Sea World

Hi everyone! One of the perks of living in Florida is access to the exciting theme parks.We took advantage and spent a day at Sea World courtesy of the wonderful family members who helped MariCagle to win 4 tickets through a school fundraiser. It was a first for all four of us and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was a fun-filled day packed with lots of excitement and we didn't even see everything there. I think we all enjoyed the Shamu and dolphin shows best. Although Nate was especially taken with the pirate-themed shows including the sea lions and an Elmo production. We were also amazed by the penguins and the sharks. We hope you enjoy a few of our pictures below. We love you all!!

We were greeted by Shamu at the entrance gate. No better way to enter the park.

Then we quickly saw the real thing. Shamu was the very first show we watched. MariCagle was especially taken with the 'Believe' show sharing with us that it almost made her cry because she was so happy. I guess she gets her sentimentality from her mother...I must admit that I too teared up. She explained later that it was her favorite because it 'taught us about the world and how we all work together.' And here she made her mama cry all over again!! Man!

Posing with Shamu after the show.

Nate continues to love all things pirate. This ship was in no way fitted with pirate decor, however, Nate declared it a pirate ship. Therefore we had to climb on...twice. It was also his primary reason for loving Clyde and Seymore, the pirate sea lions, and the Elmo Bookaneer show. I would say that his and MariCagle's preferences are slightly different. :)

The rides and play area for young children was quite impressive. They had lots of rides that the kids loved including the Shamu roller coaster and this crab free fall type ride. I was a little concerned that they might freak out at the top but as you can see, they loved every minute of it.

They both figured out pretty quickly how to get to the top. This was the site where Nate incurred his carpet-type burn on his belly. Needless to say, the boo-boo was very quickly forgotten after we took him to the first aid station and they patched him up and gave him a free stuffed Shamu.

We had a fantastic day and will hopefully be able to get back before we leave Florida to see all the things we missed this trip.

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a great Easter! We enjoyed our weekend just hanging out at Grammy and PopPop's house. The kids got to dye eggs which I think turned out to be more fun for me than them as it didn't hold their attention for very long. MariCagle enjoyed getting dressed up for church and both she and Nate enjoyed the egg hunt. They got lots of outside playtime in while we visited which is a nice change since we're currently minus a yard in our apartment. :) They love being able to roam around outside playing ball, climbing trees, and drawing on the sidewalk. It was a great weekend if we could just find a way to get rid of the pollen or a way to keep it from clogging Brandon and I up.

Dying Easter Eggs....even with glitter it only held their attention long enough to dunk the eggs. But Mom and Grammy had fun pulling them out and finishing them off.

She can taste that chocolate bunny already...her only specific request of the Easter bunny.

Wasting no time digging in, we finally convinced him to let us cut off a piece though he tried with all his might to bite into that thing.

In our Sunday best.

With just the two of them hunting it didn't take long at all to fill up their baskets.

And as a special Easter treat, the tooth fairy visited the same weekend!! MariCagle finally got one of her two loose teeth out. The picture below was taken shortly after...her cheeks are still red from the tears. She was so fearful of it falling out! But she was ecstatic for the money in her tooth pillow. Hopefully her second visit will be soon, though not if we leave it up to her. :)

MariCagle is currently enjoying her spring break so we're planning a trip to Sea World later in the week. So stay tuned!

Official End of the T-ball Season

MariCagle and Nate officially ended their t-ball season by getting their trophies today. They're cute trophies with bobble heads. They love them bobble head or no bobble head...it's a trophy with their name on it! We wish everyone a very Happy Easter! We'll look forward to posting the Lockhart's in their Easter best after the weekend. Love you all!!

The Usual

The usual is exactly what we've been up to so I don't have much to report nor do I have any pictures this post. Sorry. But even 'the usual' bears some mentioning as it keeps us happy and most thankful. So here are a few highlights....

• The kids have officially completed t-ball. I think they had a great time; I think we all had a great time.

• Violin is our other outside activity and I hope to post some more practice sessions soon. MariCagle has learned LOTS of new songs.
  

• School is probably the biggest 'usual' activity. Nate has thoroughly enjoyed some role playing activities they've been doing. He has been recounting fairy tales (specifically 'The Three Little Pigs,' 'Little Red Riding Hood,' and 'Cinderella' to name a few) with great accuracy based on the fun at school. He retells it with such enthusiasm inserting his friends names for all the characters based on who filled the role in class that day. It is by far my favorite variation of the 'Three Pigs' ever.

