Day four... Sanibel

With Michelle at work we decided that we would go to the beaches of Sanibel.

It was absolutely gorgeous. The waves were gentle and the sand was gorgeous. We played in the water a lot. It is so nice to play in the ocean with the warm water. You definitely cannot do that here in Washington or Oregon because you would be numb by the cold.

Ellie again with the bucket and shovel


I think he might be getting tired of his Aunt Lysh taking his picture all the time


A few of the kids found a crab in the sand


Ellie was running to tell me about the crab


How fascinating can one crab be?!?


Hersh trying to get some beauty sleep but unfortunately it didn't take


wouldnt' it be funny if Edward poured that water on Hersh


the first time Hersh did this I didn't pull my camera out in time so I made him recreate it. I don't know why.... just a silly picture


this crab came out of the ground about 12 ft from us. After doing some looking on the internet I am guessing it is a ghost crab

On the way to the beach we passed a 7-Eleven and the kids were excited so we stopped on our way out.

Edward and his first Slurpee
(one less Slurpee virgin, Jessica)

The roadway to get to Sanibel is cool. You start in Fort Myers and there is bridge to this little island and then another bridge to another little island and then a third bridge to Sanibel.

My pictures didn't do much justice but a download a overview picture from Sanibel Causeway website


Pretty cool, huh?

Then it was onward to the house and shower for everyone. This is when I realized how burnt I was. I was good to re-apply to my face because my face always burned when I am outside for more than 30 minutes but I didn't re-apply enough to my shoulders, back and chest. Just put me in some butter and call me dinner because I am red as a lobster!

Tonight I made one of the kids and my favorite South Beach Diet recipe, Spaghetti with White Clam Sauce. It was a hit. Hershal and Edward loved it. I love making food that people like.

It was another amazing day and I feel blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Day three.... Babysitting

I had told Hersh and Michelle before I came down that I wanted to watch Edward one night so that they could have some alone time. Since Edward is hard to put down at night they thought it was best to do a couple of hour during the day. So, after Edward's dentist appt they were off and I was in charge.

He only cried a few seconds and once his parents shut the door...he stopped.

Edward and Hayden


Edward, Hayden and Ellie


Comet


He thinks that his Aunt Lysh is a little nutty and you know what.... I am!


I love making him smile


He is no longer amused by me. :-(


Ellie getting revenge


Somehow I don't think this was a good idea. I am sure Hersh and Michelle wouldn't approve of me teaching their son about violence.... oops


Edward trying to put Comet's collar on...


...and Comet having nothing to do with it

Edward was getting tired and I tried putting him down. I sang to him, rocked him and pleaded with him. After 30 minutes he was upset and still tired. I had texted Hershal my failure and they were home within minutes. Later Hershal gave me some tips so that I will be better prepared next time. ;-)

Second Day... Beach

In Hershal's community that he lives in, Pelican Landing, has a private beach and to get to that beach you need to take a short bus ride and then a boat ride. We were all excited.

Ellie was ecstatic for her first bus ride


and her first boat ride


We saw some Pelicans on our way to the island

When we arrived to the island the Ranger stated that there was no beach because the water was so high but we wanted to check out for ourselves. After walking to the beach we noticed the waves were crashing into the dunes and there was absolutely no beach at all and the water was too rough and dangerous for us to get in. We headed back to the boat. Hersh was kind of bummed but we enjoyed the boat and bus ride so it was worth it!

Then we went to Bonita beach. According to Hersh the water was higher than usual and more seaweed than normal but it was still a beautiful beach.

The first thing Ellie and Hayden did was start picking up seashells

After Edward's nap, Michelle and the world's greatest nephew joined us on the beach.

Edward looking good in his beach gear


two cool looking dudes


good looking group ;-)

I tried going into the water with Hayden and Ellie but kept getting knocked over by the waves so I stopped trying. Hershal took Hayden and Edward into the water. I swear, Hersh is like a tower of steal... he was not fazed one bit by the waves.

Hersh is teaching Hayden how to manage the waves


the boys

Ellie didn't like the waves and was content in playing in the little pool of water that formed on the beach. With a bucket, shovel, and sand... she was happy.


Edward and Michelle


He might be little but he can put away the food. I think he is going to be tall like his daddy


Edward with strawberry all over his face. I was stoked that I capture this expression

This was also Ellie's first time on the beach. She has experienced a lot of first times during this trip.

It was onward to Hersh's house to get showered up. I kept the kids pretty lathered up with suntan lotion but they both tanned pretty good.

Ellie's tan line... you can even see that I forgot to tuck her tag in on her swimsuit. hahaha

After dinner Hersh, Hayden and I played some games and the boys kept getting beat by little ol' me! HA!!

This is a picture of a sore loser...hehehe ;-)

It was a fantastic end to a wonderful day

First Day in Florida

We arrived in Florida about 5:45 and was greeted by my brother. The Fort Myers airport looked beachy with the light paint colors and the seashell tile on the floor. The kids and I survived 8 hour trip.

Boy is sure was muggy outside. That is something about the south that I did not miss.

Hershal and Michelle have a beautiful coach home which is mixed between a condo and a townhouse... I believe. Now, I can't remember but it a condo with something else.

We had dinner and then went for a evening walk.

Hayden wanted to walk Comet which turned out to be a bigger feat than he thought


A front picture but Hayden is still having problems with Comet. Hershal had to eventually take over


Isn't Edward the cutest?

On trying to help Edward sleep during the night Hershal and Michelle stick to the nightly ritual of dinner, walk, bath, and then bed

Edward after his bath

It was about 8:30 when we went to bed which is 5:30 Washington time but since I didn't get much sleep the night before it didn't take me long to go to sleep.

