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!