Vacation, all I ever wanted

The good weather continued our entire vacation--we couldn't have been luckier! 

Dan, Andrea and the girls left a day before us and that's when it hit us--vacation was going to end, just when we were getting into a comfortable routine of sand, sun, and swimming.  Oh, sigh, back to MN, work, school, and all the rest.  Cue tantrum.

Photos from the rest of our time below:

Dan was hoping to get on the blog, so here you go, buddy :)  Andrea and Callie were snuggling on this late afternoon on the beach.

I asked Boden his favorite part of vacation.  He said having friends to play on the beach and swim in the pool with.  I agree--good fun for everyone!

I saw Dolphins swimming nearby one day--Todd said they were there other days but my head must have been in the sand.  I captured a few pics but it was better live.

Here's our family beach photo--August looks the best, Todd and I are trying not to squint and ended up looking constipated instead :)

Last afternoon on the beach and both boys had their fun in the sand.

Oh, yes, I almost forgot:  gals beat the guys at wahoo marbles!  It was a close game, but we figured if the guys felt like it was a close game, then they wouldn't be such sore losers, right Andrea?  ;)

Big wave!

We're having a great vacation in Marco Island with friends!  

Boden and Addison are becoming fast friends and seem to be matched for energy--neither of them can be slowed down to eat or sleep.

Augie is finally at an age where he can really enjoy the beach--one of the cutest things ever is when Todd had him in the ocean and every time a wave would come at them and splash him, Todd would yell "big wave!"; Augie would recover from the splash and stick his hand up to wave around--giving a "big wave", of course!

Us parents are doing our best to wake up at 6 with the kids, get them to bed at the end of a non-stop day of pool, beach, pool, and more beach, and then go til midnight playing a (new to me) game called Wahoo Marbles.  Boys against girls and so far we're all tied up! 

This year, Todd, Boden, and our friends all went on an airboat tour of the Everglades for the first time.  They saw aligators and the kids even held one at the end--with its mouth Velcro-ed shut, thankfully!

The weather has been fantastic, kid disputes have been minimal, and I've gotten some good runs in, so life is good!  Some pics from the week are below with a little explanation:

We made our "annual" trip to the nature walk, mostly for the white and pink (i.e. Sunburned) MNs to get out of the blazing sun and to see if we could see aligators or nesting bald eagles.  Once again, the best view was in the ditch out front before we even got out of the parking lot--a mom and about 10 babies were swimming around our front.  And we didn't see anything noteworthy along our walk :(

The biggest beach hole ever:

Boden held a baby aligator after the airboat ride:

Boden was buried by Addison and Callie and his brother stepped in to put on the finishing touches.

Augie enjoyed some pool time and didn't want to get out!

Family getaway

I started this post about a month ago so now seems about the right time to finish it!  In July, we + grandparents headed up to Lutsen for a longer weekend.  It happened to be one of the hottest weekends of the summer but it was, of course, a wee bit cooler in the North Country. The weather made pool time all the better for Boden and the frigid temps of the lower level of the condo a little more bearable.

Sloan loved all the running around she got to do every day--look at her smile!

 

This picture was at the start of the Eagle Mountain trail.  We've been up it numerous times and it's always a good hike with great views.

This year, Boden did his first hike ever with us--he was totally reluctant to go along, preferring to stay back at the condo with Papa and Nana, but at some point during the hike he said "this is way better than I thought it was going to be!" Victory!  Of course I was terrified for his safety at every overlook, but he did great. After our hike, we took Boden to our favorite maple syrup purveyor and stocked up on a year's supply.

Boden even went on a hike with his Papa to Temperance River state park--they came back with some good stories of their adventure together.  

Todd and Boden did the Alpine slide.  I was scared of the slide and Todd was scared of taking Boden on the chairlift, so we flipped for it and he "won" the "opportunity" to go.  I think they applied the brake liberally and had a good run.

On one of our hikes we saw some very fresh bear and baby bear tracks--not a good combo!  We didn't see those two, but we did come across a quick glimpse of a momma moose and her calf plus a covey of grouse that day.

And her's our parting shot with Lutsen mountain in the background!

More vacation

Unfortunately, we aren't still on vacation, but I had this post started with the intention of posting and then lost track. So, I'll take this opportunity to relive a little given that we're home, in cold weather, and wearing flip flops is a distant memory...sigh.  

