Maiden Voyage of new Kayak at Fort Desoto...

We had a beautiful day today at the beach and managed to avoid the rain. YAY!!! It threatened for about 30 minutes today and then thankfully went on it's merry way. We had the best time with the kayak today and can't wait to take it out again. The only disappointment was that we didn't see any dolphins or manatees. Of course as we were loading the kayak back in the truck we saw a whole school of dolphins swimming in the lagoon. If they just would of come a little sooner we might have been able to paddle out and get a close encounter. Oh well, next time right??

Dave, Charlotte and Natalie paddling over to the beach.  Chloe and I drove the truck over and unloaded the stuff.

Look at that gorgeous Kayaking french girl..

I laughed so hard when I saw this picture.  What was I thinking having a picture taken with three beautiful girls with tiny little figures.  I look huge and completely out of place.  LOL 

Of course, I had to snap a picture of my girl on the job.

Charlotte and I

The girls heading out.

Sunny Day at Rainbow River.....NOT...

I was so excited to spend the day on the river and share with Chloe and Charlotte a little bit of Florida "country." Everyone knows Florida has the most gorgeous beaches but our rivers are a little known secret. The morning started off great and I was sure the weatherman was going to be wrong and the rain was going to stay away. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case.

About fifteen minutes before we got on the river the rain started.  It started and didn't let up.  I was really undecided as to whether we should stick it out or just get a refund and make the two hour drive back home.

Dave said "lets do it" so I took his lead even though I was a little worried about the thunder I heard in the distance.  So we, the crazy party of five, floated down the river in the rain.

 In the two hour trip we had about 45 minutes where it wasn't raining but it wasn't sunny either.  Believe it or not the girls were actually very cold.  Remember, the river is only 72 degrees F.   Combine that with cold rain and no sun and even on a hot day you can get a chill.   But even though they didn't get the chance to swim in the spring or see the state park.  (We opted out of that because we just wanted to eat and get dry.)
I think it is safe to say we all still had a great time.  We laughed and joked the entire time we were freezing our tails off.

 Needless to say we were all starving by the time we were done and decided to take advantage of the covered picnic tables next to the parking lot.   We had another reprieve from the rain long enough to enjoy lunch and then we headed home.

 I had to laugh because we stopped for coffee and hot chocolate on the way home something that is never done in Florida in July.

After we got home we had pizza and salad then headed over to sports authority to take a look at their kayaks.  We have been wanting a kayak for a long time, in fact we planned on getting two.  However, their tandem kayak was on sale for $112 off the regular price.  We purchased it and are so excited to try it out tomorrow.  We are headed to Fort De Soto park and are hoping that the rain stays away.  Hopefully, if we are really really lucky we will see some Manatees up close and personal.  Wish us luck.

Chloe, dry for the moment and enjoying lunch.

Delicious lunch.

Three dry girls, almost.  lol

Natalie setting up our lunch.

Charlotte.

Safe to say the river wore them out.

oh yes, sleepy girls.

Trying out the new Kayak.

Ready for some Manatee spotting.

Girls night out...

Last night we went to our local theater to watch a stage production of "Lost at Sea."

 Charlotte is very into Theater back in France and I thought it would be fun to get in a little local culture.

 We decided it would be a girls night because Dave showed no interest in joining us. Imagine that!!! LOL

 Originally, Sydnee was going to join us but after working all day she was really exhausted so I called my friend and asked if I could take her 4 year old daughter with us. I'm so glad we did because Emma loved it and we really enjoyed having her with us.

 The play was really cute and we had a nice time. After we made a quick stop for ice cream and headed home.

 Today we are heading to Dunellon to spend the day on the Rainbow River. I better run and wake up some very sleepy girls.

 Have a great Saturday.

Outside the theater.  

In our seats waiting for the show to start.

Emma wanted her picture taken with her favorite pirate.  The "girl" pirate of course.

My Birthday in pictures...

My day got started with this in my office thanks to my incredible boss who also happens to be my good friend.  Thanks again Jennifer.

