florida part 2, weekend part 2: alligators, drum circles and more food (than should be legal)

i cannot even begin to express my frustration right now. i had this amazing post finished and ready to go-thought i'd saved it (as i had hit the save button) and while i was trying to upload the pics, it told me to log out and log back in, and the bulk of the post that i had written and polished off tonight was ~poof~ grr. i will try again, but no promises as to the comparable amazingness of the first post. uf.

we were looking for a good day, and it was granted! we had chosen this day to go to mayakka state park to see the alligators and get the everglades feel without having to go to the everglades! so course, we had to fuel up for the day. that consisted of stopping in to station 400, one of the cutest little breakfast/brunch spots in sarasota, off the beaten path! adorbs. a little piece of history-this little train station had been dismantled from indiana and pieced back together in srq-and was now a little cafe! bright and chipper, this place! pretty certain shea had the fry up and i KNOW i had the huevos gringos-delicious! we stopped by whole foods for some fruit to snack on later in the day, then feeling ready to conquer the day, we were off to mayakka!

you know i did...just because i had to. they weren't like donuts. but hey, they were still pretty good!

upon arrival, we stopped at the first bridge in hopes of a first sighting. there were two people on the bridge, who came off the bridge and walked onto a little pathway because they thought they saw something. we peeked over to the area where they were heading and sure enough, there was a slight glimpse of a head in the shade under the tree, but we weren't really close enough to appreciate him/her...and at this point, there was no need to get closer, as shea is much faster than i am, so i would get eaten first. so we proceeded to the trail.

shelter first!

we opted for the 1 mile trail instead of the 20 miler-no need for a marathon today. and even on this 1 mile stretch, while it was quite pretty, there wasn't a whole lot of variety. shea was telling me about a reality show were they drop naked people into wild places and leave them to survive for X amount of time. and they had used this park for one of the shows. so as we walked, we were survivalist planning. i'm pretty sure with our plans, we could've out-survived any of them! not that i would ever do a show naked...i have this modesty thing going on. everything pretty much looked the same until we arrived at the tower. the tower was worthy. we went up the first tower and i thought that was it, but it led to a little swinging bridge-coolness, and then onto a much taller tower that overlooked the treetops. what a gorgeous view and a refreshing breeze! we got up there and began snapping photos and another couple made it up and almost immediately went back down, as the male-figure was a little woozy and uncomfortable with heights (would've been good to know before they climbed the thing, i would think...just sayin'). once we heard a multitude of voices, we decided to descend from the deck. because no one wants to share an amazing upper deck scenery with the crazies. (them, not us). i knew neither of us would throw up, but you never know about children and weak-spirited travelers.

because amazing beauty deserves to be seen...and the view from the top was gorgeous as well. ;)

and of course the picture of us taking each other's picture. duh.

suspension bridge-pretending we're like...indiana jones in the wilds of anywhere

lots of stairs, generously built and funded by lots of people, including a whole slew of peruvian kids!

we then drove to one of the great fishing areas. when we got out to the little fishing platform, we saw 2 alligators on one side, and there was a big fella on the other side, where there was a lot of fishing going on. a lot of smack talk by a young nerdy fisherman. we were so unimpressed and making our own narrative under the breath. well, for all his talk, he did hook a big mouth bass. snaps. and it was probably about a 9-12 pounder. i don't know about shea, but i was really happy to see him leave to put it in their cooler back at their campsite! but then there were the kids and such. i'm sure we were totally in the way, watching, but we wanted to get selfies with the big guy! (alligator, not fisherman)

and...when on vacation, we get what we want...there he is

 every time someone snagged a fish, we stood there silently cheering on the alligator and hoping that he would get his fill. and he did snap two good sized fish from the lines! #teamalligator. we decided he was doing the fish a favor, and if we were fish, we'd rather have him do us the favor of keeping us from being un-drowned..asphixiation by air? (idk), i mean...to be a fish and go to a frying pan? this guy was a true humanitarian...alligatortarian. (?) and shea also made the comment that she felt flying alligators would be terrifying. so...we restricted them to dragonfly wings -no eagle wings, because as soaring alligator would be much more terrifying than a flittering, fluttering alligator..singing happy music...

