Shark Valley

We finally took Connor to Shark Valley last weekend! Not to be confused with Alligator Alley, though we did do that last weekend as well to celebrate Colton's first birthday. My family has been taking trips to this unique location for as long as I can remember. We would either pick MLK weekend or Presidents' Day weekend to make the trek, because it was still "cool" outside, and it made for a special memory. I remember when I was so little that they would tie a rope to my bike and to either mom or dad's bike to help me make the entire trip. When you are talking about a 14 mile trip bike ride into the everglades, you must have good hydration, great company, and a camera. 

Here is the gang at the beginning of our trip, before we were exhausted, before the sunburns (for some), and before naptime! Let's be honest, I think I was the only one exhausted by the end, and wanting the nap (and a shower). I think Aunt Kaitlyn would have gone another few miles, she was in the lead at the end for a while.

Here is a Mama gator with her babies. Papa, may or may not have wanted to catch one to show Connor up close, but we were very careful not to "molest" the alligators. 

Typically when we are traveling along the road the gators stay on the side blissfully bathing in the sun. On the trip however we encountered quite a few alligators that were up and walking around. WOAH! The reason this bike trip is relatively safe is because alligators don't eat very much in the winter months. They are usually very dormant and lethargic. Maybe it's the rain we've been having, but these gators were active. When we came up to this one he just got up and started walking to the middle of the pathway. Can you say roadblock? I love Tim's face when it started walking towards them. It just decided to lay down and take up some space. We let him have it. Connor still remembers this gator. He kept his ipod with him during the ride, and would insist on taking pictures of the different alligators as we came upon them. It was adorable! This alligator on the other hand wasn't so much.

At the end of the 7 mile ride into the everglades is a nice little tower to walk up and witness a panoramic view of the river of grass. There are always a bunch of gators hanging out down here. This is also were we rest and picnic. There is a way to loop around the valley, but the other half of the ride isn't as exciting so we always take the same 7 mile path back. Typically not stopping to take as many pictures because really at this point all you can think of is a little bit of air conditioning and an ice cold diet coke! Connor loved it! He had a great seat up high on the back of Daddy's bike and thought it was hysterical to lean from side to side to try and throw off Daddy's balance. 

 I always get the same question...why is it called Shark Valley? So I did a little research on them internets and this is what I found: "The name of Shark Valley does cause some confusion. With the Everglades being a ‘river of grass’ it is extremely flat, you wouldn’t think this area is in a valley, but it is. An elevation change of just 1ft here makes a big difference, so Shark Valley is in a very wide, very gradual, low-lying valley. The Shark reference comes from the Shark River. The mouth of this river is at the Gulf of Mexico, and the Shark River Slough is the main source of fresh water for this part of the Everglades."

It was such a nice family activity, and simple enough that I know we can now include this in our list of fun activities to do on special weekends. I'm glad my parents did it with me, and I know Connor will have fond memories of it when he is older.

T-Ball

"Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets." ~Yogi Berra

We have officially entered a new phase of our lives. T-Ball!!! Connor has been ready for quite some time. Truthfully he practically came out of the womb ready. I'm not sure he had much of a choice with whether or not he would get into baseball one day, but the to be honest, he's naturally gifted at sports and it was the perfect outlet for his talent. We anxiously awaited until he was old enough, and signed him up for a league that accepted 3 year olds. He loves it! He knows that when he wakes up Saturday mornings he's going to go meet his friends and play some ball. He looks like a professional the way he adjusts his hat and walks tall in his cleats. Connor already could hit the ball, but now enjoys being out in the field "baseball ready" and running the bases. Daddy signed up to be a coach and is so great with all of the kids! He makes sure to always be at third base to high five Connor when he hits a grand slam.

A few weeks ago Connor received the team medal for sportsmanship. He is our little encourager and is constantly telling his teammates "good job" and "way to go". He was so thrilled with his medal he wore it all weekend long; to FirstWest and even church Sunday morning. Everywhere he went he had to show people his medal and tell them about what a good boy he is. We were so proud of him to be sure, and it was even more special because Daddy got to give him the medal. 

They also just recently took their team pictures, and I am waiting as patiently as I can for his official baseball cards to come in the mail. 

He has so much fun while he's playing, and if we weren't sure we now know he loves to climb fences. 

There is always a smile on his face as he rounds the bases and the joy on his face is wonderful! It solidifies that this was the right decision for him. We always end the game with a milkshake or a snowcone, and it has become a little tradition. Papa is as big of a cheerleader as I am and hasn't missed a single game. Even when Grandma can't make it, Papa is there to watch our MVP. 

I hope this is only the beginning for Connor's love of sports and activity. I thought it was funny that his team name is "The Avengers" and he probably couldn't tell you who a single character is, but he sure knows who the Red Sox are. I love that this is an activity of heart,determination, and skill, and one that he can bond with his daddy over. 

"The Babe": Remember kid, there's heroes and there's legends. Heroes get remembered but legends never die, follow your heart kid, and you'll never go wrong.

The Great Snow-venture of 2014

Situation: 4 days of freedom to adventure where we please.

Mission: find snow!

