Let the madness begin!

It's something that happens every February, yet every year I still feel like it comes way too fast. I just can't seem to find a way to slow it down, but when it draws near I look back and remember all the things our family did together. And it always puts a smile on my face. I love the off season ... time where our family has the freedom to take mini getaways, complete projects around the house, and enjoy spur of the moment get togethers with friends.

So here we are, mid February and Spring Training is once again in full swing. We can't stop it from coming, so on Sunday the madness officially began! We enjoyed every bit of our last weekend and spent some quality time together as a family.

We kept it simple on Friday night. Dinner at home, followed by some gardening lessons from Daddy. The hubs got Abby an adorable gardening kit from PBK and Abby enjoyed mixing the potting soil and planting her seeds. We've been checking every day for plant growth and this morning she was super excited to see a few sprouts!

On Saturday, we decided to visit Mote Aquarium. I hadn't been in years, not since I was teaching and we took a field trip there. I forgot how small the aquarium was, but Abby enjoyed seeing the penguins. We saw manatees, sea turtles, sharks, and other fish but Abby was disappointed that the dolphins were unavailable that day. Such a let down for a little girl who loves her dolphins.

Here she is with Daddy watching the penguins "waggle."

Just one of the penguins :)

Then Sunday morning came and Jim was out of the door by 7am, ready for his first day of Spring Training. Abby and I did our usual routine, getting ready for church and were out of the house a bit early. Just early enough to whiz through the Dunkin Donuts line for some donut holes. :)

Pretty girl all ready to sing and dance at church.

Abby and I kept ourselves quite busy on Sunday and met Jim at the circus that evening. His first day back was long and exhausting, but we managed to squeeze in a little bit of fun as a family. We went with several friends and their children and had a great time. Abby wasn't a huge fan of the clowns and didn't like the loud noise, so we were in and out most of the time, giving her breaks to run and not cover her ears. :( It was a great time like always!

So even though Spring Training is here and our schedules get kicked into crazy mode, I'm trying my best to embrace it. Thanks to a friend and fellow baseball wife, I'm going into this baseball season with a different outlook ... and I think she says it best ...

Here's to the 2012 season!

Let the fun begin :)