The happiest times are when we are camping. No phones, no tv's, just us and the critters. While looking at old photos the other day, my best memories are of our family camping trips. The kids learning to fish and snorkle, seeing the looks in their eyes when we would spot wild deer running through the campground and wild turkeys, otters swimming in the springs. One of the best of all was one year while camping we befriended an egret who had been named Edgar. Another lady at the campground fishing next to us said he started coming around and standing close by while she was fishing. Well, he came while we were there, stood and waited on the bank of the canal and waited for his breakfast. We gave all the small fish to Edgar, let's just say that was one well fed bird.

Then there were the trips to the Florida Keys, they were great. Once again, seeing the kids snorkeling around the reefs, my son is a natural, that is definitely his domain.
Our first trip was when he was I think 7, we went on one of those afternoon snorkeling excursions, when we reached our destination and everyone else had their life jackets on, my son, yes Mr. Daredevil himself, jumped right in, no life jacket or vest of any kind. The captain almost had a cardiac. I told him not to worry, my son is part fish! I thought we'd never get him back in the boat. I remember when my daughter Sara first spotted a very large barracuda, that was uh? Exciting? A little unsettling, but he didn't hang around. Yes, we are all nature nuts. Hey, does anyone remember Acorn The Nature Nut Show a few years back, that was one of Matt's favorites.
Yes, those are the happiest times I can remember.