Sunday morning artwork

Olivia is an early riser. I am not. From an early age we have "trained" her to read books or do some artwork in the morning while the rest of us sleep in a bit (especially me). Today we were rewarded by some homemade paper dolls. Do you recognize Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Elmo, Incredible Hulk and Diego?

Where in the world is Don?

After reviewing two months of this blog it would appear that Don is not a member of our family. It happens that I started this endeavor just as he started up his summer research session and he is gone A LOT. So, I thought I'd give some insight to what he is doing in south Florida all these days besides drinking rum and reliving his childhood by dressing as a superhero.
That's him on the right, a few years back...

Studying sick lobsters.
Don and his colleagues discovered a virus infecting spiny lobsters in the Keys. This disease (PaV1 – Panulirus argus Virus 1) has interesting impacts on the ecology of the spiny lobster. For example, lobsters are social animals and normally gather together in holes, under sponges, etc. Through their research they found that healthy lobsters are capable of detecting and then avoiding infected lobsters so as not to become infected themselves - a behavior not previously reported in the wild. He continues to work on the effects and potential causes of this disease and recently began a project to investigate the role of PaV1 in the commercial lobster fishery.

Drawing lobster "blood"...
Some big ones from the Tortugas...
He is also doing some work in southeast Florida looking at vessel use patterns on reefs. In other words, mapping where boats are on a reef and what activities they are participating in – fishing, diving, etc. They then dive the reefs to determine if use patterns correspond to impact patterns (damage) on the reef. So, he spends a bit of time in a helicopter watching boats and any associated wildlife like manta rays, whale sharks and girls in thongs.
Manta Ray...
Ship wreck/Artificial reef (not research related)...
Tire removal from the reef (also not research related but an interesting story)...
In the 1970's one million or so tires were tired together and dumped into the ocean in hopes of creating an artificial reef. Long story short, the project didn't work and eventually the bundles broke apart and tires were left on the bottom of the ocean, some banging up against natural reef. Several small scale, volunteer based projects were in effect to remove the tires but getting nowhere. Coastal America has taken over (a group that coordinates federal agencies) and the tires are now being removed 35 years later.
You can see the 18-wheeler trucks on board this ship being filled with tires. Easier to see if you click on the picture.

We miss you!

Danielle,
We had sooooo much fun with you this past week! Can't wait to see you again in Virginia!
Love, Olivia and Grant

Beachin' it

In addition to tubing, we had yet to go to Crescent Beach since moving to Gainesville. It is just south of St. Augustine and only about 1.5 hrs from home. We didn't park in the main public lots so we felt like we had the beach to ourselves. The only problem with this is that there is no bathroom and two minutes after we realized it, the kids needed to use one. However, the hour walk on the beach (round trip) to the nearest one was the highlight of the day. We discovered all kinds of things and the kids even rescued some suffocating juvenile permit (a species of fish) that someone had left in a sand bucket.
The kids had fun kicking around the sea foam blobs...
Grant and I played "King of the Sand Hill" while waiting for the bathroom breakers...
Olivia loves to explore and touch everything we find...
Grant does not. No amount of convincing could get him to hold a crab molt...
He is much happier playing in the sand and building 16 castles...
Our white trash umbrella. We didn't realize it had disintegrated until we put it up.

Tubing on the River

Having family and friends visit is always a good excuse to get out and explore places and do things you haven't done yet or in awhile. So, we did that with my sister Karen and niece Danielle when we went tubing down the Ichetucknee River. Fabulous adventure and I highly recommend it. Poor Don, he was in the Keys and missed it.
The river flows through shaded hammocks and wetlands before it joins the Santa Fe River. In 1972, the head spring of the river was declared a National Natural Landmark and is open for swimming. It is known as the Blue Hole. We didn't get to it this time but will the next.
The river is breathtaking. We give it two bums up...
I can't believe I forgot our snorkel gear...
We explored a cave...
Let some wildlife ride along...
Swam in the river...
And just relaxed...

Kisses!

