Happy Easter!

One of the best traditions of Easter is dying the eggs. 

This is sooooo Ryan.  Most everything he does is with a baseball glove on his left hand....

case in point!

She got pretty fancy this year.  How can we possibly eat this masterpiece?

This is what the Easter Bunny left us.....OH....and one more thing...

An adorable little Polish Dwarf Bunny, named Nutmeg.

 Oh how we LOVE this little guy....he is so cute and cuddly!

Happy Easter

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everelasting life. (John 3:16)

The Everglades

This is at Sawgrass Recreational Park in the Florida Everglades.  

We got to take an airboat tour through the area.  The water is only about 18 inches deep, but trust me when I say you do not want to wade through it.

This guy is one of the many reasons I was thankful to be in a boat.

 

After the boat ride we walked through their wildlife park.  Some of us were braver than others.

Ryan and Callista kept telling Chloe and me just how soft and cuddly these little gators were.  We will just took their word for it, because we weren't having anything to do with these guys except take their pictures.

Happy Birthday Katherine

I think this year's birthday tops them all!  We went down to Ft. Lauderdale to attend the LDS Temple open house.  What an incredible place it was.  

The temple ground was hopping with lots of tiny frogs.  Callista said it made perfect sense that the frogs would be at the temple because frog stands for "Fully Rely On God". That is what she is cupping in her hands right now.

After attending the open house we changed into our beach attire.  We had a delicious lunch at the "Taco Shack" right on the beach.  Chloe didn't even complain about having to eat Mexican food....just for me.

 

After the beach we got cleaned up and went to the Olive Garden for dinner and then off to the Movie Theatre to see "Disney Nature's Bears".  Thank you to my sweet family for such a great Birthday!

*WINTER*

After cruising through a few state parks over Spring Break we ended up at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

Home of WINTER

She truly is an amazing creature.  Just watching her interact with the other dolphins and with the patrons of the aquarium, you can tell she is one smart cookie!  Definitely an inspiration to all those who come in contact with her.

These are the 2 pelicans that took turns playing "Rufus" from the movie.  They were so funny to watch.

And, of course, the boat where Hazel's family lived according to the movie.  The only thing missing were the "lemon icicles".

It was a great day to see the true Winter and how she has changed so many lives.

Florida Caverns State Park

It was our 1st day of Spring Break and we decided to head west towards Tallahassee to the Florida Caverns State Park.  It was gorgeous there.

First, we went through the nature center which had pictures of wildlife you can find in the park as well as a live Turtle Display.  Our kids were very excited to hold and touch these reptiles.

Then we took the 1.5 mile loop hike along their nature trail.  It was the perfect time to go as there were tons of wildflowers.

Then it was our turn for the tour of the caverns.  There were incredible.  The science behind Heavenly Father's masterpieces is ingenious.  

We were instructed not to touch any of the stalagtites or stalagmites throughout the caverns with a promise that there would be ONE that we would be allowed to touch towards the end.  It was a great lesson for the kids to see because the other formations were clean and beautiful while this one, that they allowed everyone to touch had turned black.

It was an awesome day.  Now we can't wait for Truman, Elliot, and Nolan to see them on their move to Pensacola!

Enchantment of the Seas

We had a blast just being on the ship.  There was always something to do and keep us busy.  Not to mention the delicious food.  We kept going into the buffet to snitch more cookies.

Enjoying some sunshine and the "Jason Bourne" series.

 Here's Chloe up on the trampoline.

 And after watching Chloe for 30 seconds....he was ready!

 

 Here's Chloe on the rock wall.  She says it's harder than it looks.  She had a dozen or more people cheering her on the sidelines.  She was the youngest willing to try it (at least while we were around).  Go Chloe!

 And Paul......he just makes it look way too easy!

 Callista wasn't feeling adventurous, but she was feeling left out of the picture taking.

 We even participated in the "Harry Potter" trivia game.  We did pretty good , or should I say Chloe did pretty good.  She was the brains of the group!

 It was a trip we will always remember.  We give thanks for the opportunity to see so many of our Heavenly Father's amazing creations.

Bahamas, January 2014