Florida Everglades

 

 One of the days we were in Florida we decided to take an airboat ride.  Not the typical "kid" thing to do but, after we got going Aubree decided it was a lot of fun.... so did Nana and Papa.  This is a boat like the one we took our ride on.....

 

 

We got lucky (or at least I thought so)  we saw a Gator in the wild.  The driver said it was probably 8-10 long......Pretty cool huh???

  

In another spot we also saw a couple of baby gators...aren't they cute?  

 

 

More Florida wildlife????? well, I guess so.  As we were going through the reeds and grass we came across a cow.  This was shortly after we saw that big gator.  Everyone was asking, "Don't the gator's eat them?"  The driver said the gators leave them alone because they are too big.  They only go after something that large in the movies.  That cow was pretty boney though.  I think the gator passed him up just because there wasn't much meat on his bones.  There was a ranch along this body of water and he said cows wandered into the water all the time and ate the grass..

 

And here is our little gator.  (The one on the right....)  She said to me "Hey Nana, take my picture."  I turned around and she was on the floor with him....Goofy kid.  I have only been home a couple of days and haven't seen her since Friday.  I already miss her so much....and she only lives next door.  

Florida Vacation

Over the next couple of days I will be sharing some of the fun we had on our vacation.  First, let me say....IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!  This was Morgan and Aubree's first time flying and although neither said they were nervous, we all know that anything unknown can make us a little anxious.  Aubree was a little scared but mostly excited in the weeks before we left and we talked about flying with her.  Well.....she did great.  She loved to fly.  When we were in the sky she asked Heather if we could go ask the pilot to do "rolls" with the plane?  She wanted the him to do some "trick" flying with our jet.  Heather was quick to tell her "No" but I think the man seated next to Heather who had a history of getting sick on flights answered quicker than Heather.  When we landed in Orlando Aubree exclaimed "That was AWESOME!"  So glad she enjoyed it.

Shortly after we got to our "home" for the next week, we heard some music coming from outside.  We were wondering what it was when Morgan asked "Is that an ice cream truck?"  Sure enough....the ice cream truck came each afternoon, however, the first day was the only one we actually were home to get ice cream.  I think Lorin thought that he was in heaven.  BTW - the driver of the truck was a Packer fan....Gotta love that!

 

Behind our "home" was a large pond.  The first night we were there, I was taking Annie out to go potty and we were walking around the pond and saw this sign.  Not something you normally see in Wisconsin!!!  We did see gators later in the week.  Not in the backyard but.....I'll get to that in another post.

I am jumping around a bit..... because we didn't go to the beach until a little later in the week but, Disney, Animal Kingdom, etc will get a post all by themselves so I thought I would include a couple of pics from the beach.  The water was about 40 degrees.  Well maybe a little warmer but, no much.  When we first got there Lorin walked up and put his toes in and said it felt like sticking your foot into a cooler with ice water.....he was right.  He wouldn't let me leave until I "went in" the water.  I only put my feet in and came out in a hurry.  Here you can see Aubree getting hit by a wave.  Boy was that water cold.  And Morgan was such a good guy going in with her.  She thought the water was fine.  I don't think you can feel cold when you are 6.

 

And of course anyone who knows Aubree knows she cannot play with sand without getting buried.  She wanted to be a mermaid so Heather buried her and gave her a tail.  Doesn't papa look relaxed??

 

What do you get when you mix walking in the ocean and getting buried in the sand???? A kid that cannot go back into the vehicle without getting a shower.  Can you tell the water from the shower isn't much warmer than the ocean?  Look at the expression on her face.  But, she didn't mind.  I think she would have stayed and played all day.  

If you want to see a couple more pics from the beach check out my Photos blog   www.photosbyjuleee.blogspot.com

Big Elk Ice Fishing Contest!

