Florida Keys and more...

So we finally packed up the car and headed to the Keys with Paige and Brooke. Well, we maybe should have waited longer, like until the winter! While we had a good time together it was unbearably hot and humid! Although, we did have a beautiful view of the ocean right on our campsite! Each morning we woke up to the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore, and the buzzing of mosquitoes in our tent (haha)! After settling in our first night we experienced a torrential downpour which flooded the girl's tent. A typical camping adventure for us, this was all new for Brooke! We promised her it wasn't always so miserable!

Sunset in Key West

The next day we hoped in the car and headed for Key West. We spent the day sight seeing and stayed for the sunset celebration on the pier. We returned home late that evening. The next day we drove around in the car and enjoyed the AC mostly. We finally found a "beach" that got deeper than 2 1/2 feet deep! Actually, it was more just a pull off on the side of the highway, but we enjoyed the water and even a picnic lunch. We all decided that we would leave late that night instead of sweating out another night in the tent. Little did we know there was 40 miles of bumper to bumper traffic awaiting us that night! Honestly, all in all we enjoyed ourselves. However, next time we camp in the Keys it won't be in June!!!

View of a water spout from our campsite!

I started on night shift last week and so far, I've survived! It's going to take some time to adjust to the creative sleeping pattern but it's definitely going to work out for the next few years. It has been nice in a way, giving me more time at home with my family. Mostly, I am able to exercise Layla a lot more and be home with her in the daytime, even though I am usually asleep.

One thing I have been able to enjoy is my mini-garden. While my bean plant didn't make it, my tomato plant is doing well and is producing yummy cherry tomatoes! It is so nice to go outside and pick them fresh for dinner! Also thriving are the basil and oregano plants. Along with the extra "me" time, I've also decided to give back a little. I toured the shelter that brought Layla to us in preparation for volunteering with them a few days per month. I'll be helping out with the dogs, bathing, walking and whatever else needs doing!

This summer we are learning the joys of home ownership! This winter we painted the house and thought that would be all the home improvement we'd be doing for awhile. Last month we came home from the Keys to a sauna, inside the house! Luckily, Dannis works with an AC company on the side and they were able to help temporarily fix the air. Unfortunately, we need to replace the outdoor unit this summer. Not to mention the hell Layla has put our carpet though in the last few months she's been a part of our family! Replacing the carpet is a close second our our list of home repairs this summer! Yikes! Looks like that extra cash from night shift will be put to use sooner than later!!

This weekend we are looking forward to a vacation with Rusty's parents. We are taking a 3 night cruise to the Bahamas!

June

Since our last posting we have done some exciting things! Paige graduated high school at the end of May. We were happy to come together as a family and watch the last of the 3 siblings graduate! Paige plans to attend the University of West Florida in Pensacola in the fall! We were also happy to spend a few short days with my dad during the weekend!

Rusty celebrated his 26th birthday on June 1st. We had a small get together with friends to celebrate. Rusty has also done a job shadow at the hospital with a respiratory therapist. He plans to attend Valencia Community College in the fall to begin work on his pre-requisites for the Respiratory Care program at Valencia the following January (2011). This program lasts 2 years. In the meantime, he will have to quit his job at Greenway Ford as early as this spring. As a result, I have taken a position on the night shift on my unit starting in July. This will be a nice change of pace but I am still a little nervous about the change in sleep schedules. However, my friends and co-workers (and Rusty of course) have been very supportive of me during this transition.

Next weekend, we are taking Paige on a long awaited trip to the Keys. We will be camping there for three nights to celebrate her graduation from high school....Can't wait!

Disney Cruise

So, our long awaited vacation has finally come...and gone! We left town on my birthday after a great night at Bahama Breeze with friends. On Saturday, we left Cape Canaveral on the Disney Magic for our Western Caribbean Cruise.

Here I am in Key West!

Our planned stops were Key West, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Castaway Cay. Due to the threat of swine flu we lost of Mexican port and visited Nassau instead. In Key West we explored the city via a walking GPS tour. It was nice to walk at our own pace and were able to stop at the shops and eat lunch. We even walked a total of 2 and a half miles to the southern most point of the US! In Grand Cayman, we were on a bus tour to "Hell" a unique rock formation, and a stop at the turtle farm. We later discovered that the turtle farm harvests the turtles for meat! Yikes, wish we didn't participate in that! But all in all it was a beautiful place to visit!

We celebrated our third anniversary with a special dinner at Palo.

In Nassau we swam with stingrays and laid out on the beach. At Castaway Cay, our favorite stop, we snorkeled and enjoyed paradise! Overall, we did a lot of relaxing, laying out by the beach and sleeping!! As always, check out our photo album!

