Awww!

Landis just woke up from his nap in the best mood.  We snuggled in the rocking chair for a minute, and he curled up in my arms.  I gave him kisses and tickled him and told him "Monny loves you!"  After a minute, he looked up at me with a satisfied grin and said "My Monny loves me!"  

Face Paint + Attempted Mohawk =

Ridiculousness.











What am I going to do with those crazy uncles?

We're in Gainesville..

And just look what those crazy Benton uncles have done. Poor Landis! He is covered in temporary tattoos. He ran to the back of the house to play with Aaron Scott and the uncles, and ran out a few minutes later looking like this.

Foolishly, I let him go play again, thinking they had done their worst. Now his face is painted in a greenish brown color! I guess he is ready for some recon missions now. I'll have to watch him like a hawk or he will be crawling on his belly through some high grass. If I lose sight of him, I may not be able to find him.


We are headed to the Ichetucknee River for some tubing in a few minutes. Landis will stay behind to have some quality Nonnie time, but Aaron Scott and the uncles and I will have a great time tubing in the cold, cold water.

Recipes

We have been trying some new recipes over the last few days and found a few that are too yummy not to share!


Soft Pretzels These are perfect - soft and salty and sweet. We've tried topping them with salt and with cinnamon sugar, and both are very good. Landis loves them as a snack, and I could eat them all day long!

Onion Chutney We made onion chutney quesadillas, and I think I'm officially addicted! The chutney is both sweet and fruity from the apple cider vinegar and brown sugar and pleasantly spicy because of the chile and coriander. It's good enough to just eat plain, and it will transform a sandwich from a boring lunch item to the high point of the afternoon.

"Pop Up" or German Pancakes We (mostly Goat) have been looking for a good German Pancake recipe for months. Goat's Dad used to make these for breakfast years ago, but somehow the recipe got lost along the way. These are exactly the way Goat remembers them! They are rich because of the eggs, but puff up when you cook them so they are not too dense. We ate them with lemon juice and powdered sugar and they were delicious!

PSA

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I Love These Boys

So, So much!

Aaron Scott, Landis and I had such a wonderful weekend. We picked Aaron Scott up from school on Friday and ran a few errands. Then we headed back to the house and went for a bike ride. We rode around the neighborhood for a bit and then explored a grassy path that runs along the creek. After a while, we went back to the house, Goat got home from work and we headed to his parents' house. They boys and I went swimming there. Aaron Scott had his shark mask, gloves and fins and had a great time pretending to be a shark. Landis has lost all of his fear of the water, which on the one hand is great, but makes me worry. He jumped in and "swam" towards me when I was playing with Aaron Scott and not looking, and when I scooped him up after a second or 2 looked really proud of himself. It turned out fine, but it worries me that he thinks he can swim when he can't.

We ate dinner and then watched a Harry Potter movie with the beloved "AmmaPapa"* and then headed home and put the exhausted boys to bed.

Saturday, Goat had to work again. :( We woke up in the morning and went on a 2 mile nature walk with the Ludwig grandparents. It was fun! We saw lots of neat animals - an armadillo, several different kinds of turtles swimming in the creek, fish, a tortoise walking next to the path very slowly, and lots of insects. Aaron Scott and his Papa had a great time communicating by walkie talkie when we took separate forks in the trail.

After the nature walk, we brought Goat lunch at work and walked next door to check out the rock gym. It is really expensive! I was thinking it might be a fun thing to do every once in a while, but it would cost our family more than $70 to get in for the day. Yikes!

The boys and I went home, Landis napped and Aaron Scott played on the computer for a little while. Then we went on another bike ride. Unfortunately, Aaron Scott took a tumble and scraped his knee. We went back to the house to wash it off and get a band aid, and then he was ready to bike some more. We rode for a little while longer, then went home and packed up to go to the beach.

Aaron Scott is such a social kid! We hadn't been there for more than 10 minutes when he found another boy about his age and they started playing. Landis really wanted to play with them, but he just kept getting in the way of their games, so I took him a little ways down the beach and we played in the surf together. After a while, we walked back to where Aaron Scott and his new friend were digging in the sand. Landis figured out a game he could play with the big boys - tag! He chased them up and down the beach. It was too cute! Then, Aaron Scott and his friend headed out into the waves, about waist deep. Landis really wanted to go out with them, so I walked out near them, but after a few minutes of Landis trying to dive into the ocean, we headed a little bit closer to shore. He really wants to do everything his big brother does! The boys played for a while longer, but the sun was setting and their faces were starting to turn the same shade of blue as their eyes, so we headed home.

