We said goodbye to a dear family member this weekend. Sadly, our 12 year old Dodge Durango suffered major injuries after giving it's all to haul us and our junk down to Florida. We bought this car shortly after Tiger was born and have absolutely loved it. Camping trips, hauling people and stuff, towing trailers and bicycles, you name it, this baby helped us get the job done. Sniff, sniff. You will be missed.
Awww. My little man had his 2nd birthday today. He is such a cutie and I love his blonde hair. He follows his brothers everywhere and is really in to Super Heroes, reading books and jumping on the trampoline. He still takes naps (yes!) and is struggling to get used to Nursery again. We are so happy to have this guy in our family. Love you bud! Happy Birthday!
On the last day of school for the older boys, we unloaded the storage shed, loaded a 6' x 12' u-haul trailer with our last belongings and headed back to the school to pick up the boys and say goodbye. After several teary goodbyes in the parking lot, we headed south. 16 hours of drive time, not including bathroom breaks, eating or gas stops, was what we were looking forward to. Oh wait, did I mention there was a tropical storm coming across the South at the same time that we were driving south? yep. Welcome to Florida!
The boys have been working really hard on earning enough money for their own i pods, and we knew they would not handle the two long driving days without something special, so we decided to surprise them the day before we left with their own custom picked i pod touches. Happiness! Let me say that the trip went so much better. Hehe. The drive was beautiful through West Virginia and Virginia. We hit the Tropical Storm in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia so it just poured rain on us. Yuck. During one stop in South Carolina, we stopped at a Wendy's for lunch and the boys wanted to run around so badly, so we found a grassy area and told them to get running. Not 30 seconds later, Turtle just started screaming and soon there after Toad & Tiger joined in with him. What the heck! I grabbed Turtle and upon closer examination, saw about 15 red fire ants up and down his legs biting him. Oh my goodness! Sam and I just grabbed each boy, yanked their shoes off and just went crazy trying to wipe all the ants off. We each got bit pretty badly in the process. This scared the boys so badly, they refused to go on any kind of grass for a few days and had red bite marks on their legs for weeks.
After arriving in Tampa, we finally to got the keys to our new house and was having fun exploring the place. Tiger and Turtle were having too much fun, apparently, when all of the sudden we heard a sickening crash. Tiger had tripped over Turtle and smashed through our sliding glass patio door. The glass was tempered so it fell in tiny bits and pieces and that probably saved my son's life. Both boys had many tiny cuts over their bodies, but were okay and didn't need medical attention. Phew! And yes, this was less than an hour after we signed the lease. Time to call the owners back and tell them what happened. Tenants of the year! Using a tarp from our move, we covered the broken door in a feeble attempt to keep the heat and the bugs out of the house. We then spent the remainder of the day unpacking, setting up the beds and getting settled.
Man, nothing we do is easy and there is always so many 'fun' things happening. Sheesh! How about we have some calm fun for the next few days, okay? Welcome to Florida, Eskelson Five.
The following pics are of Tiger and his wounds from the accident.
Our awesome kindergartner had his special graduation ceremony today. He is such a fun kid! The kids came into the auditorium wearing homemade tassels and scrolls, sang a few songs for the parents, received their "diplomas" and then brought us back to our classrooms for cookies and juice. They worked hard this past year, had lots of fun together, and probably drove the teachers to their brinks. Got to love those kids. See more pics of the happy kids in the gallery.
Life is sure busy, but we love being involved and active. Here, you can read about our daily adventures and behind the scenes antics of the Eskelson Five.