Florida

Our Florida vacation was actually a month ago now, but finally I am getting the blog updated to show some photos from our fun trip.

Caroline insisted on traveling wearing her hood and rolling her Dora "packpack." She was quite a sight zipping through the airport crowds! Here she is putting her bag on a non-moving baggage carousel and taking it off like the rest of the luggage.

Both the girls were great listeners and helpers while Jamie was off getting the rental car and we were in charge of the bags. Our first year without a stroller! As we stepped out of the airport, we wondered where the warm weather was . . . and we continued to wonder about that for the rest of the week!


On our first day, we went to Manatee Park.

The chilly weather meant there were a lot of manatees at the park, where the water is warmed by the nearby power plant. We saw tons of manatees.

The girls liked seeing the baby one (pictured here) and Caroline was obsessed with their many scars that come from boats and scratching into things.

Here I am working on my tan! It was a bitty chilly, but I tried to make the best of it and enjoy the sun.

We celebrated Valentine's Day in Florida and the girls were delighted to find candy at the breakfast table.

Here they are with their candy necklaces.

On Sunday we went to the Shell Factory/mini-zoo, which is always entertaining for its eclectic mix of exhibits and activities. We started off by trying out the racecars on display and then went to the "zoo."

This was Poppy's favorite picture, since he likes to call Caroline a mule. We felt that her refusal to look at the camera added to it!

Here the girls got to pet a blue-tongued skink.

Then we got to be up close with the peacock who showed us its beautiful feathers.

Here we are in the dinosaur portion of the zoo . . .

And here is Poppy and Katie's fourth annual picture on the peacock bench.

We always enjoy seeing the alligators here and re-tell the story of the year Katie's beloved hat blew into the pit with them.

The girls shared a room and did a pretty good job sleeping together, although their morning entertainments usually resulted in a big mess. Here they are modeling some outfits they created!

Speaking of their room, we were consistently entertained by Caroline referring to it as "upstairs" even though the whole house is on one level. After she was put to bed and Katie was still awake with us, she would call out "When's Katie coming up?"

On Monday we ventured to Sanibel Island and timed it well because it was one of the warmest days of the week. The kids happily played in the sand, while the rest of us stayed pretty bundled up. Katie enjoyed looking for shells and was excited about finding two big starfish pieces.

Jamie ventured into the water for a brief dip, but that was about it . . . it was only in the high 60s.

After the beach we went to a favorite burger place. The kids were happy with their slushy drinks and Katie decided she wanted to try to get her picture on the wall by eating the 1/2 pound kids burger (adults have to eat a 1-pounder to make the wall).

She actually had the regular kids burger, but she made a good attempt at eating the whole thing. Like the professional eaters do, whe left the bun for last, but was very pleased with herself that she ate so much (although I was worried that she looked a bit green!)

Despite the fact that she didn't eat the big burger, we told her we would take her picture with the big prop and while we were doing it, a man at a nearby table asked with awe "She ate the one pounder?" (this question was even funnier in his distinct Boston accent).

Tuesday was a golf day for the boys, so we ventured to a new place- a kids museum called the Imaginarium. Katie was picked to hold a snake (love the look on her face here!) and Caroline was happy to pet it.

They did lots of fun things- reported the weather, played with this flying ball (which made Caroline squeal with delight when the air shot up) and did a little hockey.

Caroline's favorite was the mini grocery store and while she shopped her heart out, Katie and I obsessively sorted all of the produce back out into its appropriate bins.

Caroline enjoyed the touch tank and did much better at holding the starfish without crushing them. We also got to pat the stingrays, which made me scream.

The girls were having so much fun, we decided to stay for lunch and we kept busy there for about 6 hours!

On Wednesday, we went to our favorite "little beach" in Cape Coral. When the sun was out, it felt warmish, but when it was behind the clouds, we needed to bundle up!

The girls had a ball making sand cakes.

After that we enjoyed lunch on the pier and went for a walk.

After naps, we went in the hot tub for as long as we could stand it. Our cheeks and hair were very cold when we got out!

