redington Shores: Tuesday June 7th

our little swimmer! i seriously could not believe how fast she just kept progressing each day we were here. we would spend our mornings out in the ocean and then head to the pool for an hour or so before lunch. i think the kids preferred the pool. the salt water stung their noses, eyes and any little boo boos they had.
raelyn loved going under the water with goggles on and looking around. here she is making silly faces with her daddy.

such a great daddy! we are blessed.

garret loves the pool too and has become a great swimmer as well. however he dodged the camera all day long, so no pics of my handsome boy in the pool this day.

we ate lunch down at the picnic tables each afternoon. the birds would come right up to us and want some food. we told them not to give them any while we were at the tables or they would come and swarm us. the kids saved some of the their crust from their sandwiches and when we were done we walked out to the sand to feed the seagulls. it didnt take long and we had a lot of seagulls begging for food. the kids all loved it.


tuesday night marcie and i cooked dinner at the condo. we had spaghetti and garlic bread. it tasted so good after a long day in the water and sun. after dinner we headed out to a large local pier (i forgot what it is called) we played on the play ground and we watched street performers (garret was even part of one of the acts) then walked out on the pier and looked at all the cool things they were selling.

again another lovely day!

seagulls that ate bread from our hands

pb & j sandwiches on the picnic tables

working together with a friend to make a yummy dinner for our families

watching garret enjoy the street drummers

watching the girls get more and more confident in the water

playing on the play ground as the sun went down

Redington Shores: Monday June 6th

YEAH!!! the beach...

this whole entire amazing vacation happened because of some great friends of our inviting us to go with them to a beach condo in Redington Shores Fl. the condo is owned by one of their family members and they give the family a free weeks stay each year! this year our friends invited us to join them!!! we have never been on a summer family vacation (due to camp and work schedules) and i have been wanting to so badly. when marcie had first mentioned it to me i was really trying to NOT get to excited. i casually asked dave about it and asked him to check the calendar. he looked up at my with a big smile and said "it looks like that week is free, lets do it!!" i was still very apprehensive since we had not checked for sure with his parents about camp groups and such.

well obviously things worked out all around this week and we were able to make a family vacation happen. we feel so blessed to have been able to see so much family on the way down to the beach and close they were to where we would be staying.

we arrived at the beach sunday evening just as the sun was setting. it was the most beautiful sunset! dave has a picture of it on his cell phone. i will try to get that from him and post it later.
monday morning we woke up to sunny blue skies and crystal clear blue water. this is the view from our balcony at the condo! not to shabby.
we got all suited up and covered in sunblock and hit the beach by 8:30 or 9 that morning.
the big girls loved playing in the shells
jori wasnt so fond of the water and sand that first day. i went to set her down next to her little friend who was just loving the water splashing up on her toes and playing in the sand and jori just lost it. poor girl. she sat in my lap for awhile down at the waters edge and then i brought her up to the blanket under the pier. she liked it up here much better.
jori and ella playing together
heading out for a swim in the ocean. the water was so calm and really shallow for a long way out. the kids loved getting in their floats and just floating out there.
brenna loved this big blue float. she carried it with her everywhere she went. i had to capture a picture of it.

we found lots of great sea life. garret is holding the claw of a blue crab here. we also saw a fisherman with a huge tarpon, we saw manatees twice (once so close they could have touched it) we saw shrimp up on the shore, crabs, lots of neat shells, pelicans and seagulls.
heading out for another swim while jori and i sit on the beach and watch them. she got a little better each time we sat her back down on the beach.


it almost looks like she is enjoying herself here :)
the wind and the water wore out the babies quickly. they took long great naps while we were gone.

the condo was a three bedroom, three bathroom place with a full kitchen. each bedroom had two queen size beds in it. we had plenty of room with our two families. we were a little concerned being so out numbered. 4 adults to 7 children, but everything went really smoothly.

the condo also had a pool, we spent about half the day on the beach and half the day at the pool. both girls were close to learning how to swim, but raelyn was super close. it took one day of her being in the water and by the end of the first day she was a FISH!

it is amazing how quickly she progressed once she was confident. dave and i LOVED watching this milestone take place. such proud daddy and mommy!

monday night we went to a restaurant called Frenchy's. MANY people had recommended it so we had to try it out. it was super kid friendly and casual which was perfect for our big group. there was a man there making balloon hats. this guys was AMAZING! he would ask the kids what they wanted and just make it! he made our table a t-rex dino, a long neck dino, an octopus, a yellow jacket and a mermaid. those pics are on daves phone too. before i do my next post i will need to make sure i get all his pics so i can include them too.

we had such a great time.... and that was just the first day at the beach.

thankful for:

the baughmans inviting us

god working out the timing for us to be able to go

white sandy beaches

clear blue water

watching my daughter learn how to swim

blue polka dotted floats

baby girl bathing suits

seeing the ocean life that god created

watching the kids have the time of their lives

a wonderful FREE place to stay for the week

blue crabs and pretty shells

babies that took good naps

sitting on the balcony with a glass of wine

getting sun on my white tn skin

saying yes more than no

a great husband that made it all happen

tampa day two: uncle scott and aunt nicole

sunday we hung out at scott and nicoles house in the morning again so jori could nap. then we headed to a really cute little town called Dunedin. nicole took us to a great sandwich shop where we could eat outside and enjoy the ocean breezes.

