Day 7- Sunshine!

The winds finally settled down and we were able to spend the day outside. Delia and I started with a 3.2 mile run. I don't love running, but I like the way it makes me feel when I'm finished. It was nice to run with someone. Joel rode his bike until he blew a tire and had to be picked up. Mark took a rest day. 

We were able to spend the whole afternoon at the beach with our friends from home. All of the kids had fun building sand creations, body surfing in the waves and walking on the beach.

Erin loves to rest. She kept telling us that she wanted to go back to the house. She even put her shoes on and was starting to leave. We set up a place in the shade so she could lay down for a little while. 

This is as close as the kids get to the waves. Will and Erin still won't go near the waves.  They both told me that the wave are to loud. Even when we were walking on the beach Erin walked up on the soft sand instead of on the wet sand. 

Erin played with the big girls for hours. They were making all sorts of sand creations and she was right in the middle helping them out.  Will had gone back to the house with Mark and fell asleep. 

After five hours, we headed home and made a steak dinner. We didn't get across the street for the sunset, but we did watch it from the roof.   It was a beautiful pink sunset.  We put the kids to bed and the adults played Euchre. It was another great day and we don't want this trip to end. 

Day 6- Windy Day

Today was very windy and cold (20-30 mph winds and a high of 66'). We spent the day relaxing and hanging out inside. We started the morning at Anna Maria Doughnuts. We got to pick our glaze and topping. I had the maple glaze and bacon topping. Mark had Key Lime and Sircha (peanut butter, peanuts and hot sauce on a cake doughnut). They were awesome. 

Me- "Kids gather around the sign for a picture."  Kids gather around the small sign telling about parking. Lol. I meant stand on the porch for a picture under the doughnut sign. I guess I need to be more specific next time. 

We walked around town a bit and headed home to exercise. Delia and I did two rounds of T25 (one by the pool and the other in the house), Joel rode 25 miles on his bike and Mark rode 20 miles and ran 5 miles. The kids swam and then we took a nap. The day went fast considering we didn't do much.

Will was freezing after swimming in the pool. 

Erin was making strawberry soup for everyone. In this picture she's adding the salt to her soup. 

Tea party time! 

Daddy after his workout. 

 The winds finally settled down at sunset so we went to the beach. It was a beautiful night and the kids had fun destroying sandcastles built by someone else. It was a nice day, but we can't wait for a beach day tomorrow! 

Yes, that's red wine spilled in the middle of the message I wrote. Whoops! I guess I bent over too far while writing the message. 

Erin was telling us that she was ready to get the sand off her coat and go back to our Florida House. She had her shoes and My Little Pony in her hand too. 

Mark took a lot of great pictures with our big camera that I'll upload at home. 

Day 3 - Beach Time!

Our house is right across the street from the beach. It's very nice to be so close. We all loved hanging out at the beach and playing in the sand.  

Erin wears her shoes to the sand and then she has to sit down and take them off. 

This is the most beautiful water I've ever seen. This picture doesn't even do it justice. 

This is the beginning of Will's dislike for the waves. After this picture was taken, the wave splashed Will and he turned around and ran up the beach crying. From that moment on, we had to help him fill up his buckets. 

Driving trucks in the sand. 

Hannah has been playing so nicely with Will and Erin. They love playing with her too. 

Proof that I'm on this trip too. 

Day 5- Rainy Day

Today's high was at 7am. The temperate had been dropping all day long (it's in the 60's right now).  It's been rainy and very windy. We spent the morning hanging out at home. 

I was working on the blog while listening to the rain. Will watched a cement truck pour cement into a house that is being built nearby. 

After lunch we went for a drive to Longboat Key to look at beautiful houses and resorts. We saw where they were moving the dredging equipment and the barge broke free from the boat and washed up on the beach. Lots of people stopped to see what was going on. We couldn't be left out, so we stopped and Mark talked to the  Coast Guard to find out what was going on. 

Will and Erin wanted ice cream so we found a shop and got some. As you can see by the pictures, they enjoyed their treats.  Half way through they traded cones and then traded back again. 

We drove to the other end of the island and stopped at a few gift shops along the way. One of them had parrots in cages in front of the store. They were really loud and Will kept plugging his ears. Erin liked them and kept wanting to see the birds. 

From there, we drove to the City Pier and had a drink and a bite to eat.  We started off sitting outside, but it was so windy that we ended up moving indoors. The food was okay, but the atmosphere was incredible. We ate in the middle of the ocean!! 

Will didn't want his picture to be taken. 

Erin said that we should take a picture because we were all wearing blue shirts (which wasn't planned). 

Me- "Will and Erin sit by each other so I can take your picture."  They sat for two seconds and you can see how the picture turned out. 

After our 45 mile trip, we headed back because this mama was tired from chasing two three year olds around non-kid friendly gift shops. As far as Will and Erin know, the ladies who worked at the shops told us that we had to carry them. 

Relaxing, watching Finding Nemo and reading books.  And Erin and Hannah played 'Princess' which Erin informed me is her favorite game. 

After a satisfying taco dinner, we went up on our roof to watch the sunset. It was very windy (20-30 mph winds) but so nice to be outside. There were a lot of clouds so we only saw a little sliver of the sun setting. 

It was Will's first time on the roof. He told me "Wow! We can see the whole kingdom from up here."  I think he's watched a lot of Sophia the First.  

It was nice spending the day out of the sun, but we are ready to get back outside. Here's to sunny skies and warm weather for the next few days.