Summer Boat Cruisin'

A couple of weekends ago, we went out with two other couples on an awesome afternoon/evening boat cruise down in the Fort Lauderdale East River area. Marlis and Bob are some of our best friends down here and are so gracious to invite us and Aaron and Shelley out on their boat to hang out every so often. We always have the best time with these guys just cruising around, toasting to each other, and taking in the scenery - here are a few fun ones - THIS is definitely what Florida summer is all about. I LOVE the one of the girls in the water and Aaron halfway underwater like he's about to shark attack us. And ladies - no worries - I won't be posting ALL the pictures from this occasion - Whhhooo whhhoooo! Thanks Marlis and Bob! We love you!

Park Mornings!

We are definitely enjoying a lazy, hot summer! Tyndell is a park junkie so the last couple of weekends, we spent some good times at our local parks - we even went to "the good one" downtown with the swings last weekend! Anyway - here are a few random phone pics to share. I've been trying to get her to wear a hat and sometimes she's all about it and sometimes absolutely not - oh well - I guess that's what sunscreen is for, though, it doesn't seem to matter how much I put on her - she still tans. I think she must have her Gigi's skin! Please Mom - no "frying oil" on this child hahaha!

Royal Poinciana Love

Some of you may remember my "Long Road to the Tropical Island" post a couple of years ago (click on the title link for before photos) and I felt the need to remark on the love I have for the Royal Poinciana tree that we planted in February 2008. I was so so sad when we decided to take out the big olive tree that was in our front yard previous (See post from June 2007) b/c it was so big and shaded the whole front yard. But it was an ugly, evasive species and loomed over our roof. So when we replaced it during the Landscape Island project, I told Jeff that I didn't care what kind of tree it was as long as it grew big, FAST, so that I could have my big tree back. Well - I have to say that I am super pleased with the Royal Poinciana choice that we made b/c when we planted it, it was about a 15-foot tall stick and now look at it in this picture (orange flowering tree on the right)! It has done so well and is BIG and pretty with red-orange firey flowers! The island is doing really well and I'm loving the craziness of the Starburst as well.

The other cool thing about this tree is that they were all over Mali when we lived there and I always loved them (who can resist mimosa leaves and orange?). I found a cool picture online of one and it looks just like one of our neighbors' trees!
Ah...simple things can add so much joy!

A Gallant Fourth of July

I feel like such a nerd - there were definitely lots of opportunities to take cute pics this past holiday weekend, and I completely forgot except for a few phone versions that I quickly snapped here. Jeff was out of town this past weekend (Phish vs. family - Phish won) and Tyndell and I hung out, relaxed with friends and family, and just had a nice girl weekend together. It was actually really nice - very quiet and relaxing - got caught up on sleep and laughter quota needs. On Saturday, we caught a few hours before the storms set in, and headed to my parent's house with Aaron, Shelley, and Madelyn and hung out in the pool and ate yummy YUMMY shish ka bob (isn't that one of the best words EVER?!). On the actual Fourth of July, we just went to church and then headed over to Keith and Tammy's house to hang for a few hours and played with their kids, Max and Samantha. Tyndell had a blast playing with all their Elmos and their cool red car as you can see! And we made it to the beach for a couple of hours on Monday morning. We literally made it outside between all the storms and relaxed inside for the rest but it was a great time.

The Shoe Series

Tyndell LOVES shoes. She loves to play with them, match them, take them on, and take them off. In fact, we have a hard time finding shoes that she can wear to school b/c she likes to take them off and on so much and we have to have laced shoes as a result (not as easy to find as you would think). On the weekend, I let her wear the velcro ones and just just laughs as she tries to figure them out. These pictures are my latest favorites b/c it shows her love of shoes and just a daily glimpse of some of the silly moments we've been having lately. I can't even explain how much fun I am having with this girl. I just love watching her explore and figure things out everyday - it is a huge JOY!

YAY Bryan!

Last weekend, we went over to our good friends, Keri-Ann and Bryan's house, and had a super beautiful dinner and a great time hanging out with their family and friends. We were celebrating lots of great accomplishments by Bryan over the past year and we just feel honored to be part of their lives. I LOVE the one of Bryan, Keith, and Jeff - ah yeah - those are some good lookin' boys! Awesome time, awesome people...we love you guys!

Pigtails!

Summer Begins!

I don't know about you, but I love summer! Life seems to slow down a little in Florida in the summer (maybe because it's too hot for the tourists so the traffic/visitors decrease - I know the snowbirds all leave!) and it's so nice. I'm definitely enjoying it so far - we've been trying to take advantage of morning/late evening park time, getting to the beach a couple of times so far, blowing bubbles, using the kiddie pool, and just relaxing lots. I think one of Tyndell's other favorite things to do right now is be chased around the house. Karma and Zen get into that game too. I guess we are just keeping it simple for the summer. Here are a few recent cute ones....

Here Comes Bailey!

Our dear friends, Kaitlyn and Drew (see Rhonehouses blog link at the right), are expecting their little boy, Bailey, to arrive this coming August, and we threw them a baby shower last weekend at our house. Kaitlyn is one of the other staff engineers at Jeff's office, so we've been getting to know them ever since they started working together and we are so excited to meet Bailey very soon. It was so fun to put this together for Kaitlyn and Drew because I wanted to make it "green-themed," i.e. as eco-friendly as possible, b/c Kaitlyn is very passionate about the environment, like Jeff and I (she is cool like that). We had plates and forks made from grass, not petroleum; grass-fed beef burgers and organic chicken dogs; organic dips, chips, fruit salad, macaroni and cheese, and carrot cupcakes (found a great and slightly different yummy recipe at http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2010/04/carrot-cake-cupcakes-unforgettably.html if you are interested - I just replaced all the ingredients with organic versions); and encouraged no or little wrapping paper for gifts. I think it was a great and relaxing time had by all (even Madelyn found some time to chill in T-dogg's chair!)! The funny thing is that Kaitlyn and Drew are now the proud owners of 3 Bumbos! Thank goodness for gift receipts...Anyway, Bailey - we cannot wait to meet you! Congratulations Kaitlyn and Drew!

New Favorite Activity

Tyndell picked Elmo or "Apple" out during a Babies 'R' Us visit this past weekend. And now she really likes putting him in the stroller. She even shares the pootie with him....ah, love....