Marco Island Sunset

One of Marco's best features are the sunsets. We have the luxury of seeing one of these each night for a week off our balcony there. It's an amazing way to end the day.

Playing nice

While in Florida, Baby Estelle and Finnegan had one of their first true Brother/Sister moments. One afternoon they began playing together - after trying to wake Daddy from his afternoon nap. It was really cool to see them like this. Lots of hugs from Finn and lots of laughter from Estelle. Rachelle got some pictures of them - this one is my favorite. It looks like they're Kickin it Old School... well, except for the binky and all. If they ever start a band together, I think this should be their first album cover.

Finnegan on ... Travel Aids

Sound canceling headphones, PS3 with movies on demand and a bag full of snacks... with this, all travel is possible.

Estelle trades fingers for smiles

Marco Island Visit

Baby Girl and I spent some quality time ocean side during our recent trip to Marco Island. Here, Estelle checks out daddy's stubble which seems to tickle both her fingers and funny bone. This, in turn, tickles mine. It's a great cycle.

Finnegan on ... eating Ice Cream

First, you need a hat - very important. If dad's hat is available, even better. Next, you need ice cream. Finnegan prefers mint chocolate chip. Now comes the hard part, holding on to the hat while manipulating the spoon in the not-yet-melted ice cream. Here we see Mr. Harper demonstrating how it's done - with grace and style.

A Day in the Everglades

This week is our annual Harper Family visit to Florida. Today, we drove up to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary - c'mon, admit it. You always wish you'd gone. While we were there, we saw an amazing cast of characters. It's amazing that this all exists just a half an hour from the coast of Florida. It's even more amazing that anyone ever pitches a tent in Florida knowing these are out and about. I count myself lucky to be in the condo.

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While Finn talked non-stop about seeing an Alligator, his real interest seemed to be in watching the lizards. Here is one that stopped by for a longer than usual visit.




It's hard to tell by the picture, but this grasshopper was almost 4 inches in length.







The man photographing this gator estimated his length to be between 10 - 11 feet. I've never been so glad to be on a walkway.




This is the baby gator. Caught sunning himself on a log, he was about 6 feet long and about 20 feet away.




Rachelle found this little guy right under the walking path. Just a small fry, he was only about 2 feet long and completely uninterested in us watching him.