The adventures of Grandma and Grandpa Fulks...in Florida

My parents came to visit from Utah..and it was so wonderful. In the next several posts, I have documented the FUN so that we can always remember the wonderful time we had together (so family members, if you are interested...check out the next few posts). One perfect afternoon we headed out to my favorite park, Fort Christmas, and I was able to take these shots of my parents with my kids. Something I will treasure always. It was a beautiful day and perfect weather for a picnic and family fun. Thank you so much Mom and Dad for the time you spent with us.

Flying high!

I love it when photography can catch the joy of a moment...or an afternoon. The kids had so much fun on the swings this day out at Fort Christmas. Flying high...and loving it.

Carver even caught me having my own joyful moment!

All the small things

Isn't it true...it's the small things that we all remember. My parents came to visit and we had such a wonderful time with them, but I know that the things that will stay in my kids hearts the longest are the small and simple moments they spent together, in our home.

Above, my dad helping Cooper with his p.j.'s. A precious moment to watch (considering that half the time I have to sit on Cooper to even get him dressed...and here he just waltzed over to Grandpa to let him help. But hey...whatever works).

Cooper and Grandpa playing "elephant". Cooper does not always cooperate when someone wants him to "do" something, but he adores my Dad and would copy his every move. This "game" may look odd and strange to the rest of the world, but if you are a member of my family, you will know the significance of "elephant". Truly it really just consists of my dad pretending his arms are a trunk of an elephant as he makes a very loud and disturbing elephant "sound", but every one of my siblings can probably remember him doing this with us as children...and with all of our children since. I will remember it always and this picture will probably bring tears to my eyes for years to come. Sniff. Sappy, but true!

Do you see the significance? (above) No...not me in my p.j.s. Hello...we actually have a fire in the fireplace. Only done this a few times since we have lived here, but it was SO cold for a few days, that we had such a cozy fire burning each night. It was fun to have the fire when my parents were in town. One night I stayed up late with my Dad and talked and talked. The next night my Dad went to the temple with John and Kinsey. I thought that was neat that my Dad could be in the temple with Kinsey to do baptisms. My mom and I sat by the fire, ate some treats, and watched Pride and Prejudice. What could be better?

Kennedy loves sitting and chatting with Grandma. They seem to have a special connection. Grandma took each of my kids on a special shopping trip and they loved that.

Carver and Cooper just can't get enough of Grandpa. He is full of funny voices, (donald duck is their favorite), silly things to say, and horse play...hey...just like a six year old boy.

Yes, we do have alligators in Florida!

There is probably not a body of water in Florida that is free from aligators, but we don't always tend to see them. The last day my parents were with us, we drove out to Playa Linda, a wonderful beach on a National Preserve. It is close to the Kennedy Space Center, so we were able to see the shuttle on the launch pad in the distance. On our way out, we saw this gator on the side of the road and just had to stop to take some pics. Kinsey was disgusted and stayed in the car thinking the alligator might dash across the water and attack, but my parents were very fascinated. The ones I have seen in our own back pond are much smaller, so this was kind of exciting. This one was probably about seven feet long.

We spent the rest of this perfect afternoon enjoying the beach. What a perfect day. Days before Orlando had hit record lows (lows in the 30's), so this was a nice change. My parents loved it. Kennedy and Carver boogie boarded and braved the cold water. The rest of us just played in the sand and relaxed.

Sisters

This is me and my sister Linda. We are 14 years apart, we are in different stages of life, we don't get to spend as much time as we would like together...but yet, she is one of my best friends and always has been. My other two sisters, Brenda (Linda's twin) and Wendy are also on the BFF list. I feel so lucky to have the sisters that I do. I do more talking and laughing with them than anyone else. I would feel so sad if I didn't have this kind of bond with these wonderful women. Here we are trying on our new matchy coats.
Linda lives in So. Florida but we haven't spent that much time together lately, so it was so fun to spend a fun week-end at her home. Since my parents flew into Ft. Lauderdale, they spent some time with Linda, then I drove down (alone), spent a long week-end with them, and then took my parents back up to Orlando. The three days away were worth so much.

