October BFF Visit

Before Jenny had even made it to Indiana, we made her commit to a trip back to see us. How did we do that? We made her buy a ticket to see Tim & Faith in Tampa. It was a perfect (fast) weekend. It was a very hard October and having her smile back with us was therapeutic.  

They are SO perfect. 

See the couple sitting behind us? They yelled at us every time we would stand up to shake our tail feathers (everybody else in the theater was standing). It was like they thought we were at a symphony or something! 

IRMA

When we think of fall 2017 we will now think of one word: IRMA. 

It's crazy to look back at how it all played out. At the time it was such an emotional, scary (weird) thing. Now when I look back on it, I see us counting our blessings, praying, and serving friends and strangers. 

A week before the madness broke out, we were at dinner with a bunch of friends. We were talking about the path of the hurricane (which at the time was very far from even thinking about hitting us) and what we would do if it ever came over our way. That was all hypothetically speaking of course. Just days after that dinner, we were hauling hurricane shudders up our stairs and preparing to leave. 

Props to SJ who did it all by himself with no complaints.
This is definitely a 2-3 man job and took him hours to cover our sliding door.

Leaving the state was scary. Part of me thinks Shaun kind of liked it. He was living the scenes from the 'end of the world zombie' movies that he loves (haha)

So many feelings:

First, a weird humbling feeling going through all the belongings you have fortunately been blessed with. Trying to decide what means the most to you or how much of it can fit in your car. Planning and positioning the belongings that you are leaving in the house and hope the way you positioned them can take a potential hurricane. 

Next, a devastating feeling seeing countless car accidents containing totaled cars that were full of people's sentimental treasures. Twice we witnessed someone rear ending someone else and just keep driving on, not caring to stop. It was mayhem.

Then, feelings of fear seeing sold out signs at gas stations or hearing people plead with others to take only what they need. So many cars were stranded on the side of the road with no gas. 

 BUT most importantly, the feeling of happiness and gratitude receiving texts and calls from friends and family offering their homes to us all across the country. As we approached our hotel that first night at midnight, (8 hour drive turned 14) we were singing one of our favorite hymn lyrics:

"By day and by night, His presence is near." 

We felt watched over and had made it safely to our hotel in Georgia. 

Before our time in Florida, we lived in Alpharetta Georgia. It is a city just 20 minutes north of Atlanta. I have a few cousins and an aunt that lives in Georgia as well. Shaun and I were blessed with the kindness of some former ward members. They took us in so that we could let some of our friends go stay with my cousins. I don't think they realize just how grateful we were to be under a roof with people that we love.

How did I not get a picture with the Miskin family?!
Their cute son Sam will have to do..

We tried to keep ourselves away from the news as much as possible by doing some of our favorite Georgia things that we used to do. We joined up with some fellow evacuees and showed them our old stomping grounds. Stone Mountain, Roswell Mill, Pepperonis & naps under our favorite tree.

After a few sleepless nights of watching the news, IRMA finally hit. We gave a prayer of thanks that it wasn't as bad as people were saying and then we were on our way back home to serve. Unfortunately everybody else had the same game plan and the traffic was HORRENDOUS. It was probably worse going home than it was driving to GA. We decided to stop in Orlando and let the traffic die down a little bit.

Gast stations were still closed so we were able to use our gallons that we had stored on top of our car. 

Since we were in Orlando waiting in Limbo, we decided to hop over to Disney World. 

We finally made it home to assess the damage. Our apartment building didn't have power so our kind friends took us in for a few days. 

A lot of delays to our new build. 

 The next few weeks, church was cancelled so we could all go out and help our community. It was an amazing opportunity to bond with some fellow ward family members and meet some new amazing friends in need.

A septic tank had overflowed in the debris we were cleaning up.
We tried to make some tongs...

My most favorite friend I met was a guy named Jim. He has been an artist his whole life and runs an art studio above his garage. He constantly was offering us chairs, water, and even his air conditioned home to take breaks in. When he was showing me his art studio for a second, he asked me to tell him about the "Latter-day Saints." I was able to share my testimony of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ (which we had in common). As we were leaving his garage he said "I am so glad God sent you guys to my home." That sentence kept me going the rest of the day.

