Catfish...

Last weekend, Evan and Bruce went out while Jonah was home sick with the Swine Flu. They caught two, huge catfish and had an awesome day on the intercoastal! It's always an awesome day on the boat...better known as Bruce's "happy place!"

They also saw their old friend, Mooch!

Playin' Hookie On The Bay...

Today, we got the kids off to school and then went out on the boat with our friends, the Wilsons and the Stilwells! We started at Regatta Pointe and headed up the Manatee River to Tampa Bay. Once we got to the bay, we were surrounded by a school of dolphins! I've been listening all summer to the boys talking about the dolphins and today was my day! They were so graceful and beautiful...they took my breath away!

Lindsey and Chris Wilson

Notice Bruce has no shoes? This is a recurring theme with him...he lives in paradise so he never wears shoes and then hops in the car without them!

We went up to the Pier at St. Pete's and had a yummy lunch at Cap'n Als. The best part was the fried pickle appetizer!

Kelly and Tim Stilwell

Build A Bear Jonas Brothers Event...

Yesterday, Bruce, Evan, Isabella and I spent the day together while Jonah went to Busch Gardens with his best friend, Ben. We went to see the movie Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs! It was different from the book, which has been a favorite in our family for years, but they did a great job of building upon the original story.
Afterwards, Isabella and I went to a VIP event at Build A Bear to launch the new, special edition Jonas Brothers dog. They had lots of fun stuff going on as Isabella built her dog...it was really fun!

Cooper's New Trick...

Goodbye Old Friend...

Today we said goodbye to a faithful and loyal friend...our beloved dog, Harley. Everyone who ever met Harley said what a great dog he was and he will be missed. He shed like crazy, but because he was so amazing, we all put up with it! Harley loved to run in the snow when we lived in MD and lay on the warm grass once we moved to Florida...and even took a swim in the possible home to alligators (the lake behind our house) on the very first day in our new house! He liked to lay on his belly with his front paws crossed and knew how to shake. One of his favorite activities in his younger days was wrestling with Bruce and he often tried, unsuccessfully, to join in the "reindeer games" with Cooper and Gracie when they wrestled with Bruce.
We love you Harley and know that you're chasing rabbits in heaven! Thank you for many years of love and devotion....

When Will They Just MOVE Here??

The day before we left for Captiva, we got together with our good friends, the Butehorns, who were visiting our area of Florida again! This time, they vacationed on Longboat Key so we got to spend the day with them at The Colony. The kids had a ball playing football in the pool, since the Gulf was really rough because of a hurricane that was heading toward the panhandle. Afterward, we all went to Moore's Stone Crab Restaurant for dinner...yummy!

Dog Tricks...

Evan is really good at teaching the dogs tricks! Here are just a few!

This is Gracie doing...Play Dead!

This is Cooper doing...Shake! The shaking back leg is not part of the trick LOL