West Coast - Part II

Nicole and I enjoyed our first trip to Naples, FL so much that we decided to go back for a fun 3-day date :) It was amazing, we found one of the best pizza places we've ever eaten at, one of the yummiest dessert places that combines italian ice and frozen custard (it really is yummy!) and spectacularly romantic sunsets!

As our time in Florida winds down Nicole really wanted to see another alligator up close, I had planned on going back to the Everglades near my parents house when we got back to the East Coast side of Florida hoping to catch a glimpse of one, but GOD was listening and had another surprise for both of us. While in Naples, we stopped at Collier-Seminole State Park for a little lunch picnic and as soon as we got out and sat on the dock we noticed an alligator chilling in the water about 100 yards away, so cool. We sat and watched for the longest time and then it started swimming our way. It was about 5 feet long and came right up to the dock, we were literally standing three feet above it, I've never seen one in the wild that close up! Though there are plenty of signs saying don't feed the wildlife I'm not sure how closely they are heeded :) The water was crystal clear and sun bright so we were able to see every movement he made under the water. It was incredible to see how they are designed and function.

The next day Nicole said it would be awesome if we saw a dolphin. I thought in the back of my head, "yea, that would be nice but there's no way, it's winter and they normally are just out in the summer, plus I didn't remember ever seeing one from the shore, only while out on boats." We enjoyed our last day in Naples together and decided to watch the sun set one last time, it was the best one yet. Two minutes after the sun went down, right in front of us about 25 yards from the shore, two dolphin fins broke the surface of the water!! GOD's love, care and concern for each and every one of us is truly more than we can comprehend and we would see it EVERYWHERE if we would take time to notice and open our minds to it.

Sunset Dolphins :) check out link below for video!

http://vimeo.com/33084191

Dinner!

Key Largo

This past week we spent two days in the Florida Keys. It was beautiful! 86 degrees out and the water was temperature was 77 degrees :) We took a boat out to the John Pennecamp State Park Coral Reef and went snorkeling. The water was rougher than normal making Nicole's first experience snorkeling involve questions such as "What part of this is supposed to be fun?!?" and swallowing half the ocean...she did incredible though and quickly got the hang of it and we had a blast seeing a whole different form of nature that exists under the water. Amazing all that is down there! GOD is so creative :)

What can we say...

We do!!

We had an amazing lunch with way too much food at the Islamorada Fish Company and enjoyed the world famous key lime pie as fresh as it gets...yum!

Props to the MOST amazing woman ever!

Today Nicole woke up early and went for a 45 min run in the FL heat and humidity and then followed it up with 90 mins of Bikram yoga this afternoon!! Just last week it took everything we had just to get through yoga :) You ROCK Nicole!!! I love you SO much and am so proud of who you are!

New Experiences

Florida has been full of new experiences for us, we are used to having to watch out for deer crossing the street...

(click on picture to make it bigger)

Just the other day we saw this message to us from GOD, we've been trying to abide by it faithfully :)

We miss you and love you all SO much!!!

West Coast!

...of Florida that is :) Last weekend we went to Naples, FL on the Gulf of Mexico side of Florida with Mom, Dad and Grandma. It couldn't have been a more perfect day, we enjoyed a picnic near the beach and then got to watch the sunset in all its glory. Of course treating ourselves to some of the best ice cream we have ever had at Kilwins couldn't be left out! Sorry, I didn't do a great job of picture taking to capture the day :(

Bikram

Yesterday Nicole and I signed up for a month of unlimited Bikram Yoga...yea the one that takes an hour and a half to do and is done is a room heated to 100F!

I only made it halfway through the first class and spent the rest of the time lying flat on my back trying not to pass out, while Nicole rocked it through the rest of the class! Her concluding thought...there's a reason there are 26 poses and 2 breathing exercises in Bikram Yoga...26.2 anyone?? The same mental strength to push through a marathon is needed to remain focused in the heat through all 26 poses.

