Sleepless Ramblings

Nothing too special ... just the mid-night sleepless ramblings of a Mom who needs to wake up in 5 1/2 hours but just can't doze off.

We've started a new adventure with Aaron going back to school again this semester. I am proud of him for working towards his goal for a Master's Degree. He is a good student, but we can tell already that his classes will require a lot more homework time than we are used to. This week he put in 15 hours of homework time in addition to his class time and working full time.

Caleb is doing well and growing up fast. New topics of intrest in his life include the moon, stars and bugs. He can sign all of these words and also tries to say them. He also LOVES jumping on the bed, eating otter pops, watering the flowers and playing cars. He is very expressive and gives me the cutest smiles.

I've been enjoying the summer weather and have the most beautiful geraniums this year. I love watering my flowers with my little helper. Other projects I have up my sleeve are learning how to do some light canning and preparing for a yard sale. -Yes, I know I must be crazy ... but by the time I am done I will have the most organized house you've ever seen. Well, at least I hope so. :)

All and all life is good. Just a little bit crazy, but wonderful.

Bonaire

In July Aaron and I had the amazing opportunity to go scuba diving in Bonaire, NA. The island is just north of South America and has some of the most beautiful dive sites in the world.

A puffer fish.

We saw 3 Sea Turtles while we were diving.

Queen Angel Fish were some of my favorite fish to see because of how regal they look with their blue crowns.

A Princess Parrotfish eating some coral.

A Princess Parrotfish with a Stoplight Parrotfish

We saw 4 Sea Horses with the help of our dive boat guides.

Our cousin Lisa's favorite fish: the Trunkfish. This fish is smaller with a huge body and little bitty fins. :)

Squid were a treat to see. Their fins flow smoothly making them quite beautiful to spot.

Aaron

Yellow Jacks

I got my PADI Open Water Diver certification completed while we were in Bonaire!

The dive sites were marked with yellow rocks like the one pictured below. Bari Reef is where I did my Open Water dives for my scuba certification. :)

The island was dry and desert like with cacti, etc. so I was very amazed at all the lovely flowers.

Some cool grasses blowing in the wind.

We stayed with Aaron's Aunt Marci & Uncle Stuart in their family's condo. It was very nice.

Some of our dive buddies: Nicki, Tim, Denise, Alan(Tarzan)

These yellow flowers just looked sunny and happy so I had to take a picture.

We could see this ship from the patio area at our condo where we would often eat lunch and breakfast. Fish would gather and eat stuff off of the hull underneath. On my last 2 dives we dove out underneath this boat and then swam over to look at the Reef Balls (concrete balls with lots of holes for fish to live in).

Sarah, Lisa and Nicki at Unbelievables for Sarah's birthday.

These were some of my favorite flowers I saw. Probably due to the red-orange hue.

Ever since we started dating some of our favorite pictures have been the silly ones we take of ourselves. This one definately made the cut. :)

Two little yellow finches decided to make a nest in Aaron and I's masks -- in less than 2 hours time. After we kicked them out we found them trying to make another nest in Marci's gear bag. Hopefully they found a better place to live. :)

There were lots of Iguanas on the island ...

And Flamingos

Seeing the Flamingos in their natural habitat was a fun treat.

These pink flowers were just outside our condo.

This sunset was beautiful.

I love this handsome man. :)

Chad, Aaron and I had lots of fun at the donkey sanctuary, but I think we should have brought more carrots. :)

Ummm carrots.

Marci and I at the donkey sanctuary.

Lisa at the donkey sanctuary. In the back you can see the windmill/well they used to get water.

Aaron took me out for dinner our last night in Bonaire.

Dinner at Will's, very yummy.

As you can see we had an amazing time. It was so nice to have this opportunity with our family and friends. We loved every minute of it!

Bonaire Diving Preview

Just a taste of things to come...

Working on getting photos and other videos together from what we have done so far...with more to do yet which will add more stuff.

Sammy Cat

Here are some videos of Caleb's new friend Sammy Cat. She adopted him when we visited our family in PA. It was super cute. :)

Caleb and His Many Adventures

Here is a sneak peek into what Caleb has been doing lately:Finding new forts.
Playing with his high-chair straps.
Falling asleep while eating.
Look closely and you'll see Caleb's mumps. Poor guy is allergic to Penicillin.
Feeding the ducks for Family Home Evening.
It's so fun to be with Dad! The smarty pants got strait A's in his classes this semester.
Practicing his big boy eating skills. Caleb still needs a little help getting food on to his fork and spoon, but does really well eating all by himself. :)

As for Aaron and I we are also doing good and are enjoying the spring weather. We've been busy in our yard, painting inside, organizing and enjoying our home, going on walks, making brownies -you know living the American Dream. :)

Our Recent Adventures

Now that it's nice and sunny outside we've been having lots of adventures. We recently went to Yellowstone Bear World and rode on the kids train.
Caleb has been inventing new games.
And wonders why I like to take pictures of him.
We've been exploring our backyard four plus times a day.
And we got to visit Grandma and Grandpa's baby chickens!

Easter

We had fun this morning with Caleb and his first Easter egg hunt. He is growing up and we are very lucky to get to be his parents. :) Life is going well for us and we are anxious for spring time. -Especially me! I can't wait to paint my house, plant a garden and go on lots of adventures with Caleb. It will be a nice spring/summer of discoveries.