got it! 

there was this kid fishing next to me, and he did a foolish move, trying to be cool and get his bait near the alligator, but he crossed lines with a couple of ladies, and got his line all tangled up with one of them. she kinda' reprimanded him, he said sorry and she proceeded to try to untangle the lines. this went on for about 5 minutes and he's still standing next to me, they are about 7 feet down, and i told him to slacken the line a little bit as they were trying to untangle it and having quite a time (not a good time, mind you, they were so annoyed)...and when i told him to do that, he said, "they can just cut the line, i have other hooks and bobbers." i told him to walk over there and let them know. they were even more annoyed at that point because he coulda' told them that at the very beginning of this tangled mess! by then they had it undone. this is why i don't fish with little boys. ok, let's be real-i haven't fished in years!

and of course, you can't go to an alligator park without some guy thinking he has to tell his alligator story about getting fined for wrestling an alligator in a state park, now he knows better...#initiateeyeroll ...

on the way back to the car, we found the perfect spot for senior pics, because senior pics are for everyone- 

yes, i was terrible at posing for my real senior pics too.

we found the birdwalk and went out in search of more alligators and birds. my mom would've enjoyed this area, as she is becoming somewhat of a birdwatcher these days. there were no gators, but there were plenty of birds!

once we were finished with our alligator hunting, we set off for siesta key beach.

to me, this is perfection.hearing the roar of the ocean relaxing in part sun, part breezy shade

upon arrival, we found a little spot to set up camp (hammock and beach chairs...what else does one require? nothing.) pretty much, as soon as we arrived, the hippies began to arrive as well with their bongos, jembes, tambourines, hula hoops and flags, among other things. they began setting up and drawing a huge circle in the sand, and tourists and visitors began to set up on the outside of that circle to watch the goings on. soon enough we would see that circle grow.

growing a crowd of onlookers

 we were next to the sand volleyball court, and after settling into the hammock, some guys began playing a pick-up game of sand volleyball. so as i was napping, i kept hearing,"uh oh!" and "OHHHH!" and it never failed to make me nervous and cringe just a little thinking i was going to get smacked in the head. finally their little group dissipated and i was truly able to rest! eventually shea went off to play in the ocean for a minute and i continued in my state of comfort...um..guarding the valuables...yep that's it! when she returned, we found a bag at the picnic table that someone had left behind-maracas! when one leaves maracas behind, the only thing for the finder to do is shake those things! so, despite the fact that we did not bring our hula hoop nor our tambourine, we DID take our newly borrowed maracas to check out the drum circle crazies.

maraca-laca-serious-face, time to get down to bidness!

what we found was not shocking. although, that said, there was a girl in a wolf-skin outfit. it seemed fairly legit and somewhat disconcerting that she would be wearing it in this heat. where does one get a wolf-skin outfit? full outfit...she didn't look like a mighty warrior who could defeat a wolf in the midst of trying to save oneself...hence, my question again. where did she get this thing?

maybe she did fight the wolf, and that's why she needed the knee brace...or maybe she was smoking pot and fell down her stairs...

the drummers

somehow, the circle closed in tighter, but there was still some dancing going on.

we were trying to be stealthy in our capture of jingle-summer-santa pics...

there were a group of the hippy-folk walking around with clip boards trying to get residents to sign a medical marijuana petition.

 we walked around, observed, took some pics, danced...

the kanakuk dance...

when with locals, do as the locals do...except not the marijuana part...#dancingwiththestars

 so the video of the above picture is actually rather humorous...

when the sun set, we had to find sustenance (as if!); this led us to a little place called: EAT HERE, and we ate there. i appreciate dining with shea, as she is all about sharing. this allows us to really enjoy a variety. so we ordered the lobster/shrimp tacos, and the fancy grilled cheese. they were both delicious, but my recommendation would be the grilled cheese, simply because i was comparing value and taste of the tacos to tide tables (the one place where we do NOT share). while we were waiting for the food to arrive, shea had to get her hair in order with her thingamabob or whatchamacallit- i really don't know, and she had to go through the entire song, trying to remember its name, only to realize that it was actually in one of the scenes, not the song...

