Snorkeling with Manatees

We took a trip to Florida to visit with my grandparents and decided to turn the trip into a mini-vacation and swim with the manatees in Crystal River.

At first Connor was scared that he was going to drown and wanted back on the boat. Bo finally got him calmed down and showed him how to use his snorkel and it was easy peasy from there. Our first stop was the natural spring. It was crystal clear and the most beautiful site I've ever seen! You could see air bubbles rising from where the spring was fed, several fish, and a natural area where a tree had fallen in (see picture above), but no manatees. Apparently, we came at the wrong time of year. Our guide told us that there are usually anywhere from 25-100 manatees in the warm spring between December and February. The weather warmed up early this year, so they migrated early.

So, we hopped back on the boat where we were taken to a channel. The water was murky and hard to see anything until all. We were all looking so hard through the dirty water, hoping to see a glimpse of a manatee. Then, it seemed, out of no where there was a manatee directly underneath us! I was impressed at his size. It was as big as my car!! He swam so gracefully for being so large. I watched the end of his tail gliding away from me when the guide yelled "there's another one headed straight for you!". Our heads went straight down into the water again and sure enough, there was another one within arms length. The coolest site ever!

Although, we did not get to swim around in circles with them like the pictures show on the touring websites, we did get to see some very amazing things. It has sparked our interest in snorkeling and we are planning on incorporating snorkeling into our summer vacation this year.

Momma Gets a New Car!

It was time to trade in Eddie, the Expedition. Eddie had many issues. The main one? He drank a lot. And I mean A LOT!! At 13 miles to the gallon (ok, 14 on a good day) it was time to make a change.

I searched and searched until I found this beauty. I just love her (yes, my automobiles have genders and names). She is a 2010 Ford Edge. Leather seats, heated seats, bluetooth, dual sunroof - that is TWO sunroofs! Although, she is 2 years old, you wouldn't know it. She still has that new car smell! The best part of all?? We took her to Florida the first weekend we had her and she squeezed out a whopping 26 miles to the gallon!! I still haven't found just the right name for her, but I'm thinking she looks like a Phoebe.

St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day isn't normally something that we celebrate around our house. However, this year, Connor came down with strep throat on the day that his class planned to make Leprechaun traps. When he learned that he would miss the activity, his chin began to quiver and the tears started rolling. Sooo....I told him that we would make one at home. And we did!

This isn't your ordinary cake. There are 2 bundt cakes underneath all that icing. You see, the Leprechaun will climb the pretzel ladder thinking that he has found a pot of gold on the other side. When he crosses the "field" of grass, he will plummet into the middle of the cake. Connor was concerned that he may outsmart us and walk the edges of the cake, so we came up with plan B. If he doesn't fall into the first pit, he will surely fall into the second pit where the pot of gold awaits him.

We brought this into his class room once he was feeling better and everyone loved it. Of course, we had to taste test the cake, so we will never know if it worked or not!