Fun Family Weekeend

Another busy weekend for the Rollins family! We went lots of places, saw lots of things... but unfortunately, we forgot the camera for our adventures so we don't have a single picture to share. :( My bad.

On Saturday we went floating down the Ichetucknee River with Jared's Mom and Dad, Dusty, Arin, Chad, Amber, Gavin and Anson. We were smart and all rented rafts that kept us out of the freezing cold water. For Arin and I, it was because we are pregnant so of course we had to do it for the sake of the babies. We're sacrificial like that :) We went in at the North end, floated down for a couple hours, and got out at the midway point. The weather could not have been more perfect and it turned out to be a great day. We didn't take the camera because we didn't want to risk dropping it in the water or getting it wet, but just imagine the 10 of us floating down the river, rafts tied together, with Amber and I freaking out at every over-hanging limb because of the fear of a snake falling down into our tube. Thankfully, no snakes were spotted :)

That evening Charlotte and I headed over to my Dad & Bobbie's house for an 89th birthday party for my Grandma (Dad's mom). A Meng gathering is never a small one and it was great to visit with so much of the family. The no-camera thing here was simply me forgetting to bring it along, but picture Charlotte riding around in a red wagon with her little cousin (third cousin, I believe) Adley. They were adorable!

Then on Sunday, we went to Silver Springs with the Rollins family (minus Dad and Megan, who weren't able to go). It was a little warm, but most of the park is shaded so it wasn't horrible. This trip made me remember my first family outing with the Rollins family in April 2004 when we went to Wild Adventures for Megan's birthday. Our theme park pattern tends to be ride, food, ride, food... Luckily, the rides at Silver Springs are much more mellow than they are at Wild Adventures! We had a great time, especially Anson, who really enjoyed seeing all the fish, turtles, and gators. Even with a big day the day before, all of the kids did really well and seemed to enjoy themselves. We intended for the camera to make its way to Silver Springs with us, but in the hustle and bustle of getting fourteen people into three vehicles, the camera bag was left on the front porch :( So you'll just have to picture the cuteness of Charlotte riding on the carousel for the first time, waving to everyone as we circled around (I believe Arin and Amber did manage to get a picture of her- maybe they'll be kind enough to e-mail it to me). Another great picture you can imagine is Charlotte and Ella in their matching dresses, both leaning to look at the fish on the glass bottom boat. And the video that we weren't able to capture was of Gavin losing his balance while pushing PawPaw in the wheelchair, trying to regain his footing and control as PawPaw goes flying down the hill and into the tree, with Gavin ending up getting stuck under PawPaw and the wheelchair :) Once we knew neither of them were hurt, I seriously almost peed my pants.

And in true Monday fashion, it is past noon and I am still in my pajamas. I'm so grateful for the luxury of being a stay-at-home-mom!