The weather on vacation was great the whole week--couldn't have asked for better.  What I could have asked for was kids that slept in a little more!

Boden spent a fair amount of time in the pool--diving and swimming underwater.  We were really impressed by his progress. 

August finally learned to enjoy the beach after Grandma got him a pair of sunglasses.  When he wasn't fighting the glare of the sun, he was destroying sand castles, chasing birds and running along the shore.

This vacation definitely had a fair share of 'wild life'--a rat at Starbucks was the lowlight, but we also saw burrowing owls, a turtle, a nesting bald eagle, pelicans, and alligators.  Below, a picture with an alligator at the start of the wildlife sanctuary walk.

Thanks to August, we also visited the Urgent Care--He had bronchitis and an ear infection.  

Humidity is so good

It's amazing how a MN winter can make you completely forget what it feels like to be warmed by the sun--luckily, we have vacation to remind us of what is (hopefully) coming our way!

Catching the sun set:

And there it goes:

Enjoying beach time:

How DO monkeys taste?

Grandma Cindy joined us for the last half of our vacation, and being the veteran vacationer, Boden was more than happy to fill her in on things when she arrived.  After the house tour, it was ice cream time and he told grandma the flavors: chocolate chip cookie dough and chunky monkey.  As he was showing her the cartons, he held up the chunky monkey and said in a matter of fact tone "That's not what monkeys taste like, though."  We all got a good chuckle and then I asked him "what if that IS what they taste like??  We might really be missing out."

Boden and grandma on the beach building something important.

Hello, sun!

After the longest, coldest winter of my recent memory, a vacation in Marco Island was a welcome respite for the whole family.  The drive from Orlando was long and made longer by traffic delays, a nursing baby, and potty stops, but pulling up to our rental was an amazing sight--let the relaxation begin! Thus far, Todd and I have run every day, and Boden has been either in the pool or at the beach.  August has been doing his best to go with the flow, but even with a sun hat and a beach umbrella, the sunny beach scene seems a little too bright for him--since this is the most sun and warmth he's seen and felt in his entire life, it's bound to take some adjusting.  For the rest of us, though, the sun, humidity, and heat, was just what the doctor ordered! 

( yes, I'm wearing Boden's sunglasses--hoping I left mine in the truck during all the hubbub at the airport in MN during our drop-off).

August in the front pack--my arms weren't long enough to get us both in. the picture.

Todd relaxing.

August in short sleeves, in his car seat, without a blanket or cover--first time since his birth and it looks like he's enjoying the not so cold world!

It's not really a small world after all

Part of our vacation this year included a detour to Disney World.  We figured Boden was at a good age to enjoy it and August was young enough to be portable and go with the flow.  Since we were only going for one day, we focused on the Magic Kingdom and tried to get our money's worth.  Boden and Todd went on most of the rides together while August and I sat on benches or toodled over to Starbucks where the wait was equal to the wait at Space Mountain!!  But, hey, there WAS a Starbucks at Disney World so I wasn't complaining. 

After Boden got a little uneasy on Space Mountain and the Lilo and Stitch ride, we looked for lower key rides/entertainment and found a few that the whole family could go on like the Jungle Cruise and the train ride.  Boden had to do a lot of walking and requested several times to leave and go back to the hotel (no way, Jose) but we kept him moving.  He seemed to like seeing the Disney characters best and probably would have really enjoyed the evening parade and fireworks, but after August and I hit up the nursing "parlor" at the on-site child care center (you can't get more family friendly than that!) it was time to head out so we could make it back to the hotel before a melt down.  Boden had such a tiring day he fell asleep on the bus back (mission accomplished!) but rallied at the hotel to consume an entire kid's pizza.

Todd and Boden on the Dumbo ride.

August and I enjoying the Jungle Cruise

Selfie of Todd and August.  They were waiting for me and Boden to get off the Pirates of the Caribbean ride 

Boden asleep on the bus back to the hotel--peace and quiet at last :)--for a few moments, anyway.

Vacation Ready

We've been gearing up for and counting down to vacation since about January. To help keep our enthusiasm alive, we had a "beach day" one afternoon using our bedroom rug as the beach. Not even close to the real thing but he sure looked cute in his beach attire :)