As we were getting the boys to bed, Aaron Scott made the funniest comment. I control the thermostat during the day and keep the house on the warm side, but as soon as Goat comes home from work, he keeps it much cooler. Aaron Scott said that it had been too cold the night before and asked for an extra blanket. He said, "Your house is like the desert. Hot during the day and freezing at night!" He is the funniest kid. We are so lucky to have such wonderful boys!



*Grandma and Papa Ludwig. Landis says both of their names as all one word. He loves going to "AmmaPapa's House!"

Dinosaur Hunting

Landis and I went on a nature walk in a nearby park yesterday. As we walked along, we saw and heard several kinds of birds, a variety of insects, including some lovely butterflies, squirrels, frogs and some very large spiders. As we neared the end of the 1/2 mile trail, I listed all of the animals we had seen and asked Landis what his favorite one was. His answer came quickly: "Dinosaurs!"

"Where did you see the dinosaurs?" I asked.

He lifted up a frond of one of the small palmetto palms that was growing beside the path, put his finger to his lip and whispered, "Shhh! Dinosaurs hide."

He is one fun boy with a very active imagination!

When Johnny Comes Marching Home

John is back from Iraq! Hurrah! Hurrah!!

We drove up to NC on Wednesday and joined my parents and brothers at a beautiful old farmhouse near Camp Lejeune. We headed to the base on Thursday to see John and his fellow Marines as they returned. It was so exciting! First, giant trucks drove by and unloaded their gear. We waited for another 1/2 hour or so until the Marines pulled up in 3 huge buses. We were trying to see which bus John was on when he snuck up behind us. We were all so excited to see him! We helped him get his gear back to his room, he took a quick shower and we went out to Texas Steakhouse for dinner.

Friday, John had to be on base for most of the day, so we went to Hammocks Beach State Park, where we took a ferry out to beautiful Bear Island. After a short (for most of us - Landis wanted to walk so it was a slow trip for us) walk to the other side of the island, we reached the beach. It was so beautiful. The whole island is a state park so there are no high rise condos and hotels, only a small visitor's center with bathrooms and picnic tables and a few primitive camping sites. Everyone had a great time splashing and playing in the water, especially Landis. We ate a picnic lunch, swam for a little while longer, then headed back on the ferry. We picked John up around dinner time and ate dinner with Commander and Mrs. O'Byrne, old family friends. (Commander O'Byrne's grandparents lived next door to my dad's grandparents, and his grandmother was my godmother.) John was a little apprehensive about eating in the Officer's Club, but he made it through all right.

Saturday, we met up with some other old friends, the Bidgoods. They lived in Gainesville when John, Paul and I were younger and then moved to NC. We had a great time with them. Their youngest daughter, Grace, who is a few years younger than Paul, and her boyfriend Luke were there. Grace is a competitive juggler, and she is amazing! Landis was mesmerised by the sight of her juggling 4, then 5, then 6 clubs. We hung out at the beach and pool for most of the day, had yet another picnic lunch (yum!) and ate dinner with them at a local Italian restaurant.

Sunday it was time to head home. After hugs all around (John managed to give me a hug without touching me. It was heartwarming.) we piled into the car and headed home. We managed to be driving through the states where gas prices were most affected by Hurricane Ike, and as we drove further and further, gas prices climbed higher and higher. In the course of about 8 hours, we saw prices go up about $1 and the lines at gas stations get longer and longer. When we got to Florida, which had not been affected as much as Georgia and the Carolinas, I was actually glad to see gas being sold for $3.60/gallon.

It was really great to see John after so long, and we are looking forward to seeing him again towards the end of the month when he has some leave and is planning to head down to Florida.

Landis had decided that, now that he is a big boy, he should pick out his own clothes. I pull out 2 or 3 shirts and 2 or 3 pants and he picks the ones he likes. He usually does a great job of coordinating shirt and pants, and ends up looking pretty cute. But as we all know, no outfit is complete without accessories. Check out this hat - it really makes the outfit! He picked it out and put it on while I was getting my shoes.

The water has receded enough that we can drive, so I am taking my silly, stir crazy boy and getting out of here!

Fay Adventures, Continued.

The rain let up for a few minutes, so we took a walk to the street that runs perpendicular to ours. The picures were mostly taken from the sidewalk in front of the house 3 houses away from ours.


A view of the street, looking down away from our house towards the entrance to the neighborhood.


I walked 2 houses further away from ours to take this picture.


Landis thinks he should always be able to swim in the street!


Splash!


Goat, Landis and some neighbors. One of the neighbors pictured moved into the neighborhood when it was first created in the early '70s. He says he's only seen flooding like this once before, about 10 years ago.