Catching Up

Okay, so I have been catching up on blogging for the last for 4 days and have finally finished posting about Florida.

Ryan and I got back to town and were quite surprised by three things.

1. Gas Prices
2. The Horrifying Cicadas
3. Michelle started a blog!

Can you see that gas price? We were driving past and I couldn't get my camera out fast enough to get a straight shot...it says $3.97 for regular!

Do you see those nasty little bugs all over my tire? Those are Cicadas and they're EVERYWHERE!! Its so gross! They only hatch every 17 years...then they lay eggs and die then their eggs hatch again 17 years later. It seems like a viscious cycle. I am hoping they figure out a way to stop the cycle before the year 2024. Every day and all night every night you can hear them chirping-screaching-buzzing-whatever you want to call the sound they make.

Finally the day has come that my friendly neighbor MICHELLE has started a BLOG!! Click HERE to read what she has to say about life.

Beeson Family Vacation 2007

Dear Mom & Dad,
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You a trillion times for taking us on Vacation! We are so blessed by you both, by your incredible generosity, your undying love for eachother and for your kids, and by the example that you set loving Jesus with everything you are. The time we spend together as a family are memories that we'll cherish for a lifetime. We love you and can't wait for the day that we can give back even a little bit of what you have given us this week.

What an incredible week with my family in Ft. Myers Beach, FL. Mom and Dad have been planning this trip for a loooooong time...since the weddings three years ago. Dad kept thinking that we were in West Palm Beach (which confused the guy who rented us a boat one day.)

By the way, if you're ever on Captiva Island, you HAVE to eat at The Bubble Room and you HAVE to order some of the red cake or orange cake. (They actually have fancier names than Red and Orange, but I don't know what they are.) SO DELICIOUS!!

JetSki Shenanigans

Aaron and the Coconut

Random Good Times

Putt-Putt and Aligators

This mini-golf place is one of the only places left in Florida where you can feed the aligators. They weren't very hungry.

Ryan won (of course) , but only beat Angela by ONE POINT! Angela sees that as a win.

John & Angela

Little Boat - Big Ocean

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip

that started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship.

The captain was a mighty sailing man, the skipper brave and sure,

7 passengers set sail that day for a three hour tour,

a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed,

if not for the courage of the fearless crew the Minnow would be lost,

the Minnow would be lost

I don't know how they amatures do this, but we rented a speed boat and headed out into the ocean for a day. It was hilarious trying to figure out how to maneuver the Intercoastal Waterway and trying not to capsize on the huge waves out there! I wasn't sure if we were going to make it. We literally had to wear our masks and snorkels on the ride back to the docks because the wind had picked up and we were getting SOAKED by every single wave that we hit. Needless to say, this was the most memorable boat ride of my life, and we laughed so much that my stomach muscles hurt.Once we reached the islands north of Captiva we hung out on this awesome little beach where we swam with wild manatee, saw lots of dolphins, a HUGE jelly fish, some crabs, sand dollars, and found some incredibly awesome shells which will be adorning my bathroom shelf for years to come.

This time together as a family was so incredible. I love my family, I love when we can all be together and I love the stories that we tell. I love having Ryan and John in our family. It was so fun to be together.

Spending an entire day on a small boat gives you lots of time to talk...except for when you're holding on for dear life and hoping that you don't drown from the water unendingly splashing into your face.