Orlando Vacation Part 4: Kenny and Megan in Jupiter, FL

After playing at the theme parks and Jessica's baby blessing and temple sealing, all the family left except my brother Kenny and his wife Megan. They loved board games too, so we played several. Megan won "The Totally Insane Card Game" which s like Uno, but with 40 weird action cards.

We went to the free small Busch Gardens wildlife rehab center right across the street from our house. Apparently Jessica thought the black bears were funny.

We also walked through the new turtle rehab center in Juno Beach.

I drug everyone out to hunt for letterboxes. Dave's sister Melanie made us a kit for Christmas, and I wanted to try it. I looked online, and found out some waterproof boxes had been hidden by letterboxing hobbyists in nearby Riverbend Park. We walked the trails through old settler grounds and abandoned orange orchards. We dug through the overgrowth to find the 2 boxes, and stamped a windblown girl and a Batman in my notebook as proof of the deed.

Our third attempt was unsuccessful, starting with a really hard rain. But Kenny & Megan were as determined as I was, so we got soaked jogging around a pond in a park. We followed the clues to the correct spot, but it wasn't there. The letterbox planter had stuck a magnetic box inside a drainpipe on the top. It was obvious from the water pouring out, that it had been washed away a long time ago. Oh well, we thought it was fun. Dave stayed dry by volunteering to follow us with the car.

We also took Kenny & Megan snorkeling in our favorite lagoon off the Jupiter inlet.

I love this pic of Jessica "reading" our fish identification book. (We eventually gave away all of our snorkeling  gear when we moved from Florida a year later in September of 2011. I loved snorkeling and I will miss that part of Jupiter.)

Orlando Vacation Part 3: Jessica's Temple Sealing and Baby Blessing

On Saturday August 7, 2010, Dave and I took Jessica to the Orlando temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be sealed into our family by the priesthood of God for time and all eternity. Before we went inside, Dave's dad took some pictures on the beautiful grounds. It was a hot and humid Florida day, so we posed quickly.

We dressed her in the long, lacy, all-white blessing gown I wore as a newborn for my baby blessing. Her arms were almost to big for the sleeves, as she is now 6 months old and quite chubby. We all went to a sealing room, similar to the one pictured here. My family sat on one side, and Dave's family sat on the other, and our friends wherever. It was similar to our marriage sealing ceremony that way. 

We knelt at the cushioned alter, and Jessica sat on top. To my relief, she was quiet, alert, and cooperative. Our mothers and Dave were teary. I was just happy. Our little darling would be with us even after death in heaven.

We posed outside for a picture of everyone who were inside the temple with us. From left to right, Ken and Martha Hurst (Jessica's biological maternal grandfather and his wife), Leslie and Gilbert Jaimez (church friends), my maternal grandparents Ross & Yvonne (Vee-on) Bosen in the back, my sister Emily and her husband (Dave's cousin) James Robertson (kneeling) with sons Henry and Wesley. On my right, my mom and dad Jen and Ed Eying.

Behind Dave Kim and Charles Middleton, (adoptive parents too), Dave's Mom Glenene, then her parents Glen and Margene Stringham, then Dave's Dad Richard Robertson. Kneeling in front of them all is Dave's sister Melanie and her husband Sam Jarvis. Moving right is my brother Kenny and wife Megan Eyring (in stripes, my brothers Chris and Jeff, then Rebecca (adopted herself) and Justin Elkins (ward friends), and Keri and Mark Balls (ward friends and temple workers).

The next day, August 8, Dave gave Jessica her baby blessing in front of the congregation at our regular Sunday church services in Jupiter, FL. Our church won't allow us to do this until she is legally our daughter. (Alabama required a five month supervisory period to ensure we were capable to care for Jessica before they finalized our adoption.) So instead of holding and pronouncing a prayer over a newborn, Jessica was a hefty baby.

But there were lots of men standing in the circle around her to assist holding her up. If we remember correctly, it included my father, my mom's father, two of my brothers Kenny and Chris, brother-in-law James, Dave's Dad and mom's father, Jessica's grandfather, and Dave's friend Alan Laabs. Besides spitting up milk on her dress, it went perfectly. Dave is an elder in the Melchizedek priesthood, and gave her a beautiful blessing.

