Balloons Balloons Balloons

Waiting for cake, love those headbands with the balloon taped to it, eh? And Sarah is sporting feathers in her ponytails for the occasion.

The girls and their fancy headbands

Willie and the SHARK? Went downtown for some plain old balloons and came back with this! He screamed (happy screams) when he saw it!

Yes, there is a boy under that balloon. It was bigger than he was, heck, it was bigger than Izzy. It was great fun for everyone to play with, but William loved him most of all, jerking the sandbag up and down so the shark goes crazy really gets him going! And Senor Shark is still cruising around the family room...

The Cake

Playing with his new choo-choos

Opening a present

Eating birthday cake

William's teddy bear cake, concocted in about 15 minutes of prep, 20 minutes of cooking, and sixty seconds of frosting. All while on the phone to a potential clam buyer. "Hi, this is Caryn from Southern Cross, is Joe Schmo available? Thank you. Hi Joe, just wanted to get some feedback on the sample I sent you, great, yeah, ok, I'll call you next week." Now, if I could just get this frosting to look like a dadgum bear. Gotta love my life...

And by the way, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

If I left you inadvertently off my Christmas list, (meaning I don't have your address in the RolodeX!) don't feel bad, I'm just disorganized. I wouldn't want you to feel left out, so here is the little poem I cooked up, a la Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Twas 2000 and eight, and each day at our home,

There's diapers, and clam sales, and six heads to comb.

Month one was a time when William turned one.

He's funny and snuggly, and oh so much fun!

He's talking and walking and laughing with glee,

His favorite word is always Da-deeee!

Month two showed us coasters combined with a zoo,

Animal Kingdom was deemed totally cool.

For us, March and April were a blur as they passed,

Cold weather and FCAT were over at last.

Katy played softball in purple and gold,

Some days so hot and others so cold.

Socks up to her knees and cleats laced up tight,

She swung at the ball with all of her might.

A strike plus a strike, one more and she's done,

Then suddenly "Crack!" and her team gets a run!

In May we awaited school ending again,

Class work was done, and summer begins.

June brought recitals for our girls' ballet,

Sarah was thrilled, not so for Kay.

July we spent in the pool in our yard,

Swimming and splashing, staying cool was not hard.

Izzy and Katy had lessons to take,

Swimming for safety is a rule that we make.

August brought birthdays and presents galore,

Katy turned eight and Sarah one more.

To celebrate the arrival of warm summer's end,

We rented a water slide and brought all our friends.

September brought change, swift like a bird,

Sarah in fourth grade, Katy in third.

Izzy to Pre-K, leaving Momma at home,

Willie and I would go it alone.

October brought tales of witches and gore,

And costumes of frogs, cockroaches, and more.

Butterflies and princesses circles the streets,

Looking somewhat for tricks but mostly for treats.

One day a week to piano we go,

Learning forte and half notes and pianissimo.

November brought memories of wedding cheers,

The 14th we celebrated it's been ten years.

We went off to Sanibel, the first time alone,

Spending three days together, our kids safe at home.

December shows signs of more change indeed,

We'll close on a clam shop and hope we succeed.

Each month on its own, though aptly described,

Won't give the true tale of the times of our lives.

So call us or write us, or even e-mail,

Feel free to stop by for a lengthier tale.

A cheer for world peace and good family times,

We wish you the best in 2000 and NINE!

With love,

THE STEPHENSONS

Shawn, Caryn, Sarah, Katy, Isabelle, and William

Indian Rocks Beach Ahoy!

There are just some places in this world that are meant to be shared. Last year, I wrote our Christmas letter from such a place. This year, we made it a New Year's trip, ringing in 2009 with family and friends who might as well be family! I took the kids to their very favorite place on Earth, Indian Rocks Beach. It's a place they speak of weekly, if not daily, since our last visit. Our visit was at no expense to us, courtesy of our good friends, The Holloways. The beach house is known as the Zubrod-Holloway house, and since it was built in 1891, it is the oldest standing residence in Indian Rocks Beach. Mrs. Bette (Zubrod) Holloway lived there as a child with her siblings, their childhood handprints still in the sidewalk poured in 1943. Her father lived there from the early 20's until he passed away, maybe five or six years ago. Mrs. Holloway and Shawn's childhood friend, her son Mike, bought the house from Bette's siblings, redid the interior extensively, and rent it to lucky folks looking for a relaxing vacation. They have extremely high taxes so they are not likely to ever be out of the red in that department, but they can protect it from what has become of most of the other historic residences in the areas--condos. It isn't a fancy house, nor is it the most beautiful, but it is monumental in its own right. Childhood memories, both past and present, are being made there. The children who visit mark their height on the door in the bedroom, never to be erased. My children alone have grown over a foot collectively. And their appreciation for the little house on the beach, and mine, grows infinitely with each wonderful visit. As Katy said this past week, "Wow, Momma, it must have been magical to live here!" Thanks to the Holloways, we had our own little bit of magic.

In the back of the Zubrod-Holloway house (the front faces the beach of course!)
Clockwise from top: Karen Howard, Anne Stephenson, Shawn, Madison, Sarah, Isabelle, William, Katy, and Savannah Howard.

We were lucky enough to have Shawn's sister Anne and our niece Madison along for five days or so. Then we were doubly blessed to have Karen and Savannah Howard, our great friends here in Cedar Key, join us for the last four days! We had a full house, a great dinner out at Crabby Bill's, and plenty of children! It was a wonderful vacation!

Mr. Sweetness enjoys some goldfish crackers down at the beach.

Sarah and Savannah made sand "cakes". They cost only a couple of shells apiece!

Katy just in from another round of boogieboarding!

At The Beach

Maddie and Katy boogie board in on some afternoon Gulf waves

Katy and her new best friend, the boogie board.

Sarah doing what she loves best--FISHING! This time, it was on the Intercoastal Waterway. The beach house has, of course, the beach, and behind it is a dock on the Intercoastal. The best of both worlds!

Savannah and her big catch, a four ounce blowfish! They had a great time when it puffed up and they got to feel the little whiskery things on the bottom. We threw it back in, it deflated in an instant, and then it was gone! (They are good eating but Momma requires something to be left to eat when she's done cleaning it, so back it went!)