Cold, Then Not So Cold

It is hard to believe that last week we were bundled up in the snow and today we spent the morning at the beach in our bathing suits! What a difference a week makes. We have kept busy since our return from Christmas vacation. I have a Type A personality and always need to be on the go. Thankfully I have a friend, Melissa, that is the same so we are constantly finding something to occupy our time! I'm not sure Chris is always so thrilled with my constant need to go, but he is generally accommodating and jumps into whatever I have planned. He'll thank me one day!

Since it was so cold in Florida, we went to see the manatees at Blue Spring State Park. The colder it is, the more manatees that enter the spring to warm up in the constant 73 degree water. Cold it was, and manatees we got! There were 311 manatees in the spring while we were there. This is the same spring that we tube in the summer. Great fun year round! It was so cold while we were there that I was tempted to jump in and warm up in the water with the manatees. No swimming when manatees are present though!

Here the kids are at the head of the spring. Right after this picture was taken Ethan had a nice spill on the ice. It was priceless since he had just made a remark about me falling and I just slid! He hit the ground.
Manatees warming up!

Here we are at the historic house that the kids are sure is haunted. That is Alina's Flat Stanley in the picture.

Steam coming off the warm spring.

This long weekend has been nice! The weather has warmed up enough to make it enjoyable to be outside for playing and bike rides. Last night we took the kids to an abandoned house on Riverside Drive in the dark. They have been begging to go "investigate" the house so we took them. They all got scared and refused to even step in the grass when we got there. It was fairly amusing. We spent the morning at the beach. The boys then settled in for a nap since they have exceeded their bedtime two nights in a row and it was certainly showing!