Sunny Beaches ... Fresh Oysters

During Ryan's last week in Florida, my dad and mom flew out from Colorado, making it a family affair! We had so much fun together -- going out to eat, church worship night, a canoe trip, movie night, lots of card games and Liar's Dice, and of course a couple days out at the beach!

Considering sand dollars are my favorite finds on the beach, I was pumped to see the boys' spoils from snorkeling.

After the beach we went to a Panama City staple: Hunt's Oyster Bar. It's been in business since the '60s and has some of the best Apalachicola oysters you can find, and at only $4.95 a dozen, we ordered 4 dozen to share!

It's sad to think that this was our last time to have family visit in Florida, but I guess next time we'll just have to show them around SoCal! Love you guys, and thanks again for coming to visit us; we had a blast! :)

PS- Please forgive all the photo editing. Someone just discovered PicNik.com. :)

Running with Bears

So this morning I went on a run before work (I'm currently working as a kindergarten aide, so I don't have to go in until 8:30). I left the house at the same time Shaun left to pick up his carpooling friends.

It just so happens that as I was turning the corner of our street to run down the one in the picture, Shaun and his friend saw this huge black bear barreling across the street that I was about to turn on. Since Shaun knows my usual running loop, he and his friend drove the bear away and then circled back around to give me a heads up about the situation.

Boy, am I glad I didn't decide to run earlier this morning!

PS- If you click on the picture, it makes it bigger and you can see just how big that bear was.

Brotherly Love

My brother Ryan came out to visit for three weeks in July. This was his first visit to our Florida home, and will be the last since we're moving in December. Unfortunately many of his days were filled with Floridian thunderstorms, which allowed for lots of sleeping in, Netflix, and reading. Occasionally the sun would reappear, leaving us with the chance to go to the pool or beach. Here's some snippets from his trip:

The boys grillin' out on the playground next to our house.

We decided to try something new while Ryan was out with us -- renting jet skis for a 2-hour dolphin tour!

We got the jet skis up to 83 mph (which freaked me out as a passenger, helplessly hitting wakes and being thrown into my driver's back) and most importantly, spent time swimming alongside a mommy dolphin and her young baby. Shaun dove down and touched the mom, regretting that we left our snorkel masks in the car. We didn't have a camera with us either, but this picture I found on trip advisor gives a good idea of what our experience was like.

This photo of Sunshine Watersports of P.C. is courtesy of TripAdvisor

After a hot afternoon in the southern sun and water, one must regain energy through calories. And if those calories come in rib-and-pulled-pork form from a local hot spot (namely Sea Breeze BBQ's food truck on Tyndall Parkway), then all the better!

Brothers-in-law out for dinner on Panama City Beach before a worship night.

Shaun was happy to have a playmate at the beach. Though I will occasionally get in the water to cool off, I prefer the sand. With Ryan, however, Shaun had a partner in snorkeling!

Ryan came out during his 23rd birthday, which we filled with sushi at our favorite sushi place (note: raw conch is chewier than you'd think) and lots of ice cream!

We were honored that you chose to celebrate with us, Ryan, and that you took the time to come spend some time with your nerdy big sister ("Ryan, go stand next to the open sign!") and brother-in-law. We love you!

Oh, and when we move to LA, you better not wait 2 years before coming to visit! :)

Thunderstorms

There are few things I love more than waking up to a thunderstorm and having nowhere to be.

I woke up this morning in just such a scenario and took my own precious time laying in bed and listening to the rain hit my window. But what good is a storm without snuggling up in a blanket with a book and a steaming mug? So I came downstairs and, after opening all of our blinds, made some hot tea and grabbed my book.

Florida, hands-down, has the best thunderstorms I've ever witnessed. There are the peaceful morning storms that roll in off the water, like this morning, and then there are the powerful, wild ones that wake you in your sleep and leave you with pre-Edison technology. The rain comes in torrents, the thunder shakes the sky, and the lightning streaks through the clouds.

We had a thunderstorm a couple months ago that took our power out a couple of times. The rain was literally coming sideways. We stepped out on our screened-in porch to watch at one point, and in the blink of an eye, the wind shifted. We could barely make the two steps inside before we were soaked clear through our clothes! We took a little video of it from our front door:

Note that in the video, it is not 10 pm, rather 5:30 pm, and our door has a awning that stretches a good four feet from the door!