Out With The Old, In With The New

2 Years, 15 Weeks.


Aging sucks.

Yeah, I said it.

Now, don't get that confused with being old.  Nothing wrong with that.  It's just the process of getting there that stinks.

I'm talking about your body breaking down and feeling it.  The aches, the soreness, the stiffness.  The weight gain.  The grey hairs.  Oh, and I almost forgot.  The memory loss.

This week we have been awed by the amazing performances of the athletes in the London Olympics.  And what's more impressive is that most of these olympians are mere teenagers, at the peak of their professions.  Look at swimmer Missy Franklin, for example.  She's a gold medal winner and only 17.  I remember just trying to muster enough courage to ask a girl out to the Jr/Sr Banquet when I was her age.

I remember growing up when I couldn't wait to become older.  It couldn't come fast enough; the waiting seemed to drag on forever and ever.   And now it's the exact opposite:  Weeks, months, and now years are flying by.  Time is fleeting ~ way too quickly.  Which makes TIME the most valuable thing we have:  With our family.  With our children.  With each other.

I guess the reason I'm dwelling on this topic is because of a couple of events that happened to us over the past week.  I'll start from the beginning.

Trying out brother's new tool set.

Dinner at the Mahavir's, Braelyn does a make-over with the girls.

Kohl was the only boy there, so what could you expect?

We headed down to Avon Park to spend the weekend with my parents, and to celebrate the birthday of my grandmother and cousin.  We arrived around mid-afternoon; we had taken our time in the morning and had made a quick stop to Loch Haven Park to attend Target's family festival, something we have attended ever since Braelyn was two.

Doing crafts with Mommy.

Maddy trying out the violin.   She quite enjoyed it actually.

Touching the goat at the petting area.

Petting the bunnies.

Working on their painting techniques.

The twins enjoyed banging the drums.

We had the entire family and some close friends come over to celebrate Grandma Fernandez's 84th and Arien's 13th birthdays, with lots of fellowship and food, I stuffed myself silly with good old fashioned comfort food.

Hanging out with the older cousins.

Mommy and the birthday girl!

Busy kitchen means lots of yummy food!

See what I mean?

Kohl taking a picture with Lyka and Patrick.

Then touches the ceiling with the help of Uncle Tito!

Braelyn wanted to do it as well.

Family worship to complete the evening celebration.

But before we had everyone there Tangie and I along with Braelyn took a quick trip to my Aunt Esther's house to visit our first "child", our old Cocker Spaniel Zoe.   I hadn't mentioned it before on the blog, probably because I forgot or for whatever reason, but several months ago Zoe was diagnosed with glaucoma, something very common in her breed with old age.  It was devastating news when we heard, but it would be heartbreaking when we saw her for the first time since she became completely blind.  She heard our voices, smelled and recognized us.  But she couldn't see us, or where we were, and she came to us bumping into walls and furniture in the house, thrilled at the prospect of reuniting with some old friends.  Tangie couldn't suppress the tears; I got a little choked up.  She looked happy and healthy, and we're grateful she has a nice home and loving owner to keep her safe throughout her remaining years.  Like I said, aging sucks.

She definitely missed Mommy!

You could tell she was excited we were there.

You can see both eyes gray and clouded over.

We woke up early Sunday morning as the group took a mini road trip down to Jensen Beach in Hutchinson Island, first to pick some fresh mangos, and then to spend some time at the beach.  It had been just under a month since we last were at the beach up in Seacrest so we were anxious to see if the twins were still interested in swimming in the ocean.  This would be the Atlantic side, so we anticipated a lot more waves, but surprisingly it was a bit of a calm day, and the waves were just like the ones we had on the gulf side.  There were also a lot of wildlife there, including flocks of pelicans, schools of anchovies, and a 4 foot shark.  Yup, we were called out of the water due to a shark sighting, and couldn't get back in for thirty minutes when the all clear was given, but by that time we had all decided to pack up and go;  we had another 2 and half hours to drive back home to Orlando.

Base camp at the beach.

Girls in blue enjoying the shade.

He was content with some chips.

The kids loved playing in the sand.

Shark!  Everyone out of the water!

Zonked out on the car ride home.

This past Tuesday we said goodbye to another dear friend;  she had become unreliable and was just taking up space in the garage.  Tangie finally decided on a new car and we traded in the Infiniti after 11 years of service for a more practical model, namely, a 2011 seven passenger Kia Sorento.  She had been wanting to get a new car since last year, this event accelerated by the Nissan Pathfinder dying on us last week and several shops and specialists not being able to find out what was causing the issue.  And then she started right up again, without any trouble.  We're giving her a good once over before putting her on the market to find a new home.  Anyone interested?

The twins at the waiting room on their first visit to the dentist.
Kohl screamed bloody murder; Maddy faired a little better.

At the kids' play area at Carmax waiting for Mommy's new car.

Goodbye Jade.  Thanks for the miles (161K!).

Our newest addition.

Another quiet week, with the exception of Tuesday.  Braelyn has been loving the diving and swimming events on the Olympics, and we've been having our own Olympic events here at home!  We spent some time both at our pool and the Bergherm's pool this week, as we get set for Braelyn's return back to school in a couple of weeks.  Time is moving so fast; the summer is gone!

Enjoying the fruits of labor:  2 grapes from our vine on the pergola!

Giving hugs to the mannequins at Old Navy.

Bumping into the Claus' at Costco!  They were in town before the upcoming holiday rush.

Representing Ocoee in the diving competition!

Uh-oh.  This could be bad.

Kohlden on the balance beam.  Or pommel horse.

Braelyn doing some floor exercises.

Have a great week!  Go USA!

All winners!