Worst Blogger Ever

Daddy and Silas enjoy the sun.

 Yep, that's me. Worst ever! It might have something to do with the nine other people in my life. Keeps me busy. Today I'm holding a sick fevery baby a lot, so I have to be sitting. So voila, a blog post. Here are some ramblings...

We got to take a long overdue trip to Florida in January. So nice to get away from the cool weather and see my mom and dad down there. We also had a great visit with my Aunt Nancy and family and my cousin Courtney and her fam.

Enjoying the lake while sleepy cold alligators aren't a worry.

Warm enough to wade!

Lots of nature finds

Dock in my mom's backyard. Lots of time spent there.

Little man, swinging. 6 months old!

Hilarious lizard! Grace loves the lizards there.

 One of my favorite things we did while there was a visit to Margery Rawlings home. Such a sweet florida cracker home and grove. When she died, her husband put everything in storage and the home and land was donated to the University. After some years, it got to be too much financially for the college to keep up and it was given to the state. Her husband was still alive and took everything out of storage, donated it and them came himself and set it up just as it had been when she was living there! The house and everything in it is 95% original. Even the books on her shelf are exact copies of what she had there, the originals being kept safe in a humidity regulated environment. She stipulated that her place would never be used for commercial gain so you'll not find a bookshop or souvenirs there. Just her lovely home, some ducks and chickens, a small grove and some old wild citrus trees.

She wrote The Yearling right here.

The Royal Road to Romance by Haliburton on her shelf!

 Ms. Rawlings liked to entertain and cook for friends, she also owned a place at the beach and her husband owned and operated a hotel in St. Augustine (now the Ripely's museum). She didn't like all the people there so spent a lot of time at Cross Creek even after her success. I really enjoyed reading 'Cross Creek', about her life there, in the middle of this visit. It made it so real. She spent quite a few years, struggling on this farm before The Yearling brought her fame and cash. It was also part of the reason her first marriage ended.

Such a lovely comfortable home. Gregory Peck stayed here as a guest while filming The Yearling.

How my children enjoy Ms. Rawlings tangerines.

Yummy

Sunset at my mom's.

 This picture was snapped at the beginning of Jan, at the end of a lovely 2 weeks with Kaley and Jack here. I have missed my Girl so much. We had a great time just going to the grocery store and getting coffee. She was a peach and drove me up to Asheville for an errand. I hate how I look in this picture! But I am trying to stop avoiding the camera and being so critical of my pics as I want my kids and grandchildren to have them! It's really hard for me. But it's a perfect picture of Kaley with her cute new hair do. Which she has changed again already :/