• MariCagle is still plowing along with her school work which her teacher does a great job of disguising as fun. I am really amazed watching her through this learning to read process. It really is awe-inspiring how they pick up on things. She's also enjoyed learning about money (specifically coins) which has sparked interesting discussions on allowance. We're still skirting around it at the moment but we'll see how long that lasts.

So we are busy as bees and loving every moment. Look for much Easter fun coming soon! Love to you all!!

T-ball - Go Blue Team!

Both Nate and MariCagle have officially begun t-ball season. This is Nate's first timeout, and he has been super excited from the get go. As you can imagine, he is a regular bundle of energy out on the field. He is all over the place chasing the ball no matter where it goes. I'm actually impressed with his focus while in the field. MariCagle has been slow to fully enjoy it as can be expected of our princess. During the first game I received a message via Brandon that 'I am ready to go home now.' But she has really come around and actually looks forward to practices. At practice she gets more of a chance to field the ball since there are half as many kids in the field. Understandable.

Here are a few of the highlights from the first game. They are adorable in their uniforms if I do say so myself.

MariCagle chose the number 3 because her Daddy has already taught her that Babe Ruth was number 3 and he was the best baseball player of all time. MariCagle's logic is that if Babe Ruth, number 3, was the best player, then she must also be the best player if she wears number 3.

Nate is always ready. He's number 5, just like Uncle Britton.

Go MariCagle! I think this one was actually a foul ball, but she wound up with a good hit and best of all knew which order to run the bases. It doesn't sound like much, but at this level, it is great progress!

Notice the ball is still on the tee. Whoops! He too got a good hit though, but he needed a little help with the bases. Initially he took off as fast as he could for second.

This video demonstrates Nate's energy. Try to keep your eyes on no. 5. (He starts out on the pitcher's mound.)

All in all, this has been and will continue to be a fun experience for both the kids and Brandon and I. It's great to see the kids active and enjoying themselves, not to mention it is highly entertaining. :)

TOOTH FAIRY UPDATE: On another note, we are still waiting for the tooth fairy to visit MC. She is a little afraid of the teeth actually coming out so she has been slow to wiggle them on her own. I'm not sure how she is my child as I used to yank mine as soon as I could, but we are waiting patiently and will be sure to keep you posted. Of course, by the time the baby teeth actually come out the new ones might have already come in and we won't get that snaggle tooth snapshot.

Tooth Newsflash...

MariCagle is officially on toothfairy alert. She came to me yesterday saying she had something in her mouth she couldn't get out. Low and behold, her two bottom permanent teeth are peeking through and the baby teeth are officially loose. She is ecstatic! So many of her classmates have already lost teeth this year; she has been waiting for this day. If only I could say the same for myself and Brandon. We are a little wary as it's just one more sign that our baby is growing up...way too fast. So stay tuned for some cute snaggle-tooth pictures!

Finally.....Merry Christmas & Happy 2008!

Thank you all for your patience. I have been very slow to update the blog as of late, but I hope to catch you up in this post and then do better to keep up. The last time I posted we were gearing up for Christmas which was a whirlwind as you can see from the sort of picture diary below. We enjoyed wonderful time with family and friends and rang in the new year blessed more than ever.

Nate and MariCagle were very controlled in their visit to Santa. MariCagle asked simply for a snow globe, and Nate asked for a 'road ripper' aka car that makes noise. If only that control had lasted through the holiday!

This shot was taken at Nate's Christmas program. Nate's class performed wonderful carols. Nate's favorite was 'Joy to the World.' And MariCagle's class performed songs from the movie, 'The Polar Express.' It's February and I'm still trying to get them both to move away from the Christmas favorites to some non-seasonal tunes.

We decorated what seemed like a million cookies for both their classes and mine. Surprisingly, Nate was the most methodical decorator being sure to cover every inch with adequate sprinklage.

Nate loves all things pirate so needless to say his most favorite gifts were of the pirate theme. He is very serious in his role playing. It's very cute.

Here are the little angels on Christmas morning waiting to go see their gifts. Nate was very quick to ascertain that it was NOT 'sticks and rocks.'

MariCagle got many fabulous gifts including a couple snow globes. One of her many favorites was this baby doll from Grandma. She was on cloud nine all evening making special plans for displaying her at home.

Like I said, Christmas was a whirlwind. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the spoiling of our children. We had great fun with everyone we got to see, and we loved the Christmas cards we received from those of you we didn't get to see.

Since Christmas we've just been trying to settle back in. We haven't been up to anything in particular, just the 'usual' which is enough to keep us busy. The kids are excited about Valentine's day approaching and the start of t-ball. They both get to play this year on the same team. So look for more to come in a much more timely fashion...I promise!