Ocean Days, Pool Days and Delicious Days

We were thankful for any breaks in the rain and especially thankful if the sun came out.  We made it to the pool every day and we were so happy for that.  Some days we even got to swim multiple times which was better than we expected.  We swam a lot at our Lely neighborhood pool and then headed to the big community pool on the nicest days.  It's the nicest, very large pool set up with a restaurant, bar, poolside menu and multiple pools to swim in.  

I asked this cute couple on their babymoon to take our picture.  My family absolutely grumbled, but I'm so glad to get pictures with all five of us in them.  We met another family from Chicago and we bonded over the fact that the weather is never this tragic in Naples.

One afternoon at the ocean was unusual for an ocean trip, but we made the most of it.  The kids built sand castles, we walked the shoreline looking for shells and Fletcher found some treasures.  We could have gone back one more time, but the ocean was so murky, sand was kind of shelf like and the shells weren't plentiful after that big storm came through.  The ocean is usually clear, gorgeous and tons of shells so we opted to focus our time at the pool instead this trip.

The Miromar outlets are not too far from Naples and they are so nice.  Every store you could ever imagine is there.

Vacationing with a 4 year old is somehow easier and harder.  Easier because there is a lot less baby gear to pack.  Harder because he no longer naps, has big feelings about everything and is exhausted.

See what I mean about amazing flowers!?

There were a handful of people at the big pool and it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.

Kevin surprised me with this swimsuit this season.  He has a way of always picking out the best suits for me.  I love it and wouldn't have picked it out for myself.  Good job, Kev!

We cleaned up and headed to downtown Naples for our favorite dinner of the trip - Tommy Bahama.  Kevin would watch the weather so closely and look for our rain free windows during each day.  We'd zoom out and try to do as much as possible during those times.  The kids made wishes in the fountains.

It's a highlight of any Florida trip.  Best food.  Best service.  Best atmosphere.  We talk about this meal at Tommy Bahama all year long.

4 year olds.  I stopped this sweet family to take our picture and Leo refused to get in or out of the shot.  He insisted on glaring at all of us.  Then was sweet as pie a minute later asking me to take his picture by a cool lion statue.  Four year olds are something else!  This family picture might go down as one of my very favorites ever.

So all this to say, if the weather doesn't cooperate on your vacation, do your best to stay positive and make great memories with your family.  The heavy rain was discouraging at times, but Kevin still managed to find us fun indoor things to do so that we weren't stuck in our condo.  Then we were ready to go in a moment's notice when the sun popped out.  I'm thankful for another trip to the ocean!

An Unusual Trip to Naples, FL

Months ago we planned a trip to Naples, FL for June.  We picked the perfect week to make the 16 hour drive and then as it got closer we had to rearrange it and go a week earlier because of life.  Kevin worked some magic and got things refunded, rebooked and rearranged.  We love heading this far south in the Summer because it's so quiet.  It's not their peak season - that's Fall Break through Spring Break.  And Summer is slower.  Which means less traffic.  Less waiting for dinner.  Less crowds and we love that.

Our week in Naples really was lovely and unusual.  We've been there many times and the weather has always been perfect.  An afternoon storm or two, but that's what you expect in Florida.  This time terms like tropical storm and record rainfall were being thrown around.  It was wild.  It made us nervous to pack up from sunshine and head towards the rain.  We'd wake up to sunshine and blue skies.  Rush to the pool.  It would monsoon for a good portion of the day.  Then everything would clear for a lovely evening swim.

We got to try some new things.  Looked for indoor fun.  And still had a great trip despite only visiting the ocean once, we got to swim every day in very nice pools.  The weather was a bit of a bummer, but I'm still glad we were able to get away.

It was strange to pack umbrellas for our trip!

A perk of all the rain... we saw some stunning rainbows!!

We really did wake up and head straight to the pool until the rain arrived.

We love to shop at Publix when we're at the beach because we don't have them.

We played a lot of games, watched some movies and relaxed.

We picked out some new books at Barnes and Noble.  Which happened to have buckets all over the place catching the record rainfall inside.  We stopped in Target and the parking lot was flooded.

Kevin found a fun arcade called HeadPinz for the kids to keep busy during the days.

We had a delicious dinner at Mr Tequila.

Our condo was up in the trees and had a comfy screened in porch.

I won't complain about this view.  Well maybe when a 6ft black snake slithered across the sidewalk, but we loved the bunnies, lizards and close proximity to the pool.

The rain forced us to try new things.  Like buying a fresh coconut.  Watching youtube videos to learn how to crack it open.  Taste testing.  Then regretting taste testing.  I guess we like coconut in baked goods, but not fresh coconut.

Olive and I snuck away to stroll through HomeGoods that was close by.  We found treasures and a break from the rain.

Naples really does have some amazing flowers and plants.

Paradise!  We never swam with anyone else the entire week we were there.  It was our own private pool.  Amazing!  We have stayed at Lely before and we really love this community.

Happy Birthday, Topher!

Happy July!  Summer really is flying by.  Our sweet Topher turns 15 today!

We surprised him with a new bag of cat toys, fresh cat nip and his favorite wet cat food "cake".

He was born in Utah, adopted in a Target parking lot with the name of Garfield and has lived all over the country.  He's always been a sweet guy, but somehow he's gotten friendlier and more outgoing as he's gotten older.  He barely batted an eye when we added cats and kids to the family.  He's lived in six different houses always managing to find the sunniest spots to nap.  He loves me the most with a close second to anyone that will turn on a faucet for him to get a drink.

Cute, but annoying little sisters.

He's been a healthy, happy guy his whole life!