John, Laura, and family visit Anna Maria Island

We were excited to see John, Laura, Logan, Davis, and Jack a few weeks ago on Anna Maria Island. They stayed at Star Fish Cottages which are just a short stroll to the white sandy beaches of Anna Maria Island. We spent about a half an hour on the beach to watch the kids play some soccer on the beach and take in a fantastic Anna Maria Sunset.



After the spectacular sunset we retired to the Starfish pool which was perfect for kids after a long day of driving. Before I knew it I became the official judge of a competition between Logan, Davis, and Grayson. Jack sat off to the side as a spectator. The first contest, Biggest splash. Award for biggest splash went to Davis. Next up, smallest splash. The award went to Grayson. Next up, craziest jump, Logan took the award. Biggest belly flop went to Davis. Finally we moved on to fastest swimmer and Laura took over as the official judge.



At 10 PM we decided to move into the Starfish vacation rental cottage where we let the kids play in the bedroom while we all caught up with family news. It was a wonderful evening with great stories, laughter, and lots of catching up.



In the morning we met up at Cafe on the Beach and had some great all you can eat pancakes. With (7) hungry men/boys it is a great value with million dollar views of the beach. We did some more catching up while Logan to the boys to the fantastic beach playground at the Manatee Beach. Unfortunately all things must come to an end and John and family had to leave and head South to Naples, Florida to visit family. It was a great visit and we are so thankful for the chance to catch up and swap stories in paradise.

Grayson and the Winter of 2004

The winter of 2004 was spent in Rhode Island. Tough to even remember winter. I just found some hidden away photo albums that were deep in our hard drive. Below you will find some great videos of Grayson. The first below is Grayson's first hair cut. He did pretty well and you can see he was a little confused. Primarily what is this gal doing to the back of my head?

The next video was shot at the Rhode Island museum. Grayson is slowly and methodically walking down the ramp. The next video shows the progression Grayson made in about one year. From 2004 to 2005. What a difference! Same ramp, just one year later. Unbelievable how fast time goes by.

The last picture I had to insert. Grayson was 11 months old and Jennifer took this shot at the gorgeous Bristol, RI state park. It was a wonderful very large park that sat right on the ocean. Scroll down and take a look. Having a bad day? I dare you to fight back a smile after looking at the photo below. Be careful, you could injure yourself if you fight the smile!

I was "tested".....thank goodness it's over

It all started on May 17th, and ended on June 2nd, 2009. It was a journey with a clear destination. The destination is what got me through day after day after day. While the destination was under my control the only way to the destination was through a door that required entering the correct combination of A's, B's, C's, and D's.

Yup, I left paradise to go study for my Florida real estate broker exam. I traveled to Naples, Florida and met some great real estate professionals in class. Top notch. I grabbed an inexpensive vacation rental in Regatta that was located very close to Vanderbilt beach. The muli-condo complex had a fabulous large pool, at least at 10' waterfall, a hot tub, and a small wading pool above the waterfall.

On May 17th, I began the 2 hour trek to Naples, without the rest of my family. Five days of studying day and night, then a much needed break, Memorial Day weekend. Grayson and Jennifer came down to visit. We enjoyed relaxing out by the pool most of the weekend. It was a fantastic break from studying although I did break from the fun to continue my studies. The Chatt family walked the beach ONCE and never went back. Lets just say Naples beaches and Anna Maria Beaches are very dissimilar.

The weekend had to end, Grayson and Jennifer left and the following week was very tough, tiring days. Study, Study, Study. As I continued to take practice exams the results were not very encouraging. Taking two weeks from family, friends, and business is a huge sacrifice and to come up short just was a "non-negotiable." So I continued to study. Study eating dinner, study during lunch, playing study CD's in the car, you name it.

Then came the broker cram course over three days which was immediately after the class. I was not encouraged to see that half the class had already failed the Broker test once and the first time pass rate is around 30%. Time to study a little harder to make sure I get through the first time....

As always, you never get any sleep before a big test and I was no exception. I am not sure how exactly I got to the test center Tuesday morning but I got there. It was a bit of a blurr, in fact when I parked my car I said to myself, "man, they should not let anyone drive to one of these tests...that drive was a blurr, yikes."

Three and a half hours of A, B, C and D's, some light real estate law, light mathematics, and the computer shutting off to tell me no time was left. Walking out of the test exam I waited about 60 seconds which seemed more like ten minutes. I heard my name, "Mr. Chatt?" I looked over, and the proctor put her thumb up. A few seconds later, "Congratulations."

Sure, I could have hugged the proctor, screamed as I walked out the door, "Yea!" As most that know me, not my style...just walked out the door, reflected on all that I just learned about Real Estate, my family, myself and thought to myself, I passed....Thank goodness it's over.