August Update:

We continued the start of the month still in Florida. 

So I can't remember if I'd already mentioned this or not, but in case I didn't, and I'll probably write a separate post about it later, since it's rather complicated, but at the end of last year I learned through Ancestry DNA that the 1st cousin I thought we'd found, is in fact, my half sister. Her name is Andrea and she's got a beautiful family, and we were lucky to get to meet up with them in Orlando and meet for the first time face to face after months of talking back and forth online. We decided to meet up at a somewhat neutral place like Disney Springs partly to keep the kids busy if we got to talking, but also to give each other an out if for some reason it didn't work out or got awkward, but it ended up going great, and (I think) we both really liked each other a lot. The kids took to each other rather quickly as well. But anyway, more on that later.

Needless to say, there is a family resemblance. :)

(new cousins)

family photo

Carrie joined us for a trip to Jetty Park off Cocoa Beach. The weather was great for a little but the water was disgusting and a storm soon came in.

We followed it up with a trip to Ron Jon's and lunch at my fave, Tijuana Flats.

Two days later, we went to Obloy Farm in Merritt Island.

and later that day took "cousin" photos.

The next day we visited the Marine Science Center at Ponce Inlet for a fieldtrip.

The next day, we headed back out that way, and took a short visit to De Leon Springs State Park. 

We played in the water for a short bit, but it was still pretty cold, and decided to change it up with some warmer water and headed to Daytona Beach.  The weather was perfect, and the water was much more clear.

We spent some more time with family.

Finally, we headed back home.

One of the first things we did when we came home was put together Everest's crib, that David had made for Sophia when she was born.

The girls started Ballet class at our local studio. It's great because it's a homeschool class in the mornings on a weekday, but they still get to participate in the normal recitals in May.

It was there that we started making a fantastic small group of other homeschoolers that we've since become great friends with.

Because the girls completed several reading programs during the summer, we got free Braves tickets and took the girls to their first MLB game. Luke from Gilmore Girls was there too!

Goose had to return to the dentist to get several teeth that had cavities dealt with. She was a champ.

We finally were able to have everyone over for a family cookout and swimming, and it went pretty well, all things considered.

We took a field trip to the bodies exhibit, which both girls absolutely loved! Afterwards, we met up with our friend Randy, his sister, and her fiance for dinner! It was a good day!

As with most days, we spent a lot of time at the house working on various projects, and just enjoying our new home. :)

(working on schoolwork)

(helping in the garden)

(helping Daddy with his floors)

(figs were ready to harvest)

(made some light fixtures using mason jars)

We had some baby deer, as well as their mom get pretty comfy and cozy, coming into the closest fenced in part of our yard. We enjoyed seeing them almost daily. :)

Daddy and I started a project to build the kiddos an indoor play place since it was either too hot, too wet, or too cold to be outside, and we had an unused sunroom. 

And that concludes August. :)