PUMPKIN PATCH & FLORIDA SNOW

DON'T EVER TAKE AUTUMN FOR GRANTED.
I WAS EXCITED TO FIND THESE LEAFS ON OUR TRIP
TO STETSON LAST WEEKEND

UH,OH LOOKS LIKE THE BEGINNING OF A FAMILY RIVALRY

THE GREATEST SISTERS IN THE WORLD!

MY BABY GIRLS & ME

DREW AND HIS GIRLS

SLIM PICKINGS THE DAY BEFORE HALLOWEEN

HMMMM...WHATS A MAMA GATOR TO DO?

THE LITTLE PUMPKINS WERE IN MUCH BETTER CONDITION

JIA PICKING OUT SOME MINI PUMPKINS

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KATIE ON HER WAY TO DAN MARINO CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
TO VOLUNTEER AT SICK CHILDREN'S HALLOWEEN PARTY

FLORIDA SNOWBALLS

IT LOOKS LIKE DREW IS TRYING TO GIVE ANNA A BLACK EYE

HOW'S IT GOING, EH?

ANNA GETS HER REVENGE

LOTS OF THINGS GOING ON HERE! THIS MORNING ANNA HAD ANOTHER GAME (LOST). WHEN SHE GOT HOME THE WHOLE FAMILY WENT TO THE PUMPKIN PATCH. THERE WASN'T MUCH LEFT. I THINK I HAVE MENTIONED BEFORE THAT PUMPKINS DON'T LAST LONG IN THE FLORIDA HUMIDITY. ANYWAY WE GOT SOME CUTE PICS. NOTICE THE WHOLE FAMILY IS "GATOR-FIED" EXCEPT FOR KATIE WHO HAS HER STETSON TEE ON.

AFTER THE PUMPKIN PATCH WE STOPPED BY THE BACK OF THE ICE RINK FOR A FLORIDA SNOWBALL FIGHT. (ZAMBONI "SNOW") NOTICE DREW'S FACE. YOU CAN TAKE THE BOY OUT OF CANADA BUT YOU CAN'T TAKE THE CANADA OUT OF THE BOY...(TEMP. HIGH 80'S)

THERE IS ALSO A PICTURE HERE OF KATIE DRESSED UP IN HER MOTHER NATURE COSTUME. KATIE WENT TO THE DAN MARINO CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL YESTERDAY TO HELP THE KIDS IN THE HOSPITAL CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN. SHE IS SUCH A CARING AND SELFLESS YOUNG LADY.

WELL, PUMPKIN CARVING TONIGHT, TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY FOR JIA! MORE PICS TO COME.

HERE WE GO AGAIN....

FLANAGAN'S SOCCER SEASON HAS BEGUN! ANNA PLAYED LAST NIGHT IN AN INVITATIONAL AND FLANAGAN BEAT THE OTHER TEAM 5-2. CAN ANYONE THINK OF A WAY TO MAKE THOSE BLEACHERS MORE COMFORTABLE?

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NIECE CHRISTY AND HER HUSBAND MICHAEL WHO ARE HAVING THEIR THIRD CHILD.

PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO SCROLL DOWN AND SEE KATIE'S FIRST CHOICE OF COLLEGES.

HALLOWEEN PICTURES COMING SOON!

Stetson University

The entrance to Stetson University

The only picture with a person in it and it is
Anna not Katie!

One of several historical buildings on campus

The campus is surrounded by churches
This is the Methodist Church

This used to be a tower and it was knocked over by a hurricane
they will be rebuilding it. It used to have bells, the bells are now spread over the campus.

Hi, it's Katie!

The whole family went on a 4 hour drive this past Saturday to take a tour of Stetson University. We went on this trip because Stetson is my number one choice of colleges!! And the university definitely surpassed our expectations of the small, private school. It was abolutely amazing!
For one, the majority of buildings are brick, which is a big seller for my Mom! But the main reason I love Stetson is because of its small student population. The entire school has less students than our high school! And I'm definitely more comfortable with smaller groups of people. So having classes with only 19 to 20 other students sounds pretty fantastic! Another reason I really like Stetson is because they have a special dorm for students who want to bring their pets to college! You can bring dogs, cats, birds, and other small furry creatures! Of course, I really want to take Benny Foo with me. I think he'd look great in forest green!
Our tour was an hour long and besides our family had only three others members . We had the absolute best tour guide ever!! Steven, a student amassador and member of many other programs, took us around the school and explained which buildings were which and answered my Mom's many questions everyone else was too quiet to ask. He told us about the 24-hour computer labs, the meal plans, the planned food fights, and the school tradition to throw a person in the fountain when it's their birthday. We also learned all about the clubs, sports teams, greek life, and the study abroad program! Overall, the trip to Stetson was amazing!

Jia Meets Stanley C. Panther

A friend of Drew's gave him three tickets to the Panther/Dallas game. So Drew, Anna and Jia decided they would go. It was a late night for Jia but she had a great time. The mascot Stanley C. Panther was in the stands and Jia started waving at him, so he came over and sat down next to her. Later they showed her on the Jumbo tron, so she had a pretty eventful night (and even woke up for school on time and cheerful the next day.)

Tomorrow I am turning the blog over to Katie so she can tell you about her experience at Stetson University.

Watch This Now (Please)

The End of the experiment

Anna is now officially back to being a brunette! They had to go a little darker than her usual color to get all the light color out, but with as much as Anna is in the sun when she plays soccer she will have her usual auburn streaks in no time. In my opinion, an experiment gone wrong....

NEWS FLASH!

Next week is Flanagan High School's class pictures. This Thursday is Anna's appointment for corrective coloring. I think I am a pretty progressive Mom, but enough with the purple, turning into pink. Big Mistake....

JIA GOES TO JIA'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

The boy in the middle is Devin. He is in serious trouble as both of the Jia's are madly in love with him.

Getting last minute instructions. The Jias' are standing together.

Choosing animals

Ah Ha! Way to go, our Jia has Devon for the moment!

See the look in her eyes? At least she picks the cute ones!

Jia's finished product! She was most impressed that her dog had underwear.

In this picture you can see Kayla Jia's older sister in the background. Both girls were adopted as infants.

We have mentioned before that for the past two years our Jia has been in class with another Jia adopted from China. Because of this, our Jia is known as Jia-Li in class.

Anyway, the other Jia had her birthday party at Build-a-Bear in the mall. I let Drew loose with the camera and I think he took 1 million pictures. There were only 2 Dad's there and they both went wild with the photography (guess thats the manly thing to do at a 7 yr old party)

Anyyway, here are the many, may pictures Drew took. Be warned.