Florida part 5

Here are the last of the photos from Florida...Man we had a blast!

Crane Center in Marathon

Aargg...Lyric as a pirate captain...

Lyric's photography- Crane Point overlooking the gulf....

Lyric in my shades- they were my favorite- and they broke that afternoon...

Lyric in the sand at Sandspur Beach at Bahia Honda National Park

Me and bub at the Turtle Hospital

Lyric taking a rest in the van on the way to the airport

Lyric with a plastic knofe moustache

Florida part 4

Wednesday, Jason, Lyric, and I took the boat out for the day...we had to turn it in at 4:30. The weather was cloudy and the water was very rough but we made the best of it. We tried fishing all over the place, but the currents were too strong- so no fish were biting. We did go to a nice little lunch/fuel spot- Burdines. That night, we grilled steaks and just hung out. Thursday we went back to Key West and toured the Eco Discovery center, the USS Mohawk, and the Turtle Kraals Museum- we also at lunch at a little hole in the wall Mexican place called Salsa Loco. On the way back to Marathon- we stopped at Bahia Honda State Park- they have an awesome sandy beach there- just so happened a huge thunderstorm was rolling in when we got there, so we will be going back on Friday. It was a great- unplanned- afternoon. Thursday night, we just fished- caught several off the dock- and hung out int he pool. Friday, we are headed for Crane Point Nature Conservatory, Bahia Honda, and the Turtle Hospital. Busy busy!

Lyric loves being on the water....

Learning to drive the boat with dad

Still driving...he really was steering all alone- it is an ocean, not too much to run into, you know!

Me and bub at Burdines


View from Boot Key Harbor to the Atlantic- notice fuel prices.....

Me and hubby......

In front of a simulated underwater research station at eco-discovery

The USS Mohawk- look at opportunikeys to learn more...it was cool....

Lyric and an atomic fireball candy- too hot for him...

He didn't want to get his shorts wet- but the water barely covered his feet- pretty cute

Jason and Lyric playing with glow sticks in the pool.....

Florida part 3

Here are some photos from Tuesday- we went to Key West for dinner and sights....
We passed the very well endowed manikin in a store window- Jason called it a "Mandykin" so he needed to take my picture with it.....we will explain later if you are confused. Jason was selected to take part in the street performance- he was not very excited about it- but went along with it anyway....

Lyric and his new flip flops

close up....

Mandykin and Mandy

Fun....

Family at sunset

Jason participating

Florida part 2

Here are some pictures of Sunday and Monday. Be sure to visit Opportunikeys to see more stories and photos.....

Lyric and Jason fishing off our dock

Lyric in the hot tub

Jason going out for a little Kayak trip in the canal

Lyric ready for the boat trip

This is our boat captain

Lyric enjoying a creamsicle after dinner

Me and bub in the hot tub

Jerry and Bob- neighbors from New York that come down here about 5 times per year to work on their rental property. They have really helped us navigate our way around the Marathon area, and have been great patrons of conversation for Jason. They are leaving early Wednesday morning, so after today, we are on our own!

Florida part 1

OK- I have a little more time, now, so here are a few more photos from our travels so far. The plane ride was very easy- Lyric really did well. On the flight from Houston to Ft. Lauderdale, the Captain let Lyric and Ian sit in the cockpit and allowed us to take pictures- how amazing is that! Once in Ft. Lauderdale, we checked into our hotel(Embassy Suites) and tried to settle down enough to get some sleep. The next day (Thursday) we got up and headed to Key West. It took us about 4 hours- the speed limit is no greater than 50mph on a 2 lane road with police cars everywhere. So...we enjoyed the scenery and the ride.
We checked into our hotel- the doubletree, and then set out to take a few pictures and get some dinner. That night, the kids went swimming in the awesome pool at the hotel. On Friday, we were up bright and early for our trip on the fast cat to Dry Tortugas. Wow- what a journey- the boat ride was just over 2 hours each way- no bathrooms, other than what was on the boat, no running water, just the fort and a campground. We found some cool sea creatures including a huge conch. Back at the hotel, Lyric used the bathroom and was so excited when he came out of the water closet- he said "Guess what! I just made a conch poop!" Seriously- I guess his poop was shaped somewhat like a conch shell- it was pretty funny!
The ride home from the fort was pretty rough, several people became seasick- and we were sitting in the back of the boat outside- so needless to say, we were puked on a few times. It was disgusting- but thank goodness for Dramamine- no one in our party got sick. On our way back to the hotel, we ordered some pizza to be delivered to our room and headed for the hotel pool.
Saturday- it rained most of the day- we drove to the house in Marathon, which is where we will be staying for the rest of the trip. When we arrived, we just went grocery shopping, ate sandwiches, and hung out in the pool.
I will try to post more tomorrow- we are scheduled to go swim with dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center in the morning.


Lyric and Ian at OKC Airport


Lyric on the plane


90 miles to Cuba


Dinner at Outback- very Florida-esque


Funny picture before our ferry ride


Lyric sitting on cannonballs at Fort Jefferson on Dry Tortugas


Lyric and Jason on the 2nd story of the fort


Look through the window- just beautiful!


Thunderstorm in the distance on the way back to land

Relay for Life

In May, we participated in the ACS Relay for Life. I have some pictures for you to see. We raised about $500 thanks to supporters like Lynda's Birkenstock, Granddaddy and Carol, and Granny and Pa. We added the names of people we were walking for to our t-shirts and made a little advertisement onesie for Baby Lane. It was a really great event and we will definitely be participating again next year.


Me and my baby Lane


Jason with Pitt's name on his shirt


The guys- Jeff, Mike, and Jason


Baby Lane running around


Having a blast

Busy Busy

We are pretty busy here in the Keys- thought I would give you a few pictures to look at until I can really post...


This is your captain speaking.......


Fountain in front of the Doubletree in Key West


At the beach in Dry Tortugas


Ready to go!!