one more celebration

Six days after Amy and Elise's birthday, we are now celebrating Mark's!

We decided to head for the beach for the day.
What we didn't plan on was the untypical weather.
The skies were overcast when we left home. When we arrived at the boat launch, the wind was blowing and we felt...COLD. That in itself was unusual.

We, along with a surprising number of other hopefuls boarded the boat, then almost immediately found ourselves surrounded by a drenching downpour. Despite the tarp overhead we were all very quickly soaked. The crew had us wear life jackets (another unusual happening) and they waited til the rain eased a little before heading out across the swells.
It was a fun but very wet ride!

Once there, we hoped the rain would, as usual, pass quickly. Nope. The kids got in the water just to warm up!

We all had the unusual wish for some cozy jackets.

Mark finally decided to give the snorkeling a try anyway, and we all found that it was clear enough farther out to see quite a bit! Rainbow fish, blue sea stars, angel fish, clown fish, and many other varieties as well as some fascinating coral was all visible.

Mark and Michael ready to come back to shore


Amy and Mark ready to go past the boom to explore deeper water


Once out of the water, we were all ready to head home to get warm and dry.
It was a wet but memorable birthday!
Happy Birthday, Mark, and thanks to all of you who remembered him with cards and emails!

p.s. yes, we are STILL without a phone line, and life goes on. we do look forward to having it resolved so that our communication can be more regular. but there comes a time when the best thing to do is just to wait on God's timing, and not fret. He's teaching us lessons in waiting on Him!