Working vacation in Fort Lauderdale

I can hardly believe a month has already passed since our trip to Florida! Time has flown by lately.

As soon as we found out that John was being sent to Fort Lauderdale to teach a class, we planned on me and possibly Aaron coming along. It is really wonderful that John has a job that is ok with me and Aaron joining him on business trips. Florida is certainly one of the nicer locations he has been sent. So we began planning a working vacation right away.

What a great way to take a trip together. Since it was trip for work, John's airline ticket, hotel and meals were covered. John was scheduled to work for most of the week.  We decided to extend the trip by a couple of days so that we could spend time enjoying the beach and sightseeing.

After a lot of discussion, we chose to have Aaron stay with my parents instead of joining us. I knew it would be really hard for me to leave him for a week. However, it was definitely the right decision. So much of the trip was spur of the moment, running from place to place and evenings at restaurants. It would have been tough to entertain him all day and keep him under control while out to eat with John's boss. He adores his Nan and Pops so I knew he would be happy and in good hands!

John and I had a wonderful time! John's teaching went really well. He got the go ahead for the next level of teaching courses for his company. I spent the week catching up on reading, catching some sun and of course walking up and down the beach. On John's off time we went to a bird refuge, Everglades National Park, visited a sea turtle rehab facility, enjoyed the beach, kayaked in the everglades and visited the Miami zoo.

The highlight of the trip was definitely kayaking in the everglades! We did a five hour trip that took us through mangrove tunnels, estuaries, a bird rookery and the bay. The mangrove tunnels were almost creepy, they were dark and very swampy. We saw osprey, anhinga, herons and even had a couple of dolphin swim near our boat.

Thanks to family and John's job for making it possible to go on fun vacations! We feel so blessed to be able to take the trips we get to take while only spending a small amount of money. We both love to travel and really wouldn't be able to do as much of it without ways to lessen the expense. Fort Lauderdale was quite memorable. What a treat to have some time alone together. Who knows when that will happen again!

Kearney, Ne

Aaron and I took a little trip to Kearney, Nebraska this past week. Actually is was a very long trip! Six hours in a car with a two-year-old by myself is a long day. It was worth it though. We were very happy to see Daddy when we got there!

John has been working in Kearney quite a bit this summer. He has been doing some survey work for the Plate River Project. He was there for a couple weeks in July. Then they went back out for a few weeks this month as well. It's been a little rough having him gone so much. Aaron and I missed him so we decided to go out for a visit!

The team works long days while they are in the field. So Aaron and I had to plan some things to do during the day. A two-year-old doesn't stay happy for very long in a tiny, boring hotel room!

The first day we took a trip to Target for some groceries and a new toy. Later we went to the splash park and played in the water. We walked around the botanical gardens and watched the swans. After that we drove out to the job site to meet up with John. Aaron enjoyed the dirt and river. I got to go for a ride on the air boat!

The next day Aaron and I checked out the firefighter's museum. It was pretty nice. The old fire engines were pretty awesome. There was a little wooden engine for kids to play in. Aaron enjoyed that. It even had an old hand crank siren. That was a big hit. After lunch and nap we went to see the Great Plate River Road Archway.

It's kind of a funny place. They have life size displays and re-enactments. It pays tribute to the pioneers that passed through during the mid 1800s. Aaron was a bit scared at first because of all the noises (owls hooting, wolves howling, trains and thunder)!

We also walked on the little nature trail outside. We saw a garden which included crops grown by the Pawnee. There was also a Pawnee earth lodge that Aaron enjoyed checking out. It was nice and cool inside the lodge!

Kearney is certainly not the most exciting place we have ever been! It was so nice to see John though. Aaron and I have missed him. Thankfully John made it home today. He is done with the project so he is home for good! Yay!