Year in Review - 2024

January: We welcomed in the New Year with a picnic at Kidscape Park.

Brad's family came to Florida for a visit and we went to a couple of beaches with them (here and here). While they were here, Sam was ordained a deacon and we accompanied him on his first trip to the temple to do baptisms. (After Brad's family returned home, Wyatt was ordained a teacher.)

We enjoyed our visit to the Boca Raton Museum of Art.

And we took our last hike at the DuPuis National Wildlife Refuge.

February: Even though we were in the dry season, our February hike at Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park included a fair amount of wading in deep water.

Our next hike that month was in the keys at Long Key State Park.

We took our third hike during our first visit to the Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area - a short walk to the overlook.

Finally, in February we took the ferry to Peanut Island, set up our tent, and enjoyed having the island all to ourselves from sunrise to sunset. It was a gorgeous day!

March: Our exploring this month started with a visit to the Ah-Ta-Thi-Ki Museum, followed by a visit to Hollywood Beach. 

Then while the temple was closed for its two-week cleaning, we took our own spring break at home, enjoying a sunrise, a picnic at one park, a barbecue at another, and a nice long hike at Atlantic Ridge Preserve. In addition, we had the opportunity to see the Vienna Symphony in concert, meeting Weston's family on the sidewalk after dinner. 

April: We visited a state park, a county park, a natural area, a beach and Butterfly World, and had a great time at each of them. Stake conference turned out wonderfully as well.

May: We spent a day at the beach before heading north to visit my dad followed by a week hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains. 

We arrived home in time to enjoy the Memorial Day weekend which included attending Clark's baptism, watching a sunrise, and having a picnic to celebrate.

June: Our first summer staycation included visiting the county history museum. We also enjoyed some extra visits to the temple before starting a road trip west where we had a great time exploring Indiana Dunes National Park.

July: We had an absolutely marvelous time at our family reunion in Utah. Who wouldn't with all these cute kids?

Once home we had time to go canoeing and played a round of disc golf before taking our second summer staycation.

August: We had our first experience throwing axes; it was fun once, but we doubt we'll join any axe-throwing leagues! After a trip west for a baby blessing and a baptism, complete with some 4-wheeling in Moab and an overnight stay in Las Vegas, we took a 12-mile hike, mostly through the water, at Loxahatchee Slough, and ended the month with a delicious birthday dinner at Okeechobee Restaurant.

September: The Tabernacle Choir came to South Florida, Wayne helped plan another successful stake conference, and Becky taught a class on 72-hour kits and food storage at the stake Relief Society Conference. In addition, we made time for another picnic at a park and enjoyed a delightful trip to Key West ahead of Hurricane Helene.

October: We had the opportunity to help with hurricane cleanup, enjoyed another picnic at another park and a beautiful day at the beach, and then used the temple's closure to hike the east side of Lake Okeechobee - part of the Florida Trail.

November: We started the month by flying to Utah and ended it by driving to Virginia for Thanksgiving. In between we got to spend a few days with our grandsons, remembering what it was like to drive someone to early-morning seminary, and schedule dinner around sports practice.

December: Another sunrise, another picnic, wonderful Christmas celebrating, and we ended the year with a few games of tennis. So many fabulous memories from 2024!