Fun in the Sun:: Florida Vacation 2016 Part 3

I should've called this vacation The One with all the Beaches. Haha :) 

To see part 1, click here and for part 2, click here. Today's post is the final installment of this fun beachy vacation. 

We woke up early again on Wednesday and went to one of our favorite spots, Boca Grande. 

We set up on the beach and got busy relaxing, playing, and enjoying the sun, sand and sea. Aiden and Anders became  experts at beach days. Swim trunks & shirt - check, hat - check, beach toys - check. 

Grandma spent a good twenty minutes loading the plane onto the spring. Thanks, Mom! 

Seriously, could you ask for anything better? We had lots of room to spread out and it's a lot easier to watch the boys like this. The boys love Boca Grande. The waves wash up pretty far so they have lots of surf to play in, they can run pretty far back and forth, and there's lots of shells to pick. 

I'll cherish this picture forever. They won't be so small, able to share a beach chair for much longer. 

This shirt of his is my favorite on him. Add the hat, and I can't stop giving him tons of kisses and taking tons of pictures. My sweet, sweet baby! 

I don't have many pictures of Loretta from this day because some of her friends who were down the beach came and found her. Lucky! :) She got to take a break from Aiden & Anders to hang out with friends her age. 

If you turned into a street and saw this view, would you walk down the path? Boca Grande is dreamy! 

See? Can't stop taking pictures! (The hat was $3 at Target and the shirt is fromTarget, too. $4 I think.) 

We backed up, turned the van around, and I looked back there. Sleeping already! That's what a busy beach day will do for you. 

When we got back home to Grandma and Grandpa's, the boys ran around outside for awhile. A few days before this, a mama armadillo and her four babies were hanging out in the yard. Those things are fierce and transmit leprosy, so we didn't want to have the kids outside a lot. My mom called local wildlife biologists and they came and set traps but at this point they hadn't caught all of them yet. 

Thursday was our last day down there and when I woke up I was finally feeling better! Yay! Of course we woke up early and this time we headed back to Fort Muers Beach. This time we parked a couple blocks from the beach in the $5 lot. The boys walked so I could push all of the beach stuff in the stroller. 

Lucky me, I had some big helpers along. Cousins! 

More cousins. :) 

Aiden looks up to Wesley so much. Wesley is the oldest grandchild on my side of the family so he's kind of everyone's buddy. It's fun to watch him grow up and I just love that Aiden adores him so much. We'll be at home and he'll say something about Wesley. Anytime I tell Aiden he's getting big, he'll say "I'm getting so big like Wesley!" It's the cutest thing. I'm glad Wesley is okay with a three year old being so pumped on him. ;) 

We sure took advantage of our last day and our last chance to soak in all this Vitamin D goodness. I'm glad I have so many pictures of my boys at this age because I know every stage is so fleeting. 

 I'm getting all teary thinking about how big they're going to be when they get back into all their swim gear this summer.

I spot some familiar faces! These kids got to go for a walk to the pier with Grandma and Auntie Heidi. Lucky! 

We ate LOTS of p and j sandwiches on this trip. (Ask Loretta how many she made!) 

Oh my sweet, sweet Anders. You honestly couldn't be cuter.

Aiden got brave! He came all the way into the water with me and he was so so proud! Look at that smile! 

He would be good for about a minute, then turn around and run as fast as he could for the safety of the shore. 

While Anders slept, Heidi, Loretta, Wesley, Aiden and I went for lunch at one of the Times Square restaurants. 

Aiden was so excited to be out with the big kids. He wanted pizza, a hot dog, french fries, and some ice cream. I made a deal with him. If he could finish his hot dog and french fries and still wanted pizza, I'd get him some. He finished his hot dog and fries and decided to skip the pizza and go straight for the ice cream. Good call, Aiden! 

Back on the beach, we played and swam for a little longer before packing up. It was so bittersweet because I knew it would be close to a year before I'd be back. 

One last picture of Anders lounging in that wonderful Florida air before we packed up (for real) and headed north. 

