Spice Park

 cute Jack

 Charlie the Tourist

 Jack Jack the dancer, lol.

 Smile!

 Jack eating the flower that tastes like pepper- crazy!

 Charlie and Jack rubbing the Boabab Tree for luck

'Jack Fruit'- Pat and I tried a piece of this and didn't mind it right at first, then the more we chewed the more we decided we didn't like it. The texture was like slippery rubber and the taste...just not good :(

We heard a lot about this place and decided we wanted to check it out. It ended up being a pretty cool place. We took the little tour and were introduced to tons of local exotic plants and fruits we got to taste and experiment with. We ate about 5 different types of bananas, smelled all types of herbs (lemon grass,  old spice, vanilla, pepper...), ate flowers that tasted like pepper, used berries as lipstick, sausage plants, etc. It was a fun experience and the boys enjoyed it too. Complete with a deliciously fresh mango, pineapple and strawberry smoothie. Mmmm mmm :)

Happy St Patty's Day!

Can you tell I'm playing catch up? lol. Well, "Top of the mornin' to ya!" Our little family likes any reason to celebrate and have a good time. We started a tradition for St. Patty's day a couple years ago and the boys love it so we've kept it going. The night before, "leprechauns" "string" the house with yarn. Each kid is a different color of the rainbow. Their string starts at their door, so when they wake up, they start their little journey through the house to where their string ends. At the end of their string they find a little treasure, complete with green mustaches (thanks Nani ;), necklaces, rolos, and of course Lucky Charms ;) Charlie found his in the bathroom where the silly leprechauns went "potty" forgetting to flush and leaving their little footprints on the toilet. They thought that was Soo funny! And the day is just not quite complete without a little green food. Yuummm, green pancakes and eggs! And a Happy St. Patty's day to you All!

Happy 4th Birthday Charlie boy!

Crazy to think it's been 4 years since we introduced this little guy into the world... and what a 4 yrs it's been! Our little Charlie has Blessed our lives in more ways than we could have ever imagined! He is such a Character and has brought us so much Joy with his Fun and Creative Personality, his Love for Learning, his Curiosity with Life, his Cute Sense of Humor, his Sweet and Simple Spirit, and his all around Goodness! What can I say, We just love this Boy!

(4 months old)

(4 years old) where does the time go?

"Say cheese!...good enough" :)

My sweet little man :)

So this year we kept it simple. Having moved to Florida just 3 months prior, away from family, and the few friends he has out here his age were out of town, we decided to simply ask him what he wanted to do for his birthday (Go to Chuck E Cheese!) and made it happen. They were in heaven! And it was nice being one of the only ones there. Our friend Booty was in town and joined us and Sia (one of Pat's business partners and dear friend to us and the boys) stopped by for a little bit to say hi to Charlie. Ordered some pizza and got our game on!

Afterward, Charlie still really wanted to go to his swim lesson, so we went and then came home and got things ready for his little Adult dessert party. Haha, I say adult because it was basically our family, Booty, and Pat's business partners who we have become close friends with being out here. Charlie obviously didn't care but we found it kinda funny ;) So we sang to him, had cake and ice cream, and of course, presents! Happy Birthday Charlie boy, we love you!

Happy Birthday My Dear

MARCO ISLAND

The boys kayaking across the beach

 Jack crossing to the next beach

 This is the path you take after wading through the first beach to get to the next

 The "sand." Literally the whole beach on this side is made up of broken shells. Not real forgiving on your feet but crazy cool!

 Once in the water we would just grab handfuls and handfuls of shells. I found a Florida Conch and Pat found a really big cool brownish kinda spotted one.

For Pat's Birthday this year we went and stayed the night at Marco Island. It's known for its beautiful beaches and "shelling."  We had a Blast! We rented a kayak and took turns taking the boys out on it- they loved it, ate lunch at a cafe on the beach, took our time exploring and of course "shelling." So this beach, Tiger Tail, is pretty unique in that you basically get 2 beaches in one. So the first beach is kind of like an inlet surrounded by mangroves and greenery but once you wade through the water (at one end it is pretty shallow) to the other side you take a path that leads you to another beach (the one made up of broken shells). At one end of the beach we found a small tree where people had hung shells on its branches, kinda neat. I wish we had more pics to share but while we were shelling Pat accidentally dropped my purse in the water that had our phones in it, so we lost most of the pics we took. It was actually kinda funny. I guess we were both just caught up in the moment haha. We had a wonderful day and took Pat out for dinner and dessert. Happy Birthday Hun, we LOVE YOU!!

When Booty came to Town :)

South Beach

Miami Zoo

Booty came and stayed with us for a couple of days after her cruise and we are sooo glad she did! We hit up South Beach, the Miami Zoo, Chuck E Cheese (for Charlie's Bday) and had so much fun just spending time with each other. We love you Boot!

My Sunbeam Graduate :)

Charlie moved up from Nursery to Sunbeams and they held a little graduation for all the kids. His Nursery leader did an Amazing job with the whole thing going above and beyond. I thought they all looked adorable in their little caps and gowns. Charlie said the opening prayer and did such a good job, it was so cute. I Love my little man!

My Mom comes to town!

 Gator Park Airboat Tour

 Alligator Wrestling show- Awesome! And Mom loved seeing the guys hand almost get chomped off ;)

 The boys thought it was so cool to see Grandma holding the alligator, they had to help of course ;)

 Niice Charlie ;)

 Isn't my mom so cute?

 The Dolphin Show at the "Theatre by the Sea" down by Key Largo

 South Beach- My mom wanted to see the vibrant blues of the ocean, and get a feel for the postcard pic of Miami.

Charlie got picked to go up and interact with the Dolphin. I had my mom go up with him so I could get a video. She Loves Dolphins so it was a fun experience for both of them :)

Pat had to go to a Conference and was going to be gone for a week, and being fairly new to the area I was a little nervous being alone with the boys. My mom was more than willing to come out and stay with us, and I'm Sooo glad she did! We had a Blast! Love you Mom! Thanks for all your help, you're the Best!!