FLORIDA

First of all, I have to thank Peggy for the week of vacation in Florida. Our trip would not have been possible without her! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!! I also have to thank my mom and dad for the use of their car (which gets much better gas mileage than ours), for the use of their cell phone (Yes, we don't have a cell phone) and for taking such good care of our dogs at the "resort" for the week! THANK YOU!!!!

We drove 20 hours to enjoy a week of vacation staying in a lovely condo right on the beach in Treasure Island, Florida. We drove through LA, MS, AL and FL, states I have never been to and can now add to my map. The trip to and from was pretty uneventful with a 2 & 4 year old, and for that we are grateful. The kids did great in the car and even napped and slept all night in their seats. Noah enjoyed driving over the L-O-N-G bridges spanning the ocean and driving through a tunnel in Alabama. We drove through pretty hard rain on the way home and were optimistic that Texas received some of that rain, but we were told not a drop was shed at home. The only negative to the drive, was listening to game 4 of the Mavericks vs. Miami game in spanish!?!? What's up with that????

Brian's mom, Sharon a.k.a., Tutu also joined us for the week. We are thankful to her as well for all she did for us this week. We were so happy that she could join us and get a much needed vacation as well.

The week was filled with visiting different beaches. We spent a day at Fort Desoto Beach, which was ranked #1 in America last year. It was a beautiful beach with white sand and shallow water as far as you can see. The kids loved it because the waves were non-existant.

We also visited Clearwater Beach, # 4 in America and for good reason. Again, the sand is white and soft, the waves are at a minimum and the kids loved playing in the water. We ate at Frenchy's Rockaway Grill on the beach and had awesome shrimp and a Grouper sandwich!!! In Clearwater, we also took a ride on Captain Memo's pirate ship. We were treated to a good old fashioned water fight between the adults and the kids. The kids went on a treasure hunt for coins and everyone got a surprise out of the treasure chest. Next, we heard a pirate story, got our faces painted like pirates and shot the cannon at a hostile ship. I haven't had this much fun since I was 5!!!

We also visited Passe de Grille beach. Again beautiful!!! Noah and Brian saw a stingray swimming by their feet and we all saw a giant sea snake at least 30 feet in length!!! It's body was about the size of Brian's thigh (HUGE!!!). It was only about 50 yards from us swimming in the ocean along the shore. Occasionally it would lift it's head and slither its body. Pretty cool!

Back at the beach in Treasure Island we built sand castles, watched the sun set , and enjoyed the ocean. Brian and I saw a crab out for a stroll in the ocean until it was attempted to be caught and then he stuck his pinchers in the air and became quite animated and headed back out to deeper water. Too cute to watch! Camden was a just a little fearful of the waves. I think because of the noise they create. He was fine once he knew Mommy or Daddy was holding his hand. Noah enjoyed riding his "surf" a.k.a. boogie board in the waves and I attempted the X-games sport of skim boarding. It was more like attempting to cause great bodily harm in shallow water. I came out of it with a bruised hip, cut hand and elbow and wounded pride. Noah will not be trying that for several years to come! The kids also enjoyed chasing and watching the Egrets, Pigeons, Gulls and Pelicans. We all had great fun collecting the sea shells on the beach and came home with quite a collection.

On Father's Day, we visited the Tampa Aquarium. It was a beautiful aquarium that I would recommend to anyone visting the Tampa area. Part of the aquarium had a mini-water park for the kids. There was a pirate ship where they could shoot water guns, a cargo net to climb up, a water slide, etc. We all had a good time enjoying the marine life and getting wet.

We took in the movie "Cars" one day and loved it. If you haven't seen it, again I would also recommend it. Brian spent half a day deep sea fishing and caught a handful of fish. Tutu and I had a massage and enjoyed ourselves a little too much at dinner. Good food and bad jokes, it doesn't get better than that sometimes. Brian and I also enjoyed an evening out to ourselves, while Tutu spent valuable time with the boys. The adults even watched some good old fashioned movies at night to unwind.

I just want to mention some tidbits that I want to keep for the kids later on.

*Noah was a master at running the elevator. He always knew what buttons to push and what button not to push (The alarm button). Way to go Noah, I think we have found him a summer job for next year.

*Brian and Tutu were great at reading a map. We never went the same way twice, always an adventure.

*Whoever slept with mommy was in for a long night. Brian has always said that I take up most of the bed, and that was proven on this trip. Whoever slept with Sharon ended up on the floor with a thud at least once sometimes twice a night. Noah and Camden were glad to come home to their own beds.

*After hearing a loud thud one night Brian came in to find Sharon holding Camden, rocking him and yelling "get the thermometer, get the pacifier, hurrying up and put it in his mouth." Brian calmly told a sleeping Sharon that Camden hasn't used a pacifier in a LONG time.

*Brian, Sharon and Tutu played shuffleboard most nights and we had fun teaching Noah how to play. Camden was a big helper moving the disc where he thought they should go on the board. That always makes the game much more fun.

We did not think a vacation would be possible this year. We are grateful to all those that made it possible. Thank you again.