George and I had a great week-end get-away. On Friday, after a very long, stressful workweek, we got away and went to Orlando to spend a couple of days with Kyle and Kim and their family, plus to go to the Orlando Temple which is always so uplifting.
Brady, who is only seven years old, has absolutely turned into a mini-NBA star. He practices as often as someone will walk across the street from their home to the little park there, and watch him. Of course, we did.
Harley came to watch, too. George had a great idea of taking him on a little walk or run, but Harley would have nothing doing with that. He wanted to stay and watch Brady, too!
After going about three feet, Harley stopped and refused to go any further. It was hilarious! After practicing for a little while, Brady was ready to go to his game. Trouble was--it was still about an hour and a half before we had to go. He was so excited, he just couldn't wait, and definitely wanted to get there early.
Brady is only seven on a 7-9 year old team, so he is one of the youngest and I believe, he is the shortest. But did he let that stop him? No way!
He was ready to go and ran right out on the floor to get started!
He was running down the floor at full speed, he would dive on the floor for the ball . . .
And his defense was just awesome! No one was going to score on him!
When he scored his basket, we all just jumped and screamed. It was so exciting!
And he couldn't have been happier!
Brady's team won 14 to 6. Great game, Brady!
Brady's dad and mom were so proud of him, too!
After getting some lunch, Kim had a great idea and told us about a strawberry patch in the Mt. Dora area (Do you remember that area, Doug? Hah!) Anyway, she said we could pick fresh strawberries there. Carter, who is 14 years old, wasn't too excited about it, but when we got there, he got right in and helped out--and before the afternoon was over, I can honestly say, I think he had a great time, too! Thanks for being a great sport, Carter!
The strawberry rows were built up with a plastic under the plants to keep them from getting in the dirt, so it made it very easy to get the strawberries.
What a great family project! We all worked together and had so much fun doing it!
The strawberries were huge and ripe, so they were so much better than when they are green and ripening in doors.
Jenna told her mom that she would help her make strawberry jam, and she was very excited to learn how to do that.
Brady worked so hard to find just the perfect strawberries . . .
and not pick the squishy ones!
Grandpa George's plan was to freeze them for protein shakes!
We even had a little time to study creatures such as lady bugs or butterflies!
My idea was to make some fresh strawberry pies!
It took almost no time before all of our boxes were filled.
Then we took them to the little store to be weighed and to pay for them.
But, as fun as it was to pick strawberries together as a family, even more fun was to try the berries out in strawberry shortcakes and chocolate-strawberry shakes! Divine!
Now, it was off to the hay ride which took you all around the farm to see other items which were grown at different times of the year.
We passed the grape vines, which looked completely dead, but would soon be greening up and growing grapes for jams and wines.
Next, came the Christmas tree area, where at Christmas time, you can go cut down your own tree. We, also, saw an empty field where they had cleared out all the vines after all the pumpkins had been picked. See, I told you, they grew about everything!
Then, we had fun just walking around the farm. They had a zip line, which was mostly for young children, so Carter and Jenna decided they would rather try the Tarzan vine.
Carter, who can figure out how to put anything together, was trying to rig up a way so that he could actually stand on it to swing higher.
Given a little more time, I'm sure he could have made something work!
They had some very old farm implements that reminded me of things I had seen on my grandfather's farm growing up in Idaho.
Even an old John Deere tractor. The kids asked me if I had ever driven one, and I said, "Yes." I was only about nine or ten when my job was to drive backward to raise the long derrick up with hay to the top of the stack whereupon my uncles would let it loose, then I just had to go forward and start the process again. Great practice for driving since we could drive when we were 14 years old in Idaho.
And just for the road, we got Carter one more strawberry shortcake! They were just so delicious. Of course, I didn't take the picture of the one more chocolate-strawberry milk shake that Grandpa George had to get, too. What a really great day to spend with family. Thanks, Kyle and Kim, for taking us to such a fun place. We loved it!
3 comments:
Way to go Brady! You can tell he is passionate about Bball. He is such a cute little boy. I'm soooo jealous that you guys went to the strawberry patch. Here in Shanghai the strawberries are $$$ right now. I want some for jam, smoothies and pies! Maybe that is where we are getting them from----Florida. Hence the high $$$. It is so great to have Kim and Kyle in Orlando. Their house is perfect for a "stop over", and I love that they are always ready for some fun (Carter too!!)
I can't believe how Kim and Kyle's kids are growing up!! They are such athletic stars and look like they are enjoying Orlando very much. Reading your blog about their family was wonderful. It looks like the family has learned to fit into the life style in Florida. Who wouldn't love to go out and pick strawberries in Florida??? That certainly never happens in Idaho or Utah.
I'm actually happy that Kyle, Kim and their family moved to Florida so that I could see and learn a little more about them on your blog. They really do seem to have adjusted very well with life in Florida. I'm so happy for them and for you and George to have one more family close by!
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