the beach. We had tons of fun and made many, many memories! Carter was constantly in or near the water. He had some excellent waves to enjoy. We called him a dolphin because he would watch for them to come in and then dive head first in them! We ended up getting a boogie board and tube to help in our exploration of the waves! How fun.

Pure JOY!

Grandma and Ella made memories while walking on the beach, collecting shells.

The boys and I

Here Grandpa and I are out catching the waves with the kids. The waves were HUGE. We loved every minute of it!

Catching a quick nap on the beach so he could enjoy the nightlife with us.

Ready to go out to dinner and Pier Park

Pier Park was full of entertainment. There were shops, restaurants, and rides!

Little Dude checking out the fountains.

Christian took a ride on the train

Ella and Carter attempted the Bungee trampolines. Carter launched into the air just once and quickly decided his stomach wasn't up for it. {Exit ride immediately}

Ella on the other hand LOVED it. She was flying high above our heads and even doing double backflips in the air.

Carter decided he would ride the Ferris Wheel with Grandma.

Of course, we couldn't miss going to the Fro-Yo make your own shop. Everyone came up with their own creation. It was a great way to end the day.

Florida's Calling Me.....

"Come back here, where your children were entertained, there was no schedule, the tough decisions of the day were pool or beach? Restraunt or delivery? and the children fell asleep once their heads hit the pillow."

ahhhh! Heaven!

Well, we are NOT here. We are back to reality and reality has slapped me in the face. We came home to a flooded basement. Ugh! We had a team of people here ripping up the carpet, putting all our "stuff" in boxes and moving all the furniture and belongings in to the storage room, garage and back deck! Ella and Carter won't be able to be back in their rooms for at least another 5-6 days. Therefore, we have turned our bedroom into a hotel room (while it sounds cozy...it.is.NOT)! A wise woman has told me (many times recently) "This too shall pass!"{Thanks Mom!} For now I will specialize in the "grin and bear it" until we can get back to normal...whatever that means! Just to notch things up Elle and Carter start spring sports this week...baseball, softball, and soccer. We will be living at some field 5-6 days a week. Guess I shouldn't worry about the house being a disaster zone since we won't really be here that much! Happy Sunday Eve!

Gulf World

Our family had fallen in love with the DolphinTale movie prior to coming to Florida, so we knew we couldn't miss the Marine center just down the road from our hotel. We spent the morning there before we headed for home. Gulf World was full of a variety of animals. We got what felt like a "front row" pass to all the exhibits. The lines weren't long at all and we were able to get SO close to everything. The kids loved the Sting Ray Petting area.

We saw sea lions, penguins, alligators, crocodiles......

and TWO dolphin shows. We stood in line to shake fins with the dolphins and it started to rain. The kids were so determined to shake their fins that they didn't mind the rain. Christian was a bit crabby at this point...I was thinking lack of sleep but come to find out, he had an ear infection. (Thanks be to after-hours ENTs and technology to get a Rx called in to a Walgreens in Alabama!) He was feeling better before we got to Nashville.) Anywho- the kids were OVER the MOON to shake fins with the dolphins. Of course, the camera battery died but we paid for the 5x7s of the shot. We happened to be the 2nd last family in line and they let us stay right by the tank and talk to the trainer. She was feeding the dolphins, dolphin "ice cream"= fish flavored ice cubes. The kids were able to ask questions and study the dolphins up SUPER close. The trainer even asked if the kids wanted to get the dolphins to sing??? Of course?!?! So she showed them how to make the hand signal for it and viola! The dolphin serenaded us! WOW! That wouldn't happen at Sea World. :) It was amazing.


The Sea Turtle was very interested in Ella and Carter. They followed each other back and forth. How cool?>?!
We saw some scary snakes, lizards, and creatures along with some pretty amazing tropical birds.
We LOVED Gulf World and would highly recommend it to other families. We hope to go back to visit another year!

Our Boy's are another year older!

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We are in celebration mode here at the Moorlag house! Christian just turned 4 and Carter turned 6 this past week. We sure are loving the great weather and our trip to Florida was a blast (more pictures to come). We are gearing up for a very busy spring with Ella and Carter both playing 2 sports...I should be at either a soccer field or baseball diamond almost everyday of the week! Here are a few pictures of our fun celebrations for the boys. How is is possible our baby is FOUR??!! Carter is looking so BIG to me lately. He is definitely our Water DUDE. We can't keep him dry. He was in his glory celebrating his birthday in the sand and waves of the Gulf of Mexico. The weather was picture perfect. Here are a few shots!

Incredible March

While it has been an extremely busy March, it has been glorious weather-wise! We had to dig out the shorts and t-shirts 2 weeks ago in order to be properly ready for all this sunshine! We won't complain one bit....we were glad to get the flip-flops and shorts out of storage. This last week was exceptionally busy: Scott traveled to Columbus, OH for work while I had conferences. The weather was in the upper 80's for a few days and the kids were loving every single minute of it. We ended the week with Disney on Ice! It sure has been fun...we are a little tired going into the weekend! But we had better rest up because come next week, we are headed to Florida for Spring Break! We are looking forward to meeting up with Grandma and Grandpa Moorlag and The Indy Moorlag's as well! It will be another fun-filled week! OH, and I can't forget we have a couple birthday's to celebrate! How is it possible that my baby is turning the big FOUR???! More pictures to follow!
{We are fortunate to have a rainy Friday so I could get caught up on things here, INSIDE the house! When it is this nice, we don't want to be in at ALL!}

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Carter's Class

I am lucky to be able to work in Carter's classroom every couple weeks. However, I haven't been great about posting the pictures to the blog to show all the fun he is having with his friends and teachers. He LOVES school and his enthusiasm is "off the charts!" We met with his teacher for parent teacher conferences and Carter is doing very well. He is reading on his own {which excites us just about as much as it does him!} He is really getting ready for first grade...where did the time go? He does need a few reminders with his impulsiveness and "fun-doings with the other boys in class". But for the most part we couldn't be happier! Here are a few pictures of the fun...Valentine's Day Party {just a little late}.
Ice cream sundaes!

Brothers working together to decorate cookies!

GOod buddies Brooke and Camden

One happy 3 year old who ALSO got a sundae!

Painting ceramic hearts!

A tricky party game...of course Christian had to get in on the fun!

Hallway art projects...from my last couple visits

50's Day- We celebrate the 100th day of school but since they go on alternate days they celebrated the 5oth day! They had to dress up like the 50s Era! I wish I could have gotten a picture of Carter with his teacher...she was in full garb!
They went into the cafeteria for Twisting to the Oldies and to try out Hula Hooping! I was in charge of the Hula Hoop station so I missed the other stations.