Thanksgiving with Lee Lee & Bill

We had a great visit with Lee Lee and Bill when they came to Naples for Thanksgiving. Of course, the pictures are only from the day that we rented a boat and took a day trip to Kee Waydin and the Snook Inn. Lots of fun as always!

Brooks' Birthday...and some Halloween Pics

Well, the time has come that I have lost all dedication to sit down and write my blog posts. It is now April and I am just catching up on the important events in our life from the last 6 months. At least I'm still trying! So let's see what we got...

Brooks turned 7 in October and we had a giant party for her at the park with a waterslide and approximately 700 of her closest friends. It was so much fun that I forgot to take pictures. The highlight of her birthday was getting her ears pierced with her best bud, Leah (who already had her ears pierced and was there for support) so I included a photo of them first. But I did also capture a couple of pics from our neighborhood trick of treating adventure so that should count for something. Like I said, I missed a lot so I have to make these posts short in order to catch up on everything!!

Frank the Tank

We picked up this crazy man on our way home from scalloping. Franklin Lyons was born on July 7th and we got him at 9 weeks. He is such an awesome dog and, as I am writing this, he is actually 7 months old. He fits into our lives perfectly and we really do love him so much! The timing on getting this rascal was a little out of sync. 3 days after returning from our scalloping trip and picking up our new family member, we realized we would need to evacuate for hurricane Irma. Ugh! But Franklin adjusted to our crazy lifestyle quite well and we couldn't be happier with him.

Scalloping in Crystal River

Third year in a row of scalloping was a success! We stayed at the Crystal River Plantation (same as last year) and had a fun filled 3 nights with our friends. Late nights of swimming and soccer and long days on the water always make for a great make for a great mini vacation. We also picked up a special surprise on our way home...

Back to School

Just before school ended in May, I had grand ideas of the many things I could do with my kids and the places we could go on a whim. I thought that the summer vacation was too short and we needed more time for sleeping in and staying up late. At least, this is how I felt for the first month. By the second month, I was wondering why we even needed a summer break and I even gave serious consideration to the idea of adoption. Well, maybe not serious consideration but there were several times when the idea uncontrollably popped into my mind. I enjoy spending as much time as I can with my kids, but I also happen to thrive when I get to have a bit of solitude and am able to hear my own thoughts instead of the screaming and fighting that occurs 75 percent of the time that I am with them. The other 25 percent is when they are sleeping. I jest, of course, but the percentages are really not that far off. Anyway, my day finally arrived August 16th when the kids headed off to 1st and 3rd grade. They lucked out this year and both got great teachers. Harrison has Mrs. Preston and Brooks has Mrs. Benison (Harrison also had her for 1st). I do think there needs to be a "first day of school" picture for all the moms so that it can be documented what true joy looks like on our faces. But instead, all I have to show is how adorable my kiddos look on their big day. The first picture seen below is the usual "happy for the first day photo" and the second is a more accurate portrayal of what my kids look like on a normal day of school.

Vacation to Anna Maria Island

We took a fun, end of summer trip to Anna Maria Island at the end of July for 5 days. The trip was wonderful and we were fortunate to stay in a beachfront condo that belonged to one of Robert's business associates. This was our first trip to Anna Maria but hopefully not our last. The island is amazing with lots of fun restaurants and you can get everywhere by bike. We had a great time spending the days at the beach then biking or swimming in the pool in the later afternoons. I'm hoping we can take another adventure there soon!