For MLK weekend we realized we had time to really make some memories. That Thursday after work we packed up the car, loaded a very excited Connor into his seat, and made our way to our first stop, Uncle Josh and Aunt Heather's house just north of Orlando. It was the perfect way to break up the drive and satisfy the heart in seeing loved ones. Connor enjoyed his time with the pups, and we all got a great night of sleep before waking up the next morning to proceed on our journey.

Friday morning we woke up and arrived safely in Atlanta, Georgia. Connor was outstanding on the trip only occasionally asking "are we there yet?" and was perfectly happy to watch his movies and play in the back seat. We did stop at Chick-fil-a for lunch and to let him stretch his legs a little. We hit Atlanta by 4:00pm and checked into our hotel. We freshened up and headed into the city for our first excursion. A friend had recommended checking out the SkyView Atlanta and we thought it sounded like fun. I'm not sure we were quite ready for the 28 degree weather, but the cars were enclosed and heated, and the view was magnificent. The massive ferris wheel made Connor giddy, and we got to rotate around the circle 8 times. We then got the bright idea to "take a walk" and ventured across the street into Centennial Park (Olympic Park) and didn't last long in the elements. We decided to find refuge, aka warmth, inside The Varsity, and satisfied our tummies with yummy hot dogs. It was a first for all of us, and I'm grateful to Food Network for schooling me in the ways of delicious bites.

Saturday morning greeted us with 20 degree temperatures and a little boy who was excited to make snow angels. The entire reason we targeted Atlanta was because Daddy had found that Stone Mountain had been transformed into Snow Mountain for the season. We reserved our slot for the big hill sleds and then had free reign of the other snow-tivities offered. The first thing we did was venture up the people mover to the family sled and Connor was excited. He had so much fun that he didn't want to do it ever again. Ever.

We decided to "take a break" from big boy sledding and headed over the the snow play area. After taking only two steps onto the fluffy soft white stuff Connor splayed himself on his back and proceeded to make his first, of many, snow angel. Right there, in the entrance to the snow zone, he displayed his thrill and joy of seeing snow. This was where we spent most of our day. 

This was the perfect place for Connor with little bunny hills for toboggan runs and tube sledding. We couldn't pull the little man away from it. We did it over and over again, and he got so good at pulling the tube behind him and up the ramp to repeat the process continuously. 

No trip to Stone Mountain would be complete without making it to the summit of the big rock. Connor wasn't sure about the express lift to the top, but once we convinced him it would be a fun adventure he was in. He loved it up at the top, and kept stopping to make sure I got pictures of him everywhere. He conquered the mountain, and then was just as excited for the fun ride back to the ground.

Our little buddy crashed hard for naptime after his adventures in the snow, and when he woke up we took more advice from friends and made our way to Legoland for some indoor fun. They had a cute little shooting ride at the beginning, then took you through a lego version of Atlanta, and dropped you into square block utopia. Connor's favorite activity was the build your own race car area, and with every release at the top of the hill would say "here comes trouble!" (thanks Papa!). We closed the place down and I may have had a little too much fun in the girl section with the karaoke machine. Who can resist a pink room and a microphone stand with no one around? I think we all crashed once we got back to the hotel room, but I was too tired to remember correctly. 

     

After doing our research we concluded that with only a two and a half hour drive we should hit some real snow. According to the weather channel Cherokee, North Carolina was scheduled to receive the white stuff and we couldn't have been more thrilled. We made a quick stop into the Smoky Mountains Visitor Center where they told us that the Park was closed because of the snow and ice. We thought for sure we would find snow in Cherokee.......we didn't. Nooo!!!! We did get the "bear" picture though so I felt like it was a great stop no matter. 

After eating lunch we decided to attempt to drive up into the park. We figured that if we got to the point where they closed it we would turn around and head back to the hotel. To our great delight it had opened up to the wanderers. Little by little we started seeing icicles hanging off of the rocks on the side of the road. When we came around one corner there was a little bit of snow hanging out along the curb and that was all we needed to pull over and jump out (oh and let Connor snatch an icicle to suck on)! Luckily another car who had been coming from the opposite direction had also pulled over there and excitedly told us we needed to get back in the car and head up to Newfound Gap. They told us there was enough snow to build a snow man and have lots of fun. oh.my.gosh. I think I was more excited than Connor!

A few more curves and some more snow on the ground, I made Tim pull over at another overlook to let Connor test his snow legs....and to take a picture.

Enter Newfound Gap......finding real snow.....Mission Accomplished!!! 

At one point Connor insisted on taking a picture of me playing in the snow, and I loved the image he captured! 

We spent the afternoon making a snowman, throwing snowballs at each other and off of the mountain, making it snow on our heads, and enjoying every minute! My little snow angel showed his Florida roots by referring to pine cones as "palm" cones, and constantly asking to build sand castles in the snow. It was delightful. It took driving to the North Carolina-Tennessee state line, but we got our snow-venture!

We spent 10 hours on Monday in the car heading back to the flat land. Connor again was a rock star in the back seat and never once asked to get out of the car or got the wiggles! We made it home easily and have the greatest memories from this epic weekend! Of course the songs from Frozen gave us the perfect soundtrack for our adventure too!