So Long Summer

I've mentioned before, but this Summer has been my favorite for several reasons. 

We didn't have to move, we got to settle into life in our city with our friends, we took road trips, we headed to the pool and we got to go to the beach.  The kids are at really fun ages so they definitely enjoyed all of our family adventures.  Sometimes 4 is more fun than 1, but that isn't always the case.

We got to spend a week in Naples, FL so I thought I'd do a little recap.  I'll do the pool + fun stuff today and an ocean post later this week.  We usually head to the beach with my inlaws.  However, this year their plans changed last minute and we went alone for the majority of the trip.  My FIL joined us for the last few days.  We had the best time at their place.  We didn't do tons of touristy things since we've been there several times.  Our days were spent either deciding to go to the pool or the ocean and doing some fun things in between.

It was great.  The kids did so well on the drives + flights.  They are always excited to be on the go and we felt like we had a good game plan for flying with two kids 4 and under.  There were definitely a mix of highs and lows during the trip, but thankfully the good moments outweighed the hard ones.  I'll be sure to mention the real life story to go along with some of the pics so you know that things weren't always sunshine and roses for us.

I made the goal for myself to eat as much key lime as possible.  I had key lime cheesecake and key lime pie twice!

Olive caught, talked about and spotted lizards for the entire week.
Not my thing, but it was fun to watch her get so excited about these creatures.

Olive is very into matching me these days.
So we wore sunnies, colorful sandals, floral suits and were ready to head to the pool.

We ate at our favorite spot - Tommy Bahama.
They're always super sweet to the kids.

Real Life: At dinner two drinks were spilled, someone refused to eat their meal and just had ketchup and toys were tossed everywhere.  Oh and some crayons were consumed.  I was definitely sweating by the time our bill came.

Crab cakes are my #1 favorite beach entree!

 The tropical flowers are gorgeous everywhere you go.  Olive kept hugging them.

We strolled the streets.
Fletcher pointed to everything and waved hello to everyone.
Olive twirled her way down the sidewalks.

We discovered the best powdered donuts on the planet.
Tastykake Powdered Sugar Mini Donuts.
I can't even tell you how many bags my kids ate.  I ended up having to hide them.

Literally trying to swing from the chandelier... OMG.
Real life: Where was his mother?  Trying to do dishes, make breakfast, sip some iced coffee and trying to take care of the kids.  He's so fast and was pretty proud of his climbing skills.

 Gorgeous gardens to walk through in the evenings.

These two had the best time on all of our adventures all week long.

Summer is considered the off season in Naples and it's our favorite!!
We love being there when it's less crowded.

Thank heavens for puddle jumpers!  Olive paddled all around the pool thanks to hers.  Maybe next year Fletcher will love his :)

Drinks poolside :)

 His beach wardrobe game was strong.
And he attracted a lot of attention from the ladies.

Real Life: I opted to walk the kids in between courses at dinner out.  They'd eat apps with us, we'd go for  a stroll and then we'd return about the time dinner was served.  If we didn't go for a walk, they were nutso by the end.  

Big Boy Fletcher Late Summer 2017

 Baby Fletcher Early Summer 2016

We got rained out of our last pool day.
The kids couldn't have cared less.  Pool turned splash pad.
It rained for about an hour, they played and splashed.  No problem.

So long Summer 2017!  Thanks for all the great memories!!