Aunt Nene

Since Dan had to return home to work, my sister, who's a teacher in Minneapolis, graciously accompanied me and the kids on the flight back from Minnesota.  While we really appreciated having an extra set of hands around, not only for the flight, but for the entire next week, mostly we were just glad to get to spend more time with Renee since we don't see each other very often.  The kids definitely bonded with her, and were asking where she was the morning after she left...she'd become a part of their everyday lives!

We took it pretty easy because the kids were worn out from our time in Minnesota.  We did venture out for a few trips to the beach and a day trip to Alexander Springs.  We introduced Renee to some of our favorite Jacksonville eateries, including The Seafood Kitchen, Al's Pizza, and Chick-fil-a (Chick-fil-a doesn't venture that far into Yankee country).  We also set out to cook up some recipes from my 'To Try' folder.  We made Venezuelan Arepas (that I had eaten in NYC this spring), Gyros and Greek Salad, and Shrimp Tacos with Corn Salsa and Minted Sour Cream.

I did a terrible job capturing her visit on film, but we did get the camera out at the springs.  We like to introduce people to what we call 'The Real Florida' when they come to visit.  That way they find out there's more to Florida than Disney, palm trees, and beaches...and sweat.  Going to a spring is our favorite way to blow the stereotypes, but we needed to find one that was kid-friendly.  Dan did an awesome job in picking Alexander Springs.  It had a sandy bottom and was shallow almost all the way across, except for over by the spring where it was deep, cold, and you could snorkel and see the limestone formations and some fish.  So fun!  I wish only it wasn't quite so far away, so we could go there more often.  We're considering making it the destination for our first family camping trip, maybe this fall.

 

General view of the spring. The aqua part is where the spring is.  

All you non-Floridians should check one out sometime!

The girlies

The kids really enjoyed being in some shallow, wave-free water.

Look how clear it is!

Josh had a little too much fun!

But had one more good picture left in him

Thanks for all your help and company, Renee!