Last Day at Pine Jog

I taught my last Pine Jog class today with 1st graders and got in one final work lunch at Pete's Place with some of the old crew from the EYCC. I'm going to miss this place and the people I've met along the way.

Apartment in Houston

We found an apartment in Houston last weekend! It is close to Emily's job and will be a great temporary place to live for the first 6 months while we get a feel for the lay of the land.

(Yes, Emily is wearing a sombraro and feeling festive)

Kayak Camping in Key Biscayne

Jonathan went overseas to spend Thanksgiving with his mother and brother in England. Emily took advantage of a 4 day weekend and went kayak camping. She invited all the grads from Pine Jog who were staying in WPB for the holiday. Corey was the only brave soul who took her up on the offer.

The challenge with kayak camping is space. If it doesn't fit in the kayak you can't take it with you. We tried a new concept in ultralight backpacking called freezer bag cooking to prepare our meals. Everything is dry or dehydrated and you just have to add boiling water and wait for it to rehydrate. I was very impressed with all receipies I tried. Check it out at: http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/

Corey borrowed Jonathan's gear for the trip. We launched on Friday afternoon from the Dante Fascall Visitor Center and paddled the 7 miles across open water in Key Biscayne National Park to Elliot Key.

It was the first time Corey or I had ever gone on a paddling trip where we couldn't physically see our destination. It was a little scary, but in a good way. We used the map and our orientering skills with the compass. The sun shining through the clouds on the glassy water was amazing!

As we approached Elliot Key, we realized that we were not the only ones who thought it was a good idea to go camping that weekend. We were however, the only ones who arrived via kayak.

After a restless night in the tents filled with mosquito bites and lots of noise from our neighbors it felt good to get back out on the water. We did a day trip north to Boca Chita Key.

During the paddle we came across a green dragonfly frantically looking for a place to land and take a rest. He rode on the back of my jacket for atleast 20 minutes before deciding to try flying again. I'm not sure where he was headed out on the open water, but I wished him a good trip just the same!

Once we arrived on Boca Chita Key, we hiked around to several of the historic buildings made out of limestone and old coral.

We found a palm tree with ripe coconuts. Corey and I each cracked one open and had fresh coconut milk and meat with our lunch....yum!

We paddled the 7 mile round trip back to Elliot Key. We were pleased to find that most of the people had left the campground. The wind had also picked up, which reduced the bugs and temperature to a very pleasent level. We settled in to camp just in time to catch this sunset.

After logging 14 miles in the kayaks we were ready to enjoy a beer. We had room for one big liter bottle of Corona to share over a game of Hearts. Boy did it taste good!

We played Hearts both nights. Corey won the best of five - best of five tournament for the weekend. Check out those nice plastic, waterproof playing cards.

We broke camp on Sunday morning and launched right from our campsite.

We paddled the 7 miles back with wind and 1-2 foot seas. It was hard work, but a nice challenge to end the trip. Corey even had a Loggerhead sea turtle surface for a breath right next to his kayak....very cool!

We returned in record time - 2 hrs and 30 minutes. That was a half an hour quicker than it took us to paddle 7 miles on Friday and Saturday. It probably had something to do with the wind being at our backs. Our fingers were pruned, our bodies were tired, and our souls were satisfied. God's creation is a wonder to behold!

Kayaking Couples

Yey! We finally got everyone's schedules to coordinate. On Veteran's Day we loaded the gear and headed up to Stuart, FL. We paddled the Cove Road trip (that we've pictured before when the bulldosers were on the beach) with two of Emily's co-workers and their significant others. We had been talking about doing this trip for quite some time.

Elyse and Chris Hill

Awww....the newly weds....Chris and Kristi Moyer

You already know who these two are :-)

Once we paddled through the mangrove trails, we beached the kayaks and hiked this covered trail over the dunes to the beach.

We had a picnic, Chris Hill taught us to play proper English rugby on the beach, and we had time to pose for this picture with the driftwood art before the sun started going down.