We went to movies, went to lunch, had a cook-out, did some shopping, relaxed, watched a sappy Hallmark movie together, laughed and laughed, ate some good peppermint ice cream, got on facebook to check out my nephew's (Linda's son that is at BYU) new girlfriend, and talked and talked and talked. It was fun to be with my parents and with Linda and her husband, but not to be worrying about the kids. John played super-dad and took great care of their needs at home. He is so good to let me run away here and there. On a little shopping trip with my mom and Linda, I found this cute "Doris Day coat", as I like to call it. I just love it and as I was trying it on, we found one for Linda. My sweet mom bought a coat for each of us. What a fun thing.

I have memories of my two oldest sisters from such a young age. I was only five when they got married and moved out, but before then I remember them always wanting to paint my nails, do my hair, or let me sit on their boyfriends laps. As they both had kids, I spent so much time with them and loving on those sweet babies. I even spent about three summers with Linda and her family helping her with her kids. I lived with her the summer before I got married and have wonderful memories of long talks, chick flicks, and shopping. We have stayed so close (all of us sisters) over the years and it has been such a rewarding relationship for me. We usually all get together every summer when I go to Utah...and I am pushing for a "sister's" vacation. I feel very blessed to have these women in my life.

Exploring...in Mount Dora

We did some "exploring" last Saturday with our friends, the Roses, in Mount Dora (about an hour north west of Orlando). But I do need to clarify one thing. There is no "mount" in Mt. Dora. No mountain, no big hill, no landmark of any sort that would hint to the reason for the name. Possibly a little more hilly than the rest of flat Florida, (though "hilly" is probably too strong of a word), but no mount. But we did not go there for the "mount" (though Carver was looking for it the whole time). We went there to have a fun day with friends and enjoy the charm of this darling little town and to play by the lake. All those things were accomplished . It is such a darling town with old charm, cute little houses, neat buildings, little shops and restaurants, and a beautiful lake. We did miss Kinsey as she had to stay home to study for her end of sememster exams. I have to hand it to that kid...she is so self motivated and her grades are so important to her and I am proud of her that she took her exams so seriously (she does have some college level classes, so they do require a lot of work). Her exams are over now...and she did beautifully...but we did miss her on our little outing. Although the town was not the feature of all my shots (I was too busy following the kids around trying to capture their charm), I still got a lot of fun pictures and the town had great spots to shoot. I am a visual person, I love pictures, I think they tell the best story, even if it is just showing the different personality or mood of the person I am shooting, so this post (like most) is FULL of pictures. I try to be conservative with the amount of shots I post, but then I think "who am I kidding". Too many pictures that I love.We stumbled upon a cool old red brick building, with a neat old fire escape going up the side. How could I resist these shots. The kids had fun playing while I snapped these photos.Luke, Emma, and Carver. They are the three musketeers, and they had such a fun day together. Emma just gets right in the middle of whatever game they are playing, and they play so cute together. Carver adores her...though sometimes he has to act "cool" when he is around Luke. Carver enjoys both of their company, and I think that is so cool.
I love this kids eyes.
Luke was the only sensible kid...who happened to hold on when climbing high...and thus didn't have all the parents yelling at him.

Oh how I love to take Emma's picture. She never tires of posing for me. Kennedy is a pretty good sport too.

Okay, why don't I have those eyelashes?

Cute Gavin...more beautiful eyes!

"We love to stomp, and stomp, and stomp"

Yes, it can be so annoying spending a day with me. I want to stop at every fun spot to take some shots. Well, Matt Rose just made the best of it. He started a game of "stroller racing", and kept the boys totally entertained while he ran them up and down this alley.
As you can see...the game was a hit.

The Lake on the edge of town is beautiful, and it was a perfect time of day. We played on the dock, then sat on the beach, and even watched the sunset. PERFECT!

I love the colors in this shot below and thought it was so cute...until I noticed the red cap lady in the back ground. Maybe she just adds to the charm.

Hmm, what are these two talking about? Planning their future wedding? A mother can dream.
"What's down there? You better not fall in"

"Kenna, your joke is not that funny"

This is my favorite shot of the day (below). Emma wins the prize!

relaxation!!!!

The kids played for a couple hours on the beach. It was so relaxing, the weather was beautiful, and we got to enjoy our friends so much.

John grabbed the camera for a while and stalked us all. He does know his way around a camera and took some cool shots.

There is a really neat Inn that sits right on the water. There was a wedding going on there and it was fun to watch. What a serene spot.

Look at this cute kid...you gotta love the dirt on his fingers, and the contentment of his face. John caught this moment perfectly.