Spring Break 2019 - Panama City Beach, Florida

This year for spring break, we decided to go just the three of us down to Florida. We haven't taken many trips without extended family, so we were excited to spend more time together. 

We left late April 1st and Brandon drove us through the night while Jackson and I slept. We made it to Panama City Beach that morning, had breakfast, then headed to the beach. It was pretty chilly, so we didn't do a lot of playing in the water, but we did play in the sand a bit.

Brandon was pretty wiped after driving all night, but Jackson wanted to get in the water so bad. Because he's a great dad, he agreed but it was pretty short-lived since they were both freezing! I love watching them together - Brandon is so attentive and fun and Jackson just adores him. That makes two of us. :)

Meanwhile, I sat on the beach all wrapped up in a hoodie and towels to keep myself warm while I read. We did a good job of keeping Jackson covered in sunscreen, but for some reason didn't even think about putting sunscreen on ourselves. I think because it was cold and I was pretty covered up, it didn't really occur to me that my face and chest and feet weren't covered up. So Brandon and I both got burnt pretty badly that first day. Jackson didn't get any sun at all, though!

After the beach, we picked up some food and supplies and headed to our cabin - about 30 minutes from the beach. It was a great spot - very remote and quiet and right on a small river so the boys could fish right there while I hung out doing other things. The first night there Jackson caught a good-sized fish! 

The next day we headed back to the beach - this time to St. Andrews State Park. We visited Gator Lake (where we didn't see any gators) then settled on the beach. Brandon fished from the pier while Jackson played in the sand and I read in my chair.

Because I was burnt so badly from the day before, I kept pretty covered up on the beach. Fortunately, it wasn't hot so I was still comfortable. I've decided I prefer hanging out at the beach when it's not hot - you're not all sweaty so the sand doesn't stick to you as badly and you don't need to get in the water so you're not all salty.

Jackson played in the water and in the sand and soaked up the sun to warm up after getting wet. It took me a while, but I finally convinced him to make some sand angels, too.

The next day it was supposed to start raining, so in the morning we snuck in a boat ride with Dave, the owner of our cabin. He took us through the rivers and tributaries near our cabin, pointing out wildlife (a couple gators, turtles, a snake, some birds) then on to a natural spring. 

Jackson was a great first mate to our Captain Dave!

The only alligator that really let us get a look at him - we saw a few others but they quickly jumped in the water when we approached.

Dave spotted a turtle stuck in a tree, so we pulled up closely and Brandon helped knock him out so he wouldn't get eaten by an alligator. Brandon's a hero!

My favorite part of the trip were these gorgeous old cypress trees reflecting in the smooth swampy waters.

When we made it to the spring, we took a break and had a snack - the water was a gorgeous bright green color.

That afternoon the rain started so we took it easy inside the cabin. Fortunately we had books, games, and TV to keep us busy.

We had planned to leave Saturday morning, but Brandon was supposed to go on a deep-sea fishing trip Friday morning and it got cancelled due to storms. So he rescheduled for Saturday and we stayed a bit longer. While he was on his fishing trip, Jackson and I checked out the zoo.

These ostrich-looking birds were very friendly and there was food available to feed them. I didn't bring my wallet in, though, so we couldn't buy any. I told Jackson to hold his hand out, though, to see if they would try to eat from it and instead the bird bit his finger! I don't think they have teeth, so it was just a quick snap but it startled him and we laughed about it for a while.

They had a petting zoo, as well as some exotic animals. It was a pretty small place, though, so the enclosures weren't big.

They had a TON of alligators, which I guess makes sense for a Florida zoo. It was kind of creepy to see so many of them all together in one place!

There was a really cool bird aviary full of tiny little birds (canaries, maybe?) and a few chickens. I sat down inside and this chicken went crazy on my shoe - he kept pecking the rubber part of my shoe, no matter how much I tried to shoo him away.

The zoo was pretty small so we got through it pretty quickly. Afterwards we did some souvenir shopping and drove along the coast.

We got back to the marina in time to watch Brandon's boat pull in - he's the orange shirt guy on the top deck.

He did great on the trip - catching more than the limit you're allowed to keep so he had to throw some back. They cleaned them and packed them up for us and we brought them home to eat the next day. They were delicious!

