Game night

So over the holiday's we had so much fun getting together and playing games, so I decided we would start a monthly game night. Needless to say it has been so much fun, we have picked up a few new favorites game wise and stuck with some old favorites too! Here are the pictures from last night!
Mom checking out what she got, in Farkle

Evets throwing down the dice

Getting ready to start

Grandma came and hung out with us, we couldn't convince her to play, but she is with us, we love her!

The kids playing the Wii

February already?

So nice to pop on and see pics from the holidays. I see all those coats and think "brrr"....but then it's been unseasonably COLD here in Central Florida. Have worn all of our sweaters but have resisted buying winter coats...it's the first winter in three here we've actually needed them but I refuse. Besides, they're all sold out to the poor tourists who showed up expecting shorts weather and going home with new winter wardrobes. Fish and game have been busy rescuing distressed turtles and manatees (had to scoop up more than 200 turtles from a local lagoon)...the iguanas are entering an instant cryo state and falling out of the trees! They said to just move them to a safe spot; they'll wander off when it warms up.

The kids are doing great. Cody just found out he's ranked 40th out of his class of 895, and when he found out he would be tied for 1st and be a valedictorian candidate but for the B he got in one quarter of algebra in 7th grade, he came home and tried to read Stan and me the riot act for not riding him harder about grades! Can you believe it? Yeah, we'll definitely be holding on to THAT one for the next 3 1/2 years.

Josie just certified diving as you can see from the pictures (How lucky to dive with the manatees! They are SO freaking cool and Josie was just knocked out. That was the reward she got for diving in a spring outside of Ocala in 72-degree water and 65-degree air temp on the first day). Talk about a little natural! The girl kills me! (But the looking all grown up is freaking me out) She got straight "A"s last quarter and is playing soccer and doing girls running club. She has a tournament in Gainsville over President's Day weekend. Anyway, the weekend after that, we're going on a mini liveaboard out of Ft. Lauderdale with Cody and Josie for their first ocean dives...we're very excited.

Stan has judged a debate tournament here and is scheduled to judge a couple more...and is being recruited as a coach. So he's totally torn. He would love to move to a high school but wants to be with the kids, doesn't know if West Orange would start a debate program, and the kids (especially Cody) won't want to go to another high school. We'll see what happens.

Things are about the same with Bethany and I...busy with work off and on. Have a problem child we're not sure exactly what to do with and not sure we want to do anything anymore at this point. So I'm left with my regular routine that consists of work, things I should be doing around the house but can, and do, avoid (and those things I CAN'T, like laundry...bane of my existence) and making inane observations about my life and behavior (like why do I buy almost everything in twos? My shopping cart is like the Noah's ark of the Publix grocery store here...and, well, everywhere I shop). See what I mean by inane? I should probably dole those out one at a time so as not to put everyone to sleep (See, I don't have to do EVERYTHING in twos...).

Love you all and will write again soon...