things I really really like (maybe love) today.

#1. I love Curt's scruff. He's such a hunk. Sometimes I want to steal his razor so he always has his manly scruff. But then I remember that it leaves beard burn on my face, and I put the razor back. Still, I love it.

#2. Intense volleyball. I love when it makes me sweat and dive and hit and set. I love the intensity. It's a stress reliever.

#3. Spageddies. Curt and I went on a date tonight. This place is delicious and way way better than Olive Garden. No offense.

#Trilogies. We have watched the Oceans, Bournes, Lord of the Rings, started Austin Powers and Star Wars. We want to watch the Jurasic Parks. AHH so goood.

The Highlights.

 This was Addie and Braden's first time at the beach.

They absolutely loved it.

They were making sand castles,

then destroying sand castles.

They were splashing in the water,

and chasing loud seagulls.

It was so fun.

While driving around the beautiful city of St. Augustine,

we ran into a GOOGLE CAR.

Of course I had to stop and take pictures,

while he was taking pictures.

Seriously,

highlight right here.

We also ended up going to a fake fort,

instead of the real fort.

How were we supposed to know?

The situation was quite humorous.

We walked inside the lobby area of the fort,

and asked how much were the tickets,

this was the woman's response,

"Are you sure you you want to see the fort?"

uhhhhh....

We should've taken her advice and split!

But we thought it was THE famous fort in St. Augustines.

Apparently not,

and that lady knew it.

We paid 11 bucks-per person-

to see a FAKE fort,

filled with first graders running around.

This is us,

playing some indian games.

Curt whooped me.

THEN,

we did the best thing ever. 

We rented a scooter,

and scootered all over St. Augustines.

That was so fun. 

We went down really neat old streets,

saw the lighthouse,

rode past the alligator farm,

got lost for a while,

raced old buggies.

It was super fun.

 THIS is the ACTUAL,

famous fort that we WANTED to go to.

To bad we spent all of our monies at the fake fort.

And apparently, 

the Abominable Snowman lives in Florida,

who would've known?

 This is Curt,

lookin fine on the beach.

Definitely a highlight.

We ate at a restaurant that was located right on the harbor. 

Thanks Kyle and Ashley!

It was beautiful.

SO,

overall our trip was fantastic and we want to go back tomorrow.

Kyle, Ashley, Braden, and Addie and so lucky 

to live in paradise!

Rewind.

We started our conquest to Florida the moment we were able to, March 12, 2011. We made a wise decision to split the trip into two segments, stopping of course with the beloved Tennesseeian Isenbarger (Cole & Emily). But BEFORE we reached Murfreesboro, we found a beautiful and secret place...

Check out that name.

Big Bubba Bucks Belly Bustin BBQ Bliss.

So great.

The food was even better. We had ribs, sweet tater fries, corn bread, pork sammiche, and peach cobbler. I want some now. And check out their grills...

This was a very legit BBQ.

With our stomachs happy, we continued our drive and wound up in Emily and Cole's parking lot. We checked out their place and then met up with more family-Betsy and Sam and Preston, Carla, and Ryan and Mikah and Mackenzie.That was a first time for me. They were great, lots of good times right there. We ate at Chuy's (pronounced chew-ies) and had some delicious mexican foods.

Soooo, already within the first day of our trip, it was great. We ate great food and stayed with people we love. It only gets better from here...


MORE LATER.
I don't want to overload you with wonderfulness.

Africa, Australia, Asia, and Florida all in one day.

I am not sure if you heard, but this is us:

in Jacksonville, Florida.

But we weren't just in Florida, 

we also traveled to Africa,

and Australia,

and even Asia.

We hunted wild crocodiles,

and then returned them to a protected and very desirable environment.

 

We chased wild wart hogs,

and sang Hakuna Matata while eating juicy bugs.

We pointed and marveled at African wonders,

such as this yellow haired bird.

This was Curt Dawg's favorite,

or one of his favorites at least,

it is quite a magnificent beast.

And then we chilled with the big man,

King of the Kong,

that was lots of fun.

 Oh yes, we also rode African elephants for a while,

no big deal.

 This is bamboo from an Asian forest,

we made cooking utensils with them.

 I have a ton of pictures with our giraffe friends, 

I love them and we were so close!

I seriously couldn't believe it. 

People were feeding them from their hands,

so cool.

 Love Addie and Braden so much.

This week was a blast hanging out with them.

Braden referred to Curt as my "friend" or "brother"m

it was so funny.

 SO adorable.

I want one.

 The longest tongue I have ever seen:

Our world wide safari was about a 5 hour expedition,

it was incredible!

So many great exhibits,

but mostly it was because we were with great people.

We love them so much.

It's gonna be tough saying "See ya later" tomorrow morning,

after we have our star wars pancakes.

<3

Remember that time...

When we all laughed and skated and acted silly,

Well this is that time.

I will always cherish these memories,

The way you whisked me away to winter wonderland,

and how you brought my scarfy and mittens.

You know how I am a wimp in the cold.

I will always remember your graceful moves in the rink,

and your sneaky glances,

looking for friends and family,

surprising me in more ways than one.

I'll always remember our laughs,

and our ninja friends.

I'll always remember your babushka style scarf,

only you.

Oh, how I cherish everything about this night.