Welcome Spring!

It has been a looong winter. We are enjoying every moment of this beautiful day. Take a look at what's been springing up in our yard :o)

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Hello Island Time!

The Keith's took a small spring break adventure this week. We packed up the jeep, loaded the boat and headed for the Conch Republic. We camped on Knights Key in Marathon. We fished near the seven mile bridge and snorkeled/SCUBA'd over Sombrero Reef marine sanctuary. We had a wonderful time and can't wait for our next Key's trip!

Happy Mardi Gras!

Fat Tuesday is here! To celebrate, I baked a king cake with cream cheese filling (complete with baby). Here's to indulgence!

Happy Mardi Gras!

Love, love, love!

Happy day after Valentine's Day day! Jim and I were suppossed to go camping this weekend, but because of the freezing temperatures and rain, we had to cancel our trip. Because we already had our hiking bags packed, we decided to "camp" at the Schulz Cedar Key beach house. That's right! We set up our tent indoors in front of the fireplace and camped out Saturday night. On Sunday, which was a beautiful day, we paddled our canoe over to the Cedar Key Wildlide Refuge on Atsenie Otie key. We hiked the trails and admired the beauty of the island.

After our canoe trip, we spent some time downtown. After taking a walk on the peir and meeting a cold pelican, we had lunch at Frogs. It turned out to be a nice relaxing, low-key weekend!

Is it summer yet?

Last weekend, when it DIDN'T snow in Gainesville, we made snow! That's right! The mercury was low enough, so we rigged together a nozzle that mixed compressed air and H2O, and 'voila'...SNOW!

Despite all of the cold weather we've been having, all I can think of is warm sandy beaches, in beautiful, tropical places! I am hoping we get to go on an awesome adventure soon. This weekend, we took a day trip to the city of Micanopy. It is a quaint little town about 25 minutes south of Gainesville and is known for it's arts, historic district, and antique shops. We ate lunch and strolled through the historic district, visiting book stores and antique shops. We had fun and enjoyed an afternoon away from Gainesville.

Snow...In Gainesville?

That's right! It is forecast to SNOW tomorrow. Can you believe it? While the chances are slim, it is still exciting. We might actually get something out of these record low temperatures we've been having. In other news, I start my internship at the Florida Museum of Natural History today! I will be archiving the Bioarchaeology collection. Jim is a busy bee, working to finish his experiments and get started on his thesis. The countdown until his graduation has begun! We plan to start hiking the Florida Trail on weekends, and hope to walk it in it's entirety eventually. Happy trails!

Welcome 2010!

Happy New Year everyone!

2009 in review:

• Jim and I spent New Year's 2009 in Miami on South Beach with some friends.
• I bought Helga (my jeep) on New Year's day, Jim bought his Benelli.
• We went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras!
• We went to the Keys for Jim's scuba certification dives...and LOVED every minute of it!
• We took a trip to St. Augistine, FL. It was Jim's first visit to the area.
• I participated in my first archaeological dig.
• We got swine flu...but survived.
• We saw the Voodoo Glow Skulls in Orlando...they were amazing!
• We added Maude to the Keith Clan.
• We went camping in the ONF and saw a bear.
• WE CELEBRATED OUR FIRST WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!!
• I threw a successful surprise party for Jim's birthday. He had no idea!
• We got our last Gator season football tickets as students...it was an awesome season!
• I visited Mexico beach for the first time.
• I GRADUATED from the UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA!!! Go Gators!
• We had a white Christmas in North Carolina with the Keith & Gates families.
• We spent New Year's eve alone, together...It was perfect!

2010 is going to bring some BIG changes to the Keith family. With Jim graduating in May, we are currently looking for areas that we like and are interested in living. The job hunt is in full swing. We are hoping to move south, but only time will tell where we end up. We can't wait to see what 2010 has in store...bring on the adventures!