Madi meets a Gator!

Yesterday, at the very last minute, we headed over to the library for a native animal exhibit. Madi touched a snake for the first time and even touched a baby alligator though she was shaking! It was a really neat experience, and we learned a lot about our Florida wildflife.

Biker Mei Meis

I have definitely failed at devoting any blogging time to our dear Mei Mei community. The Mei Mei group, which means 'Little Sister' in Chinese, is a group of precious little girls from China and their fabulous parents. We get together on occasion for playdates and especially for birthday parties! This week, we met Ami Mei and Kayla at the park for some play and bike riding. The girls had so much fun playing together. We are blessed to have such a tight-knit group of girls who will grow up together.

Boo Boo's Back!

This year, Boo Boo brought a friend with her! It has been such a blessing for Kelsey, since this is her first visit without Grandma here. Madi took to Lauren right away, especially when she picked up the vibe that Lauren would play with her! We have had a great visit with the "big girls".

Madi's New Ride

Grandma Pauline didn't take very long to get into our heads from upstairs! I fully blame (or attribute) our recent impulsive purchase on her! Something (or someone) prompted me to pick up the phone last week and call Chrysler dealerships looking for a 2008 minivan in the color Sandstone.

The first dealership I called had one in stock, fully loaded, and it just happened to be the color Sandstone. We went and looked at the vehicle only to find that it may be a little 'bigger and better' than we could afford. When we asked about any other 2008 vans, we were told that we wouldn't find one anywhere. Of course, I didn't believe them, so I got on the phone and called every Chrysler dealership in the area. There wasn't a 2008 to be found. We went to another dealership to comparison shop, and that's when we realized that we had been presented with the deal of a lifetime with my first phone call. We drove back to the dealership and finalized all the details. Now we are the proud owners of a beautiful and safe new minivan!

Come to find out, Grandma had been telling Grandpa for months how concerned she was about us in our old minivan, which was a time-bomb. I know in my heart, she orchestrated that deal and prompted me to make that call. Thanks Grandma:)

The First Trophy

Last weekend, Madi brought home her first trophy for cheerleading at the YMCA. She was so proud of herself. She accepted the trophy and ran right past Jimmy and I to get up the bleachers to Aunt Diane and Uncle Rick who attended the big event. On the way home, she just kept looking at Aunt Diane and saying, "I can't believe I got this!" It was her first taste of reward in sports, and I'm sure it will be the first of many for her!