September was such an insane month. However, as I opened up my camera roll of pictures, the good came pouring in. It consisted of friend reunions, a safe evacuation, disaster relief efforts and strangers becoming friends. This disaster brought so many people closer. 

2017 Catch Up

How many catch up posts do I have like this? Too many to count, that's for sure. I am going to post a few big things in separate posts, but I thought I would throw a bunch together so I can get updated faster. Hold on tight.

Happy Anni.

In March we celebrated our 5th anniversary. Shaun surprised me and we stayed the weekend in Clearwater. It was on our list of places to explore and it was perfect. Beautiful dinner over the water, walking the beach talking about all of the places we have lived in our five years and all of the people we have gotten the opportunity to meet. Bike rides to breakfast was fun too!

Disney Brother Sister Trip.

My little brother came for a visit. It was his first trip to Disney World. He loved it so much, he's coming back for more in March! We also were able to catch a Spring Training game together. So blessed to be close with my siblings. 

 New House.

In April 2017 we bought a lot and started our new construction adventure!

Pickleball.

Shaun's parents came and played in the Pickleball US Open that was located in Naples. It was so fun to watch them play and catch a glimpse at the pro games. It is crazy how much skill is involved in this game. It is the fastest growing sport in the U.S and is not just an old person sport anymore! They are coming back in a few weeks and will play a tournament with SJ. 

Fun in the Sun. 

Farewell Jenny.
Saying Goodbye to the BFF. This deserves it's own post and will probably eventually get one. We lost a good one in 2017 and there has been a huge void ever since. We took one last trip to Marco Island in her honor and it was freezing! But a fun getaway just the same.

Margo.
Baby Margo was born. My older brother welcomed his baby girl and she is the perfect addition to our family. Love these two.

Temple Trips.

One of our ward goals is to be temple name submitters. I'll be honest, we originally started the task just so we could say that we did it. Little did we know the experience that was waiting for us! I absolutely loved learning all about both our family history. We were able to bring a few family names from Shaun's side. We did a lot of temple work. Including sealing his Grandpa's parents. It was a special day and made our temple trip very special. 

Power Spray Fiasco.

Aw yes, the day we finally power sprayed our lanai. This is only mentioned because of the hilarious story that followed. There is the slightest crack at the bottom of the apartment lanais that let the water out. Come to find out, our new neighbor that just moved in below us did not have this crack. It was covered in thick dirt. So where did the water go? It went right into their lanai and even made it into their sliding door where they were installing new flooring. Whoops! Welcome to the neighborhood. Thankfully it's a funny memory now. 

Kid BFF's.

Monthly Pandemic.

Sunsets. 
(wow I miss that view)
People tease me about my love for sunsets. It is almost a spiritual experience for me each time. Evidence of the creation is a powerful thing. It also symbolizes a close of a day (good or bad) and the anticipation of a new tomorrow.

Sarasota Improv Festival.
When Shaun first joined a Florida improv group, the group attended the Sarasota Improv Festival as audience members. It is a big festival where famous groups come from all over the country to perform. Anybody can buy tickets and go to shows all weekend long. Shaun made it his goal and one priority to perform in that festival. Fast forward a year and a half...

1. Shaun left that improv group
2. He created his own
3. Got invited to perform at the festival

It was a HUGE goal that these guys worked so hard for and I am so proud of them. They debuted a game they had made up consisting of Shaun narrating scenes on his guitar. Big-name groups from NYC & Boston were in the crowd and flipped over this genius improv game that they had created. They asked permission to use it and even invited him to come debut it at their theaters. I am in awe at the hard work that SJ puts into his Improv company on top of his full-time job. He is so talented and I'm blessed to be along for the ride.

Side note: my plan was to just come up and watch Square One perform. I ended up running to the nearest mall and bought clothes so I could stay the rest of the weekend. The Florida Studio theater district is such a unique area with a bunch of different theaters. The groups were hilarious and clean. I look forward to this year's festival!

The "All Play."
During the All Play, they have one comedian come up and represent each of the groups that performed there that weekend. They then play an improv game where people get eliminated each round. It was down to SJ and this woman. Long story short, it got to a point in the game where they could not decide who to give it to and they needed the stage for the next show. So they both got the trophy. It was fun being a fly on the wall in the crowd. I just kept hearing raves about how funny the "square one guy" was and I would just sit quietly and smile.