Animals and Children

Today, Elizabeth and I went to see the movie 'We Bought a Zoo'.  I highly recommend it, but make sure you take Kleenex!  Also be prepared, there are few bad words uttered, and they talk about 'the seven year old who still believes in the Easter Bunny'.  So glad I didn't have to explain that one, but it is a heart warming story.

us in our great looking wet suits
In honor of animals and children I have posted the picture of us in our wetsuits when we went swimming with manatees last week.  If you are ever in the Tampa area, I highly recommend it.  Henry was not too crazy about petting a 2000 pound animal, and I have to admit, the female was a little too pushy for my taste.  She made me nervous, but the male was too cute.  He followed us around to get us to scratch him & would do barrel rolls so we could scratch his tummy.  It was a once in a lifetime experience.



Here is a picture of the two manatees we were petting.  The female is the bigger of the two, bottom right.  The male is above her.  We found out that manatees cast a very small silhouette, and sailors thought they were mermaids.  When you see their silhouette in the water with their tales, it's pretty easy to see why they thought it.  They are beautiful creatures, and it was a great experience.  I need to thank my brother & sister-in-law, Cotton & Leah, for taking us & especially Leah for taking pictures and hanging out while we swam.  Thanks you two, it was a blast!




Celebrating Life!
~ashley

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