Power Outages, Cows, and Frogs

When we got back from dinner, the rainstorm had finally stopped, just a few drips left, but the power was out. That meant no lights and more importantly, no air conditioning. Largely unacceptable. So we played outside in the King of all Puddles.

Chris found it amusing that only the top half of my shirt was getting rained on.

It was entertaining for quite a while.

But then we noticed the cows.

Do you see all these cows?? This was right as we were going back inside to put the kids to bed. Flip back through the pictures and you'll notice how they didn't care at all...then they started to gather...and then they stared us down like they were going to stampede and eat us. Not being familiar with cows, this was ever so slightly unsettling for me. I'm happy to report, though, that no one was eaten.

Apparently, rain brings out frogs. Chris was playing with this one while everyone else was playing in the puddle.

When we got back into the house, we found this one chilling on the window.

And then Michael decided the bathroom needed some residents.

Being amphibian averse as I am, I rather ornerily requested that the frogs be removed so I could use the bathroom, ahem, alone. No one wanted to waste the work Michael had gone to in starting the frog collection, so they made use of a tupperware.

And since a collection had been started, it seemed only right to make said collection bigger.

Final count: 42.

You know, the answer to life, the universe, and everything. I had no idea that was related to frogs.

The Reason you go to Florida

Wanting to partake in the local color of Florida, we went out for an Alligator dinner. When one is in Florida, one must eat alligator. Or something like that.

There was a torrential rainstorm right as we were getting ready to leave. We all sat around for quite a while waiting for it to stop, and eventually decided that we just needed to leave anyway. We were too hungry and too crowded to wait. To protect us womenfolk and the children from the rain just a bit, Chris and Michael provided true doorstep service.

Dinner was good enough. Chris and Michael were the only ones to actually go for the gator, which wasn't Chris's favorite thing ever but was totally worth it for the bragging rights (just like having eaten reindeer and whale).

This was the only time our entire trip that we actually saw an alligator. Not up close, and somewhat fuzzied by the still torrential rain, but we saw one. Check that off the trip list.

So many good things on this trip. I'm glad we came.

Anti-Gulf Alternatives

Downside to the magnificent day spent at the beach yesterday: HORRIBLE SUNBURNS. We lathered up the kids in sunscreen multiple times throughout the day, but never re-applied any on Chris or I. And to make matters worse, I 100% forgot to put any on my legs. Hello, pain. Add that to my pronounced pregnancy waddle and swollen-from-sitting-in-the-car-too-long feet and I basically need a wheelchair to get around. We're just a little pathetic today.

There was talk of driving to the Gulf of Mexico to experience the difference between that and the ocean, but we canned that idea pretty quick when we realized just how bad our sunburns were. Instead, we went to a park to play for a bit.

The major highlight here was a frog that the kids found.

I think they also managed to catch a lizard and one point, but it got away.

I am not an animal person, and small amphibians are no exception. I don't want to touch or be touched by one. My kids do not have the same prejudices that I do, and good for them.

And just one last picture because I think it's funny...Ben and Ivan got along really well this whole visit for the most part, but from this one shot, you wouldn't know it. :)

A Family First

May I introduce...

The Atlantic Ocean

Two great commentaries on this last picture: we had such a good time playing the ocean that the kids very thoroughly wore themselves out. And, I took this picture as we were driving to have dinner at Village Inn. Ah, old restaurant friend, how I have missed you these last 11 months.

Rodeo!

The primary event of Thursday, post-drive that is, was the Ranch's annual Fourth of July Rodeo. The festivities started with dinner.

Once food was consumed, we killed time waiting for the entertainment of the evening to begin.

The first game was a horse race.

For a not-country-girl like me, I found it highly amusing that the flyer for the rodeo included a note that if you wanted to participate in the arena games, please bring your own horse. I don't come across a lot of events with such a stipulation.

We watched several of the games before they had any that were more open participation. Chris and Michael joined in on the egg toss. They lasted quite a while before their egg broke, and I will note that they got quite a bit farther apart from each other than they pair that ended up winning.

Audrey was able to join the very last event--tug-of-war. She's somewhere on far right. I'm happy to report that in a game of boys versus girls, the girls totally won. Sweet.

The evening finished out with fireworks, which finished only seconds before the rain started. Perfect timing.

Happy Independence Day!

Welcome to our 'ool

I have a personal goal/dream to visit all 50 states with Christopher--for personal record update, so far we've been to: Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, California, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. That's 18--not too shabby, if I do say so myself. (Chris and I have both been to Oregon, but not together yet.)

Our first grand adventure for the month of July is adding a new state--FLORIDA! I'm glad we're taking advantage of actually living out east to get to more states beyond just what we drove through to get here. I'll be honest, though, it probably wouldn't have happened if Michael and Amanda weren't living there for the summer.

As an added bonus, Brenda came, too! She marks our eighth out-of-state visitor. That count is WAY higher than I ever anticipated it would be when we moved here. You people must like us or something.

We managed to get on the road near 6:30, which allowed us to drive all the way through Atlanta without hitting any of its killer rush hour traffic. (Seriously, it's insane. I know there are worse traffic places, but nowhere that I've ever lived.) The drive was largely uneventful, other than Brenda throwing up four times. At least she's a grown up and could take care of it herself. :)

It was much more exciting to actually get there. After hours of sitting in the car, it was a welcome change to go with Amanda and her kids to the swimming hole.

Michael is getting his degree in Fish and Wildlife Sciences and he is interning for the summer at Deseret Ranch, owned and operated by the church. They make it a rather pleasant place to stay, including this swimming hole.

I was quite impressed with miss Audrey Jane. As I've said before, she's gotten much more adventurous in water and this trip was no exception. She was more than excited to try out the rope swings, and even jumped off into the water. (She particularly wanted Grandpa Jeff to know about it.)

Chris was not lacking any bravery, either. Not that we expected him to...

I got a good video of him actually jumping off the platform and dropping into the water. I accidentally ended the video a little early, so it just shows him dropping down and never coming back up...oops. I promise, he survived.

Sadly, our swim time was cut dramatically short. Just as we were getting settled in and really starting to have fun, lightning was spotted and we immediately packed up and went back to Michael and Amanda's house. Good thing we had a few days to visit so we'd have plenty more time to swim.