Florida Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with our good friends, Paul and Megan.  In the morning, we decided to burn off some calories at Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park.  The rest of the day was spent eating, relaxing, and watching football. 

 Ben and Laney at Millhopper.

 Megan and me with 212 stairs behind us.

 Megan and I had our special Drumstick Dash birthday shirts on to celebrate a special girl's birthday.

And last but not least, I had to get a pic with Jeremy the turkey!

Gannet Rescue on the Beach

During the week of Thanksgiving, we decided to go down to Florida to visit some friends.   One of my top requests was that we would go to the beach.  So on Monday, we headed to a beach near Destin, FL.  It was a beautiful day and the beach was not to busy.  

While taking a walk on the beach, we came up to an immature gannet that was obviously too weak to fly away.  It was cool to be able to see the seabird up close.

Sarah and Ben contacted Kelly to let him know the situation.  We soon made a plan to help rescue the gannet.

Here is Kelly cradling the gannet.

We were able to drop off the gannet at a local rescue.

We thought it was interesting that the last time we went to the beach with Sarah and Kelly, we found an injured loon.  I guess just having Ben and Kelly together makes the chances of encountering wildlife increase.  Unfortunately, we found out this week that even with some extra food and attention, the gannet did not survive.  

Tecumseh Trail Marathon

In late October, Ben and two of his friends ran the Tecumseh Trail Marathon.  It was a beautiful day, but it was a little hot for the runners with a high in the 70's.  All three of them finished, but the heat affected Ben the most.  Here are some pics from the race.

 Rich, Andrew, and Ben at the start of the race.

 My friend, Rachel came out to be a spectator with me.

 And they're off!

 Andrew and Ben at mile 11.7.  Rich was with them too, but not in the pic.

 Rich at mile 21.6.

 Laney waiting patiently in the leaves.

 Andrew at mile 21.6. 

 Rich finishing the race.

 Andrew running toward the finish line.

 Ben finishing strong.

 Laney was so excited to see Ben at the finish that I let her run with him.  

Andrew, Ben, and Rich after completing the marathon.  So proud of all three of them!

Colts Preseason Game

We were invited to go to the Colts vs Saints preseason game in August. The Flinks were given four amazing tickets on the 50 yard line, and since Andy and Becky couldn't go, they asked us!  We were happy to be their substitute kids!  

 Happy to be at the game!

Introducing the Colts 

 Ben and me

Our view from our seats

We thought it was interesting that there were two #47's.  

The 50 yard line. 

 Cathy and Steve Flink (thanks for inviting us!)

We noticed that Jim Irsay was sitting in the suite right above our seats.

We had a fun time even though the Colts lost.  Oh well, preseason doesn't really count, right?

Brookville Lake with the Arthurs

In late July, we were invited to visit with the Arthurs at Brookville Lake. We drove our canoe down for the day and enjoyed exploring the lake. While we were out paddling, a thunderstorm came through.  We were caught on the other side of the lake and had to paddle across in the rain.  It was a little scary, but Ben thought it was fun.  

The Arthurs in their kayaks. 

Laney looking for water squirrels.

 Ben and me in our canoe.

 

 Ben having fun in the rain.

 The Arthurs paddling back to the dock in the storm.

We went out again after the storm passed and I tried out one of the kayaks.   

So glad we could visit with the Arthurs while they were in town.

Kayaking the Wildcat Creek

On Sunday, a group of us kayaked 9.5 miles on the Wildcat Creek near Lafayette, IN.  It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.  Here are some pics from our trip.

Camping out with Hudson

Friday we had Andy and Hudson over to go camping in our backyard.  It was Hudson's first time camping, and he was so excited!

Hudson helping put up the tent.

All set up and ready to camp!

Cooking some dinner on the camp fire.

Getting ready for bed.

It was a great night to hang out by a fire.

All tucked in and ready to sleep in the tent.

All in all, the night was a success, and Hudson did great!