It was a wonderful first evening in Florida and the kids are excited to visit with our family.

Flying to Florida

I was not able to figure out how to post pictures while in Florida because of photobucket acting up and if I posted directly from my camera the picture would be too big and look weird..... SO.... I will be blogging about our Florida trip during the next few days and act like I was blogging while in Florida...hehehe
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Because I HAD to get my hair done before the trip, we didn't leave and head over to Seattle until 7 pm and we checked in the hotel and settled in bed by 11 pm. 4 am came mighty fast and the kids were really good about getting dressed and out the door.

Here they are at 5 am ready to go to Florida. There was no sun but Ellie needed the sunglasses

Checking in went great but my bag was a whopping 3lbs over the limit and I was charged $29. 3lbs....really.... come on. I am thankful the TSAs help keep our airports safe but do they have to be sooo rude. That was an ordeal and a half. We made it through and I still have my hair. We boarded the plane for a 5 hour flight to Atlanta.

Ellie acted like she was a pro and didn't get nervous or scared at all.

Within the first 5 minutes on the plane she took out her crayons to color


Hayden's seat was across the aisle from us. He was happy to have an Ellie break and it was nice that I didn't have to break up any disagreements between the two of them.


Ellie was glued to the window from the moment the plane started moving from the gate until it took off.


picture of the clouds outside of Seattle.

The rest of the plane ride went well without a hitch. The flight attendants were so nice. In fact...

Ellie received a "First Flight Certificate" She held on to the certifcate all the way to Florida

A funny thing Ellie said as we were landing in Atlanta was, "Hayden hold on, we are going down!" I couldn't help but laugh.

She exceeded all my expectations of her. Nothing about the whole experience scared her at all. She took it in and acted like this was a normal thing. I am proud of her!

Had a wonderful weekend

The kids haven't seen their Uncle Michael in a long time and Aunt Mandi wanted to take them to Cat Tales so we all went up to Cheney this weekend. Saturday Mandi took us to Riverfront Park and bought the kids a day pass for unlimited rides at the park. The first ride was on the 100-year-old Looff Carousel.

The kids were going to go on by themselves but Ellie started to get a little scared so I went with them.

Neither of the kids wanted to ride on a horse that moves so we sat on the Chinese bench.

After three tries this is the best picture of her because Miss Thing looks around at everything for a fear of missing something.

Hayden was off to try the Sizzler by himself


He was trying really hard to not move and get pushed into the corner. He was very intense. But once he realized it wasn't a big deal to be in the corner and he wasn't going to go anywhere... he relaxed.

My camera battery died and Mandi did not have her camera with her so the following events do not have pictures to accompany them. Too bad because it would of been hilarious!

The kids then went on to the bounce house, which they loved, and then Ellie became brave and wanted to join her brother on the roller coasters. Since all the roller coasters had a stipulation that the child had to be 42" tall to ride or be accompanied by an adult... I was worried on whether she would be allowed on with Hayden being her escort... but there were no problems!

She braved the Dragon roller coaster and even put her hands up on part of the ride but she quickly put them down as the coaster jolted her. It wasn't a relaxing ride by any means... she had a death grip on the bar and had the scared-to-death look on her face. All the while I am clinching my chest hoping that she is not going 'pop' out of the seat and fall off and then have her be the headlining story for the local news. (Being a mother is stressful)

The next ride they went on was a more subdued airplane ride and then Hayden wanted to do the bumper cars but Ellie wasn't able to do it because the cars are only a one seater and she is not big enough to do it on her own. A big melt down ensued.

The last ride of the day was the Tilt-A-Whirl. I was trying to discourage Ellie from getting on but she wanted to ride it with her brother. The poor thing is so small that she was basically laying down holding the bar as strong as she could while Hayden is laughing and woohoo having the time of his life. When she exited the ride she was shaking her hands because they hurt, most likely due to the white knuckle grip she had on the bar, but it only took her about 30 seconds to recover and then she was talking about how much fun it was. My little dare devil!

To end the trip at Riverfront Park the kids went on the HUGE Radio Flyer wagon that is 12' High and 27' Long. The handle is a slide. There are monkey bars on the underside of the wagon. Ellie absolutely loved it! I wish my camera battery didn't go belly up on me. It would of been some cute pictures.

Mandi and I did a great job on tiring the kids out.... what am I saying... we were pretty tired too! hahaha

Today Mandi and Michael tooks us to Cat Tales Zoological Park. They had lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! HA! I couldn't resist. We really enjoyed looking at the big cats. Their markings are beautiful. They look so peaceful that I felt I could walk in their cage and give them a big hug although I know that would not be the smartest thing to do.

Golden Bengal Tiger


The Tigers were magnificent looking


I couldn't get enough of them


Royal White Bengal Tiger


Asian Leopard


African Lion


Black Panther


American Black Bear


Mandi spotted their food freezers. Check out the labels. HA!


The people who run this park have a great sense of humor


Mandi and Michael (happy b-day Michael)


Ellie and Hayden (Hayden being a typical boy and giving Ellie bunny ears)


Mandi looking cute


I am not sure why they have this gorilla statue...hmmm


This picture is for Jessica... Mandi saw it and insisted that Jessica would love it. Of course she would... they are elephants. ;-)

This ended our most wonderful visit with Mandi and Michael and we had to go back to the apartment and pack up to head home. Hayden went into melt down mode and was very tearful and wouldn't even give Mandi or Michael a hug goodbye. He wanted to stay another night. Oh how he loves his aunt and uncle. Thanks you guys for showing a fantastic time. We surely enjoyed it.