miami

Why can't life just be one long vacation? I'm always telling Jeff let's go here, let's go there and he just looks at me and says, you want to go everywhere! Yeah well, I guess I have the travel gene (thanks mom and dad!). Maybe when we're rich :).

Last weekend we headed down to Miami for a change of scenery and had a great time.

Day 1:

• Best Taco Bell Jeff's ever had (and he would know). You didn't know that Taco Bell could be different from city to city, did you? I guess they know how to make those refried beans in Miami.


• Air boat ride in Everglades National Park. We thought maybe we'd see a crocodile or two but had no idea they would come up right next to the boat, which was a little too close for comfort but definitely an experience.


• Jeff locked the keys in the car (I'm surprised I haven't done this...yet).


• Ate some really good authentic Mexican food.

(you can enlarge the collages by clicking on them)

• Oh, and of course we went to a Marlin's game. You didn't think we'd go on vacation during baseball season and not go to a game did you?
  
  

Day 2:

• We headed out to Key Largo and took a boat ride out to a reef for some snorkeling. The water was crystal-clear blue but we were both a little disappointed with the reef and the fish but it was fun nonetheless.

Day 3:

• We hit up south beach and spent the day in the warm ocean and worked on our tans (or our burns...either way, we got some color).


• We often watch Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network which is on late at night when I get off work and it always makes us really hungry. While we were in Miami, we took the opportunity to check out two places featured on the show and both were really good! As you can tell, our trips focus around being touristy and eating good food!


• Our flight the next day left out of West Palm Beach so we headed up there and checked out their awesome downtown area.
  
  

This is what our puppy looked like when we got back. She had her own vacation while we were gone where she just played and played and crashed when we picked her up. We thought she was depressed at first cause she looked so sad but it turns out she was just pooped.

p.s. We saved ourselves a lot of stress by getting a GPS with our rental car. Garmin saved our sanity. I highly recommend them for places you are unfamiliar with.

Family: It's about love

I can't believe it's been over a month since we were in California. This year is flying by.

Maybe I should've titled this post three funerals and a wedding because that's been our year so far.

Unfortunately our trip to California was not for pleasure. Jeff's cousin, Bobby, passed away and we went to attend the funeral. I only met Bobby once but whenever anyone would mention his name I would automatically think of his smile that seemed to light up a room [which incidentally is what first attracted me to Jeff...I guess great smiles run in the family]. Apparently this sentiment was shared by many as his smile was mentioned many times throughout the weekend. Bobby will be greatly missed by so many. As you can see in one of the pictures below, the hall where the memorial was held was packed and many people had to squeeze in to find a place to stand since there weren't enough seats.

I know I've said this in my other posts about the funerals we've been to this year but, although we felt deep sadness for losing Bobby so unexpectedly, we enjoyed the time we spent being surrounded by family. Because isn't that what life is all about? People may come and go from our lives but our family will always be there. And how lucky am I to have not just one but two amazing families?