Silver Springs, FL (Ocala National Forest)

What a fun filled week we've had! 

We really enjoyed this place - everyone is so friendly and welcoming!

We've visited a few of the natural springs here in Central Florida...breathtaking, natural wonders... pictures do not do it justice!

Can you see how brilliant blue the waters are?

We've had a blast snorkeling in this fresh water!  It's a constant 72 degrees!

We saw schools of fish, crabs & underwater caves... We couldn't get enough!

Fun with Daddy!

Momma's fun, too!

More weekday fun!  All of our springs adventures included Tammy & Kelsey Spangle- our friends from MD!  We were so happy to see them in Florida!! 

The boys & Kelsey!

Aaron's wild picture - we expect one per blog ;-) see the brown palm leaf "horns"?

A major landmark... Had to go take the glass bottom boat ride!

The boys and Kelsey posing!

The famous glass bottom boat!

Checking out the underwater scene

The crew- Braden, Aaron, Tammy & Kelsey

Crystal clear water

We saw fish, turtles & eel grass!  We saw a manatee before we got on the boat!

Great little museum & a chance to learn about native animals & environment 

We've been learning about these in Science all week and visiting the real life springs in the afternoons!

We have DEER signs in Md. - In Florida, we have BEAR signs!!!! Seriously, for the next 33 miles :-)

On the lookout for wildlife :-)

We've fallen in love with the cafe in the campground- it's called the River's Edge and we've never had a bad meal in the place - and we've had a few meals in the place!  They introduced us to Minnesota Beer Cheese soup and Potato Chip cookies... We may need an intervention!  We'll especially miss "our" waitress Christie who knew our drink orders by heart!  

Happy Guy!

We really like our neighbors!  Mr. Lloyd helped Braden and Aaron fix this bike when the pedal fell off...

Mr. Charlie...this is one of Braden's fishing buddies!  

Gator Bill, on the left, is another member of the Fishing Buddies Club.  He has a heart of gold.  He gave Braden a fully stocked tackle box and other fishing essentials and took Bryan & Braden fishing on Saturday.  

Mr. Brooks - lives on the pond and is a sweetheart.  His sweatshirt says " Fishing is everything!"

Braden's also been enjoying the game room :-)  Aaron's allergies have been really bad because of all the pollen, so we've been playing lots of Minecraft indoors!

They have two great dog parks here for Bodie!  Our new friends, Estil and Michelle have two bulldogs, Meathead and Porkchop...it was too adorable to watch the pups play!  As you can see, Bodie is pooped!

Juno Beach, Fl

 Here's a photo montage of our time in the Juno Beach/Jupiter, Florida area. 

Beautiful beach & fishing pier

He's a natural

Alien Crabby

Buns of Bodie

Our Juno Beach "home" for the week

 

Great field trip with the boys!  They do great work here with the animals!

Loved the aviary

This little guy & his buddy loved the boys

Snakes Galore!

Stretching his jaw

Alligator 

Wild creatures!

Checking out our wingspans in comparison to the birds of prey (Braden's  was equal to a Turkey Vulture)

Aaron's "wingspan" was equal to an Osprey

Art Gone Wild! It was a fun filled day!

Swimming after school

Billards with the boys

Less than a mile from our place & admission was FREE!

WooHoo!

Wow!

We actually saw the sea turtle receive an IV and get a Betadine scrub!  

This turtle needed to have his shell reattached and the weight redistributed to help him survive...he was having a rough day!

Sea turtles outside- Educational exhibits inside = Amazing

Love seeing these guys learn

Five of the worlds sea turtles live in Florida...

Aggghhhh....just kidding!  That a plastic lobster :-)

My "little" boys

I didn't think we had learned enough, so we hit the local library!!!!!

Then we did some pond fishing...

We also visited the River Center

Scavenger Hunt in the Tank!

Flipping fantastic aquariums!

Hands on Learning...

Checking out the mangrove habitat

Learning about H2O!

Local History

Exploring 

Cool place!

Crazy sighting - a boat with wheels!  Drove right by us!!!!

We even managed some good old fashioned homeschooling :-)  

We're checking out Ocala National Park next!  Look out, here we come!!!!