Water Park March 16, 2011

We finished up our very fun day of Easter Egg Hunts by cooling off in the Zephyr Water Park! Quintin loved splashing around in the water and playing with the neat water cannons and other water features. We are so lucky to have such an amazing park available in our community!

Community Wide Easter Egg Hunt at Zephyr Park: April 16, 2011

Our dear friends, the Price family, have hosted, for many years, a community wide Easter Egg hunt in Zephyr Park. After making the rounds at First United Methodist Church's Easter Egg hunt, we made our way over to see the Prices and enjoy the numerous activities their event offered. Dr. M.J. Price, Mrs. Pasco County, ensured plenty of fun for all ages. Best of all for us, Quintin finally felt confident enough to allow a photograph with the Easter Bunny! Thank you, Price family, for a wonderful afternoon!

FUMC Easter Egg Hunt: April 16, 2011

Each year, a couple of weeks before Easter, our church's Children's Minister, Julie, helps us to celebrate big time, with a community-wide Easter Egg hunt, games, petting zoo, pictures with the Easter Bunny, etc. Quintin was very excited to participate, and really enjoyed playing with the other kids! Pictures with the Easter Bunny went about as well as pictures with Santa (didn't happen!), but at least the line was shorter for E.B. ;-) There were a TON of kids from the surrounding area, and even though the kids were divided into age groups, the numbers were still a little overwhelming to Quintin. He made a very fast recovery, however, as soon as he figured out the eggs were full!

Legos for....Quintin ;-)

Grammie Smith sent down a bunch of very cool toys for Quintin from Kevin's step-brother, Sean, who'd kept them from his own childhood (Sean ended up with two beautiful little girls who're apparently not all that interested in G.I. Joe and Legos). There are ships and aircraft and all kinds of fun things for him to play with, but the most exciting part for Daddy is the huge box of Legos :-) Kevin recalls spending much of his own childhood playing with a similar collection of Legos, and got right to work reliving the fun :-)

Missy the Horse and Quintin

We have two Quarter Horses, Missy and Lucky, both purchased with the intent of allowing Kevin to participate in one of his favorite hobbies, Team Penning. Kevin has a natural affinity for the sport and many of our "dates" included me cheering him on while he rounded cattle into their appropriate pens (this feat requires a variety of skills, including speed, agility, an ability to multitask, teamwork, acuity, etc.). Unfortunately, work and family and life in general have taken over Kevin's free time and he does not have much chance to ride. The horses remain, however, and are still treasured "pets." Missy is particularly shy and is at ease only with Kevin -- on this day, however, she allowed Quintin to come right up to her and stood still long enough to get a couple of photographs :-)

Busch Gardens with the Berger Family March 26, 2012

On a bright Saturday morning in March, Quintin and I drove with Jason, Christina, and Victoria Berger, along with their Mom, Kelly, to Busch Gardens in Tampa. It was a great chance for Kelly and I to get in some girl talk and the kids had a blast exploring the park together. We spent a lot of time in the awesome splash & play area located in their enormous kids' section -- the cool water felt terrific on the already steamy day :-D Thanks for the great day, Berger Family!

Ellie Price's 2nd Birthday Party

We had a wonderful afternoon celebrating Ellie's 2nd birthday! Ellie had a horse-themed birthday, and Patrick the Pony, the Price's lovable pet, provided rides to all of the guests. In addition, the kids had a blast playing with the various power-wheel vehicles, rolling around in an enormous blow-up ball, and playing with their great party favors. Quintin had a ton of fun with Ellie's big brother, Bodhi, his closest friend. What a great way to spend a day!

Florida Antiquarian Book Fair

The Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, the oldest and largest fair of its kind in the Southeast, returns to St. Petersburg's Historic Coliseum the second full weekend of each March. The Fair features more than one hundred specialized dealers from all over the United States. Visitors can find books of every age and about every conceivable topic, including modern fiction, Americana, Florida history and literature, travel and exploration, fine bindings, poetry, cooking, military history, world history, the classics, art books, religion, children's literature, illustrated books. Additional materials found at the Fair include maps, prints, postcards, ephemera, autographs and other paper collectibles. A complete listing of the exhibitors is available at the Florida Antiquarian Booksellers' web page: FloridaBooksellers.com. Explore our new blog, updated regularly with bits of history, previews of items dealers will be bringing to the fair, and other items of interest: FloridaBookFair.blogspot.com. Admission is $10 Friday and is good for the entire weekend. Saturday and Sunday, tickets are $6 for the day or $10 for the weekend. Children 12 and under, and students with valid identification, are free. Ticket sales benefit the St Petersburg Public Library. Discount coupons are available online at Floridabookfair.blogspot.com or on Facebook (search: “Florida Bookfair”). Friday's opening includes live classical music. Several lectures are offered with Saturday’s ticket price. Free appraisals are available to the public Sunday, from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Food and beverages are available onsite. St. Petersburg’s Historic Coliseum, 535 Fourth Ave. N, is known as “the finest ballroom in the South.” It opens its oak dance floor to everything from ballroom dancing to corporate functions. Opened in 1925, the building was nicknamed the “Palace of Pleasure” in the Roaring 20’s, and has played host to such famed artists as Louie Armstrong, Buddy Rich, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, and Harry James, among others.

Softball Season! 2011

Kevin served as captain of the church softball team in the Spring of 2011. I joined the team, but didn't play often, since things got pretty tricky with Quintin when both Daddy and I were on the field. In any case, watching the games with our great church family was always a blast; playing with them was a ton of fun, too! Kevin is a great player and was wonderful at keeping everyone motivated and helping to train our mostly new-to-the-sport teammates. The weekly practices and games were a great way to get to know other congregants better. Seeing other adults letting loose and really getting into the fun of the sport was a real treat! Kevin's work schedule doesn't allow for softball anymore, but I'm already looking forward to watching Quintin play in few more years!

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