I got my toes in the water, bottom in the sand, not a worry in the world,

a cold beer in my hand... Life is good,today! This seems to be our motto for the week! These are lyrics from the Zac Brown Band. And it's so perfect for vacation! This is song you can play and reminisce of vacation days! It brings up the emotion and feelings of letting yourself go and being on vacation, embracing that life is good today! While our morning didn't start out so good, it did get better as the day went on! We did find a Family dr. just down the beach that took walk ins (and our insurance!)! Dane's prognosis was a double ear infection, red throat and wheezing lungs! Poor guy! Life is not so good for Dane at the moment with fevers reaching 102! However, antiobiotics, motrin, tylenol and ear drops will surely make his day better!We did leave the big two with the grandparents ( a huge plus on going on vacation with them!) with their sunscreen and swim suites on! This way they didn't have to delay their morning! We finally go back just in time for lunch and afternoon swimming! The beach is slowly becoming a family favorite. It is much easier to contain Dane in the sand than the pool. Which we are overjoyed he LOVES the pool. We did get a blow up boat and Dane enjoyed floating in the pool in the boat! Myles and Elliott enjoyed swimming in the waves again. Myles enjoys the ocean a bit more than Elliott, he loves catching waves and riding them into the beach. He's also getting brave and walking out above his waste (makes me nervous and his Daddy happy). Oh, I must mention today is Seth's 32nd birthday! He was a little bummed in the beginning with Dane's ailment. He is such a good father, he said he can't enjoy his day knowing one of his children is sick. He even made the comment that 'what are we getting ourselves into.' He is refering the the emotional toll of parenting that you never expect! This lead to a great conversation about how we must embrace the good moments that will carry us through the bad moments! The rest of the day consisted of Coronas, sunshine, swimming, sandcastles, and an evening trip to Times Square for ice cream! It's all about the simple things!

New meaning to a bad day on vacation is better than a good day at home!

Even bad days on vacation can be better than good days at home. Why would you ask this, it’s because there is something about the sounds of the beach, ambience, and the simple fact you are on vacation that can make bad days better! Today was not a great day for Dane! Poor guy spiked a fever in the afternoon, so this meant planning a visit to the dr. in the morning. Most likely he has another ear infection! Poor guy. You’d never know he was sick, as he was playful, smiling and rather content - jut hot! We did find out he likes stroller rides down the beach and within minutes of the ride, he is fast asleep for his naps. As for the rest of us today was great. We did have to battle with a few swirling rain showers tainted with thunder. No sooner than we’d pack up to head in the condo, things would clear up! Myles and Robbie found their new love in the ocean and boogie boards! They enjoyed the off shore thunderstorms since it meant rougher seas on shore! The gulf typically has little waves, however, today the kiddos could ride them in. Even Elliott enjoyed hoping on her board and floating into shore. When it came time for dinner, Elliott was ready to go out to eat. Poor thing, just doesn’t understand that it’d be more hassle than fun to take out the 12 of us (5 in my brothers crew, my five, and my parents) to try and eat a lovely dinner! We did eat another nice dinner in. Of course the downside to eating diner in the condo is you have to clean up. So, I’d like to use the anology my brother learned from a TV show…. “I’m just a housewife on business travel!” That line is so true to a certain point….. Unless you go all-inclusive there are some home like chores you cannot escape from! However, It’s not so bad to clean up dinner and afterwards explore the beach or let the kids swim!

A Super Sunny Saturday

(To see images larger, simply click on the image, and it should enlarge).

The kids were up early (as expected) and ready to head to the pool. I was able to enjoy one of my favorite parts of vacation, enjoying my coffee on our oversized porch! It's the simple things that make vacations so enjoyable! It's the same kind of coffee I drink at home, but somehow with the sounds of the waves crashing and the ocean view and the smell of salt water makes it so much more enjoyable! We were 'sunscreened' and ready to head to the pool by 8am! I did find this awesome spray on sunscreen that seems to be working! My past experiences with the spray on lotion, is my kids tend to burn! So thrilled to find this one, as it is spray and go! Applying lotion is the worst part of vacation for me since I now have four bodies (one being me of course) to apply sunscreen! We added some blow up toys to our pool fun today (thank you to Grandma and Grandpa for packing all the fun toys for the kiddos to enjoy). Myles enjoys diving into the deep end to search for items on the floor. Elliott enjoys playing with an adult, and she is beginning to swim strongly without any bubble or floatie! I think by the end of the week, she won't even want the bubble unless she's tired! This afternoon my brother and his crew joined us. So now we are a clan of six adults and six children (kids ranging from 1 yr - 8 yrs-old). Needless to say we overrun the pool! It was so great to see the cousins, as it's been nearly a year since we've seen them. My brother and his family live in Connecticut. They've joined us once before on vacation, but's it's been a few years ago. So we were thrilled they decided to join us again! The kids have been looking forward to having their cousins to play with in the pool and beach! They played for a bit, then it was up for dinner time. We are taking the easy route for dinners this week since with the combined families we would be dining out with 12 (and with one of them being Dane, that's no fun). We go the take n bake pizzas from Wal Mart, which are very tasty and easy! Then we all headed down to the beach. The evening time is great to search for ocean life. The tide was going out and you can find lots of great sea life in the tide pools. Seth found a sea urchin, Robbie found a starfish and Grandpa found a crab in which he liked scaring everyone with! He got me good... he had the crab on a shovel and put in near Dane, it made me scream! It was so nice to see everyone enjoying the exploring! Dane had no worries crawling and walking around the wet sand, it appeared as if he enjoyed being head to toe in we sand! Then it was up to the condo for the night time routine. Myles and Elliott enjoy their new sleeping arrangements - the pull out sofa! As a family we usually share a King Size bed, but out group is getting to large that we now have to spilt up into sleeping in separate beds! Dane likes to sleep horizontal so that makes it tough to add multiple children! At least Myles and Elliott can share the sofa, and they won't mind the lack of comfort! The resilience of kids is wonderful!

