Siesta Key

 Last week we were on vacation on Siesta Key. On our last night there, we did an impromptu photo session.  And it just so happened that one of my friends, was out on the beach that night.  She has a natural gift of photography....and agreed to snap some pictures for us.

 I love him.

 And I love these little ones too.

Lookie there at her skills.  She took all the people walking in the background...out.  Like poof.  Their gone!  I love her skills.  

Thanks Cindy!  You rock!!!   

vacation days 6, 7, and 8

Day 6.....Was cold!~ So we headed off to the Aquarium. What a bonus...we googled coupons for the Mote Aquarium and found $3 off per person. Which was the deciding factor for going. COOL!

SO GROSS..But the boys were fascinated! I thought things that looked like this were only in the movies.








My favorite part of the aquarium was watching the jelly fish. They are so transparent, beautiful, and so deadly. It was so cool to learn more about them. Some of my learning came from my daughter, who has read so much about marine life and esp. jelly fish. Am I smarter than my 3rd grader? Probably not. I loved watching my kids learn hands on!

If you look close you can see Nemo.

Touching tank.

Pretty cool sharks.

Sting rays, that have been snipped so they can not sting.

Lovin' it!

Day 7-

still a little chilly.....so this morning we colored Easter eggs.

After the Easter eggs....we headed off with a picnic lunch to the
The John Ringling Bridge. Such a beautiful morning for a walk.

Half way on the bridge, watching the boats.

Made it across!

I love how my girls love each other. Not always do that skip around and hold hands..they have moments. But this morning they were very endearing.

After the walk across the bridge, my monkeys asked to climb this great climbing tree. Then we sat on the park bench for a picnic.

Just before this picture was taken we were watching the ocean and saw just beyond the shore...a dolphin. He was swimming so close to the shore. When we looked closer it looked like his fin was clipped...maybe by a boat? We're not sure. And as fast as I was with my camera I could not get a good picture of him. Bummer! But it sure was cool to see him!


Later that day....My cousin Jenn & Randy offered to babysit so we could go on a date. How very very generous! We were due for a break after a 20 hour ride in the van with 4 kids...don't you think??? We went out to St. Armands Circle for dinner at an outdoor cafe and then later went to the beach for a walk.

No, we didn't take a photographer with us on our date. If you are wondering we had a tripod.

Some of my favorite shots from that night.

I'd like to get some of these enlarged and hang them in our room. I'll add that to my to do list for next week.

Day 8

Yes!!! Warm enough to go to the beach!

I don't know what William is saying to Suzy but I love the looks on both of their faces. I love Suzy yanking up her shorts...that are just a little too big. What do you think the big brother is telling her??

Working hard...because my husband has a hard time sitting still. Fine by me. :)

This little girl was due for a nap. I wasn't sure how nap time would work for her. I just know that when she misses it, we are all miserable. While on vacation I wanted to be flexible...but really who wants a fussy 2 year old to contend with? So after lunch, I told her it was time to lay down. She did! It was amazing.

We put her under the umbrella and after about 15 minutes off she went to sleepy land. I was beyond excited. It just made the magazine I was reading that more enjoyable.

Later that night we had a picnic at the park with Donovan's extended family that lives there. I adopt them as my own. I love them so much.

I was in awe of all of the beautiful green. All the beautiful landscape there is in Sarasota. One of our children are missing from the above picture. He is busy finding something.

And then he came running to me to show me.

This sweetie pie...is so endearing. Thank you William for thinking of your mama.

Jenn, Me, Danielle, and Wynette

My fun cousins. You girls are so sweet. Thank you for hosting us with yummy food and loving me.

All our kids....as you can see the girls are outnumbered.

More to come. Hope your not getting tired of vacation pictures. Because there's 4 more days to talk about.

Quote of the day:

William: How did he get alive when He died on the cross?

Donovan: It was a miracle-God is all powerful.

William: Jesus looked weird with all that blood everywhere after he got off of the cross.

new looks for the new year

Here is the new look for Isabella....

We've been wanting to do something different with Isabella's hair for a while, but just couldn't decide what. Her daddy & her have been wanting to cut it for some time now...but mama couldn't quite get on board.

And then I decided today was the day....for her new look....I loved it as soon as I did it. She looks a little more grown up, I think.

I put it in a ponytail and then cut it so it could be donated to Locks of Love, an organization that makes hairpieces for kids with long term medical hair loss. So after I cut the ponytail I had to straighten out the back...Isabella was getting a little nervous as it got a little shorter. Concerned that it would not be able to be in a ponytail.

But all is well and we all love her new look.

And now on with the rest of the week.....

taking a break from swimming....

and the whole group....left to right back cousin-Jon, me, Donovan, Uncle Paul holding Suzy, Aunt Fran. In front...William, Cousin-Steve holding Jack, Jane-(his wife), Sierra, and Isabella.

out for dinner....this girl was gold.

On Wednesday we went to Old Town in St. Augustine. This is the nation's oldest city and is similar to Mackinaw Island with cobblestone streets, unique shops, and cool coffee shops. In the picture above we stopped at Cafe' St. George Coffeehouse and Bakery. Mmmmmm warm and wonderful all in one drink. I got a Vanilla Flavored Chai tea, Donovan got a Mounds Candy bar flavored hot chocolate, and the kids got straight hot chocolate with cool whip. Talk about delish. And I should've used a capital "D". And since it was a high of 42 for the day...we needed all the help we could get with staying warm.

Sweet kids.



And then Thursday came and with that day brought more chilly weather, and sickness. Jack started throwing up...and had a sore throat....so he caught the strep that Suzy had been diagnosed with before we left. Thankfully the Dr. called in an antibiotic for Jack and he was better within 1 1/2 days. I'm beginning to think we should all start wearing masks and sterile gloves.

By evening we were ready for a change of scenery....my aunt and uncle kept the kids for us and we headed back to downtown, old town and visited a quaint little cafe named....

La Pentola. There was courtyard dining outside the little restaurant but since it was so cold we opted for the indoor seating arrangement. It was a quaint little place with local owners, Mediterranean style continental cuisine, and by the way fab food. It was perfect for an anniversary celebration!

And here we are I am watching Donovan eat. After all it was our anniversary...so I let him have the salad. Ha ha..choke. choke. Our main dish was an awesome Egg Fettuccini with Alfredo and Grilled Chicken. Again. Delish! For our anniversary Donovan gave me a nights' stay at a B & B in Saugatuck....to be used this Friday. Complete with babysitting arrangements already made! How cool is that? I know...we just got back from vacation-but may I remind you all 6 of us slept in one bedroom our whole vacation? So now I do need a vacation from our vacation.

And the next day...cool again.....but still having fun.

for the birds....

come and get it....

Playing by the pool since it was too cold for swimming.

And this was taken in Tennessee. We opted this time for a stay over rather than pulling an all nighter (like on the way down to FL.) Because really we are getting too old to stay up all night. Don't the kids look nice and well rested and ready to sit in the car for 8 more hours? I know I was excited about it.

Good times, good memories. Now back to laundry, cleaning, and homework.