Still on vacation

We got back from the Keys Wednesday night. Thursday everyone was pretty worn out, so we just rested and hung out at home. Today, we went to the Clearwater Aquarium, some shops and stopped by the beach. Another great day! We took the trolley from one aquarium site to the other, so that was fun!

 We stopped for ice cream after the aquarium. A lady stopped and asked Parker if his ice cream was good. He looked up and when she saw ice cream all over his face and up his nose, she said oh yeah I think you do like it!

  

2015 Vacation

We went to Islamorada in the Florida Keys for our vacation this year. We had such a great time! It was absolutely beautiful! The kids were excited to be on the road!

 You can imagine how easy it was to brush out Chloe's hair when we got there...

 We got really lucky when we got there. Our room had just been completely remodeled with all new everything. It was awesome!

 The kids didn't waste any time getting on their snorkeling gear.

 The kids absolutely loved the trampoline in the water. I bet they jumped off and climbed back up at least 50 times a day.

 Daddy thought he was catching some big air here. Truth is that he barely made it over the lip of the trampoline.

 Chloe showed him how it is done

 This was the second day that we were there. We were waiting on Chloe - shocker!

 We went to Robbie's and fed the tarpon. It was so cool! We ended up going back there two more times before we left!

Blake's battle scars from sacrificing his hand for a great picture

 The water was gorgeous!

 Daddy was fishing from under a bridge. The kids weren't exactly feeling it so we decided to take some selfies. Smile!

 Silly faces

 Angry faces

 Daddy and Parker fishing

 The third day we were there, we rented a boat. We went snorkeling about 3 miles off shore. It was unbelievable! We snorkeled over coral reefs and saw all kinds of beautiful coral and tropical fish! We were going to go to another spot, but Mommy's dramamine didn't do its job so well...

 Instead, we found a sandbar and spent some time on land until I recovered. We found a lot of coral and shells and were still able to snorkel and see some cool stuff!

 After that, we found a still place to do some fishing. We caught several smaller fish. Chloe caught a smaller fish and as she was reeling it in got something else that wanted to eat it. We are pretty sure that it was a shark, and it took every last inch of line off our pole. We saw a 7 or 8 foot shark under our boat and a huge tarpon. Blake got the tarpon to bite, but it immediately broke our line so that was both exciting and disappointing at the same time.

  The last day we were there, Parker wanted to go back and use some of his money to feed the tarpon again. He wasn't even paying attention when this one hit!

This is a close up of what was going on in the picture when Parker was looking in the complete opposite direction.

 Gonna miss the beautiful water, but it was a good feeling going back home to palm trees and water all around!!

Fun with Cousins

We were all very excited to have the cousins in town to play! Chloe and Parker couldn't believe how big the boys have gotten! I didn't get many pictures while they were here. Mainly because my goal was to have a baby in my arms at all times which makes it hard to take pictures.

 We went to the mall one evening, and the kids picked out some desserts from Whole Foods to snack on before heading home.

 Elijah was completely worn out from our day at the beach. He couldn't even lift up his head!

 Sky brought Chloe a nightgown like hers. Chloe has worn it almost every night since.

 Uncle Blake on duty

Playing Catch Up

We went back to the Florida Aquarium a couple weeks ago. Parker thought it was great making a water beard.

 A gal at work gave Chloe a new bracelet making kit, so she's been making bracelets like it is her job.

 We like to go walk along the Causeway of an evening. It is beautiful looking over the water, and we typically see dolphins and stingrays about every time we are there.

 And the sunsets are amazing!

 We have played a lot of Yahtzee here lately. Chloe was celebrating her first win!

 Daddy took the kids to the library, and Parker read a 10 chapter book the same day he got them!

 Chloe is into playing tricks. She found this one on YouTube and made it look like there is a hole in her hand. It looks 10 times more believable in the picture than it did in person.