Sandhill Cranes

In the past couple of years I have developed a fascination for these big birds. They can be seen all over. I don't claim to be an expert on them, but, the thing I like about them is that they are always found in pairs. My brother told me that they mate for life and when the young are born, both mom and dad take care of them. We have a lot of pasture land and they frequently fly over squawking. They have a very distinctive call. But, mostly they are graceful.

The other morning I was driving to work and needed to get on the interstate. As I was getting on the on ramp I spotted a pair with two fuzzy twins. I took a chance, pulled over, and snapped this picture. The very next week, they were in the same place. As I go to work in the morning, I will be looking for them.

Chassahowitzka.

That is where we went for Spring Break. My cousin Brenda and her family, from Georgia, came down and met us there. Brenda's mom and dad went with us, too. Hailey and Layna were in Tallahassee for the first part of the week but their Nana and Grandaddy brought them down on Wednesday, the day we got there.

Reese, Mason, Hailey, Denise and Nathan.

We went fishing, crabbing and the kids went swimming. The river is spring fed and most of the time is crystal clear. There are a lot of underwater caves for the brave of heart to swim through. To fish, we go out into the gulf and trout fish. To crab, we stay up in the river. Blue crabs are fairly abundant and we like to go crabbing at night when the big ones come out.

We have a 16 foot Jon boat. We have been there many times before, but this is the first time Nathan was big enough to grasp what all goes on. His daddy taught him how to drive the boat.
He already knew how to cast a rod and reel but this time he took over my rod and my spot at the front of the boat. And...
caught a fish. Unfortunately, it was a catfish which we don't bother with, but the point was that he caught a fish and I didn't. He also enjoyed catching pin fish with shrimp. His daddy taught him how to cut his bait and put it on the hook. One less thing Todd had to worry with.

For years I have read the "no wake" signs. This area is home to a lot of manatees but, I have never seen a manatee. This trip however, we saw a manatee feeding up in the spring. It was so slow moving and seemed like it would be very gentle. If you look closely you can see the marks of a boat propeller.
It was Nathan's first time seeing a manatee. He thought it was awesome, except for the "scratches" on its back. He thought they were kind of sad.

We love camping at the river and we call it Chaz for short.

Cruz Man

Remember when Cruz was born last August and looked like this? Tonight we went to Sushi with John, April and the Cruz Man and now he looks like this:

He is the best baby with a mouth full of teeth and he is a "lunger." And....I love when he lunges at me.

He Did It!

When Nathan was born, Todd and I got the shock of our lives. Our pride and joy was born with red hair. And we love it! For several years now Nathan has been a modern day Samson. He has taken great pride in his long red locks. So, when I announced to him that we were going to get our hair cut, (which is usually a bangs trim for him), you can imagine my surprise when he said, "Mom, I want to cut my hair off." I honestly thought he was kidding. He wasn't.

So, he went from this

To this!

While Uncle Tripp was cutting and cutting and cutting, I really felt like I was watching his first haircut all over again. Look at all the hair he cut off.

Now, Nathan, at a whopping age 7 can't go anywhere without having his hair fixed. And...I'm the one who has to fix it.