The Floridian Checklist

Ok, so I totally stole this from Caity, but I couldn't help myself. It's just tooo freaking true! I laughed my butt off!!

You know you're from Florida if:

- You never use an umbrella because you know the rain will be over in five minutes.

- A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store, but everything to do with shade.

- You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites.

- You're younger than thirty but some of your friends are over 65.

- Anything under 70 is chilly.

- You've driven through Yeehaw Junction.

- You could swim before you could read.

- You have to drive north to get to The South.

- You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix.

- Every other house in your neighborhood had blue roofs in 2004-2005.

- You've gotten out of school early on Halloween to trick or treat before it got dark.

- You know that anything under a Category 3 just isn't worth waking up for.

- You dread love bug season.

- You are on a first name basis with the Hurricane list. They aren't Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances...but Charley , Frances , Ivan and Jeanne.

- You know what a snowbird is and when they'll leave.

- You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average.

- You were twelve before you ever saw snow, or you still haven't.

-'Down South' means Key West.

- You think New York drivers licenses should only be valid in New York .

- Flip-flops are everyday wear. Shoes are for business meetings and church.

- Sweet tea can be served at any meal.

- An alligator once walked through your neighborhood.

- You smirk when a game show's 'Grand Prize' is a trip or cruise to Florida.

- You measure distance in minutes.

- You have a drawer full of bathing suits, and one sweatshirt.

- You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls.

- A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level.

- You think everyone from a bigger city has a northern accent.

- You know the four seasons really are: hurricane season, love bug season, tourist season and summer.

- Anything under 95 is just warm.

- You've hosted a hurricane party.

- You go to a theme park for an afternoon, and know when to get on the best rides.

- You can pronounce Okeechobee, Kissimmee , Ichnatucknee and Withlacoochee.

- You understand why it's better to have a friend with a boat, than have a boat yourself.

- Bumper stickers on the pickup in front of you include: various fish, NRA, NASCAR, Go Gators, and a confederate flag.

- You were 5 before you realized they made houses without pools.

- You were 25 when you first met someone who couldn't swim.

- You've worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas.

- You recognize Miami as ' Northern Cuba.

Yeah, she likes the swings!

 

 

 

Jekyll and Hyde (in her own right)

Terrible two's my hiney.

With Diana approaching her 3rd birthday, I can only imagine that her 3's are going to keep Ed and I on our toes!

 

 

Diana's Uniform

About a week ago we took the kids to Johnson City to do some school shopping and Diana found a pair of ballerina shoes, she was SO excited to have found them that she left the store wearing them.

A few hours later we wandered into Gymboree (No surprise there! hyuck hyuck)and she found the most adorable tutu which Ed gladly bestowed upon her.

So what is the problem you might ask? She hasn't taken them off since then!! Sometimes I'm able to coax her into wearing a regular outfit, but this is usually what she wears daily with variations on the shirt. She was in a rotten mood when I was snapping these, but I'll try and get something cuter later in the week.

 

Random Shots From Gatlinburg

 

 

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because "Where did the time go?" has been SO overused on this blog I'll just say ...

Happy Birthday Christina! We love you!!

 

Super SEVENTEEN!

 

 

 

 

Gatlinburg Fun

Christina wanted to go to Gatlinburg for her birthday, so we spent a majority of the day just walking around and taking pictures. It was hot as heck until about 4pm but then cooled off significantly and was just perfect!

 

 

5 kids in a phone booth

 

Bubba Gump

Dom "modeling" some oversized sneaks:

 

Who came up with this??

This is what Diana looks forward to at the Park each week. I don't know why she likes it, she even calls them the scary swings, but she looks forward to it all the same.

(Note the head says "Feed Me") C R E E P Y!

 

 

CLEAR THE ROADS!...

Christina is coming through!

Sigh, alas it has come to pass that Christina has in her possesion... A Driver's License. To say I am terrified would be putting it mildly. She is really excited though and we're really very proud that she passed on her first try!

KUDOS CHRISTINA!

 

Her new ride: An '05 Suzuki Aerio

 

Matt's Pics

These are some pics taken by Ashley while she and Matt visited last week! I absolutely love them! Ashley you got some awesome pics, thank you SOOO much!

I also just want to add that I love that Matt and I have the exact same shade of hair color! I wish I could get my hair to behave as well as his does! ;)

 

 

 

 

Brooke & Middle School

Today was the kids Registration day for school. While technically Monday is their real first day, I couldn't resist getting some pics of Brooke looking Oh-so-Cute!

 

 

 

 

Some time at the Lake with Matt

 

 

 

 

Matt & Ashley Venture from the City

I was so excited to have Matt,Ashley and Borris come and visit us over the weekend! It was an awesome treat and we were really sad to see them go!

These were taken overlooking the Lakes from Clinch Mountain: