Last Day of Reunion 2007

I know this post is dated the 24th and here it is the 28th when I am posting it, but things were a little crazy the last few days. I hit the ground running when we got home. We landed back home at 4:30pm, went straight to my in-laws for dinner, and then I had to be at work at 5am. I worked Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. In addition to my goofy schedule, the temperature in my bedroom (where my computer is) has been in the 90's...too hot to do anything! Anyway, without further ado, here are the pictures from our last day at the reunion 2007.

Friday was the last full day that we were all in Daytona. I took the boys to the mall and then I went to the Flea Market with Kristin and the girls. When we got back we hung out and chatted.
Jerry and Irma took Alan and Eli to the Flea Market Friday morning and came back with an iguana that they named Izzy.












Here is Izzy hanging out on Alan's shirt.












Grandma was much more brave than I...she held Izzy.












I'm not sure you could call this "holding" but Izzy spent time with Grandpa as well.












Jerry and Irma also brought back a couple sharp knives for grandma which she displayed for us to see. Hmm, looks a little dangerous!












Irma's new shirt. The fabric looks like it would be wonderful to wear.













The kids went swimming in the pool before dinner and Erin learned to swim!












Chelsea was wonderful with my girls. She took them to the pool and kept a close eye on them. The girls really enjoyed spending time with her.












Irma shows off her Texas style...great hat Irma!












Sarah loves the water, but she got a horrible sun burn even with sunscreen. I saw some 70 spf at a store in Daytona. I guess we will have to go with that next year and put it on every 30 minutes.












Eli enjoyed the pool an awful lot too. All the kids got along so well, it was a very enjoyable vacation. Erin and Eli are pretty close in age and Sarah gets along with kids of all ages, so they all swam and enjoyed each other's company.












At one point, on my way back to our room, I was able to get a great shot of these pigeons. Normally I don't get excited about pigeons, and I certainly never take pictures of them, but these birds were pretty cool. Even if they were just scavenging/begging for food!












After dinner we went to the beach and took pictures with the ocean as a wonderful backdrop. Some of the pictures were silly, while others were more serious.

Here is a picture of the whole gang. Some poor guy took pictures of all of us with 4 or 5 different cameras. He was a very nice guy and patient as well.












A picture of the "kids" and the "parents..."












...and the "kids" families...
Amanda and Jim












Taylor, Chelsea, and Amanda












Taylor, Jordan, and Chelsea












Irma, Jerry, Eli, and Alan












Jim and Amanda with Hannah












My nutty bunch (including me)












David, Hannah, and Jennifer












Steve, Jordan, Taylor, Chelsea, Kristin, and Karen

Crabbing

Each year several members of my family go crabbing during our reunion. A few years ago, they encountered a rather large crocodile which led them to find a new place to go crabbing. I had never gone crabbing and all 3 of my children wanted to go this year, so I decided I would go and just take pictures. Well, I got caught up in the idea of catching one, so I grabbed the net, stood on a small rock, and fell in. I did catch a crab, or rather a small crab landed on me when I fell, but I managed to cut my thumb open , scrape up both hands, and bruise my back way up high right along my spine. Needless to say, I am quite sore, and struggling to type this with a bandaged, throbbing thumb.
March of the crabs... This is near the area that we went crabbing. These little guys are much smaller than what we were after to catch. When we got too close, they would all disappear into the sand en masse. I had never seen so many crabs altogether in one place.












When we first arrived, Jerry caught a small crab that he let the kids hold. Sarah got pinched so she dropped it and then picked it back up again, along with a bunch of sand. Erin decided that she was going to try to grab a crab herself but instead, one grabbed her. When she pulled her hand back, the crab had such a grip on her finger, that it's claw broke off, but the pincher didn't release, so she had a crab leg stuck on her finger. She was very calm, but obviously uncomfortable, so I called my father over to pull it off. I did not, however have the presence of mind to take a picture of the claw on her finger with either of the 2 cameras that I was holding. I was too concerned for her poor pinched finger. After the claw was removed, she carried it around for a while because she thought it was cool.












This shows a much bigger view of where we were. Just to the left of the center of this photo is a blue heron standing in the water. Great Blue Herons are among my favorite birds.













The jetty where we were crabbing is very near the lighthouse that Sarah and I visited the other day...


















This crab did not want his picture taken. I sat very still waiting for him to surface. Once he surfaced, he kept moving and turning just so, so I could not get a good picture of him. He is just left of center in this photo.












Irma was trying to catch a crab using Alan's shoe. She was not very successful in her endeavor. Right behind Irma is where I fell. You can just see that there are a few rocks in the water.












I did manage to get a picture of the guy that I was trying to catch. Fortunately, I had handed my camera to Taylor when I took the net. I really want a new camera, but that was not the way to get one!












This is very similar to the rock that I cut my thumb on in the water. I don't think I cut myself until I tried to get back up. Everywhere I tried to put my hand it was sharp. I didn't even realize I was cut until I noticed blood all over my shirt.












Although slightly out of focus, this gives a pretty good idea of how big my thumb laceration is. The picture is from about 15 minutes after it happened. I had managed to get the bleeding stopped as long as I kept it up in the air. Now it only hurts a little, unless I bump it or forget and put too much pressure on it grabbing something.


















Yesterday the kids and I drove to Ft. Lauderdale to visit my friends Gail and Israel who live in Israel. It just happened that we were all going to be in Florida at the same time, so I decided to take the 4 hour trip down to see them. It was a very nice visit and the drive down and back gave me some good discussion time with the kids. Since we got here we have all been doing things with other family members so we have not had a lot of time together as a family. The trip gave us some time together which was good.
Israel and Gail pose for a picture. It was so good to see them. The last time I saw them was about 10 years ago for Gail and almost 20 for Israel.

Family Reunion

While sitting around the hotel last evening, I snapped a few pictures. Then several of us went to play mini golf and I got some great photos of the gang.
Grandma...












Grandpa...












Karen...












Jerry...












and Irma.












Hannah was enjoying the heights as Jennifer gave her a ride.


















After dinner we went to play mini golf.
Alan cheers his mom on as she takes a shot.












Crazy golfer, Chelsea, puts on a smile as she waits her turn.












Jordan gives me a silly grin.












Erin and Eli strike a pose between holes.












The girls check out a waterfall from inside a "volcano."












Jim and Amanda smile over some pretty flowers.












The "noisy" group...












...and the "deadly" group.












Sarah is enjoying herself...












Erin is annoyed at the camera.












I found this pretty flower amid the golf greens. I, of course, couldn't resist taking a picture of it!












After a hard evening of golf, we needed some "nourishment."












Chelsea sports a chocolate mustache...












...while Erin eats what looks like something toxic. It was only Lemon Sorbet.













Miniature golfing can be a dangerous sport. The "deadly" group, of which I was a part, hit each other (and the other group) with golf balls on several occasions. Chelsea managed to lob a ball into the parking lot, and many golf balls went "off course." There was much silliness and much fun!