May - Part 3

Saturday evening, after getting cleaned up, we went to watch the sun set on the beach.  If you have never seen the sun set on the gulf, you just don't know what you are missing!  It is breathtaking...

While waiting, the kids had fun playing in the sand:

My two favorite boys, hanging out for the 'ball to drop':

My two favorite girls, doing their share of waiting:

Mark and I - pictures just don't do it justice!

Beauty:

So peaceful:

Fun running on the cool sand:

Silly girls, making memories and having fun:

The next day was Mother's Day.  My family decided to take me on a boat ride to see dolphins.  However, you know me... we had to find some coupons and a good deal!  So, we did some research, found some coupons and headed out.  Oh, did I mention that we had to talk them into letting us take Maggie on board??  We had her with us and couldn't just leave her in the hot van.  After talking to the captain, showing him our backpack carrier for her and convincing him that she would be amazing to take along, he agreed to it.  She was so sweet on the boat and even liked it, somewhat:

Then, sometimes she would hide her face in Holly's arm!

All of us on the boat.  I love being their mom and his wife!

Mark and I - We were married on Mother's Day 20 years ago!!!

The views were amazing as we sailed around the bay:

Not to mention, the dolphins:

Later, before heading home, we found this great beach area, off the beaten path, with this lovely cluster of trees:

Inside the trees:

Loved the boat just sitting there, waiting...

We had such a nice weekend just being together. Family time is so important to us and every sacrifice made was worth the memories created with each other.

May - Part 2

So, after a picnic lunch of sandwiches, pasta salad, carrots, apples, pretzels and other yummies, we decided to go for another walk.  We were now on a beach called Honeymoon Island - a small but beautiful piece of beach north of Clearwater.  From our picnic spot, we had seen signs for the nature trail, so we packed up and headed out.  As we walked, we came to a sign that pointed us to the "Osprey Trail" and we took that path, not really knowing what to expect but a nice walk together!  Looking up at the trees ahead, I caught a flash of red and saw this beautiful Cardinal - he is so far away that my camera was on max zoom to get this shot:

We all love bird watching - it may be one of our favorite hobbies.  We are always watching for them outside our windows at home and keep track of the types, the families, the nests, etc., as much as possible in our little corner of the world.  So, continuing the walk, Caleb suddenly spotted a nest in a tree.  Looking closer, we noticed a mommy osprey sitting inside and 2 little heads poking out, crying. I never could get the right angle and timing to get the baby's heads, but here is the momma:

 

Isn't she beautiful??

 We stood there just forever, watching her and catching glimpses of the babies.  Suddenly, the momma started to call out, loudly, and began to look all around:

See how she has her neck craned, looking up?

Her calls became louder and more frantic sounding as she continued to look all around:

 

Then, we started to hear another call that was not hers and within seconds, the daddy came flying home, carrying a snake for his family to eat!  I was too busy standing in amazement at the sight to take a picture, but after the daddy dropped off take-out, he went to a branch nearby to watch and wait.  We found this very comical and wondered about the way they interacted with each other.  Here is daddy, waiting and watching:

Just to give you a perspective, this is an actual, no zoom shot of their tree from where we were standing and watching:

They are in a nest just behind the Y of the tree in the center.

So, after observing them for about 20 minutes, we decided it was time to move on.  Up ahead, just above us, was this beauty:

Can you see that he is holding a fish or something under his claws?

Moving further on, we found this pair:

Same pair, different angle.

Ok, see the two nests below?  One is the same as those above and then we noticed the other.  What we think is the daddy hopped to the branch above, as you see him in the top right corner:

Then, for some "guy time", he flew over toward that other nest and met up with his neighbor, to compare notes on children, I'm sure!

Well, we ended up being on that trail for a few hours, watching birds, getting lost, wandering in circles, wondering if we would find a way out and taking pictures of trees, sun and flowers:

Picked for me by my amazing children!

When we finally found our way out, we headed back for more beach walking!  We found a lonely spot where Maggie could be with us.  It was peaceful, serene and beautiful.  I leave you with one last shot that captures our spot just right:

Stay tuned... There's more to come!

