A visitor

We are back in the swing of school after tropical storm Fay. The kids are back in full force. I sure can't get use to it! Our regular sitter isn't babysitting on
Fridays for a few weeks yet so Becky kindly offered to watch Meagan today since she was off. I think they had fun. You can check out Becky's blog on my list of friends for all the details. Anyhow they went for a walk to get a hotdog and stopped by the office. We invited Becky to stay and eat subs with us so she kept Meagan and Kaelyn busy coloring and drawing while we waited for the food. Below is a picture of Meagan engrossed in her drawing. She's such a cutie! I miss her when I'm working. She's at that fun stage where she copies everything!

More fun!

While we were away and doing alot of swimming Meagan fell in love with the water. Every morning she would go out on the balcony and look down and see the pool or the ocean and say "My Water". She loved swimming so much that by about the second day she was tearing off her floaties and just wanting to jump in wether anyone was around or not. So we were a little scared of what she might do and if she would jump in when noone was there to catch her. So we found this nifty little bathing suit with the floating device built in(almost like a life jacket inside). That was all she needed and she was ready to go. She loves the water now, so probably if she could get access to the canal she would just jump right in. Thank goodness we have it fenced off and she hasn't figured out how to unlock the fence yet. Below is a short video of her just jumping right in. I love how she plugs her nose and she would count with the kids 1-2-3 and let go of her nose and jump in. We laugh and laugh at her actions. She keeps us entertained!

Tropical Storm Fay

Tropical storm Fay made landfall across Florida in the middle of the night. We had heavy rains along with alot of tornado watches and warnings throughout the night and first part of this morning. The kids didn't have school because of the potential danger with high winds and flooding. So we spent the day at home listening to the news and wondering what else we could expect. We weathered through the storm but this poor guy in this video was crazy enough to be kite surfing down around Miami in the strong winds. Now I know the whole point of Kite surfing is to have some wind but this is a little ridiculous. He was crazy enough to not let go of the kite and went flying into a building. He ended up with critical injuries. Below is a video from a newscast . Watch as he goes flying by.

On a side note, the kids are back to school tomorrow while Fay travels up the coast to leave more rain and winds for someone else.

Off & Running

Another school year has arrived and we are off and running. Today they all started back to school and Meagan started back to the babysitters. Talk about fun getting back into the swing of things. So anyhow, we are off to a running start. I think we are going to have a fun year. Ha!Brittany is taking Geometry, Algebra II, Accounting, Home Ec , Bible, English & yearbook. I think we are going to be mathed to death!





Jessica is the first one out the door by 7:20 am because she is a safety patrol.



Run # 2 is Andrea and Zach who has to be there by 7:45 am



Today Run # 3 was Brittany because she didn't have to be there till 8:00 am only for a short time to get her schedule together. Hopefully we could knock it down to 2 runs up and down the street when Brittany has to be there by 7:40. Our neighbors probably think we are crazy driving up and down the street 3 different times in a half hour span.


On another note we are watching a hurricane thats out there around Cuba heading toward Florida. Could be a Category 1 hurricane, but we aren't sure which way this thing is heading yet. It could turn. We will definately see the rain and wind effects from this. Thus Britt's picture with her umbrella! Of course in the Insurance business storms of this nature are not what we want to hear about. We don't need claims. And we are basically shut down from writing any policies until after this storm is over. We can quote all we want but have no binding authority.
The kids are already hoping for no school tomorrow.

More vacation pictures

Our last full day was Wednesday. So we decided we would drive on the beach and go down a couple miles from our condo where someone had told us there was rocks and the inlet. So we drove on the beach,(a new adventure) and each one of the kids had a turn driving (with dad's help of course) They were all just thrilled and a little vacationed out too. Actually I think too much swimming had been done. Anyhow here is the last day of our vacation in a nutshell.





Now this is the life, sipping coffee and watching the waves come in. I would love to start each day this way.



This house was across the street from the condo and for sale. A 2 bedroom wood frame 1942 house all redone in 2005 for a mere 625k. What a bargain!Can you even get good insurance on this?




Ponce De Leon Inlet Lighthouse. We saw this across the water





We saw these 2 houses on the beach while driving. These caught our eye as our favorites.

And finally a slide of the beach driving adventures.

My Lucky Day

We are on our way home and stopped to grab a sandwich for lunch. We saw a ice cream shop down the road so went to get ice cream. As luck would have it on Thursday's they have banana splits for half price if you bring your own banana. Guess what? We had 2 banana's we were bringing home with us so we got 2 banana splits. Yeah for us!




Meagan's free ice cream cone


Our banana split. Don't get the pretzel though. Where did that come from?


Meagan and her cone. Isn't she so cute?


I just love technology. I can eat and blog all while we are driving down the road.

Eyes in the back of your head

I have to laugh at this saying that we parents always tell our kids. The kids seem to take it literally. Especially Andrea. She keeps pulling my hair apart in the back wanting to know where my eyes in the back of my head are. She is hilarious.

