Here in the Santos household getting your first suit is a big deal :) Papaw bought this suit for Anthony a while back, but it was a little too large. He has since grown and Daddy did a little adjusting to make it just right. Anthony was beyond excited to wear his new suit to church and probably more excited to "look like Daddy". Isn't he adorable and aren't we blessed to have him as part of our family!
Amaury and I just celebrated 12 wonderful, blessed years of marriage! What a great blessing marriage is :) We happened to be in Lake Worth, FL on our anniversary weekend so we stopped and took a few pictures. Its an elegant south-Florida style church that has turned into an almost all-Hispanic neighborhood (it wasn't when we married) with beautiful landscaping. We thought it appropriate to take a pic of the 3 "products" of this blessed union of 12 years - aren't they adorable! Amaury and I truly thank God for His blessing on our lives, our marriage, and our family. To Him be the glory!
We had such a fabulous time in St. Augustine learning about the Spanish heritage of our country. Being the oldest U.S. city, it has lots to offer in terms of history. We visited the Ponce de Leon Fountain of Youth Archaeological Site where we learned about the arrival of Ponce de Leon on this continent, the Timucuan Indians who were already here, saw real cannons fire, and even saw the Fountain of Youth. We also visited the Old Fort, the Old Spanish Quarter and learned about the life of the early settlers, and even visited the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse in the U.S. - the kids even got to ring the bell! It was a great time!
What a fantastic time we had at this place! So many rides, so much laughter, beautiful weather, and tons of fun! We won't soon forget our family time here - it was a blast! It was really the first "amusement park" place we had visited that had something for everyone. What a blessing!
It was a joy to watch all 3 boys - Noah included - being able to drive their own personal go-cart! It was a blast to see them go fast and stay on the track! It was a beautiful evening as you can see :)
Here are more pics of the awesome time the boys had riding all the different rides at Funspot Orlando. In our opinion, it was much better than Disney at this point (fewer people, more "boy" rides, and way less expensive) and there was no shortage of things for them all to enjoy!
We had an eventful, fun-filled week in Orlando with not enough time (or money!) to do everything there is to be done. However, we LOVED everything we did which included a couple of trips to a Hawaiian-themed miniature golf in the blazing heat, a dinner at the Rainforest Cafe where every 30 minutes there is a thunderstorm and the lights go out in the lightning and thunder, and a trip to Downtown Disney and a huge Lego Store where the boys all walked out with a bucket of new Lego pieces. It was a wonderful time and we thank God for the relaxation!
For many, many months now Anthony's favorite word/expression always contains the word "biba" and it has become somewhat of a family joke :) Well, I told him that in West Palm Beach he had his own hotel - the Hotel Biba - and that when we visited next time we would stop and take a picture of him and his hotel. Well, we did and here he is!
We are "beach people" and every chance we get to go we go :) This last trip to West Palm was no different as we went for a little while over to Clarke Beach and hung out in the waves. It was gorgeous and the boys loved it, especially when Nathan was buried up to his neck in sand - a first for him! We marvel in God's glorious creation of the sky, sand, and constant crashing waves.
This past Sunday marked the end of an Awana era for my boys-- it was the last Sparks meeting for Nathan, the last Cubbies meeting for Anthony, and the last Puggles meeting for Noah as they all have "graduated" and will move up next year to the next class. I have truly enjoyed serving in Awanas this year and am SO proud of my boys for earning all their patches, stars, pins, awards, etc. for completing their books and hiding so much of God's Word in their hearts :)
We took a little mini-break to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and visited some wonderful sites. We got to visit the Wright Brothers Memorial and learn all about the first flight and see a replica of the "plane" they used to fly it. We saw the Bodie Lighthouse and played at the beach in the sand. The North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island was very cool and we got to see sharks up close and personal :) We also went to Fort Raleigh, site of the "Lost Colony" and the boys were able to earn a couple of Junior Ranger patches along the way. We capped it off with some go-cart riding and bumper cars - this may have been their favorite part :)