We left my mom and dad's, intending on making it to Lake City that night. Dave tried finding us a room and the whole city was sold out. So was Gainesville. And Valdosta, Georgia. What?!!! I was starting to panic, thinking I was going to have to drive four extra hours and get to Atlanta at 2 or 3am. I was so tired already, recovering from the strep throat. Lucky for us, Dave found the last room in Ocala. That meant we only drove three hours instead of four or five (our original plan), so I knew the next day was going to be loooooong for us. We got on the road around 8:00 the next morning and proceeded to hit major traffic in Atlanta, Marietta, Chattanooga, and north and south of Nashville. Needless to say, we were thrilled to make it home and get out of the van. Loretta had to get back in a van the next day and spent a whole extra day traveling. What a long trip! 

Fun in the Sun:: Vacation 2016 Part 2

To see the first part of our Spring Break trip - Easter weekend - click here. 

On Monday morning we woke up and I still wasn't feeling the best and I still had a minor fever, so we lounged around home. Dave had to fly out of the Tampa airport at 3 and we knew Florida traffic could be a bear, so we left at 11:30. The boys had been pretty clingy all weekend so they came for the drive. 

We took 275 so we could go across Tampa Bay and we saw this bridge! I was wishing for a turn-off so I could get some better pictures, but of course there was none. 

When we got back to Grandma and Grandpa's, we didn't do much. Anders loved his snack. :) 

Aiden was so pumped to wear his new orange shirt. He asked to sleep in it that night and he really wanted to wear it the next day too. 

After not doing much all day, we went out for ice cream in the evening. Do you think they enjoyed it? ;) 

Southwest Florida has some amazing sunsets and every night we tried to go outside around 7:45 to check it out down the street. 

Seriously! Every time I go to Florida, I fall more in love. 

On Tuesday we woke up pretty early and went to Lovers Key State Park. We went there last year and loved it, so it was one of our "must-dos" this year. It's $8 to get in and you have the opportunity to do all kinds of outdoor activities... Paddle boarding, fishing, kayaking, etc. We just played on the beach and swam. 

Loretta was pumped to have Ada there! 

I try to keep my camera close when we are on the beach because this guy has the best expressions. Everything makes him so pumped, and this momma is very happy to see and capture it all. 

Nothing like playing on the beach with friends! 

Anders loves Minnie Mouse so when I found a pack of juices with a Minnie Mouse cap, I knew I had to get it for him. It was so warm (80+) everyday so I had to figure out good ways to keep the boys hydrated. Problem solved! 

So lucky to spend the day on the beach with these two! 

There was a tram to take you to and from the parking lots and beach. Here's some of the crew waiting to load up to head back to the van. It was still pretty early (1ish), but after three or four hours there we were ready to change it up.

Our plan was to drive north along Estero Blvd to one of the access spots on Fort Myers Beach and spend an hour or two there, then maybe eat near Times Square and stay for the sunset. 

There was heavy traffic (like always - haha) on Estero Blvd so it was taking awhile to get to the spot we wanted to stop at on the beach. Then a storm hit. And everybody was trying to leave the island at the same time. There was tons of rain and wild winds. The inlet looked really cool so I had Loretta try to get a picture while I was driving. #wetried 

Since we didn't get to see the Fort Myers sunset, we decided to go to the park along the Peace River in Punta Gorda. I was so pumped when we got there and saw this. 

Aiden loves his hat and preferred to wear it even when we weren't out in the daytime sun. Good thing he looks cute in it! 

I was so so thankful to have Loretta join us on our vacation! She helped with packing, making sandwiches, dishes, loading and unloading the van, getting the boys ready to get out the door, watching the boys on the beach so I could have a minute or two away, seriously everything! 

Thank you, Loretta! 

While the sun was setting, the boys played around with Aiden's new "Dusty." He loves watching Planes, so every plane is Dusty or one of his friends. 

We kept an eye on the water and the colors and light kept changing. So much beauty in one sunset! 

When the sun disappeared, the whole sky turned purple and pink. Jackpot! 

Then it was dark and we walked back to the van. I didn't want this evening to end. It was so dreamy! 

Looking at all these pictures makes me want to get back in the van and drive down there! 

In a couple days I'll finish up this trip. Thanks for reading!