"Wildlife" in Florida...well, limited to small creatures at this point!

Our first item is...fireflies! Or lightning bugs if you prefer. Wesley (another of the summer Fellows at St. Peter's) helped our kids catch these on a night when we had a fun barbecue get-together. Pretty exciting!














Some kind of june-bug type creature. After I took this picture it flipped backwards, awkwardly, onto the ground.














A gecko Timothy discovered on the front of the house where we're staying! Super cute. Timothy pointed out that it's exactly the kind of gecko he wants to get someday.




























A cute froggy.














A little green anole! At least, that's what I assume it is. Looks just like Isaiah's old Mr. Lizard. Except...I can't remember if Mr. Lizard had a neck thing that pops out? This one does. It's like a little flap that the lizard makes pop out (it's a reddish color) every once in a while.



















Here he is again on the side of the tree.














A snail the boys found. Unfortunately it was too scared to come out.














This is just for the total gross out factor. We've found a few of these. Not including the antennae, they are most often about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long. YUCK! Thankfully the boys are willing to squish them, pick them up with toilet paper, and dispose of them down the toilet for me.














This little lizard (which also appears to be an anole, but I'm not as sure about it) is about 2" long and super cute! We discovered it yesterday on this grassy plant and found it hanging out there again today.

The trip down

I'm finally getting around to some posts/picture updates. Here's from our trip down to Florida.
Driving through Chicago at dawn...




























The states as we came to them. I missed the one of Illinois, but probably because it was still too dark to get a good picture. Or at least, that's going to be my excuse.
Indiana was the home state of my Grandpa Jack, whom I sadly never met, but it was with warm feelings of him that I observed the countryside.














My Grandma Nancy's people (on Great Grandpa's side) came from the hills of Kentucky, so I was sentimental about it too. Besides...here were the first real hills I had seen in a long time!














The pretty blue hills of Kentucky.










































In Birmingham we spent the night...here are the kids the next morning.




























Some of the greenery alongside the road in Alabama. It really is the Beautiful, as their sign said.














And finally...














At the rest stop just after entering Florida.














In Tallahassee, passing by St. Peter's church.




























And we finally made it to where we're staying! A family was generous enough to accommodate us in their guest house, next door to their house. Plenty of room for us all, all the facilities we need and several luxuries beyond--an outdoor playhouse/swingset for the kids, a trampoline, access to our hosts' pool, wireless internet, and TV. We are so grateful!