Ah, this is the life

We spent a lot of the day at Crandon Beach on Key Biscayne. But before that, Jeremy & Amy did some crazy long work out.

Evidently, Ivy needed to catch up on some sleep before a long day in the sun. 

We all went out in the water. Even Livy had fun. Yesterday, she was scared of the ocean and wouldn't go near it. True, Crandon Beach is in Biscayne Bay. The water is warmer, and the waves are smaller. We walked out a very long way to get to waist-deep water. The kids found live conchs in the water and saw some little fish. Jack even found a crab. And a jellyfish.

We had a scare with Jamey. He was walking back to the sand and stumbled into a deeper pool of water. He did tread water to keep his head above water, but it scared me. I was trying to run through the water holding Livy. Jeremy didn't hear me hollering because he was diving with the girls. Auntie Amy came to the rescue and snatched Jamey up. I think I was more scared than he was. 

Amy, Livy & I sat on the towels while everyone else built sandcastles. Livy ate pretzels and sand. 

I think Livy was jumping into the pool the kids dug. 

The tide went out while we were there. Livy especially had fun walking in the little pools of shallow water.

We "gotta be in it to win it." When we win the lottery, this is similar to the boat I want to live on. We think a helicopter took off from it. 

Ice cream cones at the beach: Crandon Beach has a nice little concession stand, a decent shower area and rooms to change clothes. There are also cabanas you can rent for the whole summer. 

We went to Whiskey Joe's for dinner. It's right on the water near the toll booth on Key Biscayne. It was okay food. I had a Coconut something drink (the server said they reworked the mojito and added coconut) that was good. The service wasn't that great. And for the cost, we should've had real silverware, not plastic forks. 

We sat at a hightop table and had to improvise a high chair for Livy. 

There is a marina "at the restaurant" where they have dry storage. I'm not up on all the lingo, but the owners call and ask for their boats to be put in or taken out. So, these huge forklifts move the boats around. It was cool to watch. 

Seeing Grandma Claire and visiting Hollywood

We went up to see Jeremy's mom today. I left the camera in the car while we spent time at her house, a favorite Florida restaurant (Sweet Tomatoes) and a playground near Claire's house. On the way back down to Miami, we stopped in Hollywood to check out the old stomping grounds. 

The kids had a great time at the beach playground. 

Introducing Livy to the beach

Despite this cute face, she was not happy with the beach, so I took her shopping. 

Daddy misses the beach

Pushing a stroller is not easy in the sand

Jamey & Ivy were super excited to see coconuts in the tree.

Two tired kiddos after a long fun day.

First day of vacation

We spent the first day of vacation hanging out. Well, I did 3 loads of pukey laundry including removing, washing, reassembling, and reinstalling the car seats. Amy found a car wash close by, so we dropped it off for a good washing, including shampooing the seats.

In other parts of the day, here's what we did:

Twinskis

The super awesome bench in the backyard. It's a great place for napping!

Followed by lots of fun in the pool and ice cream. 

The Drive to Florida

We have driven between Florida and Minnesota a few times, and it's always gone well. We planned to leave Tuesday at 4 after school. We figured we'd get to Miami around dinner time on Wednesday.

We planned this trip to Florida to coincide with the Rev3 70.3 in Sarasota. So, Jeremy & Amy are training and will be racing.

Livy fell asleep the second we got in the car. 

The kids watched a whole ton of movies. 

The shoes come off as soon we get on the road. 

 We stopped for dinner in Iowa somewhere. Then we stopped again sometime to get gas and put jammies on.

Shortly after this cute picture, Jamey puked all over the back seat. Just once. And then he felt better. Although, a couple days here in Florida, he's still complaining of a "yucky tummy" every once in a while. 

This is after breakfast in Chattanooga, TN. Livy drank some apple juice and ate some pancakes. She promptly puked twice about a half hour after we got back in the car. 

Dressed and ready for a long day in the car

Uh-oh. This is very irresponsible. But I was probably looking at the map, not Facebook.

Finally in Florida!

Seriously, this drive took 5-6 hours longer than Jeremy & I remember. And the puking. And we stopped for 8,000 bathroom breaks and gas stops and meals. Despite all that, it really wasn't a bad drive. The kids were great the whole time. Ivy & Jamey watched movies, read books, played with toys, and colored & did stickers. Livy had a harder time, but she doesn't like being in the car between Prior Lake and Eden Prairie. I ended up holding her hand a lot of the trip. Also, she napped well during the day, but was not a happy sleeping girl during the night. 

So we got to Marc & Amy's house around 10pm. The kids ran around for a while; we ate snacks; and unloaded the car. It was fabulous to be out of the car! And super fun to be with the cousins!

Playing in the leaves

We had a great autumn. Are having a great autumn. These pictures are from one of the last really warms days of September. The kids love playing with our neighbor's kids!!

Follow the Leader

Our little boss

Hug or Tackle? 

A great leaf pile

Jamey constantly has a stick in his hand.

Eating apples

Ivy raking our other neighbor's front yard.