We started for home that afternoon and made it home early Sunday morning. Fortunately, it was General Conference weekend so we didn't have to go to church that day. We took a few-hour nap then took it easy watching conference and getting settled back at home. It was a great trip!

March Madness

Jackson played basketball for the second year in a row and he improved so much this year. In his last two games, he scored 14 baskets. It helps that he's a head taller than everyone else on the court. He's gotten much more aggressive and is starting to really understand the point of the game - get the ball and score!

With mom and dad at his last game - he had quite the cheering section with extended family from both sides.

The next week they had an awards ceremony for all the kids who played basketball and they got medals.

With his friend and teammate Chase and cousin Ricky

That same weekend, Brandon got a new bike so he and Jackson took advantage of the milder weather and took it for a spin through the neighborhood. It's been so nice to have warmer weather!

My parents invited us over for dinner on St. Patrick's Day and my mom really took the green theme seriously with broccoli, asparagus soup, salad, green jello, celery, and key lime pie for dessert.

We loved watching the NCAA tournament - even Jackson got into picking teams and rooting for them. It's pretty clear, too, who the favorite is in this house - both Jackson and I adore Brandon and are so much happier when he's around. He's the best!

Chicago Wedding

 My friend Marissa Moore got married in Chicago on March 2nd, so Brandon and I went up to celebrate. We got in Saturday afternoon and walked around a bit, then went to the wedding in the evening before coming home Sunday after church.

Marissa looked beautiful and so, so happy - she was bouncing around all night with a huge smile on her face saying, "Best day ever! Best day ever!" It was really fun to be with her on such a special day. Brandon left after the ceremony, but fellow EVERFI friends Sabina Chandiramani and Meaghan Joyce were there to keep me company.

Winter Moments

We hate winter, but we manage to have some good moments even when it's gross outside.

Brandon did some homework while watching the Super Bowl, and our little cat Jackson wouldn't leave him alone. :)

We had a belated birthday celebration for Tessa, whose birthday is in January. Mom, Tessa, Grandma, and I had lunch at Cafe Patachou then explored the Indianapolis Museum of Art. They were having an orchid festival, which was a wonderful taste of spring.

Brandon had class on Valentine's Day, so we celebrated low-key at home and then went out the next night. We had dinner at Mimi Blue's downtown and then to a ComedySportz improv show. It was so fun!

Only child problems - Jackson had to set his toys up as his opponents in a memory game because Brandon and I were both busy doing other things. :)

Brandon's Birthday Trip 2019 - Ft. Myers, Florida

Brandon hates winter, and Allegiant has crazy cheap flights to Florida. Even though it was a bit of a splurge, I felt like this birthday trip was unavoidable. I didn't get to surprise him the way I wanted ("Go pack your bags" style), but he was still pretty excited to go. It was a quick trip - just 48 hours - but we got so lucky with absolutely perfect weather the whole time.

We flew in Friday evening and our first stop was an Argentine restaurant. We don't have any good Argentine food in Indianapolis, so when Brandon saw this online and suggested it, I was so excited! We got all my favorites - empanadas, milanesa, and choripan. It was so delicious, and I just kept giggling while eating it because I was so excited. 

Saturday morning, Brandon got up early and went fishing while I slept in. We stayed in Ft. Myers, but Brandon's grandparents were in the area visiting some family friends (Jeff and Candy Short) in Bonita Springs, so that afternoon we headed down there to hang out with them for a while. Their house was beautiful with a perfect backyard pool and lounge area and - Brandon's favorite - fishing pond.

From there, we headed back to Ft. Myers Beach where Brandon did more fishing off the pier and I hung out. We listened to the Indianapolis Colts vs. Kansas City Chiefs playoff game (the Colts lost), which was lame. We also watched the sun set over the Gulf, which was not lame.

We had dinner at a restaurant on the beach, and it was all wonderful. The next day, we went to church in Ft. Myers then drove to Sanibel island and walked along the beach and collected shells. We both really loved Sanibel and wished we'd spent the entire time there.

Almost the entire beach was shells!

We had to head back to the airport that afternoon, but stopped at a park along the bay for lunch. How cool is this banyan tree??

It was a wonderful weekend celebrating my favorite person!