Paw-Paw Persuasion

Yesterday before school Nate asked if he could call Paw-Paw and Lady and tell them he likes to eat toast with the crust on it now. (He comes up with a million reasons to call them throughout the day.) While he was on the phone with Paw-Paw he told him everything he wants to do with him next time he comes. Little did Nate know that was enough to make Paw-Paw jump in the car the next day and come down! I had a feeling Paw-Paw couldn't take seeing these kids only on the blogs for much longer.
We walked down to our regular dinner spot after Paw-Paw got to our house.

I'm sure Paw-Paw likes the love he is shown by these kids, but it's got to get annoying after a while. They both requested to sit on his lap during dinner, leaving no free hands to eat his own food.

We made sure to make it worth every mile Paw-Paw traveled. Nathan had a long list of fun activities he wanted to do with Paw-Paw. Starting with Destin Commons, a fun place to shop and eat and play.
Paw-Paw and the kids went on a train ride.
Our second meal out and once again, Paw-Paw can't eat because Kate refused to get off his lap.
I'm pretty sure Kathryn is staking her claim on Paw-Paw.

Next stop: The Track.
We rode another train.

Kathryn immediately wanted off the train when it passed by the swings. She kept reaching out and saying, "Wing, wing, wing."
There were only a few other people there so the operators let the kids ride extra long each time.
Poor Kathryn. Nate gets to have all the fun. (Kathryn isn't tall enough to ride the bumper boats.)

Kathryn tried out a new ride today.
It's one of Nate's faves.

Then we went inside to cool off and play some games.
Kathryn used that same ball the entire time. She never actually made it all the way to the end.
Next stop: The Beach.

My little beach lover.
She was exhausted after the day's excitement, but she's always up for a visit to the beach.
She was a mess.
Kathryn picked out these shoes and she wears them all the time now. Never mind that they are fuzzy and warm with a picture of snowflakes and Dora in ear muffs. Perfect for the beach.

Okay Joe, I've done my part to convince Paw-Paw Florida is the place to be. Tomorrow it's your turn to close the deal.

Circus Clowns

When I first asked Nate if he wanted to go to the circus he didn't really want to. I was kind of surprised and I asked him why. He was afraid he was going to have to go out there and do the tricks in front of everybody. I don't know why he would think he would be expected to perform, but I assured him that he would only be a spectator... with popcorn and a snowcone. Sold.
In true "New Nate" fashion, he rushed over to the elephant and asked if he could ride it. I said yes before I realized it was going to cost us $24. I got on it with him and Boomba and I was scared to death so I wasn't about to reach for the camera out of my bag. I was afraid that that one loop was going to be that circus elephant's breaking point and he was going to go nuts and smash us all. Luckily he didn't.

As you know from the Haggerty Hacienda blog, Kathryn loves her sugary drinks and refuses to share them. I love how she sips it with her pinky up.
So Nate got his own snowcone. $12 for snowcones seems like a lot until you see how quiet and still these kids become with them in their hands.

When I asked Nate what his favorite part was about the circus his response was, "the popcorn." When I wasn't around and Daddy asked Nate what his favorite part was his response was, "those pirate girls' belly buttons."
Kathryn was her usual enthusiast self as she watched the circus. She was pointing and yelling at everything going on, saying "Wook! Wook! Wook!" (That means look.)

She got a little upset when she saw the tigers. She's yelling, "Want that!" She wanted to go down and pet them. She gets mad when people walk their dogs by our house and don't stop to let her pet them too. The nerve of some people.

Kathryn loved the circus. She is so much fun to take to these types of events.

Here are some circus pictures so you can see what you missed out on.

Headed to the Pen

Steve had to fix some cracked tiles around the house which was going to take a few days for the entire process of drying and all that stuff, so I volunteered to take the kiddos to Pensacola after our Gulfarium visit. They were worn out after the Gulfarium.
One of our many trips to the playground across the street from Uncle Joe's house.

Notice the extra kid. That's Abby. Nathan really likes Abby and tries his best to impress her. First time he met her his pick-up line was, "I don't live here. I live at the beach." Then her response was, "So do I." Nathan didn't realize Pensacola was the beach too. When he saw her again last weekend he told her about how his uncle has a sports car and he rode in it with the top down. She didn't care though.

Then Abby started walking over to the other side of the playground following her older sister's group of friends. Nathan didn't want her to get away. This is the funniest scenario I think I have ever seen Nate in.

Kathryn became a little possessive over Uncle Joe too. Once he came over to the swings I was no longer good enough to push her. We saw a playground today on the way home from school and she said, "Uh Joe, wing." That means "Uncle Joe swing."

Here is the obligatory Kat & cat picture.

I got a sweet picture of Jessica snuggling with her mommy while she's still all hers.

On the way home from Pensacola we stopped at the mall to buy circus tickets. What was going to be a quick and easy trip turned into this:

Luckily we were on our way home from Pensacola with a suitcase and clothes in the car.

Gulfarium Goofballs

The cousins met up for a visit to the Gulfarium in Fort Walton Beach.
Kathryn clapped and cheered during the entire show. She actually started cheering before the show even started. I love her level of excitement!


Nate and Kate splashed around in the touch pool.Those are some good looking water creatures.
We took turns holding the macaw.Even Nate. There was a drop of water on the lens and the bird kept crawling up to Nate's face so I didn't have time to wipe it and get another picture, so this will have to do. It's proof that he held the bird.
And Kate held onto her giant Icee for dear life. There was no getting that out of her hands.
After our snack break we went to another dolphin show.
Jess and Nate were more interested in looking out into the parking lot during the entire dolphin training show.But not Kate. She enjoyed it. She was intrigued by the dolphin named Lily. She was probably expecting to see Paw-Paw and Lady's cat appear somewhere.

Kathryn imitating the dolphin's flips.
More dolphin tricks.

Picture Perfect

It's not what it looks like here. No Paw-Paw didn't hack into my blogger account and post his pictures. These are pictures Nathan took while I was outside washing my car yesterday.

If those pictures weren't exciting enough for you, here are some more.

Nathan has taken pictures of just about every little thing in the house. I have pictures of electrical outlets, lamps, door knobs, pantry shelves, inside drawers, and yes, a toilet with pee in it. He's into photography these days, what can I say.