This picture captures my attempts to calm her crying after the services. The photo of us in front of our church was taken quickly, since it was another boiling hot day. The camera lens was smudged, but it was fitting because makes the church grounds look like the steaming jungle it felt like.

After we met at our house for a meal and socializing. We posed on the front porch as each of our guests left. Here we stood with Ken and Martha, who drove all the way down from Leeds (Birmingham area) Alabama. They are active members of our church too, so they were happy and understood the importance of these two ordinances. (You can see Ken's tall genes are partly to blame for Jessica's height. Martha is Jessica's step-grandmother.)

It's hard for my grandparents to travel, so I was so pleased they flew all the way from Bountiful, Utah to join us. Dave's grandparents flew in from Layton, Utah, and Dave's parents visited us from Houston, TX.

My family hung out in Jessica's ocean-themed room. (Our tiny condo wasn't conducive to a big gathering.) Everyone left that day, except Kenny and Megan, who stayed another two days in Jupiter. We had so much fun with our family, who was happy to celebrate Jessica legally and spiritually joining our family, and the end of 9 childless years.

Orlando Vacation Part 2: Lego Store & Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios

We visited the Lego store at Downtown Disney. My brothers and sister and Dave all grew up playing with Legos, so we wanted to see this landmark. It was colorful, imaginative and expensive; so we just browsed.

Above, my sister Emily and her husband James and their son Wesley pose in front of some amazing people and dogs made from Legos. Here my brothers Chris and Jeff and I pose with reptilian Legos.

The next day (Friday, Aug 6) we went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. Our first stop was the new Harry Potter theme park. Dave and I had read Harry Potter several times, so we loved seeing this book come to life.

The line for the new Harry Potter ride was an hour long. Only during the last 20 minutes were we inside snaking through Hogwarts castle mock scenery. We took turns riding & holding Jessica, who slept for part of the wait.

We drank "butterbeer" (cream soda with butterscotch whipping cream) in the owlery, 

and tried Chocolate Caldrons, and Ton Tongue toffee, which we bought at the park's "Honeyduke's" store.

Some of the family ate turkey legs at the "Three Broom Sticks" for lunch. The rest of us got stuck outside Harry Potter world when the big crowds came in the middle of the day. In the rest of the park we enjoyed water rides, roller coasters,

motorcycle shows, 

and stood in a lot of lines. We rode the two Dueling Dragons coaster several times since the line was so short. The Incredible Hulk roller coaster shot you in the air on the way up the first big hill. It was the hottest time of the year, and we tried to keep ourselves from melting with misting fans.

Orlando Vacation Part 1: GA Graduation and FL Reunion

Right before our families came to Florida for Jessica's baby blessings, my sister's husband James graduated from the University of Georgia. He earned a doctorate in entomology (bugs) after many years of hard work. They were moving on to a post-doc position in Tuscan.

My parents flew into West Palm Beach and we all drove up to Georgia for the last time. (Dave couldn't come to graduation because he was attending the annual Labview conference in Austin, TX.) 

Then we drove down to Orlando together to a vacation home to party the week before Jessica was to get sealed in the temple to us for time and all eternity.

We cooked for each other (this is a frozen berry chocolate pie that didn't quite look like the picture).

My Grandma and Grandpa Bosen stayed near by and came over to hang out and admire our squealing happy baby.

I challenged my brothers and father to a few games of tennis, and beat them, but only at the risk of disfiguring my face. (I've noticed when I playing tennis with men they can compensate for lack of tennis skills with speed and hitting the ball very hard.) Luckily I was able to back up my trash talk. This picture of my brother Chris' new toed running shoes is the only thing close to a picture.

We also played pool,

swam in the pool, 

and we all got dunked trying to best James in a made-up game of chicken using pool floaties.

And of course we spent lots of time admiring our "super baby"!

She sat in a real high chair for the first time and played with kitchen utensils, which for some reason was a very sweet milestone for me. (We don't have room in our Florida condo for a full-sized high chair, like I grew up with.)

And I love this picture of Chris, who likes to claim he is Jessica's favorite uncle. Crazy guy!