Welcome, Baby Gavin

Our newest little nephew, Gavin, was born to Cameron and Anne's family last Tuesday. Anne is an amazing mother that sacrifices so much to bring these precious babies into the world. She has been in the hospital on bed rest waiting for his arrival. After the short amount of time I spent on bed rest (and at home- no less), I admire Anne even more incredibly. Little Gavin Ray Copeland arrived on May 25th, at 6:46 AM. weighing 7 lbs., 19 3/4 inches long. Since he was 3 1/2 weeks early and he was a little lethargic when he was born, they immediately took him to the NICU where they put him on oxygen to help raise his blood levels up a bit. At 1:30 pm, they took him off the oxygen. Gavin has now been released and his home with his family. It has been too long since I've seen Cameron and Anne. Now they have two darling boys that I've never met. That is just not right. Congratulations! He is a cutie!

Orlando fun with cousins

Driving from Gainesville to Orlando was even fun.

We stopped at a gas station for drinks, treats and bathroom breaks. While we were the kids had fun playing with the gator heads.

Back at the hotel in Orlando- this is the view from our top floor balcony.

More fun in the sun!

In dental school, at a dental convention, Kent won a trip to the Gaylord Palms hotel in Orlando. At the hotel they have an indoor oasis of sorts with gators and snakes. Kent wanted to show Ella some gators so we headed over there for a couple of hours. You can't go to Florida without seeing a live gator or two.

This nice lady is one of the groundskeepers. She likes to give away fresh bouquets. She picked Ella to be a recipient of the bouquet today and Ella felt like a Princess. It was perfect because Ella was very sad at Craig's graduation that other people were getting bouquets and she wasn't.

Craig's Graduation

The main reason for our trip to Florida was for Craig's graduation from Dental School. It was such a neat experience that we are so thankful to have been able to be a part of.

Proud wife and son.

Kent was able to "hood" Craig as a dentist and that was a full circle moment. Kent was even able to sit in the VIP section. Fancy Fancy!

During the ceremony, I had a lot of memories and emotions go through me as I was back in the same auditorium at the same University we were at three years ago for Kent's graduation. I was humbled to think that the education Kent earned there is the reason for our current stage in life. It has given us the opportunity to come to Sunnyside and for Kent to have a comfortable job that he loves. Listening to the professors give their speeches meant so much more to me this time, because we've had a little glimpse of what they were talking about when they shared their experiences throughout their careers. Kent truly loves what he does and I know that Craig will feel the same way and I couldn't be happier for him. "Dr.", "Dr.", "Dr.", "Dr."

Craig, Cassie and Riley are moving to Dallas. Craig already has a wonderful job lined up and they have found a home to rent near Cameron and Anne (Kent's other brother). I already have it set in my mind that we are going to go to Texas to visit all of them this fall.

It's Great to be a Florida Gator!

After the graduation, we went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate. It's always a favorite!

Ella loved the cinnamon butter there, she literally ate it by the spoonful. Kent told her not to eat the butter all by itself and she hurried and shoved another bite in her mouth. Who is this girl, and where did she come from?!

Time at Grandma's House

After spending a couple of days in Orlando with Craig and Cassie, we drove up to Jacksonville to spend time at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Jeff and Amy live in the same neighborhood so we went swimming at the pool there. It was amazing. Not only did Kent and I have a great time catching up with family, the kids LOVED playing with their cousins. They picked up as if they played together all the time. It was so fun to see them getting along and making memories together. These two boys are only twelve days apart!

This little butterfly kept fluttering around the kids as if it wanted to play with them. Ella has been learning all about the life cycle of butterflies so she was in heaven that a beautiful butterfly wanted to be her friend.

Is Amy just super tan, or is Cannon just super white? (maybe a touch of both)?

The grandkids always love going for a ride in the back of Papa's truck. I remember doing that same thing with my cousins on the back of my grandpa's truck. Although we would ride with the tailgate down and pull sticks tied with bailing twine behind us.

Since it was Craig's birthday while we were there, we met up with them in Starke at Sonny's. It was always a "half-way" point for us to meet George and Laura while we were in Dental school so it was a fun place to go back to visit. Happy Birthday, Craigy!

Orlando vacation

We kicked off our Florida trip in Orlando with Craig, Cassie and Riley. It was exciting to meet Riley for the first time. He is such a sweet little baby. Cassie and I stayed up until 5:00 AM talking and catching up. The next couple of days were spent mostly of the time at the pool or eating out- my kind of vacation.

We went over to Downtown Disney and let Ella get a "Princess Make-over" and Ethan got a "Cool Dude" makeover. I have pictures on my other camera that I will add soon. We were also able to meet up with our good friends from dental school, Jason and Shannon Sotto. They met up at Downtown Disney and we ate at the Rainforest Cafe. The kids at one table and the adults at the other. It was so fun to see them and the kids had a fun time together. Jason has started his own pediatric clinic in Orlando and they were nice enough to give us the grand tour. It is a beautiful practice that is so creative and fun. I just snapped a couple shots with my phone.