
Split personality picnic table
Upon arriving at Hillsborough River State Park, we halved a table with a Thomas the Train spread for Jarin and a Barbie-themed spread for Ashlyn and set their presents on the respective sides.

Combo cake
There was also a combination cake to appease both Jarin's love of cars and Ashlyn's love of horses.

Jeepin' it
Lots of "off-roading" to be enjoyed in Jarin's Jeep he got for Christmas.

Bug collection
Meanwhile, Ashlyn collected some of the flying bugs that were everywhere.

Quite the bug colony
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Ballin' it
After Jarin tired of the Jeep, he and mommy had a few rounds of catching the velcr…I mean, fabric hook-and-loop fastener-covered ball.

I can see clearly now
Once he quit closing his eyes every time the ball came toward him, he started doing pretty good.

Catchin' it
Even Sammy played catch with a frisb…I mean, flying disc.

Caught it
It's pretty obvious this dog would probably do well in competition if given a little training.

Balloonin' it
After bug-hunting, Ashlyn inflated a few balloons—and subsequently enjoyed watching them fly around as they deflated.

Dead ringer
Dad and Kent spent a while playing with the horseshoes and rings.

Time to whack the piñata
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Whackin' it
It was a pretty tough piñata. Had the kids been older, we might not have used so soft a bat.

Still whackin' it
Both kids took numerous turns at cracking it.

Success
The wings finally fell off and the kids ultimately knocked it open. Sorry, no pictures of that since I had my cousin's video camera on the roll by that time.

Time to attack the table full of gifts
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Helicopter character from Thomas the Train series.
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Helicopter character from Thomas the Train series.
Technically, this was my gift to him, even though my mother picked it up. :-p

Horse craft
Ashlyn then opened a horse-art-latch-hook mat—something fun for her to work on.

Horse craft
This, too, was technically my gift. Same story as earlier! :-p

Whose finger?
Okay, usually I'd not bother uploading photos like this, but I chose to include it to make a point. I'm an above-average photographer. I never put my finger in front of the lens. Oops!

Grave Digger
Jarin absolutely loves monster truck shows. Grave Digger is (naturally) his favorite.

Thomas the Train rides again
Jarin also likes all the things related to Thomas the Train. He had recently seen an ad for the barrel loader toy and announced to his mommy that he needed one—he just had to be able to load and carry barrels with his trains.

Barrelin' it
I have to admit, for such a simple toy, it was actually kind of cool. Barrels of oil, molasses, etc. roll down the track beneath the green cover and into a levered mechanism which would flip the barrel over the side into a waiting barrel-carrying train car.

American Girlin' it
Ashlyn's big gift really was big—an American Girl doll and horse…

American Girlin' it
…and English riding outfit.