Random other shots

 The day we left, at lunch at the Rod and Peel Restaurant on the Pier

 Blue tongue from some raspberry ice cream

 Playing on the beach outside of the Beach house Restaurant

 Post smore bliss

 Little boy who stole my heart this week

 Buddies

 Sunset photo op

 Very tuckered out from the weeks events

 Taking a rest never looked so cute

 Cutest frog I've ever seen

 Love this photo! How old is he? 10?

 Showing us he's ready for a surfboard, if only Santa will listen this year!

 Mmmmm....smores!

 Best pic I could find of their "matching" gator pjs. Too cute!

Enough of this vacation!! I could make endless posts, but don't have the time. So, here are just some more of my favorite photos. We had such a good time, it's sad to be back. But at least all these photos will help us relive it!

Self Portrait

 Just had to add this one b/c it is reminicent of many pictures taken on our honeymoon, 7 years ago!

Joe and I got a night out thanks to Abby & Paul! We went to dinner at the Sandbar, which is right on the water and got to see the sunset just before. It was beautiful, peaceful, wonderful! Yeah, a picture of the two of us, I'll keep it even if it's obvious we took it of ourselves :).

The boating life

We got a taste of the fabulous life of boaters on our trip when we rented a pontoon boat for 4 hours one day. It was very relaxing and a great way to see the area. We saw got a dolphin, which was definitely the highlight for me! We anchored for lunch at the sand bar type area and found all kinds of sand dollars. Although it makes perfect sense that they are living creatures, I don't know that it ever occurred to me. Abby and I each took one for a souvenier and Joe surely make us feel pretty bad about it. While anchored we also came across spider crabs which were quite frankly terrifying! They look just like gigantic spiders and attack your feet. When one touched my foot I screamed very loudly and then pretty much refused to put my feet down again. Swimming in water that is only 3 feet deep while towing a one year old was a challenge, but worth it not to touch one of those things again.

 Before the crab touched her feet

The boys loved driving the boat and blowing the whistle that was on one of the key chains. My kids were so tuckered out that they both fell asleep on the boat. Apparently if I get a boat, I can get Evan to nap. It may be worth the "sacrifice"??? Note to make that a selling point to Joe in the future.

Porch time

Drew and Claire just loved the porch off of Joe & my room. They could say hi to all who walked by and see all that there was to see. I loved it too, b/c it proved to be a great place to take their pictures with the beautiful blue background of the house.

Anna Maria Island Vacation

Last week we took a week long vacation to Anna Maria Island with our friends the Starstroms. We rented a house on 62nd Street on Holmes Beach called Blue Sky. Evan loved that it had a name and we are in the process of "naming" our house. It just seems cooler, right? It had a swimming pool and hot tub in the backyard and was about 3 blocks from the beach.

The weather was amazing, although hot. We had sun every day and the water was pretty calm, except for 2 days. Which was a nice change as Evan could try to boogie board a little. I think for the future, we'll have to stick to the east coast beaches for boogie boarding. The water was turquoise and the sand was so soft and white.

We had such a great time relaxing at the beach and pool, drinking many relaxing drinks and soaking up some serious sun. Everyone got along so well and I think every one of us had a blast and were all very sad to leave.  Here are some of my favorite playing at the beach photos.

Father's Day Preview

Since Joe never reads this, I feel confident that he won't see these pics until Father's Day.

Caption: We may love Superman and Green Lantern, but Dad, you are our real Superhero!!