Hoskins Family ...forever and ever amen: Hanging With The Hoskins

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Hanging With The Hoskins

Prior to our cruise with the whole Hoskins family- we had the extra bonus of being able to spend a few extra days with Grandma and Grandpa Hoskins. Since they were flying standby, they decided to fly into Jacksonville a few days early to make sure they were able to make it to Florida in time and weren't left in the airport while the rest of us cruised off to the Bahamas. While they were in town we decided we would fit a few more things to make sure we got the most of our time together with them.

We decided to go back to St. Augustine- the first settlement by the Spanish in America. While there we visited the old fortress- Castillo de San Marcos,

(group photo at the Castillo entrance)

(picture with the Castillo Guard)

(solider sleeping quarters)

(cannons on top of the fortress)

(pictures in the turrets)

(views of the channel from on top of the Castillo)

walked down the historic St. George Street,

Ate Hippo Pops (aka the best Popsicles in the entire world),

visited Ponce D'Leon's Fountain of Youth (we didn't actually go inside- but took a picture anyway),

and ate a Mexican dinner while overlooking the beautiful channel leading to the Atlantic Ocean.

We also were sure to get another trip to Disney World in and decided to spend the day with Grandma and Grandpa at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

(pictures with Pluto)

(kids getting to participate in The Lion King show)

(Pocahontas)

(on the safari ride)

We even got to spend some more time with Grandma after the cruise while Jamie went to Bismarck to check out several housing options. We decided to visit a Florida orange farm where we picked fresh oranges and grapefruit.

The kids got such a kick out of this hotel in Orlando that I couldn't resist taking a photo of it for them.

With all of the fun things we were able to do with Grandma and Grandpa Hoskins- I think one of the kids favorite things to do was to simply play with Grandpa on his iPad.

Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for coming and enjoying Florida with us. We love you both so much!

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Madison Elizabeth--10 years old. Maddi is growing into quite the little lady. She is like a mommy to her little brothers and sister--who she can now babysit for under two hours--and she is truly mom's greatest helper. She still loves dancing--she scored a part in the Bismarck Nutcracker this year. She took a year off of Gymnastics to try ice skating--which she has thoroughly enjoyed. She added violin to the list of instruments she can now play quite proficiently--her piano gets better and better every day. And she continues to do private art lessons, Spanish lessons, and Activity Day Girls. She also gets paid for writing phonics appropriate stories for Mason, spelling worksheets for Emma, and helping Spencer with his math lessons. She is a busy little girl and we love her with all of our hearts!

Spencer Hinckley 8 1/2 year old. Spencer is my tender-hearted, thoughtful, perceptive little boy. He was baptized this summer in the Susquehanna River and takes his promises to the Lord so seriously. If he is ever being naughty, I can simply remind him of his accountability before God and he is like a totally different boy on the spot! I love his sweet spirit and desire to be good. Spencer is also my careful, technical, handy little man. When Nick is not home, he is the go-to boy when it comes to fixing things and solving mechanical problems. He even shows the workers around the mechanical room when they come to work on things! He will surely work with his hands some day to earn his keep. This year, Spencer has continued playing golf, soccer, and basketball, has joined Maddi in art, Spanish, and piano lessons, and is loving his new role as a Boy Scout. He is a joy to have in our family!

EmmaLee Adelin 6 1/2 years old. Emma is our sensitive baby girl and her mother's little angel. She has grown up so much this year and is continually perfecting her position as the family peacemaker. She doesn't like to see anyone fight and won't let her cherished baby brother ever get upset. This year Emma has continued to dance--also scoring a part in the Bismarck Nutcracker, she also traded in gymnastics for a year of ice skating, and she has joined the older kids for a unique art and art history course her mommy helped develop with a local art school. She loves her activities, is becoming an excellent reader, and is ever our social butterfly. (She even talks the ears off the cleaning ladies when they're here!) Emma is counting down the days until she will get to be baptized and is now starting her early morning Book of Mormon reading time with mom. We love and cherish this sweet little girl!

Mason McKay 5 years old. Mason is the baby of our family and continues to be the glue that holds us all together. Even though he promised me that he would not grow up, he can't help but be blossoming into the most handsome, happy, brilliant little man ever. He officially started kindergarten this year (at 4), and is so bright he is already almost caught up with Emma in his reading and math. I'm not sure how to reign him in! In addition to school, he also shares his big brothers critical thinking mind. He can build the most complicated Lego sets, be a genuine help to his big brother in figuring out their X-box levels, and is better on the I-phone and I-pad than anyone else in the family! He is precocious to boot! Despite growing up to be such a smarty, he still loves snuggling up with mommy whenever he gets the chance. We are enjoying every minute of our littlest and last baby love!