Island Sundays

One of the great things about living in Florida is the wonderful weather that we have year round. After a week of cooler temperatures, we welcomed our normal 70s and 80s. Another great thing about Florida living is being able to spend an "Island Sunday" on the water with friends in January! We take our boat to one of the many islands on the Indian and Banana Rivers, unload our chairs, relax and enjoy the warm sunshine with a cold drink in hand. Audrey and Claire love to run around the island with Duke and search for shells and other cool finds.

This Sunday, we went to an island on the Banana River with our friends, Ed & Tammy and Gary & Paula. The girls and Duke were running all over the island. Then another group set up on the far end of the island. "Boat people" are an interesting group. There is an unspoken bond that you seem to share - it is a lot like meeting other groups while tailgating outside the stadium on a football Saturday - everyone is friends with everyone! This group brought their dog, Berkley - another Boxer! Duke had such a great time playing with her. She is full grown so it was humorous at times to see how Duke, who is only 5 months, responded to her.

After hours of fun in the sun, we loaded up the boats and rode down the river to Captain Katanna's - a bar and grill on the water - for some good food and drinks.

We docked the boats, sat out on the deck around the tiki bar and enjoyed some great live music. Audrey and Claire danced to their hearts content and even got the guy to sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" which was even funnier when the whole crowd joined in too.

We had a great time and look forward to the weekends
when we get to enjoy our
"Island Sundays"!

Good Citizen

Today, Audrey received the "Good Citizen" award from her school. She was selected by her teacher to receive the special award based on her demonstration of good life skills and character development, including hard work, respect and integrity. Not every child is chosen so it is an honor to be selected. We are so very proud of Audrey and the choices she makes each day that reflect the person that she is.

At the award ceremony, Brock, Claire and I enjoyed a lovely lunch from the school cafeteria with Audrey. Then, the awards were presented to the children from each grade by the principal, Mrs. Johnson. Audrey received a certificate, ribbon and pin. As an additional treat, the school allowed all of the good citizens to check out early from school when the ceremony was over. While Brock had to get back to work, Audrey, Claire and I went to the movies and saw "Bedtime Stories", which was really cute. Audrey said she wished that my stories came to life the next day! :)

For me, it was a great day! To see our child honored in such a special way reminds me how important it is to set a good example for her to follow. It is often the little things - those things that you sometimes don't even realize that your child notices - that can make a big difference - from the way you choose to handle an innocent mishap at a store to the words and tone you use when talking to those that mean the world to you and even those who don't. Every day presents an opportunity for you to teach your children something and by doing that they usually teach you something in return.

Bundling Up in Florida???

Having to bundle up in Florida? Crazy!!! It was 34 degrees this morning when Audrey went to school. I know that it's a lot colder in other places, but this is Florida and it's supposed to be WARM! We are supposed to be back to our normal 70s by the weekend. YEAH!!! I am going into withdrawals from not wearing my flip flops! :)