then right next door to the restaurant there was a little pottery painting shop. the kids each picked a piece to paint and we all enjoyed getting creative. i didnt bring my camera with me this day. so i dont have any pics of our lunch or art session.

after we painted we took a little walk down to the boat ramp and put out feet in the water. the kids enjoyed looking at the sail boats and walking down the docks.

we ate a quick dinner with them sunday night and then headed to meet up with our friends at the beach condo. we were sad to leave. we all had such a wonderful time. scott and nicole sure knew how to make us feel special. i especially enjoyed a little shopping time with just nicole and watching the kids love on their aunt and uncle. memories were made this weekend, that is for sure.

scott and nicole...thanks again for having us! you guys have a wonderful home. we are so proud of all the great work you have done to it and the life you have built together. we love you.

yummy sandwiches pilled high full of meat

gigantic pickles

watching the kids paint

shopping for shoes with nicole

watching the kids with their dog reghan

sail boats

walks next to the docks

warm sunshine and cool ocean breezes

comfy beds to sleep on

spending time with my brother

tampa day one: uncle scott and aunt nicoles

we arrived at my brother scott and sister in law nicoles house on friday evening around 9pm. we shuffled kids out of the car and into beds and chatted with them for awhile. we all hit the sheets around midnight to get ready for the fun filled day they had planned for us.

nicole and i ran a few errands saturday morning while jori took her morning nap and then we all headed out to Tampa Bay to see the USS Victory ship. the uss victory is an old ww1 merchant ship. it carried supplies to all the troops.

when you got inside the ship they gave the kids a paper with pictures of items they had to find while walking through the ship. it was like a scavenger hunt. the kids loved it.
brenna and uncle scott were buddies for the hunt.
checking out the big guns

after we found all our items, they had a little craft table set up where the kids could make a little red, white, and blue nautical wreath. they had fun cutting and glueing and then they got an ice cold popsicle to cool down with. it was HOT in that ship. really makes you think about the sacrifices our military men and women have made. we are so thankful.

we came home and cooked out on the grill in the backyard. scott grilled up some of the best burgers i have ever had. nicole bought the meat fresh from an italian market. SOOOO GOOD!

after dinner we loaded up the kayak and headed to the public beach in the bay.


uncle scott took the kids out for a ride in the kayak. the girls went first and had a blast.

just look at that grin on brennas face. she loved it.
jori was happy to be at the beach too :)
then he took garret for a ride and showed him how to paddle. they were a good team. garret is a quick learner and excels at things like that.
when we got home that night aunt nicole had all the fixings for ice cream sundaes! what a treat. truly a fun day. i loved watching the kids with their aunt and uncle. they sure did cling to them like glue.

stay tuned for day two in tampa....

soft white sand

bonds with aunts and uncles

kayaking with my hubby

enjoying the sunset on the west coast

ice cream sundaes WITH waffle cone bowls

ocala: a visit with grandma joan

last week we took our first ever week long summer family vacation. we dont normally get to do this because we are busy with camp. some friends of ours invited us to meet up with them at a condo on the beach of the west coast of florida. just so happens that it was the one week we didnt have a group booked at the camp! a God thing for sure. i was thrilled when all the details worked out. we sure did have a great time.

our first stop on our road trip down was ocala. mom and kenzie even came up to spend some time with grandma while we were there too.

wow... the smells, sights and sounds of grandma joans house brings me right back to when i was garrets age. since i was just a baby we would go up to ocala in the summer and spend some time with grandma and grandpa. everything looks exactly like i remember it. i tried to take some photos to capture that feeling.
i remember sitting in these chairs at the bar and spinning just like my girls did while we were there.
even looking at these animal booklets... it was like deja vu.
little things in the picture above make me happy... the plastic bucket in the sink that has been there for years, the plastic plants hanging from the ceiling over the bar, the clock behind grandmas head, the kitchen cabinets.
these canisters had been on the counter ever since i can remember. i just loved being there.
here grandma joan took the kids out to her shed to show them the baby sugar gliders nest she has in there. they loved it of course. thanks to kenzie for grabbing my camera and taking these pictures.
something about the way grandma joan is holding raelyns hair makes my heart harm.
lol.... just had to include these cute little buns too.

after we spent some time at grandmas house we down to the river. she lives right next to Rainbow River. i wanted to take the kids here so badly as i remember spending many summers chilled to the bone swimming in the crystal clear, spring fed river.
the thing that was different this time compared to when i swam here with my brothers and sister is that my kids just ran right in! it used to take us forever to get our warm florida blood in that cold water.
the kids had no problem what so ever splashing and swimming in the water. i was so glad they enjoyed it.




grandma joan lit up when she got down to the river. it has always been one of her favorite places.

the water is so clear you and see all the fish swimming all around you. we got garret to sit still enough that they all came right up to him. one even nibbled on his finger :)

yeah for the self timer. after we swam and ate some pizza we got back in the car and headed to tampa to visit with my brother and sister in law.

sorry this post has so many pics, but get used to it. i have got tons! :)

thankful for:

my own memories at grandma and grandpas

the kids enjoying the river

the kids making memories with their great grandma

sugar gliders in the the shed

safe travels

great weather

seeing gram and kenzie