#mermaidproblems

 and after dinner, we did what all people should do...we found the nitrogen flash frozen ice cream across the street and took our yummyness for a walk down the main stretch to see the shops and restaurants. it was short. the perfect way to end a day full of adventure!

coming soon-monday adventures and miami vice!
jrob

florida part 2, weekend 1 part 1: food, friends, fun, food

it's impossible. impossible to be on a diet and enjoy yourself on vacation with friends, because there are so many amazing restaurants, and so much socialization happens when you break bread...especially when it's coconut bread!

disclaimer: i may get some of this out of order, as i've been blessed to experience so much! my friends are amazing hostesses!

i got back to bradenton on friday. i arrived at the house fairly early in the afternoon, and i just hung out in shea's room while she was at work and took a nap and i think i may have written a letter or something. when she got home for work, we went down to sarasota and walked around st. armands-some of the cutest little shops..spices, trinkets, and nut-shop among the mix. the nut shop was fabulous, mostly because they had free samples everywhere! ah-the malted milk balls...the size of jupiter...

saturday was THE BLOCK! this is a group that shea and her roommate, brooke go to on saturdays as a way to minister to the kids in one of the local neighborhoods-lots of playing going on! it was so fun to watch them interact with their kiddos! they have so much fun and make those kids feel so loved on! #rolemodels

shea as the artist of the day, modeling poses 

they gravitate toward her and she gives them some big-sista love!

using the bubble machine! they are fascinated by that thing!

all kinds of games, sporting, and lizard hunting...thank goodness it got away! #whatpetadontknow

then we walked the crew home!

after that, we dropped brooke back at the house and made our way to anna maria island. first stop, and most important...anna maria island doughnuts, aka: the doughnut experiment. woah! so these are custom-made donuts. we walked in and the place was full of people, but the process went fairly quickly. step 1: get the form and make your choice of donut glaze, then one topping choice. so we got maple bacon, vanilla raspberry, chocolate heath bar, caramel sea salt, and caramel delight. only the two of us (don't judge). split them and it was amazing! the donuts are small-ish. they kinda' melt in your mouth. the machine in the back is kinda like the oldie in the book homer price, only a little different...fun to watch them grab the donut and dip-it was phenomenal!

get 'em while they're hot!

from the top, clockwise: caramel delight, maple-bacon, caramel seasalt, chocolate-heath, vanilla-raspberry...#meltinyourmouth

dear donuts, you can't hide from me just because you spell your name with the 'ough' ! nice try!

we took a walk up to the pier, and on the way we saw a little historical house. i pointed at it and read the sign that said: fell into the ocean in 1926. the little house by the sign was interesting, so we went to check it out. the guide was still there, and he told us the story of the place. it had been built at the end of the pier, and a family lived there. one night, the pier gave way and the house fell into the ocean, with a couple of people in it. fortunately they were able to get some help to get it out and it was relocated inland and eventually became a part of the historic society. it was really quite interesting. then we walked down to the pier. then we made our way back to the other side of the island, where the beach is.we took off around the bend and found a couple of rescue folk trying to save some turtle eggs-as the nest had been compromised and was about to be completely washed out. it was really interesting. (i had a pic i wanted to post, but i promised not to, as it is a controversial issue...integrity) hopefully the little guys hatch. we kept going, but the tide was way up and there wasn't really anyplace to walk, so we went back.

we ended up making our way to the beachhouse restaurant. there was a bit of a wait, so we walked a little ways on the beach, then sat on the deck until we were paged. once we were sat, we got to partake of the amazing coconut bread. yum. it reminded me of HONDURAS, because whenever we used to go to the beach, we would get a bag of coconut bread-rolls. they were a little lighter in consistency, but the taste was comparable. the coconut shrimp and fish dip with bread to dip. it was just what we needed before going into the ocean and playing with the go-pro and wiping out. sacrifice the body for the pic...that's what i was told.  then there was a little laying in the wind/sunshine to dry off. on our way out, there was a guy who was just standing there looking off into the horizon and i had no idea what was going on. i think i may have been in their wedding pics. #photobomb

patriotic- duh.

