Where a kid can be a kid :)

A couple weeks ago the girls friend Katie stayed the night. The plan was rollerskating, but after finding out the rink was closed for repaires, we ended up at Chuck E Cheese. hehe





You're never too old for Chuck E Cheese. :) Even us big kids had fun!

They purchased glow in the dark fangs (among other things) with the tickets they won.

Marina w/ Jared and Logan

We arrived before the water shoots opened, so Raeg, Ash, and Jared climbed trees and rocks while we waited.




A great picture of Jared and Logan. :)


This has to be my favorite picture. We started out small.. introducing Logan to the baby water shoots first.. and he thought it was pretty cool!

Too cute for words. :)


Big hugs!


Enjoying the bayfront

Playing with the big boys now. :)





Isn't this a sweet picture!

Heading home. We're going to miss Jared this summer. The girls were glad they got to spend some time with him before he left for Minnesota.

Imagine my surprise

when I cut into our watermelon expecting to find it luscious, juicy, and red.. but found this instead ..



Yellow watermelon? Who knew? ha. That just seems wrong. I had to google before eating it to make sure it was safe. I guess it's a southern thing.
I have to admit, it's pretty tasty... a little sweeter than the red.

Up Where the Air is Right

Last week I took Raeg and Ash, along with a couple of their friends from the neighborhood, to the park so we could fly the kites our neighbor Sharon bought for them. There was just enough wind to get them off the ground.

Ashlynn's butterfly soared almost effortlessly

Raeg on the other hand had to work a little harder to keep her kite up

Ash, Katie, Raeg, and Michael w/ their kites

Local Hero :)

A couple of weeks ago our neighbor, Michael, came frantically knocking on our front door. Though out of breath he managed to tell Brad there was an alligator loose and his mom was scared and stuck inside her car nearby. Brad left to help, with Michael leading the way, before I even knew what was going on. It turns out a gator had crawled out of our pond and made himself comfortable in the shrubbery next to the front door of a young family down the street. Neighbors began to gather to see what was going on and take photos (including the pics below.. taken by a neighbor) Some began calling the Florida gator patrol to have him removed. Brad felt the urgency to help the alligator back to safety before he was hauled away. (one of the many reasons I love him... he has compassion for God's creatures)

Here he's telling the gator it's either back to the pond or a road trip to who knows where in a stuffy truck with his mouth taped shut. ha

Finally with a little coercing (and a broom handle) Brad was able to direct the gator across the street and back to the pond.

stopping to catch his breath

Sweet success... safely back where he belongs and gator patrol was cancelled. A few people came by later that evening to thank Brad (AKA: Alligator Man..hehe) for his bravery. (including the young mother who watched this all play out from her living room window) The girls were very proud of their dad who, in their eyes, just became as cool as the late Steve Irwin. :)