The next day we went to another small beach that was not far from the house. We watched some boats go through the locks, which Poppy especially enjoyed and then briefly played at the small beach. You can see how warm it was as Grandma has on a sweatshirt, vest and hat!

That afternoon we went kayaking on the river, which was fun. Caroline did a better job sitting still than she did last year and Jamie did a great job paddling us the whole way!

Katie was very anxious to have her turn paddling, but when she took over they started going sideways across the river, so it didn't last long!

On Friday, we went to Captiva Island. We've never been there before, but had heard nice things about the beach . . . and about a restaurant that has great (and by great, I mean big) desserts, so we planned for a fun last day.

There were TONS of shells there. Katie really enjoyed sifting through the piles with Grandma. e doug at least two feet down and it was still all shells.

When we needed a break from the beach, the girls changed and we went to lunch. Grandma and Poppy instructed us that the proper way to go to the Bubble Room is to have a nice lunch and then take your huge piece of cake home and eat it for dinner. We were all about that plan! Although, we made an adjustment and shared one piece of cake there . . . and took 5 home.

Then we went back to the beach. Katie was more than happy to pose on the rocks, and we tried vigorously to get a good picture of the two girls together!

Then we played in the sand some more and enjoyed the last of our beach time.

That night after a light dinner, the girls shared their giant piece of cake.

We didn't leave until mid-afternoon, so we decided to go back to Manatee Park, so that Katie could do their Eye Spy treasure hunt. Even Poppy and I were stumped by some of the questions, but we did well enough for Katie to earn her free magnifying glass which she was delighted about.

That afternoon we finally went in the pool. It was just barely warm enough, but we had decided that we would brave it, since it was our last chance. The girls had fun and it was good to get some energy out before traveling for the rest of the day.

Before we left, Katie had to pose with her starfish, since we decided that it would be safer for Grandma and Poppy to bring them home.

We got home around 9 and Caroline quickly fell asleep in the car . . . at which point we had to bribe Katie with gum and Sprite to keep her quiet.

It was a fun trip. While the weather wasn't great for Florida, it was much better than Ohio, so we were happy for that. Thanks for having us, Grandma and Poppy!

Catching up . . . on January

Can you tell that work has been very busy? It seems that I am now months behind on the blog. Here's my attampt to catch up on a few highlights. . .

January was cold and one thing that occupied our time was Girl Scout Cookies. I am the "cookie mom" for Katie's Daisy Scout troop and she was eager to get out (or get on the phone to sell cookies). She boldly announced to her troop that she was going to sell the 2000 boxes necessary to earn a "free" iPod Touch. Thank goodness we didn't get there! The troop sold about 900 boxes total and that was plenty for us to deal with!


The red note here marks another "first" in Katie's life- first forgery. Hmm . . . there doesn't seem to be a slot in the baby book for this one. A red card represents a "challenging" day at school and must be returned the next day signed by the parent. This photo shows Katie's attempt at "signing" my name. Not surprisingly, her teacher detected that this was fraudulent. I must say Jamie was quite proud of her "cleverness."

As January dragged on, we were looking more and more forward to our trip to Florida. Here the girls are trying on some new beachy gear.

Caroline got to attend her first Indian Princesses event and joined Jamie and Katie for a roller skating party. No one was happier than me, who had a quiet afternoon at home! Both girls loved it and I think it used up a lot of energy.

The girls do a pretty nice job of getting up and entertaining each other on weekend mornings. Here they gathered all available pillows and made a big nest for themselves.

Our Super Bowl party was a big hit. We decided to play a game and have prizes with it, so shortly before the kickoff, we ran to Target and split up to find prizes for each other. Working in pairs we managed to find some fun little treats, many of which were perfect for the trip to Florida. If the score didn't work out to give everyone a prize Jamie was very good and making the girls think it had.

Here's Lily enjoying her view of the snow.

Just before we left for Florida, Caroline celebrated her 1/2 birthday (with cupcakes) and was so pleased to tell us how big she is now. She said to me "Mommy, where did your little girl go?"