follow up

I forgot to mention that the plane rides yesterday were pretty uneventful. I planned ahead on the tiny plane - boarded last and sat in the back. Did pretty ok. The long leg of the trip - from Miami to SFO was mellow also. Brandon slept for almost 90 minutes, even though I kept checking him for pee the whole time. Stephen and Matthew were several rows ahead of us, but they did fine as well. Shout out to Jennifer for picking us up and bringing us home. A nice bottle of mango rum is waiting for her... Another shout out for Katja and her family for so graciously taking care of our cat. We couldn't have gone away for a week without knowing Wyatt would be taken care of.

I am waiting for the bug bites to stop itching. I put on some cortisone anti-itch cream last night like it was lotion. I need to find some of that Benadryl spray, but I keep hoping at some point the itching will stop.

We had a really great time. Hope you enjoyed the pictures and the stories. Thanks to Christopher for letting me pick on him in the blog - and for even being a good sport about it! My family is really special - even the members who didn't go with us. Love you all!

winding down

I am home now. Have been for almost 23 hours already. I miss the sunshine and warm weather. Our house was incredibly cold when we walked in last night. We were all passed out by 9pm, and naturally, the kids were full of energy today. My wonderful, wonderful husband took them to the zoo this afternoon so I could work on laundry and grocery shopping. It really stinks to be back. But, it is what it is, and now, it is 7pm and I'm making dinner while Stephen is bathing the boys. Well, I'm making dinner and playing on the internet at the same time. How quickly we fall back into our regular roles....


4 cousins, just before we left the house on the last day. I think they will be happy if they never see a camera pointed in their direction again.



Selene snorkeling one day.


The images belowe are from Lisa's camera. Not in any particular order.

The Scott Family, at what we named "Conch Beach"



Lisa and her 3 kids, atop the lighthouse. Note the firm grip on Matthew's arm. I did not go up the stairs to the top, so Steve took the kids up. Then we he got to the top, he wouldn't let Brandon out the little door. Thankfully. Lisa made sure she took good care of Maffew.



Mr & Mrs Scott.




Why yes, this was totally posed, but totally cute just the same.



Just us gals. Looks like I thought Caylynne would help hold me up, and she thought I was fine on my own!

Back to reality....

well the time has come to say good bye to the island life. It's hard for all of us to do. Especially since we've heard rumors of 35 degrees for us to return to. Yuck.
Spent the last couple of days on the beach. Steve and Alan even went snorkeling by walking out the beach. Saw 4 sting rays among other things.
No time for pictures today, sorry. It's 752 am Saturday now, and we have to be ready and on the porch at 9am to start our travel adventure. Or to end it, I guess.
thanks for reading!

pre-turkey day

It had to happen eventually. Thankfully, Christopher took this one for the team.


This was the dog that befriended us at the beach today. I named him Buster. He was cute. Was very well trained, but not overly affectionate.


Matthew found a ball and some stick thingy to use as a bat. Not that the water wasn't fun. I think he is ready for baseball season.


One of my new favorite pictures. Ever.



ice cream fun. Then the crash. And how quickly he crashed.



1/2 the group went snorkeling with the pro's today. They saw baby turtles, dolphins, barracudas, and a few other things. The other 1/2 went to the beach and played. I don't have pics just yet of the snorkelers, but here are a few from the day just the same.

Weds morning

The only headline that matters to us from yesterday, is that Selene believes she was stung by a jelly fish. AND lived to tell about it. Ok, so really, she probably was. We all volunteered to pee on her, as we had been out on the boat for a few hours at this point, but she said no. I suggested that the sting had NO chance if we ALL peed on her, but still, no go.

2nd runner up on the headlines is Caylynne was so loved by the plant life in the ocean that it tried to keep her. It was long and kept brushing up against her and then eventually, tried to grab her. Screaming through her snorkel would have been funny had we known what the reason was for the screaming. Weren't sure if now she was seeing some yellow-eyed fish staring her down. She was a trooper though, and we all made it home alive.

Went out on the boat and did some snorkeling. Went through the lighthouse. Turns out my husband has a fear of heights. Realized it when I looked up from the ground and saw him on the lookout point, holding onto the wall behind him. Oh - saw Johnny Depp's private island. Ok, probably not. BUT he does own an island down here and we did try to beach on an island full of signs reading "PRIVATE ISLAND", with a couple of big security looking guys.

tuesday's pictures

end of the day shenanigans


Matthew attempting snorkeling. did ok, but the water is a little chilly for his no-fat body. He needs more practice work in the pool. Maybe today.




I almost had a stroke when 1st, I saw the price, and 2nd, realized it was in our checkout pile.


There are tiny little people we know and love at the top.


from my vantage point...


The view from our front door.

one pic

I did take one picture once I got the card back in... Here you go!