May - Part 1

May - the month of many blessings in our house!  Going into the month, we realized that we could use some family time to prepare for all that lay ahead.  With that in mind, we started looking into our [budget friendly] options and came up with a short Beach trip.  We headed out to the Dunedin area on the Gulf coast for a couple of days of relaxation and family time.  Below, in pictures and words, is how our time went.

We were heralded in with:

and...

and on our arrival, we were met with this sky:

While we waited for it to pass, we let Maggie run around and picked weeds flowers:

But soon, the sky cleared and the sun came out:

The storm clouds moved away from us:

and we had the whole beach to ourselves:

We walked for miles, collected a few shells, and watched the birds, but we mostly just enjoyed getting our feet wet, hearing the waves lap on the shore and laughing together.  Just being at the beach is so peaceful and relaxing - not to mention awe inspiring.  It is amazing how small you feel when you look at the wonder of His creation.

"The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters."  Psalm 29:3  

Well, I'll tell about our next adventure tomorrow, so stay tuned!

2 months???

I am having a hard time believing that it has been 2 months since I blogged last!  Ahhh!  Where has the time gone?  I am not really sure...  April is a blur of quizzing, kid's connection, extra choir practices in preparation for Easter, homeschool evaluations, co-op and school.  We did watch the Royal Wedding online - it actually was perfect since we had been studying about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and their royal wedding, so we were able to compare and contrast the two and count it toward school!

Then, there was May.  May - why did Mark and I get married in the same month as both of our birthdays?  I'm not sure, but it makes for a busy month!  Then add all of the above (except for Easter and a royal wedding) to homeschool convention, music lessons, birthday parties, field trips, planning meetings and a mini vacation and I guess that is where May went!

Now, here we are in June, looking forward to summer while still doing most of the above!  Over the next week or so, I hope to catch you up on some of the more exciting things that have happened since I blogged last including dates, surprises, friends, etc. so stay tuned!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

OK, for starters, you need to know that it was not just any birthday this year - I turned 40!  So, it was somewhat significant as birthdays go.  At least, I guess my friends thought so!  They decided that just going to a girl's lunch or having me over for dinner was not enough - not this year.  Nope, they felt that a surprise party was in order for the day.

Imagine being invited to a friend's house for dinner, on the presumption that they are keeping you from making dinner for yourself for your birthday.    Just your family and theirs.  You arrive, ring the doorbell and are greeted with SURPRISE!!!!!!!  From about 40 people.  I don't have that happen to me, EVER and it quite literally about scared me to death!

After recovering from the initial shock, reality hit me and I immediately felt so loved by these special people who took the time to recognize my day for me.  I never saw shock two coming as I was taking everything in.  As I turned to hug another friend, I realized that not only were many of my special friends from here at the party, but my very dear friend Kimi and her family were down from Alabama earlier than I expected and they were there too!  Could the day be any more special???

Well, they sure did their best to make sure that all of my favorites were covered - favorite people, favorite foods, favorite drinks, favorite activities represented with cards, notes, etc.  I was so overwhelmed with thankfulness for the blessing of true friends who I love dearly.

My lovely daughter Holly posted all of the pictures Here, so be sure to hop over and check them out. 

I have to say that 40 looks pretty good from here!  I think that it may just be the new 20. Or $29.95 + tax.  Or 30 with 10 years experience.  No matter what, I think it will be the best year yet!  

Strawberry Season

I know that it is probably a little early in some areas of the country, but in Florida, we are right in the heart of strawberry season right now.  We are firm believers in eating things in their season as much as possible and from as local as possible.  Thankfully, we can get strawberries in abundance from all around central Florida from local sources!  And we stock up on them too!  Some of our favorite ways to use them are (in no particular order!): Strawberry shortcakes (we use home made biscuits, fresh strawberries and cool whip - layered in yummy goodness), Strawberry jam, Fresh strawberries with cereal or toast or on the side of any meal, Added into a blackberry pie, or Smoothies (made with kefir, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, flax, honey, whey protein powder and coconut cream).

Today, we made another of my favorites - Strawberry Spinach Salad - Fresh spinach, sliced strawberries, chopped pecans, cranberries, croutons (if desired) and your favorite dressing.  To me, it goes best with either a vinaigrette like Raspberry Pomegranate or Poppy Seed.  This is what our lunch looked like:

Those are all just to name a few of the many ways we enjoy strawberry season.  If you have any amazing ways you use them, I would love for you to share!