Jumbo Shrimp for the 4th?

To celebrate the 4th of July Independence Day we went to see the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp baseball game. Yes, that's the name of the team! Until last year they were the Jacksonville Suns, but the owner thought that did not sound as intimidating as the Jumbo Shrimp.

You can see the mascot on the jumbotron. (Click on the picture to check if it really is intimidating.)

Are you intimidated? The opponents, the "Look Outs," must have been because we beat them 11 to 3. Jumbo shrimp are harvested off the Atlantic coast of North Florida.

After the sun set in the west, we were treated to spectacular fireworks on the north end of the field above the jumbotron. Here's a sampling:

Soaring Eagles

Here are the latest three Eagle Scouts from our troop. Can you pick out our grandson David?

Examine the 3 cute camping dioramas of these scouts that a mother made based on reports from the other scouts . Can you tell who the master marshmallow roaster is? Who can always expect a run in with a bear if he doesn't properly store his snacks? Who loves Dutch oven cooking?

Come Listen to the Prophet's Voice

Sunday our Prophet, Russell M. Nelson came to Amway Center in Orlando Florida to speak to Caroly and me and 15,500 of our closest friends. The Amway Center usually hosts the local basketball and ice hockey teams and various traveling music groups. This is the view 45 minutes before it started so there are still some empty seats. The devotional started at 5. The doors opened at 3, but they asked us to be there by 4, 4.30 at the latest. We were in our seats at 4.

Of course, our seats were in the nose-bleed section

 But it still seemed fairly intimate since the Jumbotron was right in front of us. We probably had a better view than all the 12 to 18 year olds who had special seats filling the main floor. Here's the view from another section closer to the floor.

 But wait a second. Click on the picture and take a look at three special celebrities--Do you recognize our grandchildren? Sage forwarded these pictures to us.

This is the view that we had in the nosebleed section a little bit more even to the screen.The special speakers were the apostle Elder Uchtdorf and his wife. Of course he had to mention his experiences as a pilot and his introduction to Florida during his pilot training when he was a young man from Germany before he became a pilot for Lufthansa. Afterwards we wondered if he piloted the prophet to Orlando.

The prophet's wife told about the courtship she had with the widowed Elder Nelson 15 years ago when he was an apostle. The devotional was only supposed to last one hour but President Nelson opted to address us for 45 minutes so we weren't out of the Amway Center until 7. One of the highlights was his singing "I am a Child of God" with all the children in the audience,

 The only empty sections were a thin band of "club seats"  on the fourth level that are probably private boxes closed off from the public. Most of us were in the fifth level. There were a few empty seats at the very top behind us that probably would have been filled but it was pouring rain outside for most of the two hours before the devotional started so some may have opted to stay dry and watch it at their chapel. Luckily it stopped the downpour for a minute or two when we had to walk in a slight sprinkle the three blocks from our parking garage and when we had to walk back afterwards.

By the sweat of thy brow...

It has been in the high 90s the past couple of weeks (May is our hottest month) as we wait for the rainy season with its cooler but more humid weather to start. So this is the sweaty harvest time for our garden. We've been eating lots of blueberries and wild blackberries (their season is Mother's Day to Father's Day). We've eaten at least 60 of our papayas (They make great smoothies). We know lots of new recipes for cabbage (You can cut them in 1 inch slices and cook them in the oven like steaks smothered in lemon/garlic butter and topped with cheese). Now it's time for fried green tomatoes for the impatient who can't wait for them to ripen, green beans, egg plant (when diced they make great substitutes for mushrooms in spaghetti sauce) and we just harvested our first time try at  growing potatoes.

Take a look: (Looks like I should have washed the dust off the eggplant before I took the picture.)

Handle bars?

Does our new cow have handle bars like a bike or motorcycle so you can steer it when you ride?

May The Fourth Be With You!

If you get married on May 4th, you have to have something about Star Wars as a theme (May the fourth (force) be with you!). So it was when Aurelia and Nick were married in the Orlando Temple with a reception later at our house.

Getting Ready for a Wedding Reception.

We are hosting the wedding reception for the marriage of our first grandchild. She loves the beauty of our log cabin  and the gazebo out back so wants to hold it here after her marriage in the Orlando Temple.  Of course we have to spiff up the appearance of the back side with its jungle of weeds.

Here is the work in progress, including growing the rocks Florida or Disney style (pouring concrete in molds since we have mostly sand rather than natural rocks) and creating a new stairway for the guests as they go out to the gazebo. Of course you can see that this was done by hand, pioneer style in keeping with the log cabin motif. Doing everything by hand keeps us healthy and young mentally and physically. Remember to click on the pictures for a closer look.

This coming week I hope to have everything complete and ready for the reception.

Ride'em Cowgirl!

When the kids and grandkids come to visit, of course, they have to ride in the new horse riding arena. This time they convinced grandma to ride too. One decided to relive our adventures in Mexico 35 years ago by riding our donkey.