Last weekend we spent Saturday afternoon up at the Big Elk Ice Fishing contest.  Lorin's brother owns a bar up on the Musser Flowage and sponsors the contest each year.  Some years the weather has been awful (two years ago the high for the day was like 20 below zero) but this year the temps were in the 30's and the sun was shining.  We had a nice afternoon enjoying what Wisconsin winters have to offer.  Hayseed and Julie came with us for the afternoon and several of his other family members were there.  Here are a few pics from the day.

 Lots of fish being caught.  Doesn't it look like the kids did better than the adults?????  We had a nice afternoon.  Thanks for the fun!

Give a Day - Get a Day

Next month we are planning a trip to Florida. Hopefully the weather won't be as cold there as it is right now. Lorin was just checking the forecast for Orlando this week and the warmest temp is 65. Tonight their low is 24. That isn't much warmer than we are tonight. Some friends of ours are there this week - I hope the weather forecast is wrong and you get wonderful temps and can swim, etc. Anyway, when we go we are planning to do all the typical "kid" things. Go to Disney a couple of days, Discovery Cove, Sea World and probably to the beach for a day. Disney has a program running this year where if you donate your time to a designated organization, you can get a free pass to Disney. So, we signed up for Project Linus. We had to make two blankets for each of us - 10 blankets. Here are the ones we made. They are quite specific on what you can make, size, colors, type of blankets, fabrics, etc. but, we had a good time. Well, I am not sure if Lorin and Morgan thought so, but we did accomplish our goal and got them completed. Aubree also completed some cards/artwork to go along with them. Project Linus distributes to children and teens that are in the hospital, have experienced losses/tragedies, etc. They distribute 75 blankets per month (on average) throughout Northern Wisconsin. It was great to do this for that organization and a great lesson for Aubree too. Can't wait to go on vacation.....

New Blog is Here!

Ok - I'm excited. I just started my new blog sharing some of my favorite photos with all of you. It is listed in my blogger list for you to link, so, check it out and let me know what you think. (Hey, that kindof rhymes!) Anyway, Happy Blogging! The address is photosbyjuleee.blogspot.com

Perfect New Year's Eve!

What better way to spend New Year's Eve than with your husband. Quiet dinner.... lobster, salad, fresh bread and a bottle of wine..... perfect! Happy New Year to all of my friends and family. May 2010 be the best year yet. See you on my blog.

As many of you know, I have had a revived obsession in my life - photography. My blog this year has been an accumulation of "events" - big and small - in our life. I have had the great pleasure of spending much time taking photos of family, friends and all of God's great gifts. I have had people asking me to see more of what I have been doing, so.... in the next couple of days, I will be putting the finishing touches on another blog that will feature many of the photos I have taken and will be taking over the next year. Connie has inspired me to do a POTD..... well, maybe more like a POTW. But, I will do my best to post at least once each week with one, two or many photos. As with all bloggers, we love comments so, if you are so inclined, please leave me some of your thoughts.

Thanks be to God for all he has blessed me and my family with and I wish all of you the same for the new year.

Tubing!!!!

Today we went tubing out at Perkinstown. We haven't been there in years and boy was it fun. Lorin is off this week so it was a Nana, Papa and Aubree day. The first picture is of Lorin coming down the hill with Aubree....

Then the landing....

About half way through the day, the rope broke. Do you see how many stairs there are to the top of the hill. Of course Aubree was not ready to leave so..... time to climb the stairs - 108 stairs to be exact. Do you know how many times we climbed those stairs - Too many!!

Here is Nana and Aubree way on top of the hill.....On the way down......At the bottom.....


Another graceful landing.... Not sure what was more fun - coming down the hill or landing in the straw. Aubree was a little scared on the first run. However, we no more than landed in the straw and she was saying "Again, again, again, can we go again?" What a memorable day. We ended with hot cocoa in the club house to warm up. Here she is on the way home.... Cheeks red and nose running. What a fun day - can't wait to go again. BTW - when we left they got the rope back up and running.