Will you go out with me?

Dearest Boys,

Should God bless you with a partner in this life, date them!  Should God bless you and your partner with children, take time for just the two of you and make the dates special!  I love dating your father!  He is my very best friend and I enjoy sharing experiences with him.  Ms. Steph hosted a date night last Friday and we were sure to take advantage of it!  So, after being home from vacation for less than 24 hours, we dropped you boys off at her house and headed out for one of the most fun dates we've ever had!

We started the date at The Vaughn's house where we had drinks, snacks, and a few more drinks.  Laura, Michelle, and I just happened to have a similar style that evening and it was too coincidental to not take a picture!

We then met up with two other couples at a local painting studio where we had a private party!  Having the room to ourselves meant that we could bring all the food and drinks we wanted and we got our own artist to guide us through our paintings.  All of us ladies are teachers and four out of the five of us couples have kiddos that go to Ms. Stephy everyday during the school year.  Here is our party group before we started painting:

A quick shot of your dad and me before the lesson begins:

*Someone* wasn't taking their painting very seriously at first!

And soon, they were needing some assistance from the artist! ; )

We made it through though and I was impressed with our final products!

Us ladies were proud of our hard work!

The boys, however, were just goofy about the whole thing!  (Check out those facial expressions!)

Such good friends and such great fun!  

Florida Vacation - Day 6

Dearest Boys,

Wednesday was our last full day in Florida and we made the best of it!  In full disclosure, I must admit that we were all a little "vacationed out" at this point and were actually missing our own beds, showers, etc.  When Great Grandpa and Daddy planned a trip to the Ringling Circus Museum, I wasn't totally enthused.  Well I can now eat a big piece of you-underestimated-the-awesomeness pie because this place rocked!

Do you know that I don't like circuses?  Well, I don't.  I don't like the way animals are transported around and then made to perform and yadda yadda yadda.  However, I surprised myself as I found this family fascinating right away.  Since you probably won't remember an ounce of this, I want to give you a little background:  This area was once owned by Mr. John Ringling and his wife, Mable.  John was one of the five original circus kings and he became quite wealthy thanks to his success with the circus.  Mr. and Mrs. Ringling purchased 20 acres of waterfront property in Sarasota and decided to build a home there.  The mansion was completed in 1926 for a then staggering sum of $1.5 million.  This home has a Gothic flare to it but it's inspired by Venetian architecture.  It boasts over 50 rooms and the details in each room were magnificent!  

The back patio was inviting and hard to leave!

Even the front gardens were spectacular!

Daddy took a liking to these banyan trees and we were all intrigued by their appearance.

We heard about a miniature circus display so we walked a little further...

and *some* of our party got a ride to where we were going!

Their learning center had the coolest replica of a Ringling Bro. Circus on display!  It took over 50 years for model builder Howard Tibbals to complete the eight main tents, 152 wagons, 1,300 performers, 800 animals, and 57-car train!

 Jax, you were in charge of the map and you lead us well!

Our plan was to drive to Longboat Key for dinner and then go to Siesta Key for one last walk through the sand.  Well, the skies opened up mid-dinner to tell us how sad they were that we were leaving soon ; )

After the storm settled, we walked the dock and then searched for shells before deciding that Siesta Key was not an option.

We returned to the house where we just chatted with great grandpa and then enjoyed one final performance from you nudists.

We were on the road by 8 o'clock the next morning so that we could drive back to Orlando for our flight home.  It was the best vacation ever and I'm so grateful to grandpa for his hospitality.  Now that I know about this little gem, I know we'll be back sooner than later!

Florida Vacation - Day 5

Dearest Jackson and Colt,

Great Grandpa took us to the Mote Aquarium on Tuesday morning.  There were so many neat things to see, learn about, and even touch!

Cousin Ian was a wealth of information as we looked at all the tanks inside.

Outside, they had a touch tank where we felt sea urchins, horseshoe crabs, and sea stars.

But I think the ray touch pool was your favorite as the rays would swim right up to you boys and let you rub their jelly-like skin.

This little sea turtle was just your size and you found him quite entertaining, Colt!

Our last stop of the morning was at their dolphin lagoon.  It was here that we met Edna, their only dolphin at the time.  Edna had just been rescued 12 days prior after being found stranded on Longboat Key.  Edna had the entire pool available to her but she chose to swim back and forth right in front of us.  A few times, I swear she would just stop and check us out for a bit.  If either of you ever choose careers on a dolphin research and rehabilitation team, I will be more than ok with that!!  ; )

We returned home for lunch and napping and then you two got to play outside with Great Grandpa for a bit.

That evening, I had my own special time with Grandpa as we went to the club for some BINGO!

I guess I should've included "Touch a bunch of neat sea life" to our Summer Fun list?!?! : )

Florida Vacation - Day 4

Dearest Beach Bums,

We drove straight from Disney World to Sarasota, which took us about 2 hours.  We were starving when we arrived but I was also very anxious to see the house.  You see, Daddy told me about his family's "Florida house" very early on in our relationship.  So I've known about this hideaway for 15 years now, but this was the first time I'd ever been there.  Great Grandpa & Cousin Ian were already there to greet us and show us around.  We then headed out to a yummy restaurant on the bay for dinner,

Monday morning I woke up with leftover excitement from our adventures the day before and a new excitement for what was to come!  Deanna just happened to be vacation in Sarasota too so we asked her to join us on our beach excursion.  Great Grandpa took us to Siesta Key Beach and I was more than impressed.  Your mommy has seen her fair share of beaches and this was one of the impressive ones!

Colton, you were very cautious at first and did not enjoy the sand beneath your feet!

Jackson, you acted as if you'd found your homeland!

I asked for just 1 family picture before we let you boys have at it in the deep, blue sea.

Then you went for it, Jax!  All.the.way!  Fearlessly and with enthusiasm to spare!

Colton, you took a more timid approach ; )

 While we were all out there together, a family of dolphins joined us (meaning, they swam about 20 feet away from us)!  Deanna tried to get a picture of them but they were rather illusive!  We watched them in wonder for a while though.

Then it was time for some splashing along the shoreline.

And, during our walk, we found the coolest thing ever!  Check out this cute starfish!! 

All of that walking made for a hungry boy so you bonded with Great Grandpa!

Meanwhile, we buried you in the sand!

We wrapped up the morning with you boys playing in this "pool".

We went out to lunch for a little more Deanna-time!

It was then supposed to be naptime.  This was the first day that one of us didn't nap with you.  Instead, we just shut the bedroom door in hopes that you'd fall asleep.  Instead, we heard a lot of jumping, some reading, plenty of laughing, and then some crying.  We let that go on for nearly 2 hours and when we went to get you, this happened:

Oh well!  It was time for us to play "tour guide" as we took Heather & Billy to the beach for the afternoon.

(Our new camera made this water appear green - it was actually quite clear and a lovely blue color.)

Life is so good.