A Day at the Beach

Yesterday we spent the morning at the beach before coming back to the condo to the pool. I must say it's been so nice having the beach right out our door. And the sand here is wonderful. Wish we had a beach like this back home, then maybe we would go more often. The sand is nice and packed here, so when you walk on it you don't have that shoe full before getting to your spot. And of course since it's that way you can drive on the beach. That's really nice! It would be wonderful to drive up and unpack and set up for the day by your car and not have to drag junk for miles to get to a spot. That is one reason I hate going to the beach. It's no fun when you are wore out before you get to enjoy yourself. Note to self: Buy a condo on a nice beach when we retire!
Anyhow, below are some pictures from our day.







Here is Meagan playing in the sand



Here is Meagan's creations from her sand toys



This was a sand sculpture of a lady someone had done. Excellent job I thought!



None other than the Beach Patrol cruising on the beach



Rod burried himself by the water as the sand was really soft. He looks like a wee little man



Here was someone riding their scooter on the beach



I got my own personal spa treatment on my legs. Meagan was my own personal spa lady of the day



We went for a walk in the evening on the beach. We had givin the kids some glowing bracelets



All the kids in the lifeguard chair at nightime



Zach was trying to pull the sofa bed out to get ready for bed




Meagan joined Andrea & Zach to watch TV and chill

More fun in the water!

We spent the first part of the day running around checking things out. Rod found all kinds of free things to do, so off we went. Well the first spot was a sugar mill. Lets just say we drove past it 3 times before we found it. Needless to say it was pretty lame. Historical site with not much history to see. I didn't even bother to break out the camera. We all were not thrilled. Next stop downtown area, to a museum. The museum was closed and by appointment only. So strike # 2. Next he wanted to go to a drugstore with a soda fountain. This said drug store was very old looking inside. Had alot of little trinkets that were interesting to look at. They had a little restaurant inside that was very busy. Rod & the kids ventured over and got some ice cream while I just walked around and looked at all the interesting things to buy. After that we headed to Walmart. Rod always says my vehicle could always find its way to a Wally world wherever we may be. Hey, can't help that. Needed a few items so where else but good old faithful Walmart. Next to the grocery to buy items for dinner and back to the condo to put dinner together and eat.Where else would we end up but at the beach and the pool. We have definately got alot of swimtime in. We had bought Meagan this trusty little swimsuit the other day with a built in sorta lifejacket deal. It's wonderful. She was not thrilled with the floaties on her arms,nor staying put inside the blowup ring. So this swimsuit is a lifesaver. She goes all over the pool like a little fish. She has no fear when it comes to jumping in. She's loving swimming everyday. We get up in the morning and the first thing she says is "Water". We decided to swim this evening instead of today to let those with sunburns have a rest. For whatever reason, I just can't seem to get the sun to worship me. Oh well, guess I don't have to suffer the burn. Below is a slide show of our water adventures once again.

A little R & R

We are taking time for some much needed rest, relaxation and family time over the next few days. We ventured North to get away from everyday life.





We stopped at Sonic on the way out and ate dinner. The kids were impressed that the car waiters and waitresses were on roller skates. And the food was pretty good too.



Today we hit the pool for some enjoyment.



My crazy husband, need I say more.




This is the outside of our condo. Only 9 units in this building. So not alot a people around to fight over the pool. Makes it kinda nice!We are on the 3rd floor. No elevators in this building so we get our workout carrying things up the steps.




Here's the picture of the beach from our balcony. The kids thought it was awesome you could drive on the beach. There were actually people riding bicycles on the beach also along with those stand up scooters that cops use in big cities. For some reason I think their called Segways.




Meagan standing on one of 4 balconies we have after swimming this afternoon.




The view of our kitchen. Kind of an older place, but it works.




The view of the Living room. Meagan was tired from swimming.




This is our small dining room. We'll have to eat in shifts.




Andrea at the bar in the kitchen. Notice the long narrow hallway behind her. This leads to a bedroom with 2 twin beds, a bathroom and the master bedroom.




This is the master bedroom. Older , but we have a select comfort bed, just like home.





This was a local restaurant Rod found on the internet that had good reviews, so thought we'd try it out for a late lunch early dinner. It was a drive -in with car hops or dine inside. It had started pouring on the way there,so we went on inside and ate. The food was excellent, big proportions and cheap.




Last but not least as we came home for the evening we pulled up and saw some strange characters going into the condo across the hall from ours. Meagan screamed and was terrified of the Indian. They were having a bachelorette party across the hall. These were the invited guest. The Village people. What a site!

Want a doughnut?

This was Meagan this morning before I left for work. She helped herself to the bag of little white powdered doughnuts. Isn't she a cutie? We have enjoyed her so much. Some days I wish they would stay little forever!!

Playmobile Day!

Rod & I have decided we would take the last few Fridays off of work until the kids go back to school. Which is only a few more Fridays, but we want to spend a little quality time with them before we hit the mad rush of everyday life during the school year and all the homework. So we ventured South to Playmobile where you can get in to play with all their toys that are way too overpriced to buy but enjoy playing with for the cheap price of $1 each. You can stay all day or just a little while and play till your hearts content. The younger kids enjoyed it quite a bit. Afterwards we hit Target to let them spend the money they earned picking up Rocks.They got quite a few bargains from the clearance isle and came home with alot of junk to play with. Wish I would have thought to take a picture of their bargains. Below are a few pictures from our afternoon at Playmobile.