Easter in Vero with Erik & Megan

This year we stayed home for the first time in a long time for Easter. In the past we would see the Shermans in Hollywood or go to the lake since the kids get an Easter break and usually have several days off ahead of and after Easter...nevermind we just had spring break and got back into our normal routine!!! Erik and Megan arrived Thursday afternoon and the kids were off school Thursday-Monday and Jon and I both took off work Friday and I came home early Thursday. We had a fun but busy active weekend! It took us all week to recover I think but there is just so much going on for Easter in Vero. We did not want to miss the fun! We had great weather, enjoyed beach time, pool time, hangout time, even an afternoon of golf for all of the grown ups and a grown ups dinner night out one night and even made it to mass Easter Sunday, and Easter Brunch at the Moorings which was really nice. The Easter bunny found Erik and Megan in Vero and Erik decided to make the trip extra memorable by proposing to Megan Easter evening! We are excited for them as they begin to prepare their wedding plans. Jon and I were not in on the proposal and apparently Erik had been trying to find just the right time the whole weekend...unfortunately for him he did no realize coming to our house does not warrant much alone or quiet time!!! He had tried to get Megan to get up one day at sunrise to go to the beach...she's not a morning person though so did not get up which foiled his plans so after a relaxing Easter day he decided to take her for a walk to our river access. Sb and Jack love to go on walks and when they heard they were going for a walk they ran out after them and not knowing anything was planned Jon and I did not stop them as we were trying to get Easter dinner finalized. They were gone a long time and the food was starting to get cold and we were starting to worry when they all returned and we learned that they were newly engaged! Erik is a real champ for rolling with the punches and he waited for sunset and then told everyone to sit on the bench and hw as going to do a flip...he later said he had to do it this way to get everyone's attention. He then said he just decided to take a knee and did the proposal! Sb and Jack were witnesses to the whole thing and were so proud to tell us the story, especially Jack. He was so cute and just kept saying "well congratulations" and was beaming. I'm not sure if Sb Knew what was going on but she did tell Grandma on the phone that she was with Aunt Megan when she got engaged so maybe it did sink in. I laughed once the shock wore off and asked how in the world he did the proposal with the kids there and he said he just did it and they were stunned to silence!! So, any man that can pull off a proposal with his soon to be niece and nephew in tow is a good man! We had a nice meal when they all came back home and luckily since it was a holiday I had stocked my wine chiller and had one bottle of champagne left to toast to the newly engaged couple. It will be fun to see how the wedding plans unfold in the coming months! Here are some pictures from our Easter visit! We are happy to be gaining a brother in law and a new uncle in the family:)

Lake weekend!

After a quiet weekend at home to recover from spring break and our embarkation back into reality we headed over to the lake the weekend before Easter to check on our property which we had not seen since President's day weekend in February!!! March is the month every year that we just don't get to the lake...it is hands down our busiest month of the year at work, and we usually have March visitors from the north as well coupled with a spring break trip squeezed into the March madness! This year was no different so when we had a quiet April weekend we decided to take advantage and enjoy the lake and check on our property. This weekend turned out to be the perfect weekend to do just that and it turned out that my Uncle Mike and Aunt Erin also had a quiet Florida weekend planned and they were gracious enough to make the 2 hour drive from Fort Myers to spend a day with us at the lake. We had been trying to plan a weekend to meet up all season and this came together at the last minute perfectly. Meeting at the lake works as it is half the distance from Fort Myers to Vero. Next year we hope to go see them in Fort Myers a day we are at the lake house for the weekend. We had a great day, post card lake and Florida weather, we had what will likely be our last real cold front and bonfire of the season, and Saturday brought sun, no wind, no bugs, no humidity and lots of time to catch up. Our lake neighbors who we had also not seen all season were also at the lake this same weekend and joined us all at our house for dinner Saturday night (John works in the country club industry and manages the grounds at the Bear's course in the Palm Beach area...this is a really nice course owned by Jack Nicklaus) so they are just like us and also had made it to the lake for the first time since February!!! We are ALL looking forward to a nice summer with the snowbirds gone back north!!! We are always happy to our northern visitors arrive, and we are thankful for the boost they give our economy and our small businesses, but at the same time we are happy to see them go after a busy season!!! I am counting the car carriers I see by the day loading cars along A1A outside the gated communities...these weeks it is preparation for a mass exodus out of Florida by the first week of May!!! Here are some pictures from our lake weekend and fun day we shared with Erin and Mike.