I came home to find my house full of beautiful girls getting ready to go out to dinner with me for my birthday.

While I was working the girls were enjoying the day by my mom's pool.

Ready for dinner.

Beautiful girls.

Yummy.

So pretty.

Silly girls.

Pretty girls.

Summer shoes.

Love these girl.

Dave getting in on the silly.

This little boy who we later found out name was Luca was the cutest little flirt.  He loved the girls and kept staring and smiling at them.  It was so cute!!

We came home and enjoyed a delicious chocolate cake that my Mom got for me.  What a great birthday!!!

They have arrived...

Today was a long awaited day. The girls and I drove to Orlando to pick up Chloe and Charlotte.

 If you have read my blog for any length of time than you might remember two years ago we hosted a French exchange student. (Chloe) Last August Chloe's family, plus her Aunt and Uncle and cousin Charlotte visited us. Today the girls flew in to spend three weeks with us.

 We are thrilled to have them and have some exciting things planned. They said they had a good flight but are very exhausted. We are getting them all settled in tonight and they will hopefully get caught up on some sleep.

I will be updating the blog more regularly to share with Chloe and Charlotte's parents all the things we're going to be up to so stay tuned!!! :)

Chloe and Charlotte, beautiful girls inside and out!!!

We got to the parking garage of the airport  and spotted this gorgeous rainbow.  We thought it was  the perfect start to a wonderful time enjoying these two wonderful girls!!

The girls waiting for the luggage.

A quick stop at McDonalds on the way home for a snack!!

Happy 4th of July...

This fourth of July was a little different than normal.

 First of all I had to work until 1pm. I've never had to work the fourth before so that was a little different. As per usual though with my new job we were busier than ever so the morning flew by.

 We had a picnic/barbecue planned for my Mom's but the forecast called for rain most of the day so we decided to have my Mom and my Aunt over to our house instead.

 My Aunt was recently in Michigan visiting my Grandmother and they were in her attic when they came across an old marble board that my Great Grandfather made over 60 years ago. My Aunt who is actually my Great Aunt (my Grandmother's sister) my Grandmother, my Mom and myself all played marbles with my Great Grandmother on this board. She was really into games and I remember so many afternoons after school and summer days playing Marbles and Yahtzee with her.

 My Aunt brought the game board back to Florida with her and on this rainy 4th we couldn't wait to play and take a walk down memory lane. Of course, we all remembered the rules differently.

 While I didn't agree with their rules for play I compromised and played their way since it was two against one. LOL

 I stood my ground though and told them my children will learn the game as I remember playing it. :)

The marbles are the original marbles bought 60 years ago.  Although the die we borrowed  from another game because the one that was with the marbles was so small it was driving us all crazy.

It wasn't the sunny poolside bbq we had planned but it was a really fun afternoon and a great dinner thanks to our fantastic grill chef extraordinaire Dave. 

Yes, my kids were here but as per usual Natalie and McKenlee were back and forth between our house and Hannah and Emily's and Sydnee was working at the Fort and joined us shortly after dinner.

Movie Night at the local Pool...

Tonight our local public pool had their very first family movie night. Because McKenlee volunteers there now she really wanted to go. Sydnee was out to dinner with her boyfriend Matt so we grabbed our adopted daughter Hannah and the five of us headed to the pool. It was such a great time. We played monkey in the middle with an inflatable ball. Caught up with an old friend who was there with her two younger daughters. Had some races with the girls. I tied Natalie, much to her disappointment. (I think she fully expected to win lol ) Of course, she would of killed me had we done more than one lap. We made great friends with a little guy named Kyle who never stopped talking. We snacked on some popcorn and floated to Despicable Me. It was a really good night and I hope the pool continues with the this event. We will definitely go again. I got a few pictures but it is with my I-phone so the quality leaves little to be desired.

Natalie once again not wanting to smile for the camera.  Dave being goofy, and I wonder where McKenlee gets it.

Just a view of the pool.

A view of the movie screen in the back.

Monkey in the "blurry" Middle.  There's our new little friend in the left corner.