Beach Babes

We have physically been back in the Czech Republic for a bit over a week.  But our hearts are still in Florida, with its sunshine and warm breezes.  We knew that we were headed to snow, and cold, and sunless, gray days so we soaked up all that Fort Myers Beach had to offer.  I leave you with my final post of our vacation days.  To say that my girls (and I) had fun is an understatement.  We are already counting down the days until our summer visit!

We sat in many oversized chairs.  It seems each restaurant has one.

We got to pet the gull.  

We raced each other in the water...

and on land...

and in the water again...

We dug...

And mixed...

And poured...

And posed.

We ran to...

And fro...

And got our piggies full of sand.

She took breaks to cartwheel.

and cartwheel...

And cartwheel some more.

And then lament her sandy hands.

It rained a bit.

We jumped for joy when it stopped.

So we could go back to doing what we loved best.

So did he.

And this one did some boogie boarding...

With her constant cheerleader by her side.

And suddenly it was time for the last run of the day...

and just like that, it was time to hand up the board until next time.

See you soon FMB.

Sun and Sand

We were so very happy to be in Florida - with its sun and sand and sea.  That would be enough to make anyone happy but it also had a few more fun surprises in store for us (some of them even began with S, to keep with my theme) - Uncle Spike, his girlfriend S and two of her sons, S and J.  We were all so happy to see them again and be able to spend time together in such a great location.  Our stays only overlapped by a couple of days, though, so we had to make the most of our time together...and we did.  See the proof below...

When arrived and S was already in the Ocean.  Which meant my girls were in their suits and joining him as fast as they could (they love S!).  The first thing he did was show MadHatter what a live shellfish looked like, and he even had her holding them!

The girls and S and J (who joined us a bit later as he was sleeping off some Benadryl when we arrived) ran and splashed and played in the surf all afternoon...

Even B was in his happy place...

We finally had to drag them all in, with promises of getting out the next afternoon.  There were 5 of us going fishing in the morning (see here) but MadHatter, Stinkerbell and Papa were heading to the pool and sea.  And then we headed out to town in the rain for lunch.  There would sadly be no more beach for Sunday.

Monday was bright and sunny and warm so first thing we were back in the ocean.  The kids played for a bit but S and I were a bit bored (Spike's girlfriend S, that is) so we decided to take the turtle form and make a line of hatchling turtles heading to the ocean.  We started our work and discovered it was a pretty time intensive project.  We finally got it finished, and S helped us keep our project in one piece with a Turtle X-ing sign on both sides.  It was funny to watch every single person walking or biking by carefully walk around our "turtles"  Even the beach patrol car went around so as not to ruin it!

Meanwhile, the kids were making an island of their own...

With Booby Island finished (yes, that is what they named it) they were on to another project - turning the girls into mermaids.  I think the hardest part was keeping the girls still while they packed them with sand.  MadHatter kept peeking a toe through her tail, much to S's chagrin (and delight).

They had all had enough sand for awhile.  And the adults were looking for a beverage or two, so we headed to the house.  We got our beverage, the kids got the pool.

At sunset (yes, we were out all afternoon) we headed to the beach to watch.  And play...

And finally, the sun had set.  And our time was at an end.  It was sad to say goodbye to them all, and to Papa, who had to catch a flight home the next morning but we already have plans to meet up again this summer.