Our WAY Big Adventure

I realize that we have been sitting still for a while, but have not yet showcased this mid-sized town that we have loved living in. Stuart is about an hour north of West Palm, which is our nearest airport, and 2 1/2 hours south of Orlando. From our rental house on the St. Lucie River, we are minutes from the ocean and downtown, and, like our hometown of Charlevoix, we are surrounded by water. In this town, once you have figured out where each of the 5 bridges take you, and how to navigate “confusion corners,” you are considered a local.

On weekends especially, we enjoy a stroll through town, complete with a stop at one of our favorite places, Kilwins!

Look familiar? The store next door (behind Jeanne) is Harbor Wear…little reminders of home.

We loved having Denny (Scott’s brother) and Jeanne join us for a week in Stuart…

…and, I seriously think being married to brothers, Jeanne and I have rubbed off on each other. We dressed like twins for church on Sunday (completely unplanned!)

…and, now this is really scary and again unplanned, we dressed alike for dinner too!

Company is company, but family isn’t always…Scott didn’t feel bad about putting his brother to work.

…but a clean beach is a fun place to spend a Sunday afternoon!

But as Monday rolled around, it was back to business for the rest of us, while Denny and Jeanne soaked up sun.

Amber’s work was done by the time Jeanne came around with the camera but the Charlevoix Rayders Middle School girls basketball games are great live entertainment here in Stuart too! Thanks for taking Amber along Mr. Prescott!

The week after Denny and Jeanne left we took in a couple of evening shows downtown at the “Lyric Theatre.” The whole family went to see an energetic performance by Stepcrew, and Hilary and I went to see the American Ballet Theatre II perform.

…and, once again, being downtown, we had to make an ice cream run!

  Every Tuesday I volunteer at Petsmart. I take care of and play with cats that need homes. Right now there are 5 cats named Liz, Freeway, Muffin, Missy, and Princess Diana.

Muffin and Missy are Sisters but muffin has a lot of white on her chest and is laid back but doesn’t like to be held very much. Missy has no white fur and is very shy but curious about just about everything! She and I have created a bond and the second day I saw her, it was like we have known each other since she was a kitten. Missy also likes to lick your fingers and bite on your fingers very softly like she is sucking on you finger.

                                                                                                      Missy

Freeway is a beautiful cat that has a light brown stripe on his chest to his belly, which makes him one of my favorite cats there for some reason. If he was my cat, I would name him cookie because I am always calling him that and he reminds me of a cookie. It is always funny because he likes the big cage (where two other cats stay) and when it is time to go and put the cats in there own cages, he clings to the big cage door for dear life!

                                                                                                              Freeway

Liz and Princess Diana have been there for a while like Muffin and Missy but longer! Princess Diana and Liz are both pretty young and are very lovable. Princess Diana loves to run around the small room and is always ready to play.

Liz

There is a difference between putting Princess Diana in and out  of the cage. When she is in her cage, she is calm and likes to be petted. But when Princess is out of her cage, there is no stopping her playfulness and energy. Liz is good with Muffin and Missy. They can all be in the same room and not mind.

Muffin, Missy and Liz having playtime

So every Tuesday is a new day at Petsmart to see if any cats are adopted or not. Even though they are not horses, I love them all so very much.   

We have been looking forward to March since the day we settled into our Stuart house. March has been a month of visits from family which makes us feel a little closer to home. My sister Gerri, her husband Mick and their three kids Alyssa, Haley and Keegan were our first visitors.

We were so thrilled to have them! With Mick’s culinary skills and gramdma’s talent, we ate extremely well! The teenage girls spent one night with grandma and then grandma spent a couple nights here so she wouldn’t miss out on any of the fun OR Mick’s Eggs Benedict. We had a great time swimming, sunning (with goose bumps much of the time) and playing games. In spite of our fun, we still managed to get our work done.

The following weekend, Scott’s parents joined us for a couple days…and our niece Kelly, her boyfriend Chris and their dog Cornelius, have spent a couple Sunday afternoons with us.

 Hilary spent a day with Kelly at the school where she teaches Health and Chris teaches PE and coaches varsity Football. It was a great experience for Hilary to be a “minority” for the day, and she and Cornelius seem to have grown quite fond of each other.

With a little more family coming in March and three more families during Spring Break we will have had a good dose of home…just in time to head north.