Here's to health and hoping we make it out of FL in one piece! :)

Where in the USA is it 82 degrees on Nov 3rd?

South Florida!! :) We are here! After a wonderful stay with our soul friends in Chicago, that were the link to Nicole and I meeting in Utah, we left our car behind and flew to Florida for a visit with my family. It's been amazing, the beach is beautiful and weather perfect. There is plenty to do and our days are sure to be filled with wonderful adventures from the Alligators in the Everglades to the Yellowtail in the Keys. Here are a few pics and a video from our first outings :)

Gosh she's beautiful!!!

Our sweet ride for our time in FL :)

Video!
http://vimeo.com/31683275

Will Work for Food!

Well, it's official...Nicole and I are headed to Kona, Hawaii on January 30th for our first WWOOFing (World Wide Organization of Organic Farming) experience!! We'll be working at Earthly Delights Farm, an 8-acre organic farm with coffee, macadamia nuts, mangoes, bananas, figs, cacao (chocolate), pineapples, guava, avocados, passion fruit, bread fruit, taro, papaya, oranges and lots of greens and herbs from the gardens. We'll be working from 7am to 12:30pm 5 days a week and the rest of the time is ours to explore Hawaii! :) There's a private cabin for us to stay in and free meals. We're super excited to say the least! The things we learn about how to grow our own food and live in a more sustainable way will no doubt be useful for the rest of our lives.

Jobs with little recognition

It has always struck me odd how some of the toughest jobs out there get little to no recognition and pay the least as well. Many times they are shrugged off to those we may label as "uneducated" or "incompetent." Yet if we tried to do the job ourselves I'm afraid in most cases we would find that we couldn't do it half as well, or at all!

Today I'm giving a shout out to truckers. This last week I drove a semi for the first time hauling corn out of the fields. I only drove on the gravel roads for less than 2 miles at a time as I don't have a CDL. I never knew that all truckers without automatic shift without the clutch! This takes quite some skill and I was only dealing with 4 gears...to downshift while coming off the highway or in some of the weather conditions us normal folks wouldn't even want to drive a decked out 4-wheel drive vehicle is impressive to say the least. Here's to you truck driver, thanks for not hitting any of us while doing your job day in and day out! :)

Bbbbbrrrtthhhh

Baby Kirstyn (Kiki) has turned out to be quite the source of entertainment for us. From trying to get on her knees to crawl in her footie pj's but not finding any traction on the slick wood floor and slipping back to her army belly crawl, to her newest thrill of discovering the amazing noises she can make with her lips. Below is a sampling of her post dinner show!

Check out the video here!

http://vimeo.com/30486775

Farming, Woohoo!!

I've finally gotten to start farming! I'm having a blast getting to learn how to drive all the big equipment and learn how, what I call, industrial farming works. I feel like I'm still on vacation :) I spend most of the time driving the tractor with two wagons full of corn or soybeans into town to sell or unloading it at the farm into drying bins. I've gotten to run the combine a bit as well and drive the semi truck in the field. Nicole has gotten to come with me a few times in the tractor though it's not the most enjoyable ride with only one seat! :) The older farmers driving their loads in just look over at the young couple riding together and smile...it's pretty fun experiencing small town Iowa for a bit.

Tractor and wagons in a corn field

Combine unloading corn into the wagons

Combining corn

Professional driver! :)

Emptying the wagons

The travels begin!!

We officially left Utah on August 29th and made our way to Colorado Springs to visit Jonathan's family and meet our newest nephew, Jude Jackson. We also got to stop and have dinner with Bev and Jim, my aunt and uncle in Parker. It was such a treat to see them and enjoy some yummy home made cooking!

We had a wonderful time catching up with Jonathan's family. We enjoyed Liam showing us how high he could jump on the trampoline, hiking, rock climbing and eating delicious food!

Precious baby Jude, born Aug. 13th

Sweet Ana!!

Rock climbing at Garden of the Gods

Jonathan giving us a wave from the top!