Nine Armed Sea Stars

Since the month of May we have been blessed with a massive amount of nine armed sea stars inhabiting our Naples beaches. Because they don't have a backbone or fins they are referred to as sea stars, not starfish. We have found all of our sea stars in "knee deep" waters. Mason has become an expert in finding them.  He doesn't have to actually see them in the water, he knows them by the "feel" as he walks in the sand. I still can't get over how large they are. By the way, none of these sea stars were harmed for the photos. Sea stars are easily stranded when the tide goes out but can survive if the sun doesn't dry them before the next tide.





We have not only been blessed by sea stars but also by a visit from our 10 year old niece, Ashlan. We are so proud of her! She flew by herself for the the first time and came to stay with us for an entire week. We had so much fun that we were sad to see her leave.  Thankfully, she will be back at the end of July with her entire family.



Life is good...at the beach :)

VBS Rocks

I am so proud of these two for once again participating in Vacation Bible School as crew and jr crew leaders. Each summer I begin to wonder if this will be their last time and if they are getting tired of giving up their first week of summer break to volunteer. But at the end of the week at the dinner celebration they always tell me they will be back for more next year. I guess no matter how old you get, VBS still rocks!

Totally Jaw-Some

We knew someday that Mason would be a Gulf Coast Shark, we just didn't know it would happen in 6th grade. This Spring Mason joined a start-up team of an established youth football league. On the plus side, all of the equipment and jerseys were brand new. On the negative side, our newly formed team was up against more seasoned players. Even though Mason's team didn't fair well against the other teams we sure enjoyed watching him play in the Gulf Coast High School stadium.