Oops

I just posted that I thought I was caught up, but I am wrong. I just remembered that I have SNOW pictures that never got posted. I will do those another night though, as I think 14 posts for 1 night is plenty. Have a good night and pace yourself...you may go into Florida overload if you look at too many of the recent posts.

READY or NOT

Ready or not...here comes the pictures. I have been away from blogging for about a month now, but I think I have finally caught up. Thankfully I have been too busy to take many pictures, so once I caught up from January vacation, I am back on track...at least for a little while. I just posted a LOT of posts to catch up and complete our vacation. In the coming days, I will try to get up some more recent pics that I have taken in the last few days. Sorry about being gone SO long and for posting SO many in one night. I have just been very busy with the girls, Church, volleyball, and volleyball and work. So enjoy the pics!!

This was the start of our vacation with Grandma and Pap in Naples, FL. We went there after our time in Orlando, and spent a week with them. The girls were just dying to go swimming (as it had been a bit chilly while we were in Orlando).

Well, the water here wasn't anything to brag about...it was plain COLD. I refused to get in it (unless, obviously if I had NEEDED to get in, I could have) But as you can tell, the cold didn't stop these girls from getting in. They got in, but didn't stay in for long. They actually enjoyed dancing outside of the pool...which I caught on videotape. Sarah was in the most.

Mary got cold pretty quickly and opted to "chill" on her beach towel.

Finally Sarah decided to join her...and that was the end of our swimming in Naples, until we hit the beach the next day. :)

Gotta LOVE Florida in January!!

Flea Market

One morning we went to a flea market. Jude got a great deal on belts, and we enjoyed just walking through and browsing the many, many outlets.

This would have been a great shot had Bee not decided to yawn as I snapped the pic. Unfortunately this place was way too busy for me to hold up "traffic" to snap another shot.

Beach Bums

Taking a break for lunch...on the beach.

This face just cracks me up. Can't remember what evoked it, but it is SO Sarah!!

Model in training

Not sure where to start.

Naples

While we were in Naples, we drove to Fort Myers to enjoy this place called Imaginarium. The girls had a great time. Below, Grandma and the girls are checking out the sting rays (and yes they were allowed to touch them) YUCK!! (more pics from this trip are in the next post)

More time at the beach...the girls were playing with a new friend they made at the beach, and she was from near Philadelphia. How ironic is that? A very nice girl, and she was Mary's age. They had a great time playing together.

Sarah was burying my shoes. The little stinker!!

Daddy and his Boo.

Imaginarium

They had a weather forecasting area where the kids could do the weather on tv. It was pretty cool, but I laughed out loud about the fact that PA was getting pounded with snow, and Mary forecasted snow in PA. (now I don't know if she even knows where PA is, but somehow the flurries managed to land there) I guess you could say she is MORE accurate than our current meteorologists.

Sarah liked this bird.

Such a cutie!!

Pap bought the girls tokens to get food to feed the fish. They enjoyed feeding them and the ducks. Thanks Pap!!

Paparazzi

One morning while we were in Naples, Jude and his Dad went out golfing. Jill, the girls and I decided to go for a walk. So out we went.

And along our walk, I said to Jill, "Boy wouldn't it be funny if we saw them golfing". Well, shortly after I said that, I saw some movement in the distance...and I mean in the distance. (400-500 yards or more) I thought it looked like Jude and his Dad, and I knew Jude had on a while long sleeve and they both had khakis and black on. But I still couldn't tell if it was them, so I pulled out my camera and zoomed in, and in and in...until I got this. Sure enough, it was them!! (Jude is on the left and Jim on the right)

I was able to zoom in a little closer on the next hole. :) (Jude had to wear the long sleeve because he got burned the first day we went to the beach. He burns so easily and didn't want to be miserable the entire trip, so he just protected himself a bit better...aloe vera, sunscreen spf 70 and the long sleeve shirt.)

Our last shot, taken from the clubhouse...we were much closer for this one...but still not close enough for the guys to ever see us. They didn't believe that we saw them, until I showed them the evidence. Then they accused me of being the paparazzi.

Jude really enjoyed golfing with his Dad, and golfing in January. And the girls and I really enjoyed our stroll through the complex with Grandma. It was the best of both worlds!! (as Mary would say)

The View

My daughters INSISTED that I see this EVERY morning! The view from our Lanai (aka balcony)

This was the view while sitting on the couch. So nice to have this versus the snow home was getting.

And yes, I'm telling you, if it wasn't one girl, it was the other that made sure I did not miss a SUNRISE.

And they were beautiful, breathtaking and spectacular...but really, was it necessary to see SO many of these at the crack of dawn?

I sure love my daughters...even though they are early birds. And because of them, I can look back at these pics and remember the peace and serenity at this hour in the morning. I would sit on the lanai and watch the fish jump, and the birds come and go. It was such a nice vacation...even though I didn't get to sleep in. :)

Beach Babes

Yep...this is my beach babe...in blue jeans and all!! :) In his defense, it was a bit chilly, and he had his trunks on under his pants. I just thought this pic was so JUDE. :) Only he would be caught at the beach with his jeans on. hehehe.

But it wasn't too cold for these two. They were busy little beavers.

Sarah even ventured into the water to fill her bucket.,..a first on this trip.

Can't remember why the expressions, but its cute anyways.

The Beach

We went to the beach a few days while we were with Jim and Jill in Naples. The girls LOVED it!! Especially the sand!!

This is a huge thing...as before this trip she would not even get near the water...even with her Daddy holding her hand. Here...she just went right in. (not too far, but that made Mommy and Daddy happy)

LOVE this one!! Sisters that look so much alike, but yet so different at the same time. I just love these girls to pieces!!!

Water Park

Grandma found this community water park...so one day we went to try it out. Wow, was it great!! And the greatest part was we had the entire kiddie part to ourselves almost the whole time we were there.

Warming up for a bit. (she wanted to be like Mommy and Grandma who were laying out)

They allowed us to bring in a few toys, so the girls were "making" things for Gram. (Doesn't this place look nice?? It was!)

Here is a shot of most of the kiddie part. It was HUGE and had these spray parts and it had an area with some small fountains shooting up...and all of it was shallow, so the girls could just do their own thing. We were able to sit and watch them, but didn't have to be holding them up. It was a relaxing afternoon for us girls (while the guys were golfing).

Thanks Grandma for finding this place and taking us to it. We really enjoyed spending the afternoon with you!! When can we go back??

The Coconut

Pap got a coconut and the girls wanted him to "crack" into it.
I will say now...I am shocked at how HARD it is to "crack" into a coconut.

He was working HARD and with minimal tools. (we still owe you for this one Pap!!)

After much sweat and noise...he was able to crack it. Here he is collecting the juice.

And here is Mary's reaction after trying the juice. :) That's MY girl!! (I hate coconut probably more than any other thing...I think I may even be allergic to it. Uggghhhhh, it is turning my stomach just looking back at these pics)

Thanks again PAP...you were amazing!!! I should have videotaped the whole thing, and we could laugh about it many years down the road.