Summer is in full swing here in the Michaelson household.  As always, the kids and I are staying very busy and trying to use our pool every chance we get.  While the end of school also brought the end of many extra curricular activities for the kids, like sports and dance, we haven't slowed down much at all.  Nicholas is still taking piano and Kaylea up until a few weeks ago was still in Gymnastics. She will start back in August with gymnastics but mommy needed a little break.  

Kaylea had her dance recital June 3rd.  She gets very nervous in front of people so basically she just stood there as did several of the kids her age...hopefully this will come to pass soon.  Last week Kaylea went to "Princess Camp" at her Dance Studio and LOVED IT!  They danced, made crafts and played games all week.  Then at the end of the week the kids performed the dances they learned in front of all the parents and grandparents. 

Nicholas is just enjoying staying up late, watching movies, SWIMMING, and basically not having to do ANYTHING.  He will start soccer in the fall, which we are switching him from the Y this year to NYSA, a local youth sports center, because we feel it will make him more competitive. The Y has been great for him to learn the game but NYSA will be the next step to making him a better player.  He has tried basketball, football and soccer but soccer seems to be his sport of choice. 

Next year, I am going to be the new PTO president at Nicholas' school.  God help me!  So summer for me has consisted of a LOT of planning for the school year.  New to our school this coming year is a PTO website that I just finished creating and a "BOOHOO Breakfast" for the Kindergarten parents on the first day of school.  Our goal this year is to reach out and really make a connection with parents and hopefully in the process improve parent participation and volunteerism in the school. 

Clint continues to be very busy at work.  The kids and I are just glad he is home and not deployed at the moment. He is probably going to start flying again on his own and work on his instrument ratings.

Back in April, after Clint got home from deployment, we took our first family trip to Disney.  It was marvelous! We did all 4 Disney parks and had such a great time.  By the end of the week we were exhausted!!!  We stayed at the Disney Caribbean Beach Resort and did the Disney Meal Plan, which I highly recommend.  We did character dining experiences at Chef Mickey, The Crystal Palace and Cinderella's Royal table. Clint and I were so amazed at how much Disney had changed since we were kids....I really can't think of words fitting enough to describe the Disney experience but it is amazing!  Orlando has so much to offer, we look forward to going back to see the other sites and we'll definitely be going back to Disney!!!

This Blog Has A Long Shelf Life!

I saw this little saying, "This Bog Has A Long Shelf Life", and thought haha, that totally fits my blog to a T. I started out with good intentions of creating a super cute blog so family and friends could keep up with our lives from afar. However, I have failed in the world of blogging. So where to begin after my last blog entry over a year ago....

So I guess I'll start with our life here in Florida. Life is good! The kids and I stay quite busy. Nicholas is taking piano lessons and playing soccer at the Y. Kaylea, now that she is old enough, is playing soccer for the first time (she's got a long way to go in her soccer skills). She is also taking dance and gymnastics, which she really enjoys. I am busy helping plan a Pasta Dinner/Silent Auction fundraiser for Kaylea's preschool and have a board position, Teacher Appreciation Chair, on the PTO at Nicholas school. Nicholas started Kindergarten this year and is doing FANTASTIC! We couldn't be more proud of him! Hard to believe my baby is that old already. Where does the time go? Clint is currently deployed but we expect him home next week (YAY). He pinned on Major back in November and we had a bunch of family come down for the promotion. We had a big dinner at the Hidden Creek Golf Club, Tuscan Grill, to celebrate. Everyone had a great time!

When Clint returns home, we have some projects for him around the house like painting the living room and Kitchen, fixing a blinking light fixture, building some raised garden beds so we can grow some yummy veggies and most importantly, putting together my old Barbie Dream House for Kaylea. I promised Kaylea when she was done with pullups she could have my old Barbie Dream House and a bunch of other Barbie items that were mine as a child. I think we are finally almost there! Hooray!!!

Last spring we got a new puppy. Her name is Lilly and she is a Bichon Frise. She is now 1 year old and a wee bit bigger than she was in this picture. Lilly is an energetic, fluffy ball of fur. We love her!


The end of April, we are taking the kids on their first trip to Disney World! I don't know who is more excited, me or them! We are doing all four Disney parks, staying at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort and have reservations for some character dining experiences (Dinner at Chef Mickey, Breakfast with the Princesses at Cinderella's Royal Table and Dinner with the Winnie the Pooh Gang at the Crystal Palace). Nicolas said he was going to eat his breakfast under the table so he didn't have to look at any princesses. HAHA!

So now you are basically caught up with our lives for the most part. I'm not promising another blog post before next year but I certainly will try. I know we have some exciting times ahead to blog about (Disney), if I can just find the time to sit down to write about them. Until next time, hope everything is doing well in your part of the world. ♥

We've Moved!!!

As the saying goes, "home is where the Air Force sends us"! So where do we call home these days? Navarre, FL! We moved to FL the beginning of July. Luckily, we were able to sell our house in Texas. A lot of our friends did not and are now renting their houses out. We bought a great house with a pool in Florida that is 5 minutes from the beach. I've always wanted to live at the beach but who would have thought that living at the beach would come with so many snakes, frogs and BEARS!!! Yes, Bears!! Our neighbors have seen bears out in our yards at night. They raid our trash and break boards off of fences.