Paddling home into the sunset

Rascal Flatts

Emily's sister, Thea, came to Florida for a visit the first weekend in November. We went to a Rascal Flatts concert on Sat. night. It was lots of fun. We snapped this shot at home on the couch before we left. Good times!

Snorkeling Juniper Springs

There are many fresh water springs in Ocala National Forest. We stopped at one to swim, snorkel, and test out the underwater abilities of our digital camera once again.

The little cave in this picture is called Juniper Springs. That is where the water is bubbling up from underground. It is a constant 72 degrees Fahrenheit year round.

There wasn't much to see, but it was nice to swim and cool off.

Chris and Jonathan had fun too!

Kayak Festival Groupies

The weekend before we left for the Kristi and Chris Moyer's wedding we worked at another Adventure Times Kayak festival in West Palm Beach. Once we started talking with the kayak reps we found out that they were working another kayak festival in Ocala the next weekend. We decided to break up our 9 hour drive home from the wedding and stop over for some camping and kayaking. We have become official kayak festival groupies!

Our fellow kayaker and car pooling buddy, Chris Hill, cooked up some spam for breakfast, and shared that canned ham is part of his English heritage (Chris is originally from England about an hour north of London)

It was fun to camp, kayak, and have breakfast on beach towels!

Martin Moyer Wedding

We car pooled with a friend and co-worker, Chris Hill, the 9 hrs up to Destin, FL in the panhandle, for our friends Kristi Martin and Chris Moyer's wedding last week.

What a trip!We spent several days celebrating together in a couple rental houses near the beach. The first day kicked off with a co-bachelor/bachelorette party that lasted all day long. We raced go carts, played games on the beach, and went out to a piano bar for dinner. Kristi and Chris dressed the part and loved every minute of it!

They had a small beautiful ceremony on the beach.

Instead of lighting a unity candle, they mixed two jars of sand and wrote there own vows.

It was fun to see old friends from Pine Jog, Kate Anderson and Mo Keiffer

There was a hot tub at the reception!

We all ate dinner under a tent in the backyard of one of the rental houses

We danced the night away next to the pool and tiki bar

It was a lot of fun and we are so glad that we were able to go and celebrate with everyone.

Pete and Sarah's in Maine

Mid October was a great time to visit New England. We spent a weekend at Pete and Sarah Klein's new house in Cumberland, ME. The leaves were changing color and the weather was perfect for hikes and hanging out in the backyard.

Yum, popsicles are good! Will said one of his first words while we were there: "Moo!"

The guys got out their tools and worked on a door frame leading into the garage. They also replaced some windows and skylights. New houses always need some TLC.

The sunroom is a perfect place for reading storys.

Last, but not least, the hot tub in the backyard complete with lights, outdoor speakers, and a beautiful view of the stars framed by tree branches. That's the place to be on a cool fall evening!

Pineapple Farming Update

These were the pinapples back in July

Here they are in late September

Jonathan has had fun growing them and trying out his green thumb.

Sunday on the Farm

We posed for this quick pic before we headed for church.

Thea wanted some pictures of the crops growing in the field to take back to Texas. Jonathan is standing in a row of drying hay next to the corn. You can see the soybeans, timber, and beautiful rolling hills in the background.

The corn is looking particularly good this year and is standing tall, well above Jonathan's head.

Iowa State Fair

The last Saturday of the fair is always the Suffolk Sheep Show and Sale. It used to be one of the main reasons for us to attend the fair. Over the years I think we averaged bringing about 20 head of sheep to exhibit each year. It is a very different experience to just be there as a spectator. This year, it was nice to have Debbie, Thea, and Emily all there to present the Iowa State Fair Grand Champion Ram traveling tropy in memory of Craig Van Arkel (Emily's dad).

The Benda family from Minnesota won this year. Our families have been friends and have done sheep business together for many years. They told us that this ram's grandmother was sired by a Van Arkel ram. So it is very fitting that he was awarded a trophy in Dad's name.

Some other highlights from the fair included:

Big tractors,....

....giant pumkins,....

....and fried dough (a.k.a. elephant ears).