Good morning sunshine, the earth says hello

We've been in the Keys nearly two years now and have survived two record hurricane seasons, so we're finally feeling at home here. Now that we've got a boat and a generator, I guess we're ready for about anything.
I have settled into my associate editor position at the Keynoter nicely, and have managed to get two raises, so that's good. I'm the deputy editor for the regular newspaper, which comes out twice weekly, and editor for the arts and entertainment section, L'Attitudes, which comes out on Saturdays. I've also headed up a new radio and TV partnership with Clear Channel and Comcast, which has had its ups and downs, but will look good on my resume one day. My unofficial titles include: death editor, hurricane editor and guidance counselor. (Basically, every schizoid freak that comes into the office or calls gets handed over to me. Keeps life interesting. My favorite so far is the guy who wears the colander on his head to keep the aliens out.) The newspaper is online at www.keynoter.com and L'Attitudes is at www.keynoter.com/lattitudes.
Keith came through dive school with flying colors, his instructor said he did better on the physical tests than any other student he's trained, and he's trained hundreds. He went on to work for A Deep Blue Dive where he became one of the few spearfish guides in the Keys. (www.adeepbluedive.com).
But after being out of work during the aforementioned hurricane seasons, he decided to go back to school and stack a marine biology degree on top of that PADI Instructor title. He's ready to finish his first semester at Florida Keys Community College (www.fkcc.edu) and is making straight A's. He still certifies divers on the side and gives the occasional tour, but is otherwise working in the Keynoter's circulation department, which means he keeps Key Westers in supply of the Miami Herald seven days a week -- it's a night gig.
Claire is also an honor student; she's made straight A's at Stanley Switlik Elementary school in Marathon (www.monroe.k12.fl.us/switlik) for two years running now. (Stanley Switlik is the guy who manufactured parachutes and made millions supplying the government with them for World War II (www.switlik.com/about.html). Her school is only a hop and a skip from the Keynoter office, so she hangs out with me in the newsroom after school.
Today she had her "runoff" at school. Each year, each class runs laps for 20 minutes, and the top two boys and top two girls compete in a runoff for a free pair of running shoes. She's made the runoff two years now, but no free shoes yet.
Claire has her own mask, fins and snorkel and can swim in the ocean with the best of 'em, but generally she thinks going out on the boat is boring. Seems when your 8-years-old, doing anything with parents is boring.
Macy is also quite the saltwater queen, and at the age of 3 can already tell the difference between a grouper, hogfish, barracuda, nurse shark, snapper, etc. She's not a big swimmer yet, but she makes an excellent "bait monkey" on the boat, keeping the rest of us in good supply of fresh shrimp for our hooks.
Her favorite things right now are: copying her big sister to drive her insane, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and its predecessor, "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," going anywhere with dad and throwing tantrums if he leaves without her, Joe Smith -- her babysitter's pet rooster, dancing to Arlo Guthrie, speaking Spanish (like "Dora the Explorer") so the rest of us have no clue what she's saying, and gum, which ends up in some unseemly places both on and off her body.
We just finished another long week, well, three of us have -- Keith works seven days a week -- and Claire and Keith are looking forward to Spring Break next week. Keith and I are planning to take the boat out, if weather allows, and then go see Jimbo Mathus and Knockdown South (www.jamesmathus.com) at the Green Parrot (www.greenparrot.com).
I can't promise to write a whole whole lot on this site very often, after all, I write for a living 50 hours a week, but I will make an honest effort to update the photos often so you all can see what we've been up to and watch the girls as they grow up oh so fast.