men at work

I'm afraid I may have given you all a false impression.  Based on the past few posts, you might be thinking that our trip to Florida was nothing but amazing wildlife adventures, popsicles by the pool, and fireworks over the golf course.

{if I'm being honest - mostly, you'd be right}

However, for us, not even a vacation is all pina coladas and getting lost in the rain.

Sometimes you need to take some time to study.

Or be tutored.

There are Sudoku puzzles that won't do themselves.

And flowers that need water {sunshine they've already got in spades}

After all that was done - and only then - could we take a break, get a drink

and go off in search for the next great adventure.

celebrating freedom

Happy 4th of July!

{Wait.  What day is it again?}

Ok, so I'm a little behind here, but let's get caught up!  A big part of our trip to Florida was a celebration of Independence Day.  Asher wore his special shirt and looked just like Yankee Doodle.

Since we were all dressed in our best red, white, and blue a family photo at the beach was in order!

Photo shoot FAIL.  The sun was in our eyes and someone {Drew - hold still!} was being a super squirm.  Plus I asked Drew to wear his red striped shirt so we'd coordinate and forget that it does wild things on camera.  Oh well.

Rather than getting all 3 of us together we got some nice shots of one-on-one mommy/daddy - Asher time.  That's pretty special too.  :-)

Guess who always gets good photos with Asher - his grandparents!  You 3 are just too cute together!

After our photo attempts we headed over to some 4th of July festivities.  Drew's parents live in a community that had a special celebration for the holiday.

There might have been a three-man band that Asher was loving.

Seriously, he didn't want to leave.  I think they secretly liked having such an ardent fan.

They also had a golf cart decorating contest!  This was my favorite part!

We were on a bit of a recognizance mission since next year we are totally winning that thing.  Although, there was a rumor that the winner was only 'given' the win since he had a major stroke last year and everyone was just grateful he was even able to join us.  {Did I mention the average age of folks in this community is 60+?}  Sounds like a case of sour grapes from the losers, if you ask me.  ha!

After the golf cart judging there was a putting competition.  Go Daddy!

Asher is a little young for the Juniors category, but you're never too young to start training.

I love how this photo ended up being Asher plus a dozen admirers.  He is pretty darn cute - can't really blame them.  :-)

Of course, there were refreshments.  Cocktail, anyone?

Then, after dinner, fireworks!  {I took this from the house porch, by the way - wowsers!}

We had so much fun celebrating the 4th with you, Grandma and Grandpa - thanks for inviting us down!

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  John 8:36 

refreshment

Since Asher has been born I've gained a new appreciation for the little things.  When we went on vacation to Florida 'before kids' the days were always jam packed with adventures - kayak trips down the river, visits to Universal Studios, and double features at the movies.  Now that A is with us we take things more slowly and do a little less. 

One of my hands-down favorite things about Ash is the joy he finds in the smallest things of life.

Does anyone else remember just how wonderful a popsicle can be on a hot day?

There's nothing like hanging out in your swimsuit eating a grape ice pop while it slowly drips down your neck and chest.

Delicousness...

Then, of course, going into the pool for a quick rinse off.  :-)

Asher is at an age where tiny inconveniences can cause a total body meltdown, but he's also at an age where little treats cause unimaginable joy.  I love that about toddlers.  When he's happy, Asher spares no compliment. 

Yum, yum Mommy - this is the best day EVER!

Anytime, love, anytime.

nice to meet you, mr. turtle

When we headed to the beach a few days ago I brought my new camera {even though I was terrified of getting sand and/or salt water in it!} hoping to get a few shots of Asher enjoying the shore. 

He didn't.

Actually, for the first part of our visit I was given a lot of this face:

Ash was very unhappy to be on a marvelous beach vacation and only wanted to hug on his mama's neck.  Which we did.  Honestly, I didn't mind too much - I kind of love being loved.  :-)

Then, something wonderful happened...the turtles arrived!

A conservationist approached us {we were the only ones on the beach} and asked if we'd like to see some newly hatched loggerhead turtles.

Of course we said YES!  How awesome!

She said that since the oil situation happened in the Gulf last year many of the turtle nests had to be relocated to the Atlantic coast of Florida.  These particular little guys had just hatched a few nights ago.  They were the last ones to come out of their nest and couldn't make it to the ocean before day break.

 A little turtle info for those who don't know...

Sea turtles hatch at night and orient themselves based on the moon.  They crawl to the ocean and swim away to live {hopefully} very, very long lives.  If, however, they don't make it to the ocean before the sun comes up they will almost surely die since baby turtles are a favorite snack of sea birds.  Since loggerheads are endangered their nests are closely watched and the stragglers are helped along.

That's why we got to meet these little cuties!  Can you believe they'll grow to over 400 pounds some day?!

Asher was a little hesitant at first

but warmed up to them pretty quickly.  He was very gentle and stroked the turtle's head.  I was SO afraid that he might give it a squeeze {sea birds have nothing on an affectionate Asher} but he didn't!

Unfortunately I didn't get to hold one since I was busy manning the camera and capturing all of the memories.  ha!  That's ok - just chalk it up to a mom duty.

I am thrilled that Asher got to experience this.  It's definitely a once-in-a-lifetime event!

This was a little out of order, so tomorrow we'll head back to the beginning of our trip.  I just couldn't wait to share our most exciting part!  Hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend!

a great adventure

We're back from our trip to Florida!  After a very {very} long trip home I decided that the unpacking can wait.  Asher is asleep and I just got done downloading 750 pictures.  New camera - yay!

We had a wonderful trip, but I immediately knew the first photo I had to post.  During one of our trips to the beach we were approached by a conservationist who asked if we'd like to see a newly hatched loggerhead turtle.

I'll tell the whole story tomorrow, but for now...

look at what Asher got to touch!

So amazing!  :-)