Honey Anyone?

The gorgeous Alaskan summer produced lots of bees and lots of honey. The girls do great with Grandpa Dave. They amaze their dad at what they do....bees are not his thing. :-) The girls insist they do not like bees, but they know every little fact about bees and jump right in and do whatever they need to (most of the time). Of course, they love the "honey money" at the end of the season. Sena helped out a little bit this summer, but she doesn't become an official partner until next spring. She is so excited....









As is the tradition, Ashton and Kylie entered honey in the State Fair this year. And, as usual, one got 1st place and one got 2nd. It's a standing joke.....the honey comes out of the same tub and is processed the same way every year. But, it never gets the same rating.

Honey anyone?

Florida!

Rob attended a few conferences in Florida in July. I was able to go with him for 10 days. We were pretty young and broke when we got married, so we really didn't have much of a honeymoon. Rob is not big on traveling (for the sake of traveling), so this is the first real trip we have had in quite a while. The first time ever just with us since kids.....no kids for 10 days! I absolutely love and adore my children, BUT, I must say, I loved every minute we had without them. :-)

I really wanted to see a real alligator in the wild. After we saw some on a charter, we found this one in the man-made lake at our Disney resort. Go figure!



The birds were awesome! These guys were popular. Seemed a bit like our sea gulls.


We were in a nice resort. Got spoiled in a hurry. We did get a bit tired of Mikey-related stuff, but it was fun.


The view from our floor (over the man-made lake with the alligator...).


After a late-night game of mini golf at a neighboring resort. There were so many resorts - a bit mind-boggling for us small town Alaskans. Not sure how many were on the Disney property, but we were still seeing resort names that were new to us after a week.


These little cute guys were everywhere. Rob was determined to catch one...but they are quick!

Outside Busch Gardens.

Amazing vegetation....the landscape leaves a bit to be desired. Completely flat with lots of palm trees. That would be hard to get used to.


We were in some amazing storms! We love thunder and lightening. The rain was a bit intense at times. This was at Cocoa Beach. Most of the time it was very toasty and very humid. But, somehow we did not manage to hit a beach in the sunshine.

Something just cool about being at NASA. Amazing place with a wealth of information.


Close to the Florida Everglades. These trees breathe through their roots that are above the water. Even the captain said it was creepy after dark.

Overall, a great trip. Lots of unscheduled time together, flying first class (long story!), Busch Gardens, Disney World, pools, books, shopping, alligators, SeaWorld, dinner theatre, Blue Man Group, Cirque du soleil, Downtown Disney, good food......thank you Grandparents for making this possible! I personally think it should become an annual event.....

More rafting....

Yes - there was fishing. Kylie caught her first king! Of course, it wasn't on a king rod (it's not what we were fishing for). I guess that makes it more exciting.


We had amazing weather over the 4th of July. A 4 day float trip with no clouds. Awesome!


Caterpillars...a favorite thing. Sena and Remington spent hours finding and playing with them. We would float close to the shore and shake trees. The "pillars" would fall in the boat and the kids would find them.


Rock surfing - a fun new activity! Ashton was finally talked into trying it. As the boat is passing a large rock in the river, the kid jumps out. As the boat passes by, they jump back in.


Poor Sena. She didn't jump back in when Rob told her to. She ended up stuck waiting on the rock until Grandpa caught up and picked her up. She didn't hesitate that time!


Kylie loved it! What a fun picture....


Our crew...Rem actually floated (with Ashton holding him) to get out there.



Hard to beat an Alaskan summer with amazing weather, awesome family and fun on rivers!

Rafting in Alaska

Our summer plans for a lawn turned into a new raft for the family. I think it was a good choice....we had a great time on several trips. I can live with the yucky mud we have out front for another winter - it's worth it!


Here's the crew breaking in the raft. They were a bit excited and didn't even need water.


Thankfully Mom and Dad have a raft and are easily talked into joining us on our adventures. The kids love bouncing between the boats.


Our fearless leader....isn't he handsome? :-) I like it when he's in charge of the boat. He tried to give me a lesson. I almost knocked Rem out in the water. It shook me up more than him....not something I'd like to repeat anytime soon, but I guess I need some practice...

Rem did awesome. He loved the boat! Of course, he was happiest with food. We went through lots of snacks!


Rem trying to operate a friend's catamaran. A glimpse of furture trips I am sure. He loves to "help" Rob oar our boat.