Author Visit

Kamryn and I got to take part in an author's presentation at Calvin's Festival of Faith and Writing on Friday. Several kids from our school attended along with many other students and parents from other schools. We got to hear Kate DiCamillo talk about some of her books and what it's like to be an author. She wrote Winn Dixey and The Tale of Despereaux among other books. Kate was very entertaining and has a great sense of humor. After the presentation, she signed books for the kids.

Kate reading from one of her books.

Kate signing Kamryn's book.

Soccer Time

We are now into the Spring soccer season. Katie is playing JV for her high school. We had a chance to watch a game yesterday and the team looked pretty good. It's always fun to see how much they improve over the season. They won 2-0 with Katie's friend Megan scoring both goals. Go Eagles!

Hanging Out With Friends

We enjoyed our last day relaxing in Florida. We all had enough of the beach so decided to stay close to home today. We were excited to have our friends, The Klavers, stop by on their way back to Michigan. We hung out by the pool and enjoyed pizza together for dinner. We have had a wonderful vacation this week and are very thankful for the chance to have some time away as a family. We will make the long drive home early tomorrow morning. Time to head back to reality (and chilly temps.)!

Pete and Scott catching up.

Alyssa and Kam

Troy boy (aka "fish")

Cutie-pie, Kelly

Katie giving me "the look".

Catchin' Some Waves

Today we spent some more time enjoying the beach. It was quite windy which made for some nice waves and boogie boarding. The high winds also brought out the aggressive seagulls. Troy got nailed in the head by one trying to steal some food out of his hands. We quickly put the food away and after some reassurance that Scott would hit any birds who came too close with the frisbee Troy was back at play.

A Beautiful Evening

Tonight after dinner we took a walk to the channel near our condo. There's a little beach where the kids enjoy hunting for shells and other treasures. It's fun to watch the boats coming in and the birds diving for fish. We also saw some flamingos flying today. Troy couldn't get the hang of the word and kept saying, "Look at the flingos!"

More Fun at the Beach

We had another fun day at the St. Petersburg beach. The "locals" tell us the weather has been "horrible" until this week. (Love their definition of horrible!) Wow, good timing, huh?! We are enjoying the time relaxing together as we know upon our return life will continue to pick up speed!...For the most part my "subjects" today were cooperative! They wanted to do a non-posed shot in the second one. Goofy girls. In the group shot Troy wanted to be in the back so he could be tallest this time.

A Day at the Beach

We are having a fabulous time in Florida! It always takes a couple days for us to settle in and relax. We headed out to St. Pete's beach for a little outing and it proved to be a beautiful spot to spend a few hours. Swimming, digging and lounging was how we spent the day!

Does he look relaxed, or what?!