brrrrrrrr...baby it's cold outside

Yes folks, Florida has actually had at least two, count them, two days in a row of cold weather. Actually a nip in the air...the need for jackets and for some closed toed shoes. It has not stopped the boys from spending time outdoors, however...
I'll have more pictures following the weekend. We are headed out tomorrow night for a weekend of camping. It's going to be a chilly one. We are looking forward to campfires, s'mores, hiking in the woods and the boys' all favorite pastime.....lots and lots of dirt! Where there is dirt...there are the den Dulk boys. Happy weekend everyone!

pancakes...of course

so here is a snippet of our process this morning, preparing pancakes. Normally, mommy flies solo when making pancakes...but today there were helpers.

we had a nice batch of whole wheat pancakes (with a little pumpkin added) to freeze for a week's worth of breakfasts.

Finally, they were ready to be devoured. Nothing quite like pancakes to start the day.

They sure give growing boys lots...and lots of energy!

i'm grateful

I realized I haven't been keeping up on my "41 Things I'm Grateful For" task. I am overwhelmingly grateful for my boys health. I think I tend to take it for granted and I need to remember what a true gift health really is...I'm thankful for strong legs that run, jump (even on my bed) and climb...for arms that can hug, reach and are strong....for eyes that can see, ears that hear, mouths that speak (wonderful, silly, funny, powerful words)...hearts that beat strong and minds that are curious, sharp and always thinking. The questions...the many questions...sometimes mindbending...but oh how wonderful that there are those questions...they give me the opportunity to share the wonders of the world that God created and they remind to stop and take time to wonder myself about this incredible world in which we reside.

The next time I'm stressed out about whatever... money, housework, schedules...I hope I can step away from it...take a walk outside...grab a handful of dirt, lay in the grass and look for cloud animals, collect pine cones or just go squish my toes in the mud and remember I am a child of God and what a wonderful world He's given me to enjoy!

the great outdoors

Today was a day of all types of weather...it rained hard this morning and then the sun came out in full force this afternoon. The rain left, of course, its calling card...that is, its calling card for my boys: PUDDLES! In fact this a.m. when I told B that it was raining, his eyes got real big and he said, "there's going to be puddles!" B found himself in the bathtub today at least of 3 if not 4 times for either a partial or full bath. I had some fun with the camera today:

We also took a little trip out to the retention pond to catch "something"...they wanted tadpoles...but all I could come up with were tiny fish...they loved the adventure of it...we saw lot's of tiny fish, a live frog, a dead frog, some water skimmers...and something larger than the small fish started making movement as the sun began to set.

A GREAT day in the life of a boy!!!! We'll see in the morning which fish survive their temporary digs on the front porch! I didn't stop to think whether or not we would have any night visitors...hmmmmm.