love the lighting-fine line between the sun colors and the grays in the ominous clouds!

coconut bread! we should have pulled a shea and "eat-a-half, pack-a-half" as they keep bringing more-don't want them catching on! (or just buy a bag to go, but that's not nearly as adventurous! :))

that evening, we went back to sarasota-st. armands and we walked down to lido beach for the sunset-everyone was watching the sunset; such a popular event-and the great thing is that God keeps doing it over and over and over again, and it just never gets old! as we were returning from the beach, we saw an older gentleman (not a surprise around here), but he looked like a santa clause. shea said she thought he was one of the drum-circle hippies. and there he was with a clip board on a corner talking to someone. 'hmm...maybe he's recruiting people and advertising for the drum circle sunday night', was our thought (we'll get back to this). when there is a kilwins ice cream shop in the area, you are wise to just go ahead and start there, and then decide if you have room for dinner...which is just what we did! just thinking of it-i exhale and almost forget to inhale because i'm savoring my first taste of caramel sea salt ice cream in a waffle cone! move over DQ, you're outta' your league!

kilwins-can't be beat!! i cannot believe i've never experienced this yummy-goodness!

so..this is supposed to be my LO,WISH YOU WERE HERE! look.

we then made our way to columbia restaurant (don't be confused, it's not columbian food, it's cuban). they had the signature 1904 salad-huge, so we split that and a mojito pitcher. both excellent choices! the waiter left the remainder of the seltzer water that he didn't use, and shea may have decided it would be best to take that with us, and scoop out some of the mint leaves that were remaining in the pitcher to take home and re-create..worth a try! E for effort?




up next, alligators and wolves!
julie

florida part 1, winter park in the summer

as promised, the vacation continues. i am breaking this into parts because it's kinda like there are 3 vacations in one. i booked my flight to florida for 2 weeks. i flew into tampa and rented a car because i knew i'd be driving around florida; it's not like texas (where going from one side of the state to the other is an major endeavor), road-trips here seem much easier. maybe because as i drive, i either see ocean, and think about sea turtles, or everglades, and think about alligators.

but i digress...i woke up early on monday morning the day after we had returned from the iowa family reunion, and drove down to dallas for my tuesday morning flight. i left the boys with mom and dad-kinda' like when my brother and i used to visit grandpa and grandma's in michigan for the summer, only no cousins, no church camp, no swimming lessons, no shopping..ok, so maybe it really wasn't much like my childhood summers at all...anyhoo, i arrived in dallas in time to check my mail, go to the bank, and then get over to my chiropractor for an adjustment that i was hoping would last for 2 more weeks. when i got home, i loaded the washer and packed up for florida.

everything was on time and fairly uneventful into birmingham. when i reached bhm, i knew i'd have a long layover, so i was able to finish reading my book that brandy had given me. let me tell you-A DREAM SO BIG, peiffer was such a great book! laughed, cried, it gave me a new appreciation for africa-and i could relate to much of the missionary aspect. so i wanted to finish it so i could return it. the problem is that reading this book in public is dangerous...you must have kleenex handy because you never know at what moment something emotional is going to hit.

 we touched down at the airport a little late due to weather in tpa, but not too bad. i walked over to the on-site rental car place and looked up and down the line, but did not see the company i booked with. hmm. so i called my travel company and asked about that; after waiting on hold, i was informed that i had to go back to the terminal and follow the sidewalk around to a round-about, where the driver of the off-site rentals would swing by every 15 minutes. and so i took the hike and with every bus that pulled up, i looked up at the sign, to make certain that it wasn't like a shared bus with a different name...but no. i was looking for ez. i suppose they were being creative with 'easy,' but truth is truth...it would have been much EZ-er to have this rental on-site like the big boys.

