In January, we started to switch the kids’ rooms. We moved Ben into Charlotte’s room and made the other room the girls’ room. To help consolidate all of the stuff, we had a stuffed animal purge. It went better than we thought it would.
We put every stuffed animal in the middle of the living room floor and the kids took turns rescuing the ones they wanted to keep.
Rosemary celebrated her 8th birthday in January. This year was a family day year and it so happened that her birthday fell on the Friday of the Hoggetown Medieval Faire.
That morning, the kids were up and Rosemary was ready to open presents.
Charlotte was excited, too.
Our Little Mermaid serenaded us a bit.
We all got ready then headed over to the fair. It was an overcast day, but not raining. Jonathan and I have gone to the fair during the rain and it wasn’t so fun. It was a little chilly, but with hoodies and coats we were fine.
We arrived in time to walk to the tournament field to see the joust. The bleachers were full, but we found a place to watch on the side.
After the joust, we got a bite to eat from the food vendors. Rosemary chose Subway, so the kids and I enjoyed our not-too-true-to-the-middle-ages subs while Jonathan picked up some of the more standard fair food.
We stayed by the tournament field to see the falconer. Once the birds came out though, we had to tuck our food away lest it be snatched by the talons of one of the birds.
From there we walked through the booths and Ben picked out a wooden sword. Charlotte started to dart into a store filled with items that were less than safe for her three-year-old hands and Jonathan reached out to catch her. After that, she started to favor her left arm, so we decided to see how she was doing before calling our pediatrician. We went ahead and watched the chess game, a showdown between the House of Lancaster and the House of York.
Watching the match.
After the game, we called our pediatrician since Charlotte was still careful with her arm. We suspected nursemaid’s elbow. They told us to come right over, so we made our way back to the car.
We got a couple pics as we walked back.
And Rosemary picked up a bow and a couple of arrows, as well.
We made it to our pediatrician’s office all the way on the other side of town. On the way, Charlotte fell asleep. Jonathan got her out while she was still sleeping and apparently clicked her elbow back in place in the process. By the time we got in and she was awake, her arm was healed.
From there we went back across town to jump start a friend’s car then went to get some froyo at TCBY with Emily and Hannah.
Rosemary was beyond excited to see Hannah on her birthday. Hannah gave her a best friend necklace. So fun and so sweet.
That night we enjoyed some chocolate birthday cake.
Making her wish.
Happy birthday, Rosemary! Can’t wait to see what your 8th year holds.
Towards the end of January, the kids had filled up the chip jar again. This time, we headed over to St. Augustine to go to the Castillo de San Marcos. The kids had never been inside the fort on any of our St. Augustine trips.
It was a cooler day, but as long as we had our coats we were fine.
When we arrived, they were preparing for a cannon firing demonstration.
From the fort, we walked along the bay to the Lion’s Bridge for a photo with the infamous lions.
Then we walked up to Flagler.
On our way back to the car, we got some ice cream at Kilwins.
Finally, for dinner we stopped a Corky Bells for some clams and fresh seafood.
On January 10, 2014, we celebrated Charlotte’s 3rd birthday with both sets of grandparents at Chuck E. Cheese in Ocala. Technically, it was a party year for Charlotte, but we ended up just doing another family event this year, too, and it worked out just as well.
Rosemary and my dad playing some air hockey
Skee ball is a favorite
Charlotte was excited about her presents
Blowing out the three candles
Grandma Peine played some games
So did Grandma Workmaster
The hardest part of the morning was picking out the prizes
Happy birthday, Charlotte!
As a little bonus, Charlotte also inherited Rosemary’s old bike. Charlotte was so excited!