Sunset on the boat.

Now that we are home we are back at work...woo hoo! We are excited however, about Rusty's future career path. He has decided to start back to school in the fall to study Respiratory Therapy. He will do a shadow at the hospital next week just to make sure this is for him. He is really looking forward to this change in careers.

Rusty's birthday is coming up the first of next month! Looking forward to that!

A day at the Dog Beach

Here we are trying to get Layla in the picture too!

Last week Rachel and I took Layla to the beach for the first time! It was a beautiful day with a nice breeze. The beach is located on the intercostal waterway at New Smyrna beach. We saw dolphins, sting ray and lots of other sea life. Layla seemed to have a good time, although she would have had more fun if she could run free! Can't wait to go again soon!

On Friday we'll be leaving for our cruise! Only 5 more days!

Easter and Prom

On Easter we enjoyed spending time with both families. First we visited my side of the family and enjoyed a nice brunch. We also decided to let Layla swim in the pool. It took some encouraging but she finally got dunked by Rusty and then decided she liked it! Then we went over to Rusty's family's cookout at the lake. It was really good BBQ from the slow cooking grill Joe made...yumm!

This past weekend Paige went to her senior prom! She was so pretty and grown up and brought back a lot of good memories!

Today I took Layla to the dog park but we got rained out after only a few minutes. She has been doing really well playing with other dogs. Her favorite thing to do there is play fetch with the ball in the water!

Right now things are tough with Rusty's job since the economy is so bad. We are still saving up very slowly for a new car for me (hopefully mine will hold out long enough!) and our carpet desperately needs replacing. We are considering laying hardwood this summer if time and the budget permit.

Less than 2 weeks until we leave for vacation (and my birthday!) More later...

Spring!

Last weekend Rusty and I went camping with a few friends in Ocala. This is the first trip we have also brought Layla along! It was a lot of fun and I think Layla enjoyed the outdoors but was also really happy to get home!! Mike and Michelle were there with their son Michael, now 5 months old. It was really cute to see the two of them interacting. Layla was wild and crazy as always but surprisingly gentle with the baby! Michael was just trying to grab the dog's nose and eat it!

Friday night was nice and we enjoyed some time at the spring Saturday. We also went hiking and as always, enjoyed great food! Saturday night we awoke to a storm with thunder and lightning! The campsite was drenched by morning and we headed home. All in all it was a pretty typical camping adventure! When we got home we discovered Layla was covered in ticks (and I had 2 on me too!) Gross!

Last week we learned that Jim's father passed away after a battle with cancer. Nolan, Paige and I attended the funeral and enjoyed hearing stories about his life. Although it was a sad day, it was nice to see our family.

Random thoughts: Today I spent some time in the backyard planting basil, oregano, tomatoes and green beans. I have them in little starter trays and haven't quite decided what to do with them when they are grown yet! I am excited to see some green sprouts on my pineapple plant I thought I surely killed in a frost this winter! Today is truly the perfect Florida day. There is sunshine, blue skies and a nice cool breeze!

That's all for now. As of today, less than 1 month until the cruise! (26 days, but who's counting?)

Trip to Vermont!

Finally sitting down to write about our trip to Vermont! Earlier this month we traveled to Vermont to visit my dad. It was a nice get away from the routine we'd been falling into. When we first arrived we checked out a house dad was listing and helped take pictures. It was a plain house with the most spectacular view! It was right off of the (now frozen) Lake Champlain! Dad finally convinced us to go out on the ice which was "at least a foot thick!" In the end I'm really glad I went out there!

In our visit we also spent time in downtown Burlington and traveled to Stowe, a local ski town. We checked out a lot of the little stores in town (much to Rusty's delight...!). I even convinced Rusty to eat at a local diner called Bee's Knees who served the best burgers we'd ever eaten! Everything there is organic and fresh. The restaurant used produce from the local farms in their dishes. Other than that we spent a lot of time relaxing! After a rainfall mid-trip we had a few inches of snow to wake up to the morning of our departure! As always, our trip was great!!

Other than that, not much has been going on with us. Layla is a challenge and a joy at the same time! She is a very high energy dog that requires lots of exercise, more than most I'm pretty sure! But I never knew how nice it would be to have someone waiting for you when you come home (besides a wonderful husband : )! She is getting better with her training and has really turned into quite the swimmer! She goes crazy for the tennis balls at the dog park and would run for hours if we let her!

We are eagerly awaiting our next adventure...in May we are leaving for our long-awaited trip to Mexico! Can't wait!