Baba & Dido

We were SO happy that Baba & Dido (George's parents) flew all the way across the country to visit us in Florida! We had a fantastic week with them, and packed in a lot of good times and fun memories.

We got to the beach a couple of times, but the weather didn't cooperate very well. It was breezy and chilly (by FL standards), but still enjoyable.

Pelican party in the Atlantic

On the way to the beach we passed palm trees up in flames - turns out it was a controlled burn. Still odd to see such a green/lush area up in flames.

Jack driving with Sawyer as a passenger. Oh geez - I can only imagine when they are teenagers. Heaven help us!

Our ward (what we call our local church congregation) recently got a lot of new members. There was a temple trip planned for all of them and extra help was needed, so George and Bill volunteered. Natalie and I got to go in before them to do some initiatory work while they watched the boys, then we swapped. It was great  to get to go to the temple since it is hard to do very often with little ones. If you're curious about temples, you can click here to read about them.

While George was off during the weekend, we took a 5 hour drive up to Tallahassee to visit Aunt Connie. She is one of Bill's younger sisters. She lives out in the 'country' and it was a pleasant get-away, and very nice to meet more of the Bates' side of the family. Below are some of the pictures we took on our weekend getaway.

Yet another diaper change on the go...the boys are getting pretty good at road trips!

Bill #2 and Connie #4 out of 11 children

A definite highlight was visiting Wakulla State Park, home to the largest fresh water spring in the country. Connie treated us to a boat ride along the spring where we saw manatees, alligators, turtles, mullet (you should have seen them leaping out of the water!), and lots of birds (anhinga, ibes, moorhen, heron, egret, cormorant, osprey and more)!

"Did you see that alligator, mom?"

There were 6 turtles lined up on this log and they kept plopping in the water one at a time as our boat got closer.

Great Aunt Connie & Jack - he kept us all busy on the boat ride.

Neat shot of the vultures and spanish moss.

An alligator so relaxed he is about ready to slip off the log. I can relate, sunshine will do that to you.

Anhinga - they have no oil on their feathers to wick off water so they spread their wings out like the above photo to dry off.

There is a manatee, aka gentle giant. You can see some white scars on its back. Most likely that is from getting hit by a boat. Pretty much all of the manatees have scars like that. They are endangered, and the biggest problem is boats hitting them.

A game of chess with papa.

Connie, Baba, & Jack's turn now.

Natalie was also able to see her youngest brother, Teddy who happened to be down in FL at the same time. He normally lives in New Hampshire.

Back at the home front, Bill and Natalie took a trip out to the Astronaut Hall of Fame while the boys got in a nap at home. Sad that the shuttles are all 'parked' now.

A star fruit tree! Sawyer and Jack love this fruit. And I found out the juice from them stains terribly. We'll see if oxi-clean works its normal magic or not...

Three generations of boys playing :)

Baba and Jackers

Sawyer serving up a delicious seashell sand sandwich for a snack - try saying that ten times in a row!

Sawyer can catch the lizards around here no problem!

Sawyer cruising around the yard on his balance bike.

Watering my garden baby...a bird got my first ripe cherry tomato :( Nature's taxes I guess. Here's to hoping for a big return!

Jack has been doing all sorts of free standing (for a couple months now) and he even took a couple steps with a lot of urging. It won't be too long until I'm in big trouble.

 Palmetto frond - FL state tree. Baba really liked them.

A week flew by, and seemed much too short. We had a great visit and Sawyer and Jack really loved getting to know their grandparents. Sawyer keeps asking, "Where did Baba and Dido go?" Thank you for all your help with the van, pressure washer and other projects Grandpa. And thank you for all your help with the boys, cooking, and cleaning Grandma. We were spoiled and had a wonderful visit!  Hopefully it won't be too long until we get to see you again. We love you and miss you Baba & Dido!