Family Fun in Florida

A couple of weeks ago, we had company! Mama, Daddy, Monica, Rachel, Jake, Little Brandon, and Lia came to visit! Here are some of the highlights of their stay:

On day one, we went to the new park close to our house:

We even had a picnic!

The next day, we went to the park by the island:

Next, we decided to go to the Florida Oceanographic Observatory:

This is in the Butterfly Exhibit:

Here, we got to learn about gamefish and watch them get fed:

There was even a really great nature walk:

There were lots of fun exhibits that were hands on. Here Brandon is making tracks that look like real animals' tracks in this sandbox:

Mama and Rachel are playing a game:

This is a large tank of ...STINGRAYS!:

Because the barbs have been removed and stingrays are very peaceful, we got to pet them:

We even got to feed them!:

What's a visit to Florida without a trip to the beach?!?

Jake and Brandon didn't make a sandcastle. They made a sand city!:

Rachel made a sand turtle. Isn't it adorable?:

Look at all the fun y'all missed. Looks like y'all are just going to have to come and experience it yourselves. Give us a call. The Murdock Bed & Breakfast is open!

Our Kitties

For those of you who don't know, we have two new kitties in our family. Dexter is now 8 months old and Jack is 4 months old. They are inseparable. Jack looks at Dexter as the big brother and wants to do everything Dexter is doing. If Dexter plays with a toy, Jack plays with a toy. If Dexter decides to eat, Jack has to share the same bowl. They are so adorable. As you can see, they prefer my pillow.

Videos of Jarrells

I found these videos that I took with my digital camera (sorry there's no sound) when the Jarrells came to visit last Thanksgiving. I thought I'd share them. Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Brandon & Cari!

We have so much to be grateful for this year:

• Brandon's Health Improving
• Brandon's Job
• Our "Kids": Kona, Dexter & Jack
• All of Our New Nieces & Nephews (7 this year!)
• Our Incredible Parents
• Our Wonderful Siblings
• All of the Love & Support from Our Families
• The Amazing Friends We've Made Along the Way
• Our Beautiful Home
• Our Full Pantry
• Our Incredibly Supportive Ward
• The Fact that Brandon & I are Together (last year I wasn't sure we would be)

We are sure that this Holiday Season will be better than last year. We wish we could spend it with all of you, but we are grateful for all of the visitors we have had this year and for Mama, Daddy, Rachel, Monica, Jake, little Brandon & Lia coming to visit us in a few weeks. Let's all make the most of the Season and keep it all in perspective. There are so many out there that don't have as much as we do. I will be making some lap blankets for the nursing home. I hope each of you will take the time to help brighten someone's Holiday Season. It will, in turn, brighten yours. We love y'all and wish you the best!

Happy Birfday Monica!

We would like to take a moment to honor the eldest Sellers child, Monica, on her birthday. Not only is she an incredible example of strength, compassion, responsibility, love and charity, but she is an incredible mother, sister and friend. We are so blessed to have her in our lives and in our family. Happy 29th birthday, Monica (again)!

Getting Ready for Halloween

We are really excited about every holiday this year. Our goal is to make each one better than last year. For Halloween, we are going all out, minus the costumes (for us, anyway). I took a trip to Target and got Dexter and Jack (our newest addition) matching costumes. They are going to be elephants! Here is Dexter modeling his:Miserable, huh? But, too cute! (I know, I'm the crazy cat lady, but who can look at that and not crack a smile?!?!) Anyway, we've also done jack-o-lanterns in years past and thought we'd give it another try this year. This is what Brandon did in 2002: Here's mine from 2002: This is Brandon's from 2004: Here's mine from 2004: I think this year tops them all. We went with a theme: Pirates of the Caribbean. Here's Brandon's: And, here's mine: I know that most of y'all don't believe that I made this, so I have proof: Cool, huh? Here they are together: Happy Halloween!

Visitors

About a month ago, we had a wonderful surprise. David and Kelli came to visit! We had so much fun, they're lucky we let them leave! We did all sorts of fun stuff: midnight bowling and putt-putt and, of course, the beach. We wish they could have stayed longer, but all good things must come to an end. That does leave a vacancy at the Murdock Bed & Breakfast, though. Any takers? Hope to see y'all soon!

Sunshine After the Rain

Our family suffered a terrible tragedy last week. Our cat, Kiko, found and ate some Tylenol, which is poisonous to cats, and had to be put to sleep. We knew we needed to move on right away, so we went to http://www.petfinder.com/ and found this absolutely adorable kitten named Beau.

We adopted him on Saturday from Purrfect Friends Cat Rescue. They rescue the kittens from the Humane Society, where, due to overcrowding, several cats are put to sleep every day. It's so sad that people won't take care of their pets or get them fixed. Anyway, they were great and held him for us, since we were the first to contact them about him. They rescued him on Wednesday and put him on the website on Thursday. That's the day I found him online. They got so many requests to adopt him that they finally had to take him off the website. We drove up to Melbourne to meet them at Petco and take a look at him. It was love at first sight! He is the most precious, loving kitten I've every seen! He insists on being cuddled and loves to have his tummy rubbed. He is a Snowshoe Siamese and we HIGHLY recommend this breed. They are very easy to handle, love to be held, and will even walk on a leash and let you dress them up! If anyone is thinking of getting a cat, don't even think about any other breeds. Not only are these beautiful and intelligent, but they are social and well behaved. We are so blessed. The Lord knows our needs individually. Since we don't have "real"children, He has sent us these adorable, hairy kids to love and to be our companions. Plus, they are good practice. If you can clean up after a dog that has diarrhea or a cat that has been vomitting, a dirty diaper is nothing!