Kristi's Florida Faves

"It's going to be an adventure!"  If I had a nickel for every time those words came out of my mouth in 2006 I would be able to pay off the mortgage on the house we still own in Florida that was one of the many results of said adventure.  At the time, finishing school, getting married, Grant starting his first 'grown-up' job and us moving across the country to do so SEEMED like a good idea.  Or at least in our naive state of mind we were more than game for it.  And don't get me wrong, the five years we spent in Melbourne, Florida were quite the adventure, full of highs, lows, major life changes, babies, and some wonderful friends.  But at the end of the day, this Midwestern loving girl is happy to be back where she 'belongs'.  Though there are more than a few things I miss about The Sunshine State.

I mentioned yesterday that I'd be out tonight and not sure what time I'd make it back.  Haha, the best laid plans of mice and men, I tell ya.  If you saw my earlier post about packzi shopping you know that things didn't quite go according to Hoyle today.  After my fall yesterday it was suggested that with the amount of pain I was in and the fact that it was radiating through my whole body, I could have actually done more damage that I thought.  So I called my doc in Ohio who said I needed to make an ER visit, which I did this afternoon.  The fortunately of the situation is that there is no obvious break on the x-ray.  The unfortunately is that it doesn't mean there's not a crack, and even more unfortunately if it is, there's not really a whole heck of a lot they can do about it.  But I was able to get some pain medication which is helping IMMENSELY.  So no dinner tonight and since I have a few minutes I thought I'd share a few of my favorite things (in no specific order) about the time we spent in Florida.

1)  Cape Canaveral
I never really thought much about the space program until we moved.  In Melbourne, we were about 30 minutes south of the Cape and had the chance to witness so amazing launches.  We happened to be there just as the shuttle program was winding down and I am so glad to say that we saw it in person!  We even got to experience a few night launches, could see the shuttles after take off from our back yard and had more than one item fall off our walls during re-entry.

2)  Driving
Yes, this is slightly tongue in cheek on my part.  I did not actually know how to drive when we first moved to Florida and it was until I was pregnant with Noah that I decided that maybe I should get on it ;-)  I will always be thankful to the State of Florida for the ridiculous leniency they have for adults getting their license (there is no road test!).  The flip side of this, of course, if having to deal with the traffic when the Snowbirds come to roost.

3)  Disney, but not Disney
In the five years we lived there, Grant and I never actually made it to any of the Disney theme parks.  But there are so many other things to do!  One of our favorite places to go was Downtown Disney.  Lots of fun things to see, do, buy (my favorite bath store ever, Basin, was always worth the trip) and experience.  We also had lots of fun exploring some of the water parks, malls, and of course, International Drive in and around the Orlando area.

4)  The Weather
This winter has made me miss Florida, for sure.  But I'm not just talking about the ability to go to the beach on New Year's Day (which we did!), but we enjoyed everything from the sunshine, to the predictable afternoon storms during the summer, to our first experience with hurricanes.  (We were so blessed to never actually have a hurricane hit, but our experiences with Tropical Storm Fey came pretty close.  (Can't find these pictures right now, will try to hunt them down this week))  The sunshine was my favorite, though :)

5)  Friends
We learned quickly that if you didn't grow up in Florida or if you weren't 65+ years old, you probably didn't live in Florida.  Or that's sure what it seemed like!  When we moved we knew NO ONE, but were thrilled to find that Harris (where Grant worked) had a pretty active program for their new hires as they recognized that the majority of these people would be transplants from around the country.  We made some amazing friends while there who truly became part of our family.  The funny thing is that after we moved, so did nearly everyone else!  Of the original "Florida Family" there are only a few that remain now.  So we'll send them love in Florida this week, as well as some love to the Kunkle's and Hal's in Maryland, the Carlsen's in Georgia and the Pater's in North Carolina.  Miss you all!

Alright, enough of my reminiscing for the moment.  Florida definitely turned out to be quite the adventure.  It'll be fun this week re-living some of the things that make it special and reminding the kiddos of the place they were born.

LOTS going on tomorrow - Packzi! Maple Syrup for Kayla and Grant!  Noah's class to help for me!  Key Lime Pie Panckes (it is International Pancake day, ya know!) and an actual, authentic, homemade, key lime pie!  Should be wonderful, but first I have to make it through this dinner.  So until then...

Florida Fun Fact of the Day:  Florida is the only state that has 2 rivers both with the same name. There is a Withlacoochee in north central Florida (Madison County) and a Withlacoochee in central Florida. They have nothing in common except the name.

Our strawberries for dinner tonight came straight to us from Florida!

This is tonight's dinner - Panhandle Grits  My crew says this is definitely a "make again" recipe