Grant is a little obsessed with giving kisses. In fact one of my many nicknames for him includes "Kisses!" and I can't remember if I called him that before or after this phase started. He will kiss your cheek, arm, leg at will and without warning. Of course as his mom, I adore it and can't get enough. Sometimes they are aggressive kisses, but kisses nonetheless. He's a pretty tender kid. You'll note he wants to hug her when dancing vs. hold hands...

HaPpY BirThDaY DoN!

Don joined me in the last year of our thirties on June 20. He had been in the Keys for a week so he returned to a party celebration set up by the kids.
Note: Olivia does not have a black eye - if you click on the photo you will see my red-eye fixing feature went haywire and gave her one... or else Grant got tired of being bossed around.

Olivia and Danielle had been practicing dances and cheers all week to do for Don on his birthday so we were treated to a show (again, bringing back those 30-something year old memories of my own childhood shows created with family and friends... my fave being the Christmas drama where we used a plastic Charlie Brown doll for Baby Jesus). Anyway, enjoy the show:
As you can see, Grant was not a cooperative team member so he was booted from the troupe and put on his own airplane show.
Maybe my favorite part of the clip below is Danielle's vest. She played the "boy" in this number and came out with my Campfire Girl vest from when I was probably the age she is now. I couldn't stop laughing at it.
(I might be having technical issues, if so, stay tuned.)

Just Keep Swimming

and that is all Olivia would do if given the choice. In addition to her lessons at the Y, she participated in "swim coaching" with the swim coach for Gainesville High School. His daughter, Lily Ramirez, will be attending the Olympic swimming trials this weekend so we wish her focus and luck!
Olivia and Coach...

Allison, Coach, Olivia...

Coach was great and as a bonus Olivia got a chance to attempt the high dive for the first time... bringing back memories of my first experience with the "walk of shame."

As I recall, I climbed the ladder that never seemed to end, only to find myself too high up and too far gone to turn back. Gripped with fear I stood on that board for what felt like hours listening to chants of "Jump!, Jump!, Jump!, Jump!, Jump!..." by the other kids lined up to have their now much awaited turn. My swim teacher was treading water below shouting up positive reinforcements, something to the likes of, "I'm right here! I'll grab you when you land! You can do it!" And I found myself in that childhood predicament of fear vs. embarrassment and could not move. Finally I succumbed to the fear and backed down the ladder.

So with hardened memories flung out of my brain's storage files and fluttering around my mind, I watched Olivia hesitantly grab the rails of the ladder. With a big grin, she stepped right up, marched out to the end and jumped. I couldn't believe my eyes. It happened so fast. No hesitation - fearless. In fact, after jumping in, she swam to the bottom before surfacing which freaked her coach out a bit. She said she wanted to touch the bottom. What a thrill for her and for me. Yet, I was left wondering how in the world could she do that and I couldn't? And how do we move that self-assurance to bike riding?!!

It's great having kids; among other things, they help you unleash experiences that have been safely tucked away for years and completely forgotten about until you see your own child reliving them, in their own way.

The approach...
The jump...
The addiction...
Oh, and if you are wondering about me, thanks to a great teacher and a bit of determination, I did jump off that high dive before my series of lessons was over. And 30 years later, I really conquered that initial fear when we bungee-jumped the Kawarau Bridge in Queensland, NZ in 2004, 43 m up (142 ft). My teacher would have been so proud.
Me...
Don...

IOP 08

Isle of Palms, South Carolina - Behringer/McMullen Beach Vacation
Our annual trip to the beach was a success as usual - we relaxed, had fun and ate well. What more do you need?

Chillin' on the beach was the main activity...
With constant entertainment by cousin Ben-Jammin'...
Swimming and boogie boarding were Olivia's favorites...
Team boogie boarding...

A complete ride...

Grant liked to swim too, but only attached to someone's hip...
Shell collecting, sorting and throwing...
Fishing, during the day for minnows...
and at night for really big sharks...
Evening activities included kite flying...
and sandy football...
And no beach vacation would be complete w/o Olivia making a friend...Sam and Olivia.