FUN FROM OUR FLORIDA TRIP...

Hi all! Things are settling down around here, and I finally had a chance to upload some pictures from our Florida trip. It's alot of family stuff, but hopefully you won't get too bored sitting through the little slideshow I put together. The trip went wonderfully, and couldn't have come at a better time for us. Caroline was great during both flights (with the exception of a little meltdown prior to take off as we left Washington), which I totally have Dora the Explorer to thank for that! I told the people around us that they had a choice - to listen to the muffled sounds of her DVD, or to our daughter having a meltdown for the duration of the flight. Thank goodness we were all in agreement that the DVD was the way to go...

It was a fabulous vacation, not just with family, but with friends, too! Many of our friends from our beach house days in Dewey Beach, DE also made it down for the weekend, so it was sort of a getaway with the adults/family vacation all rolled in to one - which was perfect! We even found a local dive bar in Ft. Myers Beach called The Beached Whale, which we dubbed Dewey South, as we seemed to find ourselves there two nights of the trip. Even though they weren't serving Starboard Specials or Captains in blue cups, it had the makings of a good story right from the start.

All of the wedding festivities were so much fun. We first had a rehearsal dinner at a restaurant called Snug Harbor, overlooking the sound. Then it was on to The Beached Whale. We had all day Friday to head to the beach and pool, followed by a sunset cocktail reception at Gulf Shore Grill, a Gulf-front bar and restaurant. The wedding was Saturday morning, with a mid-afternoon reception at The Lighthouse, followed by sunset cocktails back at our resort, The Pink Shell (which I would highly recommend to couples or families). We spent the last days of the trip just relaxing with the family before heading home on Tuesday. It was such a nice time!

So, as mentioned, here's a little montage from our trip. REMEMBER: Stop the music player to the left of this screen before playing so that you can here the sound!!!

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OFF TO FLORIDA ON A LITTLE VAYCAY...

We're heading south for the next 6 days for my fabulous cousin Brian's wedding to my future cousin-in-law Kara. We'll be in Fort Myers Beach, to be exact. After the craziness with the house and all the time Steve's been spending on his thesis, it will be nice to get away for a few days as a family. Lots of my family and friends will be there too, which will make the whole trip quite the party!

Interestingly enough, Flo Rida's song "Low" (you know, "Apple bottom jeans, boots with the fur..."), has become one of Caroline's favorite songs after listening to it quite a bit with Daddy in the car (it would appear), as just the other day it came on, she sang along to the chorus "Shorty got low, low, low, low..." while smacking her knees and bopping her head to the beat. Hmm. I think we need to watch what we're listening to these days as it seems she's developed quite the little memory... Here's a video from Ellen in case you don't know the song (and therefore still think Steve and I are responsible parents):

**REMEMBER TO STOP THE MUSIC ON THE PLAYER TO THE LEFT BEFORE VIEWING!**

On that note, I'll update everyone on our adventures when I get back. Try not to miss me too much while you are gone!

IT'S A BALMY 23 DEGREES - LET'S HIT THE BEACH!

just chillin' in Mommy's chair

(my new favorite climbing apparatus)

at the beach house

When the temperature drops below freezing, what else does one want to do but hit the beach? We took a mini-vacation to Bethany Beach, DE this past weekend. It was downright bitter, as the coldest weather of the season settled in on the area late last week, but Steve and I decided that if we were going to be stuck inside, we'd rather have a nicer view from the window! We headed down to meet our friends, Mark and Christy, and their kids, Emma and Tommy, and their kids after Caroline's music class at Imagination Stage . The dads decided to brave the 20+ degree temperatures to take the kids to the park - leave it to Caroline to throw a fit when it was time to get into the warm car to come home...

While they were busy taking one for the team, my friend and I also had a chance to hit the Tanger Outlets, where (shock of all shocks) I didn't pick up a thing for myself! I did, however, pick up a couple of things for Steve and some really cute stuff for Caroline at Gap Kids and Polo Ralph Lauren - GREAT sales there this weekend (and definitely warrented a stock-up on baby gifts for friends!).

Although we stayed at our friends' parents' place because the house has an elevator inside (thanks Aunt Patty and Uncle John!), we still popped over to the indoor pool in the neighborhood where Christy and Mark's beach house is. This was probably the kids' favorite part of the trip, and it definitely killed some time for all of us!

The kids had so much fun hanging out together, and Tommy in particular wore Caroline out by playing chase with her for about a half hour before bed. Maybe we should borrow him to come over every night! It was also so nice to hang out and have a few cocktails during the evenings.

It is so funny to be down there in such a mellow kind of way - for so many years after college, Dewey Beach, DE (where we had a summer house with our friends and my cousins, just north of Bethany) was our home-away-from-home, and it definitely moves at a different pace! Although The Starboard, my most favorite bar in the world, was closed, I would be lying if I didn't say I got a little sad when I drove by! We'll have to make a trip down to Dewey this Summer... It's crazy how much life changes when you have kids! Speeding down to the beach in record time so that you could get a coveted parking space in front of our house in Dewey and run straight to the bars has been replaced by speeding down to the beach because Caroline needs a diaper change! Despite this, I wouldn't trade her for all the Starboard Specials in the world (hee hee)! Even though we never even saw the sand, and only saw the water from Coastal Highway, the weekend was relaxing, and just what we needed. Hope your weekend was nice, too... :)