Ancient Spanish Monastery in North Miami Beach

For our last full day here in Miami, we decided to head north to meet up with some family and check out the Ancient Spanish Monastery while we were there.

Both kids had a great time chatting up Lucy while we explored the old monastery.

Afterwards we headed to the Little Havana restaurant where we enjoyed some very good Cuban food.

Below is a nice shot of Catherine, Christina, Chauncey, Ian, and Leah at the entrance to the grounds.

We had some rain while we were there, but nothing some seasoned pacific northwesterners couldn't handle. All in all it was a nice time spent with Lucy and taking some photos. Cheers,

Marc

Everglades National Park

We headed over to the Everglades National Park on Tuesday so the kids could do a bit of exploring and pursue their Junior Ranger badges from a new park. Leah really wanted her token which was the true attraction for her, but both kids had a good time.

We took in a guided Ranger walk at the Anhinga Trail just inside the park's boundaries. We totally lucked out with a ton of alligators, birds, fish, and turtles on our walk.

Both kids earned their Junior Ranger badges, and were "sworn in" at the Flamingo center way at the southern edge of the park.

Here they are proudly wearing their new badges. Both kids were pretty much ready to head home at this point. 

We made a stop at Knaus Berry Farm and were treated to some fabulous milkshakes, which really helped to quell the heat. All in all, a very nice day. Thanks to Nancy, Chauncey, Uncle David, and Christina for coming along and sharing the joy of exploring and discovery with the kids. Hopefully their enthusiasm and energy rubs off on all of us!

Cheers,

Marc

Key West

This is not an April Fool's joke, we actually went to the Keys this past Monday, April 1st. Five of us - Uncle David, Aunt Lowell, Christina, Catherine, and I all climbed in Lowell's car and made the trek from Miami to Key West.

We saw some places along the way for me to stop on our way back through for some photos, but we were trying to make decent time to get all the way down to Key West. We flirted with some rain along the way down, but then it cleared up and we had sunny skies well before lunch lasting for the rest of the day.

We had to do the usual touristy things, like stop at the southernmost point on the continental US and get some obligatory photos.

We had a very nice lunch next door to the Ernest Hemingway home (don't ask about their polydactyl panini, whatever you do!), and then walked around exploring Key West for a couple of hours. We made our way back home, stopping to enjoy the warm breeze rolling in off the ocean. I figured I'd get a self-portrait, but unfortunately all you get to see is the kitschy-foot shot!

And of course the lonely palm tree. I'm guessing he's seen many colorful sunrises and sunsets. It was a long day, but definitely a fun one. Thank you to Nancy and Chauncey for watching the kids.

Have a wonderful day everybody,

Marc

Anniversary celebration and Easter

I'm rolling up the past two days into one blog post, so bear with me. Yesterday we celebrated Nancy and Chauncey's 45th wedding anniversary. Catherine, Christina, and Aunt Lowell were spearheading the cooking and house decorating for the celebration, Uncle David and I were tasked to help occupy Nancy, Chauncey, and the kids outside of the home. We settled on the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables as a nice place to spend some time exploring.

The kids enjoyed the fountains on the grounds, as well as the nifty bird cages in the main lobby of the hotel.

Since Uncle David was there, I got to climb into several photos which is fairly unusual (as I'm sure most of you are aware).

This morning we made our way to the Chapel of the Venerable Bede on the University of Miami's campus. It turns out Nancy and Chauncey were married there 45 years ago, and Catherine and I were married there 17 years ago this year. My, how time has flown. Father Frank presided over our wedding, so it was nice to see him again too.

Since we were there, Nancy had the nice idea of a quick family photo.

Afterwards, we came home and enjoyed a nice lunch of Cuban sandwiches. The kids finished early and went to play in their room, which gave Catherine and me plenty of time to go hide some eggs for the Easter egg hunt.

Ian and Leah both wanted to swim, so off to the pool we went. That water was a bit chilly, but it was nice in the sun and both kids had a great time splashing and swimming around. Happy Easter everybody!

Marc

Spring Break in Miami...or Let's Go Fly a Kite!

We hopped a redeye flight from Seattle to Miami, and thanks to the modern miracle of benadryl, I actually slept on a plane. It was still super early when we got here, but the sunshine and warm breeze certainly more than made up for the jet lag.

We laid low yesterday, staying fairly close to home. But today was a different story.

First we had some family over for a nice lunch.

After lunch we had to do a bit of house cleaning to prepare for the celebrations tomorrow.

Then it was time to have some fun. Nancy and I walked the kids to the local park. Chauncey decided to drive and surprise the kids with a couple of kites.

To say the kites were a big hit is a massive understatement. We were still reeling in the kites and both kids independently asked if they could come back tomorrow. Probably not in the next couple of days, but yeah, we'll be flying kites again soon.

Have a great day everybody!

Marc

Last snowshoe of the season

This has been a very weird weekend weather-wise! I went for a run in shorts and t-shirt on Saturday, followed that up with a bike ride with the kids, and then mowed the lawn for the first time.

Since we had a pretty big storm system hit the mountains with another 2-3 feet of snow, we decided to go do some snowshoeing for the last time this season today. So glad we did...

There was supposed to be 20% chance for snow today, but that turned out to be a 100% chance as it snowed on us the majority of the time we were up at Paradise. Luckily for me it cleared up towards the end. We had a good time walking down in the Paradise Valley, but are looking forward to the wildflower show later this summer once all that snow finally melts.

We also brought along the sleds/tubes for the kids, since they pretty much put up with the snowshoeing so they can have a blast sledding.

Both kids wanted to try sledding "penguin-style" today, and both thoroughly enjoyed it!

After the kids were finished sledding, Catherine was kind enough to take them inside while I got in one last traipse through the snow.

Next stop, Miami. Have a great day everyone!

Marc

Random photos of the kids

I had this past Friday off, so I took myself down to the local home improvement store and purchased some PVC stuff so I could make a backdrop. It makes for less distracting backgrounds for my photos.

This morning I rounded up the kids for some fun photos.

Fun for me, fun for the kids.

We had to get a couple of more serious ones too.

Both kids had an opportunity to show off their winter gear, too!

Nothing terribly new here. I'm craving a trip to the mountains, but that probably won't happen before we head to Florida in a week or so. Have a great day,

Marc