feeding giraffes and lorikeets

I went to the zoo one day in Vero with my friend Coco and her super adorable kids. They all visited us in KS last year but I have confidence that one day she'll let them take a flight by themselves to come visit us in Kansas!

update

We made it through the anniversary week in Vero with my (Diana's) family, even though this is what we were greeted with when we arrived. We had a nice time being able to be present with my mom and brother and just spend time being around each other. Jason was super supportive and really wonderful the whole time. On the way down to the Keys we stopped in downtown Miami so we could have lunch with a buddy of Jason's from Orlando. His office was just a few blocks from the fire station my dad worked at for 25 years so we drove by it and snapped a picture. I have many memories from this fire station. It certainly doesn't look like all the fancy new stations around but trust me it does the heaviest work in the city. I still hold my dad's badge in my wallet and will for many years to come I imagine.


We are now in Key Largo and will be here until 3 July. I completed my first day of Rescue Diver training today while Jason did some dives this morning. I only got a 96% on the exam. Grr. Tomorrow I'll do my 10 confined water skills and then on Thursday I'll do my 4 open water rescue scenarios. Assuming all goes well, on Thursday afternoon you can give me a big congrats on becoming a Rescue Diver :)

The Red Bull Flugtag is coming to Bayfront - so cool! Wish I could see this, I think it'd be really fun to watch.

feeding tarpon

My aunt told us about a great spot to feed tarpon, which we visited late this afternoon. The suckers were a good 5-6 feet long. Not sure if you can tell their length in the 2nd picture (below) but trust me they could have eaten you, Jen.


Of course the pelicans wanted some fish too but we were more interested in feeding the tarpon. He was pretty though.

my new quest

sweet! by good golly miss holly

the night before we left KS there was a bakery that won cupcake wars on the food network, sweet! by good golly miss holly, and we noticed that it was conveniently located in orlando. its a few miles south of where i went to undergrad and its not really even considered orlando but its close enough. the frozen yogurt and cupcakes were sooooo yummy. good thing we're on a cash budget or else we would have taken many with us. and eaten them all.





enough flavors for you?!

bad news about our wabbits

well, before we left yesterday I went out to check on the rabbits. I hope the mama rabbit rescued the rest of them, cause the little guy on the top of the nest had been pecked and had maggots feasting on him. Not a pretty sight. The heavy storm and rains may have contributed or his movement may have peeked the birds attention. Such is nature. Either way we at 3811 have not had a good track record with taking care of spring babies. Last year we had a batch of birds in a hanging plant by the door and they ended up falling out way before they were ready to fly, they were just too close to the edge.

There's always next year.

I've joined the ranks...Sent from my iPod touch

do you know these baby animals?

jason and i discovered these little guys around the base of the tree in our front yard this afternoon. there's at least 5 of them in the hole, they have hair, big ears for their size, but their eyes aren't open yet. i think they might be squirrels. maybe rabbits. they're just a couple of inches long. any input?

Headquarters Life Support Rally 2010

it's been 355 days

on monday jason and i head down to fla for three weeks. i can't believe it's been almost a year since my father passed away. i assume you know some of the heartache that this past year has brought but i doubt you know the full extent of it, with the exception of a few.

we'll be in orlando for a couple of days, with his family for a few more days, with my mom for a little over a week, and then hopefully diving for a few days. (i've been studying for my rescue diver certification and as long as the oil doesn't make it down to the florida keys by the end of june/early july, i'll be taking that course while jason does a few days of 2-tank dives.)

i am really looking forward to getting past the "one year" mark and on to further healing. it's been tough. really tough. i have thankfully found a really great support group here called survivors of suicide along with lots of other help.

father's day marks the 1-year anniversary of my father's death. technically the death certificate says the 21st, which is monday this year, but last year that fell exactly on father's day. that certainly won't make these days coming up any easier.

keep us in your prayers for travel mercies and for my family to be able to support each other while emotions will definitely be running high.

smooches.