We love our new house and the best part of it is the pool (see picture above), which the kids and I were in almost every day until it got cold. We have great neighbors and did I mention, its 5 minutes from the beach (haha)? We were excited about moving to Florida and the new adventures it would bring but we are missing TX more than we thought we would. There was just SO much to do there. We miss our church, our neighbors, our house, friends, and the FOOD! You can't get good mexican here like you could in TX.

Once settled in our new house we had lots of visitors....which is a nice change!!! We have always lived so far from family that we only saw them a few times a year. The month of August was full of family visits....Ruby, Mike & Jean Ann, Heather, Shane & Evan, (my sisters) Vicki, Sammi, Jami & Mike all visited in August & the first part of September. Then in October we got to see Kathy & Bob (Clint's Aunt & Uncle) while they were in PCB visiting thier daughter Kara. We get to see Kara and her girls more now too and Nicholas just loves that. The kids play so well together.

In September, I started homeschooling Nicholas. When we got here, I couldn't find a good preschool near us. Most places around here 4 year old preschool is paid for by the state and so the curriculum is state mandated. When inquiring about curriculum I always got the same line "state mandates we introduce the ABC's and sounds and the numbers 1-10!" Nicholas has known that stuff since he was two. I thought about letting him go just for the socialization, I mean afterall it is FREE but it wasn't worth the drive to Gulf Breeze everyday, twice a day. Overall, I felt I could teach him more at home. Its going great! He is already learning to read, write and can count to 100. I think we both are enjoying homeschool! So much that some days I think I want to continue with homeschooling next year but I think maybe we should give the primary school a try.

Also in September, I became an Usborne Children's Book Consultant. I do home shows and go to craft shows and little holiday markets around town to sell my books. I just love the Usborne books so much as they are so nice, beautifully illustrated, educational and fun! I figured the best way to build our home library would be for me to sell them. I have done so well in fact that I have already earned over $400 worth FREE! People just love these books so they are easy to sell. You can shop online 24/7 at http://www.itsybitsybookstore.com/ .

In October we celebrated Nicholas' 5th Birthday. As if its any surprise to you, our little Jedi Knight chose to have a Star Wars themed party. We made light sabers out of swimming pool noodles and silver & black duck tape, played pin the light saber on Luke Skywalker and had a bunch of kids running around playing. It was a good time!

Next, looking forward to heading up to SC for Thanksgiving. We are planning to go up to Manning where Clint's some of Clints family lives. Should be a great time and we'll get to see lots of people we don't normally see.

I know its been awhile since my last blog. Truth be told, I forgot all about it. We were so busy with the move, the company, homeschooling and just trying to settle into a routine it was the last thing on my mind.

Hip Hip Hooray! The Snake is Dead!!!

UPDATE!!!! The snake has been captured & killed! Clint saw it as he was pulling in from work and grabbed the shovel out of the garage and killed it. I'm so happy its gone, but I still will never walk through the grass again.

I HATE Snakes!!!!

Way too much excitement for the Michaelson household last night!!! I decided (after dark) last night to go down and check the mail and Nicholas wanted to come too. SO we headed out the door and went walking through our grass, which I always do. I stepped probably two steps into the grass when all of a sudden right beside me I saw the head of a snake raise up. Nicholas was right behind me so I stepped out the way, turned around and looked at him and yelled, "RUN!!!" right as he was about to step where the snake was. He took a step forward and turned around screaming and running. He had no idea why he was screaming or running because he didn't see the snake. I was just glad he ran backwards and not forward.

So we ran inside and yelled for Clint. We inspected his legs and feet to make sure the snake had not bit him and he was fine. I went to get my flashlight so we could see what type of snake it was but of coarse it wasn't where I keep it because Nicholas has discovered my hiding spot for it and likes to play with it. (HAHAHA - for those of you reading this & thinking you will buy Nicholas his own flashlight to play with.....Please DON'T! He has several and the batteries always go dead because he leaves it on all day long.) Anyway, the snake was gone when we went back out to look.

BUT that is not the end of our excitement for the evening. Not even 15 minutes later, I opened up the closet door in our living room and saw something move very quickly. I flipped on the light and there was a lizard in the closet. He was about 3 inches long. So I yelled for Clint and again Nicholas is upset....Clint caught the lizard, which is no small task because they run so fast and he threw it out of the house.

I hope our house in Florida doesn't have snakes living near by because in case I forgot to mention, I HATE snakes!!! Also, I really don't care to see any lizards either....they are fine outside but not in my house and that wasn't the first time a lizard has come in the house here in Texas. There have been times a lizard has been on our door and when we opened the door, they ran in. That happened a few times when I would let Zoey out to potty....usually at night.

First Blog!!!

Okay! Here we go....my first official "BLOG"! OH MY!!!

I decided to do this blogging thing today after I read a few blogs of some old friends / fellow military spouses to catch up with the events of their lives (Jaime & Georgette this is all your fault - LOL).

Through Clint's career in the Air Force we have met so many great people and developed such great friendships. Those friendships will last forever even though we all move our separate ways following our husbands career choices & needs of the Air Force.

Blogging seems to be a really great way to keep up with all our friends growing families. It will also be a great way for our family & friends to keep up with our family. Let me just say, there are some really nice blogs out there and I hope to eventually have a great blog of our family too but for now I am in the process of learning my way around this blogging website so bare with me, please. :-)