Memorial Day Ceremony

 One of the things Mark and I loved about living in the town of Davie was that it were very festive when it came to holidays or special events.  Parades and celebrations were frequent during the year. A Memorial Day parade was planned and Mark and I looked forward to going to our last parade before we moved.  We got to the parade about 10:15 (15 minutes late) and sadly it was over!  We were a little disappointed until we realized it probably wasn't too great of a parade since it was only 15 min long. Instead we went to the rodeo grounds for a Memorial Day ceremony they were holding afterwards.

 

When we got there, they had a bunch of army vehicles lined up to view and most everyone was wearing red, white, and blue.  It felt so patriotic--I loved it!

I was worried that the ceremony was going to be boring but I actually ended so grateful that we had come. During the ceremony, they had a couple of speakers that talked about freedom and brave soldiers who fought for our freedom.  I was so touched with the speeches that I almost cried.  What I really loved though is that afterwards, an announcer named off every military conflict that soldiers may have served in. Any soldiers who had served during that time came out of the audience, took a flower, put it on a fake grave, and then stood in their military stance.  We stood up applauding for about ten minutes for the men and women who had served.  We watched as the generations of veterans stood proudly as they filled the front floor. 

 I left feeling so grateful for the sacrifice of the men and women who serve our country.  I felt so proud to live in the United States and proud of the freedoms we enjoy.  Most of all, I loved that the town of Davie made such a big deal out of Memorial Day. Usually, I am just excited to have a day off and haven't really thought of the meaning besides visiting relatives that have passed on. I loved adding extra meaning to the holiday.  This Memorial Day was the most memorable and worthwhile I have had.

Announcing....Dr. Mark Allen Baker!

 After 21 years of school, hours upon hours of studying, many sleepless nights, surviving the stresses of dental school, flaky patients, and countless numbers of assignments and tests... the day finally arrived!

 On May 27, 2012  Mark officially became Dr. Mark Allen Baker !!!

 

I am so proud of Mark for reaching this enormous accomplishment.  He worked so hard and sacrificed so much of his time to accomplish this goal.  He even looks like a real doctor now--so studious! :)

 

Do you see the guy turned to the side?  That's Mark. It's too bad I had to be the photographer that day.  It's not the best picture but I was pretty proud that I also got Mark's friends in it. If you look closely, you can also see Mark's friend Morgan being robed and his other friend Jeff waiting in line. 

 

Mark is the tall handsome one shaking hands in this one.

 

 

In the meantime, Chelsey and I were doing our best to keep our little girls entertained.  It was pretty tricky since I had a huge camera in my lap and Lucy wasn't heavy enough to hold down her seat (which she kept squirming around in).  I thought I was doing much better once she took some interest in some stickers I gave her...until of course I caught her eating them.

 

After they walked, Chelsey and I were able to meet up with Mark and Morgan for some pictures.  I thought this one was so cute with them holding each of their little girls! 

Mark with some dental friends...Morgan, Vernon, and Silva

 

 And here we are...Mark's very proud family

After graduation, Chelsey and I headed back to our place with our worn out little girls to get our celebration dinner ready.

We had an awesome steak dinner when Mark and Morgan returned.

 

After dinner we took a Sunday walk at the park across the street where we saw these cute little baby frogs. 

This was one of the last times we saw our friends before they moved just a couple of days later. I am so glad we were able to celebrate our graduation day with them.  We miss them.

A week or two later when we could celebrate on a weekday, we went to dinner at the Mai Kai Polynesian restaurant.  I still dream about eating the meal I had.  I had the best curry ever!  The veggies in it were perfectly crisp tender and I loved the sauce. 

Besides the meal, the show was amazing!  I liked it better than the show I saw in Hawaii.  There was one flame thrower that really amazed both Mark and I.  He lit one side of his tongue on fire then turned his stick around and lit it on fire with his tongue.  Mark and I just looked at each other in awe.   

The show must have been a little too exciting for Lucy because she was pretty worn out by the time we got home. Mark and I had a lot of fun and I am glad we were able to celebrate his accomplishment!

Beth's Birthday

Since I knew this birthday was my last in Florida, I had big plans for it.  I planned to start it off by seeing the sunrise and then eating breakfast on the beach.  Next we would go to the historic Bonnet House in downtown Fort Lauderdale with friends and take a tour.  It sounded like the perfect thing to do until we woke up and it was pouring rain.  It was pretty disappointing.  Mark was sweet and made up for it by sharing a P. F. Chang gift card he had with me. Then he shopped with me at Sawgrass Mall for a couple of hours being extremely patient.  He went with me to any store I wanted and didn't complain or ask me to hurry even once. Mark hates to shop so it was a pretty selfless birthday present for me.  

 

Even though I'm not a big Chinese food fan, lunch was still fun. I had good company and some entertainment. Lucy entertained us playing with chopsticks while we waited for our food.

 

The rain stopped while we were in the mall.  We enjoyed the sunny afternoon at the park so Lucy could play.

It was difficult trying to lure Lucy back into the car when it was time to go because she was having a lot of fun doing this stroller routine.  She would go around pushing (or carrying) her stroller. 

Then once it got too stuck, she would fill up the seat with loads and loads of sand.  It was pretty cute watching her enjoy this routine over and over.   

 

Because of the rain, we postponed going to the Bonnet House with our friends Morgan and Chelsey until the next day. It worked out okay for me because I got to celebrate longer this way.    

 

The landscaping and decor of this place was neat to see. Just seeing these pictures makes me really miss the Florida foliage.  I miss all the many cool tropical plants that grow in Florida.

 

This wall and ceiling decor was made out of seashells.  Pretty neat.

A lot of the building structure was made out of hardened seashell rocks called coquina.

 

My last Floridian birthday was a success.   It was a fun two days. :) 

Katie and Judd Come to Florida

In the beginning of May, my sister Katie and her husband Judd came to Fort Lauderdale to take a 10 year anniversary trip.  Although, we weren't the ones celebrating, Mark and I got to reap some of the benefits of their fun.  First, they let us tag along with them down to the keys.  We fed our favorite jumping tarpon at Robbie's Pier.

 

Judd and Katie were some of the bravest fish feeders I've seen. Their hands were still inside the tarpons' mouths before they let go of the food. 

 

 

After feeding the fish to the tarpon, we went to get some fish food of our own.  We ate fish sandwiches right on the beach at Lorelei's Cabana.  As you can tell, it was a beautiful day!  

    Before we left, we stopped to get our picture in front of a pirate ship and pink convertible car...I mean boat.  Pretty random. :)

All of that was fun but what we really loved doing with Katie and Judd was the snorkeling.  On one of the stops, we snorkeled at a reef underneath a lighthouse.  I wish we had taken pictures because the water was like a swimming pool.  It was so clear and blue.  I saw a sting ray, barracuda, and tons of schools of fish.     Because of the water visibility and the sea life we saw, it didn't even come close to comparing to other snorkeling I had done. This was easily my favorite snorkel trip. Judd was even nice enough to take Lucy for us for a bit so Mark and I could go together which made the trip even better.

Judd and Katie invited us to go to a Marlins Game with them.  Mark and I were super excited because it was one thing we had wanted to do all four years we were in Fort Lauderdale but never did.  We were even more excited when Katie told us about the seats she found us.  They were so close!  It made such a difference enjoying the game to me because we could see so well what was happening.  We even had the Miami Marlin come by and greet us!