Florida Day 3 & 4

Sunday found us mini-golfing. This is one of Connor’s favorite things to do on vacation. We found a pirate-themed course and ventured out. Instead of robins and an occasional mosquito that you find on Minnesota’s courses, they have lizards and alligators at courses in Florida.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each night is an adventure in dining. Mike had researched some of the top-rated restaurants in the area and we thought we would check one out. When we arrived, it just didn’t look that great. We took a chance on a place down the street called Bonefish Grill. Mike was the only one not loving his meal. They had the best kids meals! Noah had popcorn shrimp and Mike, after sneaking a few, commented it was the best he had ever had. Connor ordered mac-n-cheese and all of us tried it and it was so yummy! I had chicken with spinach and goat cheese and it was very tasty. Mike’s fish was a little on the hot/peppery side for him. All-in-all a good find.

Monday started with a bomb. Huge thunderstorms woke all of us that morning. Noah was sure a bomb had gone off. It poured. This area got almost 3 inches that morning. We had tickets for a Twins game against the Pirates that afternoon and were happy it cleared up mid-morning.

I just have to say that this was the hottest I have been in a long time at this game. It was steamy, and with the stadium facing the wrong direction for any hope at a wisp of a breeze AND no shade from the sun, it was pretty miserable . I actually felt physically sick a couple of times. Finally, I decided to stand in the 4 mile-long line of people waiting for snow cones. Connor came with me and it actually felt nice out of the sun with the wind hitting us while we waited. And waited.

The Twins were behind and we were in the last innings. Scrubs were brought in. We learned our lesson from the last game, however, and never considered leaving early (even though it was so blasted hot). Again, the Twins came back and won it 4-3 in the last inning. Great way to end spring training 2011!

 

That night we checked out the #1 rated Italian place in Cape Coral called Aliani’s. Oh my, this place was amazing. We had the BEST authentic Italian food. We will definitely put this on our list to come back year-after-year.  I thought of my mom the whole time and how she would have loved this place.

We HAD to stop for ice cream on the way home. I passed on ordering anything and then proceeded to eat most of Mike’s scoops of cookie-dough while he ran, in the rain, into Publix for a few more groceries.

Hoping to head to the beach today. Both kids would rather stay at the pool, but it will be good for them to experience the beach again. Hoping the weather holds out. Right now, while everyone sleeps, it’s sunny and nice. Forecast calls for possible showers. The weather forecasters are horrible at telling what parts of Florida the rain will hit and when. They just generalize for the whole state. If we had listened to them, it should have rained all day yesterday and it only rained in the early AM and after 7 in the evening. We will see, might have to hit some cute little stores along the beach if it rains. Oh darn.

Happy Day!

LB

Florida Day 1 and 2

Florida! The week we have been talking about for a year has arrived.

 

We started our vacation with a lesson learned. We thought we would take an early flight out of MN and get there early enough to enjoy the whole day. Sounded great in theory, but we couldn’t get into our hotel until 4. That makes for many hours in the heat in clothes more appropriate for tundra-type weather. Kind-of miserable. Next year we won’t take such an early flight.

The first day was spent swimming, and we went to Carbbara’s for supper. Connor had hit a wall. His stomach hurt, he was miserable and sat on my lap most of dinner. He never does that so you know he wasn’t feeling well. Connor will go all day without food and then become tired, sluggish, and have no energy. It’s like he can’t tell when he’s hungry. He had gone all day with just a snack here and there and was so miserable. He was slightly better after eating some, but he just needed bed. We all did!

Day two was spent at the pool. We played in the water for 4 hours at least. I finished my book and we ate lunch pool-side.

 

 

 

 

That night we had tickets for the Twins vs. Red Sox game. It was at Boston’s stadium, they also train in Ft Myers. We were excited to go to a night game and to see Morneau back in action. He only DHed that game, but it was still good to see him. The game didn’t go so well with the Twins behind by 5 runs. The second-string came in by inning 7 and we decided to leave. Imagine our surprise while watching the news later to find out they pulled out a win with a 6 run come-back in the 9th inning! That’s what we get for leaving early!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have already had to go out and purchase more sun screen. It’s like you can’t put it on enough times. We all got a little burnt even with multiple applications.

Having a blast! Not coming home. Scoping out houses and jobs. Anyone need a 6th grade teaching job in the tundra?

 

 

Sun and Smiles,

LB

8 is Great

Connor is eight! He had a couple of celebrations this weekend, one with family and one with friends. With his friends, he opted to go to House of Bounce in Rochester for his party. We then came back home for supper and cake.

EIGHT things about Connor.

 

 

#1. He loves to snuggle in the morning when he first wakes up. Generally he is not a snuggler so we take advantage of this time every morning.

#2. He still sleeps with his little blue blanket with the silky edge. Once he tried to sleep without it and couldn’t. I like that he likes it still and hope he doesn’t try to give it up again for a very long time. Who doesn’t like comfort when they sleep?

 

 

#3. He still plays soccer, baseball, and basketball and it’s still a toss-up as to which ones he will stick with.

#4. He has zero long term memory. He never remembers our trips to Florida and he’s been 4 times. He lies now and pretends he remembers things when we talk about them.

 

 

 

 

#5. His favorite food is still peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He doesn’t like cake.

#6. He is a great sleeper and will occasionally talk in his sleep. Clearly and loudly. Scares the heck out of Mike. It’s the one time being hard of hearing is a good thing.

 

 

#7. He has a super dry sense of humor and says funny things and doesn’t even realize they are funny. Which makes it more funny!

#8. He never stops moving. He is as active as anyone I have ever met. He loves to be outside from the minute I will let him in the morning, until the sun goes down and I am calling him into the house. It took our new neighbors about 3 days to comment on that. Our kids are always outside playing.

Happy Birthday wee one! We are so lucky to have you and are so proud of you.

And so it begins….

So the phone rings around 6:30 last night, just before we are heading out for a shamrock shake. I think nothing of it, someone answers it and it’s for Noah.

 

About 5 minutes later Noah comes up the stairs to announce that it was, “a bunch of girls at a birthday party” calling him. Apparently, he got asked by a girl if he liked her. What happened to the days of the friend asking for the friend?! He told the girl that he liked her only as a friend. Good answer, I thought. Connor claims he also heard Noah say, “calm down, clam down!” I guess there was Justin Beiber-type screaming going on.

 

Well, apparently the girls weren’t done with the conversation because the phone rang again. This time Noah wasn’t going to answer it, except Connor was standing there with the phone to hand to him. Noah answered it and told them not to call again. They didn’t.

 

And so it begins. Noah is in NO WAY ready for girls (poor things). He even told me his stomach dropped every time he thought about those phone calls. He barely drank his shake, and was in general sulky mood about it.

 

That unlisted phone number is looking better and better……