Spring Break 2011! (even though I technically don't have a spring break)

Well this has been one of the best couple of days I've had since moving here!! Amy, Kara, and Paige all came to visit to me for their spring break! We had such a blast! They got here on Sunday night and then we hung out until Thursday morning when they had to leave. Sunday night we just hung out and talked! It was so wonderful to see them and hear everything that has been going on! Monday, they all came and visited me while I was at work! I was kind of worried that they wouldn't have fun because they aren't big animal folks, but they ended up having a blast! Kara even did a handshake with Talon!! SHOCKING! :) They took this picture of me on the microphone....





I look so official :) It was really just great to show them around and teach them about DRC. This is such a huge passion of mine and I love it so much so it was nice to be able to explain to them why I love it here. I told them, "Now do you understand why I left you guys to move here???" haha. It meant a lot to me that they could see how much I love what I do. It's hard to explain it to people sometimes, so to have them here and be able to show them what I do all day was great. We then went to the gift shop and they bought all matching shirts from DRC! They bought one I already had so we could all match! Here we are by the waterfall...

Then on Tuesday morning, we work up early and cooked whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes! They were so gooooodd!! Then we headed out for our snorkeling adventure! Our boat left at 9, but we had to check in by 8:30 am. We thought we could stick it out in just our bathing suites but when we got there, the nice lady from Spirit Snorkeling told us we could wear wet suits!! We felt so legit in them :)

We had such a great time snorkeling! We got to see so many awesome fish and I was especially excited for Amy because she had never gone before! We also had a nice 45 min. boat ride out to the reef and got awesome views of the 7 mile bridge! After we got back, we went to Sombrero Beach and laid out the rest of the day. This was an adventure because the beach was packed and full of crazy spring breakers, as we named them! It was pretty funny just sitting back and people watching...

That night I took them to Keys Fisheries! I got the crab cakes, and they were so good! All the other girls got fish sandwichs. Here is us before we went out :)

I also took them to Sunset Park where Tyler proposed to me! Again...people clapped after the sunset. It is so crazy to think that the sun sets everywhere in the whole world, but where do people take the time to sit and watch it and clap at the end? Crazy! Here we are on the dock...

Finally, on Wed. we went to Key West for the day. We stopped at No Name Pub on the way down for lunch and then headed down to Crazy Town....It was fun walking around, but we were all happy we didn't stay their the entire trip....its just so many people there and they are all crazies! :) That night Jeff, my landlord (adopted dad) cooked us all dinner. He fixed grilled shrimp, steak, asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, rice, and bread! It was awesome, as usual when he cooks. Then we all watched American Idol together. It was nice that they were able to meet Jeff and see how great he is. It really is nice to feel so comfortable and have someone to look after you when your down here. Anyways, here we are in Mallory Square...

The best part of the trip was just getting to spend quality time with my best friends! I miss them so much and it was so nice to have them around again....It felt like a year had passed since the last time I saw them, but then once we got together, it was like no time had gone by at all...We just had so much fun and I can't wait until I come home in June for AMY'S WEDDING!!!! Its so crazy she is getting married so soon and then I am a month later! Wow, time flies when you live in the keys :)

Oh yeah, I forgot I put this picture in here....hahahha, it just makes me laugh looking at it. We all bought these ridiculous shirts while in Key West because they were selling them all over the place and we finally gave in and bought them! We were laughing so hard because they are so silly, but they will remind us of what a wonderful trip we had :)

Ok, Ok, you're probably wondering about a Bear update....well since Amy is allergic to cats, Bear had a vacation himself! He stayed at Sarah's house while the girls were in town. Sarah has 2 great Danes, Bali and Sadie, and 2 other cats, Milo and Lucy. I wasn't too worried about him because Bear lived at my house in NC, and well if you know our house, you know Sarah's crew is nothing. I took him over Sunday night and picked him back up Thursday afternoon. I was so happy to hear from Sarah that Bear and Milo became really good friends! I asked Sarah to text me a picture of Milo so everyone could see Bear's new BFF...

Isn't he cute?! haha....But Bear had a wonderful vacation! Here is the picture of Bear I got from Sarah one morning saying "Hi Mom!" haha...I did miss him a lot though.

The best part of the whole thing was Sarah told me that after I left on Thursday with Bear, Sadie (one of the great Danes) was walking around the house crying and looking for Bear! haha...I guess I'll have to bring him over for more play dates soon :)

Well, now I am back to working both jobs and trying to keep up to date with these online classes. It will be nice to save some money again, seeing I spend so much more money when people are visiting! I hope you all enjoyed the pictures and hearing about my visitors! Hope you all have a wonderful night :)