"Experiencing Florida"

Renee doesn't mess around when she goes on a trip. "Experiencing Florida" is serious business. In four and a half days, with sleepless nights up with the little one, and baby #2 on the way --Renee and Ben can fit in a whole lot of fun. Here's some of their agenda: swimming at the pool, a wet backyard campout, deep sea fishing, art festival, date night in Old Naples, Everglades "safari," and manatee viewing at the park by the power plant. (The only thing she didn't do all the time was take photos. --so some of these are for her..) This young family has endless energy!


Enjoying the aquarium at Rookery Bay






We tried some grilled fish, and enjoyed Jared's seafood specials --including the fish he and Ben caught!

REALLY yummy oven smores for the "campout"
Renee helped make a key-lime pie for Sunday dinner also. :)



This is my favorite spot to photograph at the zoo.
We havn't seen Donna there yet -- but we love her giraffes!



Ben asked Jared what he wanted to do most of all before he left Florida...and Jared answered. Thank goodness for Renee and Ben's drive or Jared may not have had his "fishing experience."



These pelicans were begging or bits of bait on the men's fishing excursion.


Ben and Jared got to keep the in-season fish that they caught--two red snapper. They also caught some grouper and another type I don't remember.



Michael's spaceship creation at the art fair was pretty cute.

Wildlife viewing in the Everglades




Renee made it to the airport this morning and she is headed home with her little family. They got every minute and mile possible out their rental car. Whew! They came and conquered! Thanks for enjoying our State and sharing your enthusiasm with us.

Sharks at the Pier?

Going to the pier is all about seeing the view of the horizon and watching the fishermen. And fishing here is a strange sport.

The man that caught these rays cut a chunk to put on his hook for bait. His poles was twice as long and thick as our dinky ones. "If you want to catch a big fish you use big bait." I don't think the boys will forget some of their experiences here..

When did February hit us?

Last Tuesday night Renee called and said, "We got the dreaded phone call. Our flight was canceled!" And so the whirlwind started. The next morning the airline finally rerouted and rescheduled the flight and Renee and Ben rushed to the airport. This time they called with the news, "We're comin' to Florida!"

The first thing we did the morning after they arrived was head to the beach.

Baby Beth was the champion of the trip! It is so fun to watch kids enjoy the world around us. Beth LOVED the sand!


Pretty cute family!


Ben is a super uncle and made the sand games so fun for the boys. Jared hasn't been with us to play at the beach for months and that made the trip special too.
Tessa caught on and sprinkled sand on those that got buried (although usually on their heads-since she couldn't see any other body parts).


When Ben took his turn we noticed the sand was cracking on top of his belly as he laughed. He had some good definition from his "six pack" showing through. Then he made his belly roll and everything moved. Isn't laughter contagious?!


In this picture with the boys, Ben isn't actually laying down in the sand! They dug a big enough hole for him to fit in mostly upright!

Here's Tessa in the hole..


Then we let it fill with water and built some trenches and "swimming pools." Water play without crashing waves was a hit!




February in Florida really does feel like another world. Renee managed to escape the cold and storms of the west and mid-west! And we got to enjoy some of our neighborhood with her. Thanks for the visit!

Happy Birthday Inez!

Here's a fun birthday party we celebrated with our friend Inez. She is a fellow law student with Jared. She has been a visiting teaching companion to me. And she is a great supporter of the boys. For her birthday cake she had the boys involved in counting exercises before they stuck the candles into the frosting.



66 candles! What an inspiration!
It is a bonding experience to go through law school together with these other students! There are memories of starting out together two and a half years ago in Michigan. We survived and thrived together!

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

Here are some sweet friends we went with to the county museum.

--and to the beach... lots of fun!!

This water isn't warm-- Michael is in attack form! He and Heidi were pretty tough!

Pelicans are big! wish you could see better from the photo-


These seagulls swarmed around us trying to get a cracker out of Tessa's hand! -the whole flock! They wouldn't give up till we gave up on crackers..

New Day

Well, I have done a very poor job at keeping in touch with family and friends lately.
I had hoped to send out a few letters at the holidays. Christmas cards are a nice way to keep others a part of our lives although we are distanced by space and time.
It was nice to visit more often with family throughout the holidays and to hear updates from some friends.
The New Year is upon us now and it promises to be significant, to say the least. Jared will finish law school in May and prepare for the bar exam that takes place at the end of July. At that point he will be in the world of full-time employment again! We plan to take the bar in Utah and are looking for a job there. With lots of changes ahead we are already in a mode of preparation.
Our time in law school has been a time of adventure and learning. We are grateful that our family has grown in lots of ways. Here are a few updates.
This past summer Jared and I celebrated seven years of marriage. We are getting a little "older" together and we're waiting for the "wiser" part to set in. It's a great blessing that I can stay home and try to focus on the varied roles of homemaking. Lately I appreciate picking up a book or trying a new recipe. Jared really enjoys molding his own education out of law school. He especially enjoyed classes in constitutional law, jurisprudence and international law. Currently he leans toward going back into real estate sectors of law such as land-use planning.
Michael is six and is becoming very responsible and thoughtful. It has impressed us how self-motivated he is to read and write. He also loves to swim and ride his bike.
Jordan is four and is full of stories and ideas. He loves learning about animals and building neat creations. He likes to help me cook. And he has a mean cartwheel.
Jordan and Michael are quite the busy duo together and they love their sister. Tessa turned one last year. She easily keeps up with her brothers energy and commotion, but the little girl in her definitely charms us.
A little while ago we decided to try school at home. That has been a great new venture! Our community full of other homeschooling families prompted us to try a new direction and the also the timing that just seemed right. It has been very satisfying to give learning a greater place in our home.
Another new avenue we have been trying is healthier eating. Mostly it entails cooking more from scratch and using more legumes and whole grains. I triumphed in trying out a new salad with kale, and Jared (mostly) gave up oreos and other treats. Thank goodness the boys love vegetables and fruits, but it will take some more work to get them to give up fluffy "wheat" bread and chocolate milk....
We can't finish our time in Florida without taking advantage of every opportunity. We are striving to keep that balance of remembering past blessings, living an inspired today, and moving toward a faithful future.