Last week we took these photos of Trey after church. He was wearing a blue blazer I used to wear at the same age. The two portraits I have of myself in the blazer were taking in France in early 1986 after my brother was born. I was just about 3-4 months older than Trey is now.
The big question is: who looks better?
…and yes, I get bonus points for the shag rug in my portrait.
On our last day in Florida (New Year’s Day) we met up with our friends the Spans at Demens Landing Park in downtown St. Pete on the bay. The kids played a while on the playground and then we roamed around the edge of the water. It was a bit challenging keeping the younger kids from mimicking the old kids who were more stable on the rocks by the water.
Nothing beats spending New Year’s Eve with good friends. Being in Florida we went to our friends the Randall’s place to celebrate. They’ve sort of become the de-facto hosts for a circle of friends’ annual party (I don’t think they mind too much because they are so awesome).
Heidi’s best friend from high school came with her husband and son who is Trey’s age. Between the two of them, the Randall’s gang of boys, and all the other kids, there was plenty of entertainment.
We had a small scale fireworks show (that still amazed the boys) and by the time the ball dropped all of the kids had passed from exhaustion at various locations throughout the house. Trey managed to hold out the longest but our little Superman finally crashed on the couch.
On the last day of 2011, we went to Treasure Island Beach with Kenny to see the last sunset of the year. It didn’t happen. Well, I guess it did but we couldn’t tell because of the insane fog. Check out the crazy video below and head over to my personal site to see more photos from that outing.
On New Year’s Eve Day, we headed to Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg to check out their trails and area known for great bird watching. Not only does the 245-acre park have wild fowl, but they have a bird of prey aviary with eagles, falcons, and various owls (including a one-eyed great horned owl).
Being the day before the holiday the park closed early so our self-guided tour was a bit rushed. We still got to walk out on the boardwalks to an island in Lake Maggiore and spot a pretty large alligator hanging out in the sun. On the walk back we spot a gopher tortoise lumbering about. Trey had just asked me about a sign telling visitors to not bother the endangered reptiles and I told him we probably wouldn’t see one since they are so rare. Seconds later… tada!
Years ago Heidi’s dad bought a used sailboat for a mere $100 (trailer included!). The family has put it to good use over the years and this past holiday was no exception. They brought it out and we took it down to the inter-coastal waters between St. Pete and Treasure Island.
Trey got to sail with me and his granddad and then later he and Heidi took Kenny’s kayak out for a spin as well (video below). Trey’s newborn cousin also joined us but he stayed on solid ground for the afternoon simply enjoying the fine Florida weather.