when i arrived, i went in and there was a local gentleman there arguing with the rental agents because they were telling him that he couldn't have unlimited mileage. i panicked a little because i was worried that my reservation for unlimited mileage would not be honored either, but the agent working with me said that it was a policy for locals, because they tend to abuse it. whew!

so i hopped in the car and made my way to bradenton-over the sunshine skyway bridge- beautiful! and of course, i wanted to stop at every little turn off parking that looked out at the ocean (it would've taken an awfully long time), so i suppressed the temptation, and finally made it to shea's place, but the entire time that i was driving, i was contemplating my love for the ocean. i even rolled the window down for a bit to get that smell. upon arriving, it was time for dinner, so we went to one of shea's favorite little places that is right off a causeway, and i had fish tacos for the first time. i never go for fish tacos inland, because they probably use guppies...but now i have been spoiled for life, and i may as well never eat fish tacos anywhere else again. just thinking about it makes my mouth water a little.

after dinner-and i should have gotten a picture of this place, it was nearing sunset, so we made our way out to the beach. i was drinking it up, because the next morning i would get up early to head up to orlando/winter park area to visit a couple of friends. so this ocean experience was just a teaser. when we got back, we watched a little t.v. with the roommates.

this is shea- the epitome of #saltlife

wednesday morning, i was up early so that i could leave when shea left for work. it was an easy drive until google-maps nav said she'd found a quicker route, and did i want to take it. i said, "sure, why not?" she failed to tell me that i was going to incur debt over the toll charges...but whatever, i made it to brandy's! once i'd gotten there and unloaded (the luggage), i went in and relaxed for a bit and sent her a text. she said she would be over to pick me up for lunch. and in the meantime, i relaxed with bibi the kitty. AND the inspector came-asking about a well...AND i got to meet the owner and tell her how precious i thought this house was! i love it! and when brandy arrived, she took me over to the rollins college, where she is now a valuable employee. not that she wasn't before, but now they were going to be able to appreciate her value!

we parked at the college, and then walked down through the historic area of winter park-such an attractive area-and we ended up at a greek/mediterranean restaurant and we ordered a hot-air-balloon-like-bread. don't even ask me what it was called-it was delicious, and that's all that matters. you can tell i don't indulge enough, which is surprising as much as i love it! the dips were tasty and we also got the meat-filled-fried-football thingies...seriously. i need to work on this. when we finished, we walked back to the school, and she showed me her office, and i got to meet her boss, ed. i already felt like i kinda' knew him from some of the stories i'd heard and how he'd helped her in the process of finding a place to live.

later that evening, we went to a fancy restaurant that overlooked the lake, and had an appetizer and drinks. then we drove around a bit and found another little area that overlooked the lake as well-good to know. bed-time for me has been later than usual this summer because my friends are all night owls... #morningpersonproblems .

view to die for...ok, view to be injured for? ok, fine...view to get full to.

any pic is better with water and a sunset in it!

on thursday i just hung out, got some work done, laundry washed, and then met up with berit. meeting with berit was a treat because i haven't seen her in years! she was in my unit, so i consider her one of my kampers, and the last time that i saw her was when she was a counselor! i've said it before, and it remains true-i love it when my kampers grow up and become friends. we met for lunch at bikes, beans and bordeaux. i wasn't completely sure what to expect..bikers? like vroom, vroom harley bikers? beans-coffee shop? it was a quaint little sandwich/cafe shop. i had an amazing little caprese sandwich and...jelly beans! hence the beans..the bikes is perhaps because there is a little custom bike shop next door. anyhoo, it was a great place to meet!

