Time at the Beach with G&G

This is what our "winter" visits to the beach look like. We have had some cold spells lately but the weather mostly cooperated during our visit with Grandma and Grandpa.

Tessa did not like finding a horseshoe crab with grandma.


The boys showed some of their favorite spots.


Grandpas are always an adventure!


Michael is really excited to be a boy scout next year. He loves to explore and feel like he is independent and in the know. As I write this he is off geocaching with dad. I think I see being a den mother in my future. Lots of fun!

Naples Bay

On day two of our visit with grandparents we found a great deal on a boat tour of Naples Bay.
Thanks to the dolphins it was well worth it! On the way back from the gulf into the bay for 5-10 minutes there were two or three dolphins swimming and jumping in the wake on both sides of the boat.





Animals are definitely one of Jordan's biggest interests. It is fun to see him getting more serious and purposeful in his learning. We were really glad he got to take a closer look at one of his favorite animals!

Over the River and Through the Woods

Grandma and Grandpa came to stay...!
Grandma and Grandpa were in Florida with us a few weeks ago! And we soaked in every minute!
The first day while Grandpa had some meetings in Miami, we visited the alligators at Shark Valley in the Everglades. It was a great outing! We counted 15 alligators on our little walk by the visitors center. And they were about as close or closer to us as the one in the first photo! We enjoyed seeing turtles and lots of different birds too. Double the fun because Grandma was there!

Christmas trees and Hot dog roasts

...They are some of our favorite things at Bill's and Louise' house.
We are really grateful to have some "distant" family close by. Jared's great aunt's sister lives in our area! His family is small-ish and pretty close, so Bill and Louise heard about our move to Naples last year. They have been really wonderful to invite us over and keep track of us a little.
This was another fun family activity that helped us enjoy the holiday season.


(Michael is trying out a paintball mask in this photo.)
Bill is a builder and designed their home together with Louise. The home has a hurricane safe shelter room and lots of other emergency preparedness features. They also added some great things for gatherings with their grandkids--like the fireplace on the back porch. They live in a little bit of a remote part of our city, so their backyard grass runs into the jungle. Louise wouldn't let the kids out on their own during our last visit because there had been recent sightings of panthers in the area. What a fun adventure to visit Bill and Louise!


Here's the group in front of the tall, beautifully decorated tree in the front room.

Magic of Christmas

Christmas arrived

We've been able to squeeze in some holiday celebrations already as a family (in the midst of finals).
A few of our favorite spots include Ave Maria Town's Celebration of Lights. Naples has a fun festival of lights downtown with "snow". And we love the Snowfest with real (man-made) snow to sled in.



We love these kids!!

like mother, like daughter...

At least this year's Santa is a little less Strange looking....