2.26.2019

Juliette has really enjoyed cooking on her own lately!  It helps with fractions and following directions...a few things she needs to work on~ ha!  Her favorite things to make so far are, muddy buddies, scrambled eggs and egg sandwiches and brownies!  

2.26.2019

Allie is down with influenza fever and persistent cough.  Being electronically connected to school makes staying at home not so bad.  She was able to access all of her homework and do assignments even though she missed a lot of this week!  

2.18.2019 Lover's Key State Park, Fort Myers

Chris and Jamie went kayaking in the morning and then we met them for a day at the beach at Lover's Key.  What a beautiful day!  The water was cooler but the weather was absolutely perfect!

It was a wonderful trip!  

2.17.2019 Everglades National Park and airboat tour

Sunday we went to church and then brunch.  

You can see many of these common skinks on the trees.  

 Buddies!!!!

After, they drove us to the Everglades National Park.  We had a short time but walked to the visitor center and a short visit on the boardwalk.  

 A nest of new hatchlings.  Male alligators are known as a bull and a female is called a cow.  When it hatches it is 6 to 8 inches long.  We learned that the sex of the juveniles are determined by the temperature of the eggs.  The average adult size for a female is 8.2 feet and the male can average around 11.2 feet.  

They are the only reptile that raise their young.  They can live around 50 years in the wild.  

 Vicki booked us an airboat tour which was a short distance from the visitor center.  Although Allie looks a little worried, she was very excited...and a bit nervous!  :)  We had 2 way headsets which was so nice to hear our guide and we could talk to each other as well.  

 Each family had an airboat and guide.  It was SOOO fun!  We went at various speeds through the Everglades and learned so much about the habitat, ecosystem, birds and species that call it home.  What a beautiful day!

 Donny took a selfie!  :)  

 The Sofianos crew

 Spanish moss is actually an air plant.  

 Swamp lily

 It looks like a road but is actually about calf deep of water with the grasses.

 This was an absolute beautiful part of the tour.  The air smelled wonderful too.  You would think a swamp would smell bad, but the reeds and grasses are constantly filtering the water.  There are about 12 species of air plants.  Some were almost ready to bloom as you can see by the red flower emerging.

 Water lily

 "Alligator alley"

 hatchling

 we saw some really beautiful and unique birds

 Big Cypress National Park

 Oasis Visitor Center

On this boardwalk, we were able to spot large alligators.