And so it continues...

FEBRUARY How could I forget about our camping trip to the West coast of Florida. I'm pretty much obsessed with the entire state of Florida if you couldn't tell. Not sure if I could ever deem one place my all time favorite but the west coast is in the running for sure. We camped near Fort Myers & Sanibel. The cutest camp site ever! and it only cost us like $6 a night. While in Fort Myers we stopped and visited Thomas Edison & Henry Ford's winter home. It was amazing and they were both truly inspired men! I just loved all the facts and stories & seeing their inventions. I loved that Thomas Edison brought home plants and flowers from other countries and planted them in his yard. I'm putting that on my list of things to do before I die... Of course I'd probably have to live in a warm climate to keep most of those gorgeous things alive so I'll have to do it after I move back to Florida. (: Everything about his home was amazing! Later we stopped by Sanibel island & Mike took the kids out in the water and I got to watch them play. It was low tide so the water was so shallow which made it good for seeing shells, creatures, and stingray. That is what life is all about! Soaking up the sun on a beautiful beach while my sweet husband plays with my adorable children. Oh Florida... We've extended a camping offer to nearly all of our friends & couldn't get anyone to join us but alas, we met friends who are as adventurous & up for a good time as we are! Dustan & Janessa Millward met us and camped one night. They had never seen manatees so we had to show them! We canoed down a local river that runs near a power plant. Apparently all that power generating creates warm water and of course the manatees love it and just hang out there. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Marco & Sanibel island. We were on the hunt for great shells and we found buckets full! I even found the cutest little starfish but didn't have the heart to keep him/kill him...mostly because I will never live down the one time I may or may not have taken a conch shell home. Mike officially knew I was heartless after that experience and well lets just say I kept the shell out of sight for a long time trying to forget how guilty I felt and we didn't talk about that shell for an even longer time. It broke Mike's heart. He's that nice of a guy and I'm that heartless of a woman. True story. We at least tried to put him to good use and made conch fritters out of him. (by we I mean Tex & I...okay mostly ALL Tex. Mike wanted nothing to do with it! a delicacy in the Bahamas. Wheph, I can't believe I actually let that out, I feel bad all over again. Dangit! I was trying to forget. ANYWAY, now that that's off my chest. We had the best day finding EMPTY shells. After shelling it up we headed to a nearby bridge that Mike & Dustan had spotted earlier and were excited to fish. We fished until well after the sun had gone down and we caught a few fish I'd never seen before! Something about night fishing, hearing the waves coming in and the water is black. It's calm and peaceful but a little frightening all at the same time. Oh and the smell, how can I forget that yummy smell of thawing squid and sardines.
 

 MARCH I attended Young women’s camp, which was a blast! It is way too hot in the summer so we go over spring break. Those girls taught me so much and reminded me how grateful I am for my strong upbringing in the Church. Some of those girls face challenges I could never dream about! The world is hitting them so hard. I think it’s a combination of Miami (being a very worldly city) and their circumstances. They are amazing and cute and facing things I didn’t even know existed at that age. Also reminded me how naive I was/am! I’m sure they thought I was crazy because well, I partially am and they brought out the teenage girl in me again. I think the camp directors weren’t sure if I was a leader or one of the young women. My best friend Brittany Evans and I got to go together and lets just say we’re a dangerous combination. I’d go to girls camp with her a million times over. She was born for girls camp! We never stopped giggling and being crazy. Some of the cute little girls introduced us to all the things we were so behind on because we’re getting “old”. After she gave us a list of “cool things” she said she’d tell us more later because she’d forgotten the rest and she needed to go read her “things that are cool book”. The best part was that she wasn’t joking. She really had a manual of things she’d observed and written down!! Britt and I planked on just about everything in the park, learned who One Direction is, hash tags#, and horse mating to name a few. Among the most memorable was the ride home from camp. I was sick, Britt was driving my car. Long story a little shorter, it was about 2am, we were a smelly mess and I wanted to be in bed! We switched drivers about 2 miles from home and literally 2 blocks from home (Golden Beach) I was pulled over! I have the worst luck with cops and I didn’t think I had done anything wrong so I wasn’t nervous at all. So Wrong! My lights weren’t on and I got not one but two tickets. To my defense, my lights are automatic so I never have to worry about turning them on…she turned them off and I didn’t think to even check. And, when you’re in a fully lit city, who notices? Golden Beach is its own city only about a mile long, nothing but multi million dollar homes that sit on the beach. Can you imagine the taxes paid for their city!? They have their own private beach and even Ricky Martin owns a home there. A few weeks before we left there were cops everywhere. They shut the entire city down and you couldn’t get in or go through. Why you ask? Our wonderful President Obama was staying the night in a local mansion. So just to give you a few ideas, that is how wealthy the city is. Did they need my money? Nope! Do they let anyone go with a warning? I’m sure that’s also a big fat NO. If they knew how poor I was/ still am maybe they would have let me off (: Ok, Not a chance but good try right. I shed a few good tears for that one. Goodbye another large load of money. The total amount of money I have lost to this state is now more than saddening. But good memories, right! Thank goodness my week ended so much better. A Relief Society Temple trip was the perfect antidote to an exhausting week. More of my favorite people at my favorite place! Tiffany Marriott, Ana Samways, my deaf friend Monica Ramirez and many more. We shared treats and good conversation during the bus ride. I was looking forward to this trip for a long time! So relaxing and it was nice to be with great friends. This year as I interpreted for my deaf friends I wanted to cry. This would be the last time I would be at the temple with my deaf friends interpreting for the Temple President. Oh I love ASL! And I love that they were so understanding and patient with my slow learning. ASL opens up a whole new world! I still have a ton to learn but they taught me so so much. Did I mention how much I learned while I lived in Florida? Love that place. Another day in March I won tickets to an undercover concert! Mike called and said to hurry over to the Gulf Stream where they were giving out tickets. Britt and I ran as fast as we could to the location. We were exhausted and sweaty and praying the run would pay off. It did! We both won tickets and another one of Mike’s friends. The concert was pretty good. I was hoping for Dierks Bentley or Jason Aldean but Sara Evans surprised us. Free concert, I’ll take it. (a little side note...I sold my computer just before moving & lost a few things when I transferred data. Think I'd be a little more computer savvy considering the mass amounts of pictures I take but no. So until I find my girls camp, Temple trip and Concert pictures you can just imagine)