The Shell Factory

On the second day of our Florida vacation (New Year's Day), we paid a visit to The Shell Factory.  It's a kooky little place in North Fort Myers.  They sell shells, of course, but there is also a fun park and nature park.  We just walked around the shell displays and the fun little exhibits (a good portion of this is free to walk around in), and took some fun pictures.

One of the most important rules in the Hynds family is this: If you are near the skeleton of a large shark's mouth, you must take a silly picture with it.  Angie obliged.

Then, we all joined in on the fun.  Honestly, how many chances do you get in life to pose for a picture inside a shark's mouth?

Then, we roped Bill and Linda in.  Okay, enough with the shark.  Let's move on to more important things...

...like a triceratops.  Once again, you can't pass up an opportunity like this.  If you see a triceratops, take a picture with it.  No exceptions.

We will soon post all of the other pictures on our Facebook pages.  It was a fun way to spend an afternoon.  On a side note, it rained profusely when we got there, and we all got soaked!  Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the cool spell that hit Florida and stayed for more than a week.

One more note about New Year's in Florida - it was the first time in my life that I was in the Eastern Time Zone when the ball dropped at Times Square.  I got to ring in the New Year at that moment, instead of having to wait another hour.  It's the little things, really, that get me excited.

Linda's 60th Birthday

Back in October, we all celebrated the 60th birthday of my dear mother-in-law, Linda Austin. Here are some pictures from the festivities.

Here, Linda is having a moment with Brianna and Jonathan. Such a good grandma.

Speaking of grandmas, here's the mother of the birthday lady, Grandma B. She celebrated a big birthday herself recently. Look for more pictures in a future blog.

Angie was five months pregnant in this picture, but Bill was even more pregnant.

The ladies, plus Chase.

The Wii was a big hit. Here, Bill is playing Mario Kart with the grandchildren.

This made the adults jealous, so they played some Wii of their own. You can't tell, but Jeremy is using his home-field advantage to blatently whip us at Mario Kart.

More adults joined in. Jenny is clearly giving it her all. Most of the kids have left the room by this point, and we're starting to lose Zach. I don't think the kids are supposed to lose interest before the parents.

It seems funny that the guest of honor is only in one of the pictures, but that's Linda for you. A fun evening was had by all. And this is just the beginning; watch for many holiday gathering pictures in the coming months.