A Great Beginning to our 9th trip to the beach

Wow, it's truly amazing that for 1000 miles of driving, it could go as smooth as it does each year! I tell myself before each trip 'this may be the last year we can do this.' We pack Grandpa's suburban to the brim and then some! Yes, it is very obvious where we are heading by the outside looks of the vehicle. We have a two person kayak strapped to the top; a small trailer attached to the back (at least it's not on wheels, it's really just an 2x6ft extension)with beach chairs and toys; and several other bags tucked in places you couldn’t even imagine! Oh, and I must add there are six of us packed into the Suburban, too (Grandma and Grandpa Mathews, Seth, Me, and the three kids Myles, Elliott and Dane). Dane was a little fussy at 7pm Thursday evening when we first got to Grandparents and headed out, but that was about it till the end of the trip! The only resistance Dane had was each time he was placed in the car seat after each time he got out! But that was eased with a chocolate chip cookie or some other trip! And of course he let us know right away when he filled his pants! Elliott went to sleep in the car (finally) at about 9pm and slept until 8am the next day! And she was even out in between driver changes and potty stops! Myles, on the other hand, enjoyed driving through Atlanta at 2am and playing his DSI all night! He did take a few cat naps here and there! Dane enjoyed the same sleeping patterns as Elliott, actually, he slept about 15 of the 19 hours in the car! We left Indiana around 7 pm and got to Ft Myers Beach around 2 pm the next day! And as soon as we piled out of the car, Elliott exclaims ‘Ft Myers Beach, I love you!’ It was priceless! We quickly unpacked the car, put our swim suits on, applied generous portions of sunscreen and headed down to the pool! Myles immediately headed to the deep end with goggles on and jumped in! Elliott put on her bubble and goggles and jumped in happily, too! You’d never know these kids spent the last several hours in a car. Dane readily went into the pool, too! He loved splashing (thank goodness). I know Dane loves baths, but this was his first trip into the pool and he lOVED it! We went out to the beach for a little while, Dane immediately crawled in the sand and loved it, too. He even embraced the ocean with open arms! Then after an afternoon of beach fun, we headed in for dinner.
Elliott was anxious for ice cream, so we went out for ice cream. Even though we did see a ‘scary’ pirate, and Elliott no l onger wanted ice cream! She instead opted for Skittles on the pier! Then it was back to the condo and early to bed! We were all exhausted!

Last Day of School

Wow, what a busy, busy day! Today was both children's last day of school. Myles was actually set to get out the following Wednesday, however, with the option of taking a two week vacation we decided to let Myles miss the last few days! This day was a super busy day. It began with a morning full of the normal getting four people ready (Dane, Elliott, Myles and myself). Then taking Elliott to preschool. Shopping for last minute vacation items, then lunch with Elliott at her school. And bringing her bike! It was cute to watch the ten preschoolers riding all around on their bikes. Then it was back home, last minute packing, and getting things together. I was able to pawn Elliott off at her little friend Gianna's house! So that was nice. And since I knew my 'patience level' was reaching the maximum, I asked another neighbor to watch Dane for an hour so I could go to Myles class and host an ice cream party for twenty-something 2nd graders (thank you to Katie for allowing this to happen)! Then after school we went home and anxiouslly awaited the arrival of Seth so we could begin our trip to Florida! The jammed packed day sure made it go super fast for all of us!

I RUN THIS TOWN!

Okay, so not really.... it's more like 'I walked this town!' However, there was a really adorable running shirt with the saying 'I run this town.' And by the photos, it's proof that I started and ended the Mini Marathon! My neighbor, Kristen, shown above, was talking about walking the Mini Marathon (13 miles). And I made a comment saying that sounded like a good time, and she replied with 'We have an extra ticket.' So after thinking about it for a few days, setting my odemeter to track just how far it is to walk 13 miles, I decdied to give it a shot. And you know what, I've never, ever walked any amount of distance. My husband had not faith in my 'making it.' However, I decided to give it a shot (even though when I saw on my odometer that 13 miles is exactly what it takes for me to get to the grocery store and back, and that made me kind of nervous)! Well, needless to say, come Saturday, May 8th, I did it! Yes, I walked 13.something miles, and it felt great! It was fun watching the bands, other runners, taking a stroll around the Indy 500 track, and knowing I completed a daunting task! Some people say that marathons are addicting. I don't think I'll make running/walking marathons a frequent event! However, I am happy that I completed this one! Okay, so I was very, very sore the next few days. I thought my hips were going to fall out of their sockets. I found a new icy hot patch that worked great! The messy icy/hot was attached to a patch that I could simply stick on, and it was GREAT!

VIP Day at School

Okay, so I was second choice as VIP as Myles guest! Seth was the first choice, but couldn't get the time off work! At least I got to enjoy eating lunch adn visiting Myles on the playground with his friends! I'm thrilled Myles admires his father enough to choose him as his VIP (very important person)! It is wonderful the joy and enthusiasm Myles shows when I visit his classroom! You'd think I was the president walking into his class! And it doesn't matter that 20 something other c hildren had thier VIP's, too. Myles was overjoyed to have his mother (even though I was second choice)! Myles did enjoy having Elliott and Dane come, too. Elliott had a great time playing on the playgorund with Myles friends!