day 7 - Siesta Key

Bonnie and Mike live in this cool little neighborhood, and they found a nice walking loop.  Perfect for a morning run.

When I got back, I found the boys sleeping like this.  Awww!

We were supposed to go fishing with Darell, but the weather wasn't cooperating so we got a free beach day!  We headed to Siesta Key, which is supposed to be the best beach in Florida.  I can see why!  The sand is so fluffy its like walking through powdered sugar!

I did a re-do of my sand writing and was much happier with this version!

Josh made his own sand writing just below their finished sand castle. Love the wooden spoon for a flag!

They decided to dig a huge hole.  How big? 

Up to Luke's knees!

Josh was more into playing in the waves than he was into playing in the sand.  Daddy came out to encourage him. 

This is super random picture. Luke's eating a grape, not impersonating Marlon Brando.  I wanted to show you that he got freckles!  They popped out while we were on this trip! 

Another super random photo.  We think he's running from the water, but he's really doing a terrible job at it.  He could be dancing, too, you just never know. 

We took a walk down the beach, but Josh and Luke wanted to walk in the water.

Luke decided that was too hard (the waves were no joke!) and so he walked with us on the sand. 

The sand...the sound of the waves...the color of the water...this is heavenly!

After a fun lunch, we had some ice cream at Olaf's.  Luke made this monstrosity and somehow ate it all! 

Somehow we ended up eating again, who knows how we could possibly fit another bite into our bodies. The restaurant is right on the bay, and we boated by it with Darell.  Luke and I took a walk to explore the pier and I couldn't resist grabbing a selfie. His smile cracks me up. 

The view of the restaurant.  

Day 6- Shark Tooth Beach

This is the only beach we revisited -- Shark Tooth Beach at Venice.  The boys were serious about their production.  They developed a system where they'd go get their shakers full, then come up to the beach and dump them out for me to sort through.  Gramma was also a sorter, so when I got "overloaded" Josh said he would "start working for Gramma."

Its too fun to ignore.  The boys tried to snorkel a bit because we thought we saw some rays, but they had goggle trouble, and so they ended up just playing or hunting for teeth.

We had fun watching three dolphins play around  They were so close to shore!

We went to Sharky's for lunch, just like last time.  This is my second blue drink, but I couldn't resist it because it was made with 44 north huckleberry vodka! 

Luke was so impressed with his super duper long fry!

Same picture from last year just wonkier smiles. 

Love looking over the pier

I love that Josh is up one rung and Luke is up two tiers.  They're so sweet!

Then we went to Darell and Sue's for a little pool party.  Josh was a cannonball maniac!

Luke got in and said "its cold its cold its cold!" but didn't want to leave when we left after dark.

Sue and Darell have the coolest back yard.  They even customized their marquis for us! 

Wish this picture was crisper...but I'll take it!

Day 5 - Legoland

We have arrived!

These two things were SO ready to take this amusement park on!!

We loved the novelty of the real lego sculptures. 

Oh, Hi Emmett!

My favorite part was probably this Mini Land area.  Luke was a willing little poser for me.  

He's in front of the Jefferson Memorial. 

Are they giant, or is the golden gate bridge tiny?

There was a whole star wars area...which we loved.

Christmas card pic? 

Josh volunteered for this photo.

Luke decided he wanted to try the roller coaster. This one was a foot-hanging one! 

He loved it!  This is what he did when I asked him if he liked it. 

Josh decided to skip the roller coasters this day, and instead had a humongous ice cream cone near a lego car. 

We raced each other in these funny emergency cars.  Mike, Bonnie, and I totally killed them! 

Then we rode in some lego boats. 

Boating is romantic. 

Luke loved driving the boat. When I told Mike that Josh's boat driving was super great, Mike mentioned that Luke's driving left a little to be desired. I guess he needs more time deriving our boat this summer. 

Post-roller coaster hair. 

The water show was incredible.  It was a pirate show complete with real waterskiers.  Mike, Bonnie, Luke, and I rode a roller coaster together while Mike and Josh found this. 

Gramma wanted a picture together somewhere at Legoland, and by the time we decided to take it, the shadows were all tough.  We found a well lit sculpture and made it a memory.

Josh agreed to ride the Dragon roller coaster, twice (because they each had to ride with the other parent...),  and then decided to act like this for drama.

The last ride of the day was a soaking boat ride, and Bonnie and I chose to sit it out. They boys loved it though! 

They're all smiling!

Luke's face as he aims right for me!

And afterward, when they were as wet as if they had taken showers. 

We drove home for the night, and planned our next day's fishing trip. I had made a St. Patrick's Day scavenger hunt for them, and decided to let them do it a day early so we wouldn't have to do it before fishing. I showed Josh the first clue and asked him to pose.  Amazing pose, buddy.