Daniel Turns 4

It's hard to believe but Daniel turned 4 on Saturday.
We had cake at home that night to celebrate.

Big boy and his birthday candle.

He even had a special shirt (from Barcelona) for the big day.

Sunday, we celebrated with some friends. Gia was a big help blowing out the candle.

Popsicles, sunshine and friends. A good summer Sunday.

Happy birthday to our buddy. We love him to the moon and back.

Mom's Adventure to Canada

Work brought an opportunity for mom to head north (really, really far north) to visit Newfoundland.
It was a great trip to the land where fish is cod, and cod is god.

It was a beautiful place to visit and learn more about.

We were welcomed to Signal Hill by the traditional Tattoo.

Cabot Tower on Signal Hill.

Dinner in the fishing village of Quidi Vidi in St. John's, at the amazing Mallard Cottage.

Lovely village and lovely people.

Wildlife of course abounded. Saw no moose, but did get to spend some time with a true Newfoundlander. They are as big as you think. Also did some whale watching. This lovely humpback knew we were on a time schedule and showed us her tail just as we needed to head back to shore. Right up our alley.

A walk from the hotel to the top of Signal Hill in St. John's was great exercise and the reward was awesome views.

After four great, jam-packed days in St. John's, a smaller group were invited to visit the one-year-old Fogo Island Inn. Billed as a hotel "on an island off an island", it's as remote and rustic as it is charming.

No detail is overlooked. Everything in the hotel is either made on island, or only purchased from traditional Canadian trading partners. Read: Nothing is made in China. The room features a view that can't be described. That white speck in the window? A growler. A small but still awe-inspiring for a newbie iceberg. Apparently this winter was an epic year for icebergs, due to the very cold conditions. It's rare for them to still be around in July. Glad they stuck around for me.

We hiked up to the top of Brimstone Head.

All in all a great trip though it was quiet and not the same doing it without Dave and the kiddos. Next time....

Back to kid activities this weekend. July is almost over. What?!?

Staycation Weekend

With gorgeous weather in the forecast and a perfectly good boat sitting empty while Grandma and Grandpa cruise the Mediterranean, we headed to BYC for a good old staycation this weekend.

But first, before the good weather could arrive, there were storms. And one culminated with a pretty cool double rainbow.

Just hanging out on the hill Saturday evening.

Heading back to the boat for dinner al fresco.

Good times all around.

Florida Part Two

As if our trip to the Sunshine State in April wasn't enough, we went back for more at the end of June.

We landed at Orlando International Airport and headed east to the beach. Cocoa Beach. As soon as we got to Aunt Carol's and Uncle Sam's, we made a beeline for the pool.
Because it's really hot in Florida at the end of June. And the kids had new sunglasses to rock.

 A quiet, kid-free early morning walk on our second day was a nice way to enjoy Cocoa Beach.

 Kacy isn't sure if Daniel is hugging her or trying to send her into the Banana River.
She stayed dry. No manatee or dolphin sightings, either.

 Mom attended to some work duties for a few days in Orlando, and the kids hung at the beach. Midweek, reunited, we headed back to Orlando for lunch at Downtown Disney.

There were new friends made (literally) at the T Rex restaurant. Kacy is in love with her giggly new dino friend, Roxy. Daniel's new friend Tabby was too shy for photographs.

The kids enjoyed a surprise overnight at the Omni ChampionsGate. They loved hanging out in the lazy river, and Kacy mastered their water slide.

After dinner we sat by the fire pit. There's nothing better than a good fire in Florida in July.

Sunset on the golf course.

We made it all the way from the east coast of Florida to the west, to visit with the Vander Sluises over the July 4th holiday.
We checked in on Miss Sadie. She's off the growth charts for height and weight so we think she's settling in to life just fine.

We enjoyed some pool time with Will, Sadie and Aunt Lacey.

 We went to the Bradenton Riverwalk to check out fireworks on the 4th.

It was a great trip!!