BERIT!

 from there, i got to go see her new house, which she is finishing up-DIY, girl after my own heart! i love what she has going on! it's a really cute place! then we went down the street to the apt she is currently in, while finishing up the home, and chatted for a bit more. it was funny, because i told her i was going to visit friends from high school, whom i hadn't seen in 24 years, and she asked, "what do you talk about with people you haven't seen in that long?" and i just kinda' laughed and said, "what are WE talking about?" after seeing sheryl, yanira, juan pablo, erika, brandy and my cousin carrie last year, time is just a concept. time with friends..if only that was my job-hanging out with friends! that would be ideal.

great photo-shoot park..fake senior pics

when i went back to brandy's, we got to drive around and explore a little. we found a cute little park on another lake, nestled in the back of a ritzy neighborhood. we got out to look around and it was an impressive, quiet area. what a great place to come to decompress! then we ran some errands, and ended up at a thai fusion joint. this was my first experience with thai fusion. if you recall, vietnamese fusion (nammi food truck) has become a favorite of mine-to the point of i have learned to recreate my favorite meal. anyhoo, i of course left it in her hands-and it was delicious. i am not afraid of thai food.

thai fusion tapas

when we got home, we were able to get some of that beautiful art up on the walls. brandy has great appreciation for art, and she has good taste-we had fun putting it up. so fun to be able to be a part of making her place a home! i got to see brandy last summer as well, when she lived in md. it was good to see her here-i really think this is going to be a great fit! there is something so comfortable about friends from home. it's always hard to leave, because you just never know when you're going to see them again!

getting the art in its just-right place...for now

on the way back to the beach, i used the WAZE app instead of google-lady. i was interested to see how it would work. since i don't have my radar detector with me, i was hoping this app would be my ticket to no tickets. and guess what..so far, i am proud to announce that i am ticket-free!!

before i left, i had to invest in a knee brace, as my knee was starting to give me issues. i knew that the next couple of days were about to be down to business, because shea is a do-er.

 and that will be coming up next.

julie

jaguars in iowa and marilyn monroe in the web-also in iowa

and now for family reunion time!

it's an 8 hour drive from southern/mid missouri to north western iowa, and we were planning to meet at my aunt's to have dinner with her and her husband. this meant that we would have to leave by 9. of course before we left, i had to drop the boys off at the kennel. suffice it to say that they were not happy with me when i walked out. in fact, i am fairly certain that i felt chaco throw the stink eye at my back... and me, well, i felt a little guilty leaving them. although when i thought it over, i decided that it would ultimately be less stressful for them to stay there and be around other dogs (maybe learn a new dialect from the corgi down the way),than to travel 8 hours with us, be around a bunch of strangers and still have to be in a fenced-in area all day, just to turn around and drive 8 hours back. so the lesser of the two evils it was.

we did fairly well on time-dad let me drive (his mistake); i may or may not have transferred the radar detector to their car before we took off...is 85/90 too fast?

we got there a little before dinner. the great thing is that kim's husband, marvin likes to grill. the greater thing is that he does it well! everything was absolutely delicious! amazing steak and grilled veggies! fellowship with family is fun! they have done a lot with the house since the last time we were there, and it looks GREAT! the additions in the basement for the gardening and canning, the addition on the back with the master suite-they did a very nice job-both of them are incredibly handy!

we woke up early the next morning to do breakfast and get to the park to set up for the reunion. we may have taken a long detour around trying to find the lodge. just as we were driving up and over a hill, 5-6 wild turkeys were gaggling* around so close to the road that we almost had turkey sandwiches for lunch...then about 10 yards further on the other side of the road, there was a baby deer (i suppose some people might call that a fawn..fair enough). i wonder if the turkeys were preparing to gang up on the deer..awesome! we saved an innocent deer! *(please note that i do realize a gaggle is a group of geese, and a rafter is a group of turkeys, but it's also a noisy, disorderly group..)

while we were waiting for everyone to arrive, i took my camera out and found a trail, hoping for more national geographic opportunities...i apparently will NOT be switching jobs this summer-i found nothing. i mean...i wasn't expecting a jaguar, but i did go through the mental exercise of visualizing what i would do and how i would start with the eyes...most vulnerable part. ridiculous? perhaps, until i get attacked by a jaguar and come out alive! (go ahead, laugh it up, you know it's true though). as i was entering the train and had walked in about 20 feet, i turned to see a lady and her dog entering the trail as well, so i kept going, thinking to myself, "great. they are going to ruin EVERYTHING!" she must have heard me thinking because when i turned around about 3 minutes later, i didn't see or hear them. unless of course...the jaguar?

