And the party continues...

The girls continued their birthday extravaganza with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa A. They helped us get ready for Lily and Elsa's first kid party. 4 of their little friends from school came over with their parents for a bug themed party. The kids hunted for plastic bugs in a rubber swimming pool and then decorated bug jars for their finds. The girls had a great time.


Elsa's ready to party.


Blowing out their birthday candles with Mom and Dad.


Craft time! At first we were disappointed that more of their class were not able to attend. But, 4 +2 turned out to be a great number for doing a project together.


It started raining, so we did the pinata in the livingroom. Here's Grandpa holding it up with a broom handle for Elsa.


On Sunday, we went to the Gulf Side for the first time. Gainesville is pretty much equidistant from the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. We ended up hiring a boat for the afternoon that took us from the town of Cedar Key to the surrounding islands. Here's Elsa guiding the boat to shore. The girls had a great science lesson. We saw sharks, rays, dolphins and lots of sea birds. We also learned that the islands in that area are full of poisonous snakes (rattlesnakes and cottonmouths). The island we visited was actually named "Snake Key." We were careful to stay on the beach rather than venture into the woods. It is an amazing ecosystem.


Had to believe this only an hours drive from home! Definitely a bit of paradise. In other news, we are getting acclimated to the Florida weather. This week the temperature has dipped down to the low 80's and we're all freezing. Just like when the weather would get into the 70's in the Bay Area and we'd all be hot. We're becoming weather weaklings again.!

Two special somebodies turned 4!

The fantastically 4, Lily and Elsa, celebrated their birthday by riding their brand new bicycles from Mom and Dad. Do they ever love their new wheels! They've been begging us for bikes for months. And they were so excited to go shopping on Saturday to finally pick them out. The same little girls who took several months to figure out tricycles were riding their bikes with no help within one afternoon. (training wheels of course!) Mom and Dad are going to get lots of extra exercise running around the block chasing after them!


Lily takes bike riding very seriously.




And here comes Miss Elsa!


Exciting times.

The celebrations will continue all week. Yesterday, we brought birthday cakes to a Geology Dept BBQ at Ginnie Springs. And wouldn't you know, two of Mark's colleagues also have 4 year old girls. Lily and Elsa were in heaven. This morning, the girls shared cupcakes with their schoolmates and everyone sang happy birthday. Then, Grandma and Grandpa A arrive on Thursday followed by a small birthday party with a couple friends on Saturday. Phew. Lots going on... Meanwhile, mail delivery has been very exciting as presents have arrived from all over the country. Thank you everybody!


Just wanted to share a quick picture of Lily and I tubing at Ginnie Springs. The limestone springs of N Florida remind me very much of the hot springs out West. But, instead of boiling water, it is a stable 72 degrees all year. Feels great in this weather. Isn't the water amazingly crystal blue? It is also very pure, bubbling up from an aquifer deep below the surface. The overflow goes to the Santa Fe River. There are huge limestone caves under the water and lots of SCUBA divers exploring. The girls had so much fun.

Obama Rama

This weekend the girls went to the Obama Rama kids convention hosted by a local pizza institution called Satchel's. It was great fun and so heartening to be surrounded by such positive families celebrating together. Mark and I were so excited to see the event was standing room only. There was music, food and lots of arts and crafts for the kids. Finally, we found our tribe. If it were not for the 90 degree weather, we might have been back in Berkeley. And the girls got to learn a little about democracy and have some fun in the process.


Miss Lily in her fancy hat. Lots of businesses and families sponsored little craft and game tables.


I liked this one "kids planks for the platform." Kids were encouraged to write about their important concerns and place them on the flag. You can click on the picture to read the words.


Elsa with her stars and stripes face paint.


All the tables had catchy little Obama signs. You can click here to see more pictures of the event.

Lots of other things happening. This weekend we also went to a fun party at a place called Studio Percussion. For $10 per family, we got a free meal and the chance to sample all the instruments at a local music store. Lily had a blast on the drums set. And Elsa really liked the cymbals. Then on Sunday, we went swimming at Poe Springs. Our area of Florida is full of natural aquifers that bubble up into these little natural pools. The girls had great fun in their inner tubes. And then spent a lot of time catching minnows into a bucket.

The other big piece of news is that I'm employed (totally unexpectedly). I filled out all the volunteer paperwork so that I could start helping at the girls' preschool. The director saw all my previous experience working with kids and asked if I might be interested in a job. She knew that I was going to start looking for work soon and there was an unexpected opening at the school. So, I'm the new Assistant Teacher in the older 2's room. It is a great thing for me because I was thinking about possibly pursuing my teaching certificate in early childhood eduction. So, this lets me test the waters before committing to all the schooling. The kids are all very sweet. But, I forgot how different almost 3 is from almost 4. I was so tired after class today, but good tired. Thankfully, my hours are short 815 to 12. So, I get to be with the girls as soon as they are finished with preschool. I feel so lucky to be able to be able to work part-time while they are so little.

A trip to the Prairie

This weekend we took the girls on little trip to Payne's Prairie. It was pretty cool. Part marsh/Lakes/hiking trails/forests. They're working on restoring the natural ecosystem of the area back to the early Florida pioneer days when Buffalos and herds of Spanish cattle and horses roamed the prairie.


Here's the wide open prairie portion. It is actually a marsh with seasonal flooding. Lots of birds and other wildlife. (Yep, alligators and snakes, too. But, we didn't see any). There are also 39 buffalo out there, too. Maybe we'll see them next time.


Elsa and Lily on the observation tower. The girls are becoming good little hikers.


Elsa and her dad out in the woods. The forests are so different here. You really feel like you're hiking in some South American jungle. The folliage is completely different than up North.


Lily and me by the same tree. Notice my Gator cap. I've decided to embrace the local culture and join the Gator Nation. Incidentally, the football team creamed Hawaii in our first home-game 56-10.


A banana spider. This photo doesn't do it justice. I'd say this spider was at least 3 inches across. Incidentally, we have a couple of them in our backyard as well.


And an artsy photo of some Spanish moss. It hangs on all the Live Oaks down here. It is really pretty. And the girls love to play with it.