gator getters.

Today we had gator getters come and get our 9'2'' American Alligator from our pond. It was sad to see him go, but it was a danger to the kids during classes. The gator getters told us that they would mount the skull for us.

I got to see a real gator hunter in action. The man hunts and wrangles gators all the time in SC, because people feed them and they end up in places they shouldn't be and they end up dying. Moral of the story...don't feed the gators.

alligator alley.

Today I caught a 2 foot alligator in our herpatarium, it was a pretty sweet rush...watch out crocodile hunter, you've got some competition coming:)

new places and faces.

Hi Friends.

I made it to SC and I have been here for a week now. My trip down was a bit interesting. Ha! I made it to the mountains of NC before my car started to smoke. I pulled over and waited a few minutes for everything to cool down and it ran fine the rest of the way, but with no air conditioning...that was pretty hot! I stayed with some great friends and relative on the way down. I am thankful I had time to kind of think about putting closure on the last stage of my life, then get excited for the next stage.

I feel like a walked into a dream coming here. I really do live on an island. We are like 30 minutes away from the nearest town and we are right on the water. The place is beautiful, peaceful, and welcoming. And so full of life! The first few days were a little rocky trying to adjust to the new surroundings and people. Now that I'm starting to form relationships with people and becoming familiar with the area, I am enjoying myself much more. The people here are great. Everyone has their own little quirky personality and we are all very different, but we work so well together and have so much fun. I haven't laughed as much as I have in the past few days in a long, long time. One of my hopes for this year is that I really just enjoy myself. I feel like I've worked through so many struggles and pushed myself so hard recently that I just want a chance to have fun and rest.

We had a chance to go sea kayayking on Saturday, which was great! There are two guys here that told me they would teach me how to surf if I taught them how to play tennis...dreams do come true:) It's pretty hot, but nothing unbearable, I don't know, I kinda like it. I could live down here. I saw the most amazing sunsest ever the other night. The sky was full of color with lightning clouds off to one side. I took a prayer walk and saw some dolphins, while soaking up the sunset, thank you Lord!

The classes are kind of a lot to handle right now. There's a lot of information to learn in a short amount of time, but I'm sure it will all come together soon. One class that we teach ends with kids playing around in a mud pit! We got covered in mud as a staff, but it was so much fun.

Please know that I love and miss each of you.
Laurinda