i kept walking the path and wondering how much poison ivy i was brushing past...and which tree the jaguar was in.

so..what's so special about this dew-covered web? well, if you look really closely, you'll see...a likeness of marilyn monroe **

once people started to arrive, i put on my social face and conversed. last time we all got together, i did not get as much time as i was hoping for with my cousin, michelle, so i made a point to sit with her and learn what all was going on in her world and with her family. love that girl! when they started playing games, i pulled my other cousin, trish, in to sit and be a part of the game-playing. i watched, as i am a better watcher until i know what's going on! then stacey arrived-my cousin who is closest to my age-we're about 5-6 months apart-so we got to sit and talk and catch up. it was fun getting to chat with her youngest for a bit as well; bree is a fun young lady and her mom was trying to convince her of the importance and the love for family.

people began to clear out early, but we stayed to kind of wrap it up and shut-er-down. the boys men man-boys and michelle were in the middle of another card game (hand and foot/a family fave), so we decided that it would be fun to pause the game and take it back to uncle dwayne and aunt susan's so the kids could go swimming and we could continue to chat and laugh. when we got there, all of the kids went out to play, and we pulled out the card table. one group in the dining area finishing their game of hand and foot, and the rest of us in the living room playing another card game (i don't recall the name of the game, but i do believe that they let me win...although, susan is very competitive, she probably wouldn't just let me win)...i will chock it up to beginner's luck! i really do enjoy my time with my cousins, aunts and uncles. family is precious. we were missing a couple of cousins who couldn't make it.

my aunts are so thoughtful and went through a lot of time and work to collect pictures of the family throughout the years!

uncle rick in the plaid, next to his wife, marlene. he is the oldest brother, and really resembles my grandpa

marvin and jerry- i would always love to be a fly on the wall..or squirrel in the tree in this instance!

mom joining in the outdoor games

new game...tracks? trains? tickets? routes? it actually looks like a great game!

me and stace-just catching up-i want so badly for great things to happen for her! 

bree-just kickin it with my camera, because that's how she does! ;)

take 1-susan wanted to make sure we got her best side...i mean, her wet side...don't worry, it was wet because of water balloons...nothing more nothing less.

almost all of them there are 10 sibs total. missing: uncle craig-couldn't make it from ohio, and uncle dave had to leave early-due to physical difficulties. i am sad that i didn't get a pic before they left.

and michelle-my sassy, funny, fun-loving cousin! so glad we got to hang out for longer this time!

 we left the party and headed back to kim and marvin's and when we got there, they were watching a show about mountain men-never a dull moment!

we had to leave early sunday morning because i had to pick up the boys between 4 and 5, so we got breakfast on the way home, and again, i drove... with the fearlessness and need for speed of mario andretti. it goes without saying that we were home with ample time to spare!

i asked mom to go with me to pick up the boys, because i took lots of things for them, and i needed a little assistance. when we walked into the kennel, the lady opened the gate, and bruno came running out to me, but no chaco. i was a little worried at first that maybe she'd put him in a wrong kennel, but then i saw him on the other side of the plastic door, just hangin' out outside probably looking at the other dogs and wondering how he could annoy them. it took several seconds before he caught on to what was happening and came running through the plastic door! "WHERE WERE YOU?!?!?" they kept asking. and when i told them, chaco was like, "no worries, mama, we had lots of fun barking at the other dogs. they were SO afraid of us." mind you, even in the small dog section, my dogs were smaller than all of the others. <cough,cough> no one was afraid of them..just sayin'. and i didn't have the heart to tell them that i would be leaving early the next morning--instead, we just hung out all night on the couch enjoying sunday night life with popcorn.

next up...i believe that would be florida!

-julie
**marilyn monroe will not appear in the dew drops on the web...no matter how hard you look and squint your eyes. if you saw her, you might want to get your eyes checked..or your brain. she's just not there. why would her likeness show up on a web in the grass? charlotte, from charlotte's web-NOT REAL ya'all.