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! 

Strawberries

Just 15 miles north of us is a you-pick strawberry farm. YES!!! We've been spoiled with all the citrus, and now these strawberries at just $2/lb.  Supposedly the you-pick blueberry farm opens in March...Sawyer will be in heaven as that is his favorite berry. Still trying to get used to the seasonal differences here in Florida, but we sure are loving it!

 Rows and rows!

 My parents had a huge garden where we grew up in Colorado...they were known for their amazing berries. I remember picking strawberries (or currants, or gooseberries, or raspberries) and looking down the row thinking they were so long that I could actually see the curvature of the Earth. I think the rows were 100 yards, right dad?

Couldn't keep them out of his mouth the whole time we picked...hard to blame him :) We enjoyed strawberry milkshakes, strawberry shortcake, and topping all our breakfast items with the 12 lbs. we picked. There wasn't any left to make jam. Maybe next week :)

Citrus Celebration

I'm not sure how I got away without taking a picture of the massive amounts of citrus we squeezed, juiced, peeled, and enjoyed! It truly was a citrus celebration each day, as oranges are in full force this time of year. We found a road out on Merritt Island where people that have groves will set out their excess fruit and a money box and you take what you want at an amazing price. Sawyer and Jack love star fruit...found out that stains pretty good too. The fresh-squeezed orange juice is absolutely amazing! Here is one last post of their visit with picture overload.

A walk on the Oak & Palm Hammock trail.

All-star Auntie Aleafala. It's so cute the way Sawyer says her name.

Spanish Moss - I think this picture explains why Sawyer is obsessed with it now, haha.

Uncle Chris is always up for trains!

Some friends were out of town so we were able to borrow their bikes and everyone accompanied us on our  normal morning bike ride/playground outing.

Blow soccer.

Enjoying salmon from AK - thank you Chris & Abbie!

Wild Pigs! Not the best picture, but it was a family of 5 black piggies.

Chris taking on the challenge of dressing this squirmy guy.

Taking a break from all the hard work!

Happy Birthday Sadie! We made an awesome video for her (much too embarrassing for the Aunties to post on here :). This photo gives you an idea of the awesomeness though.

Playing in their new sand box - all that sand came from what we dug out of the garden area.

Jack having a blast in the pool - I can't believe it was warm enough to do this in January!

Alethea & Abbie babysat for us one night so George and I could go out on a date. We went on a walk sans children and ate Thai. It was a pleasant evening. On the way to the restaurant we stopped to help a guy on the side of the road. Apparently he'd been waiting over two hours and no one had stopped. It made me grateful that George always stops to help. He's a good man :)

SO many birds in Florida! We're about 15 mins from Canaveral National Seashore. It is full of wildlife! Pictured above are Great & Snowy Egrets, Roseate Spoonbill (they're pink!), and a lot of others I need to learn.

...along came Mr. Alligator quiet as can be...

Jack staying up late one night partying with the Aunties.

...there are consequences to being so cute :)

Oh man, it was such a fun visit. We kept feeling like we were missing people...and we were, the rest of the fam! One day we'll all get together at the same place and time! Sawyer frequently asks, "Where's Aleafala, where's Abbie, where's Chris?" We miss you all and think fondly of the great times we had with you. Thank you for coming to see us! Hopefully you're still enjoying fresh citrus while watching the snow fall. We love you!