The First Cast

Hard to believe that after 23 years and 7 children, this is our first cast in the family! Evan was messing around on the ramps with his skateboard and fell backwards causing a buckle fracture in his wrist. The good news is it's his LEFT wrist...and not his whole arm...or leg! The not so good news is that we leave next Monday for a cruise to the Bahamas and Grand Turk so that will create some challenges, but since the cast is waterproof, we're hoping it won't be too much of a nuisance.

Happy 9th Birthday Isabella!

We took Isabella and her best friend, Noel to Disneyworld for her 9th birthday! She thought it was very cool to take the day off from school to go to her very favorite place!

Chelsea sent her a birthday box of her favorite things...teen magazines, ring pops, a peace sign blanket and more!The next day we had her birthday dinner at her favorite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory and she celebrated with a piece of Coconut Cream Cheesecake!

Trick or Treat!

We went to Bruce's parent's home near Orlando the day before Halloween, so we brought our pumpkins with us and carved them there!

Isabella's pumpkin
Evan's pumpkin

Isabella went trick or treating with her friend, Alana since the boys were off who knows where with their friends!

Hello Fall!

On Saturday, we went out on the boat and had an amazing day! This is what autumn in Florida is all about...the weather was perfect! We went tubing around Sport Island then saw manatee on our way down to Venice to see the dolphins! Evan's friends, Alyssa and Olivia came with us!

Venice Triathalon

Jonah and Bruce did their first triatholon today in Venice. There was a 400 meter swim, a 9 mile bike ride and 3 mile run. Jonah finished first in the 14 and under group with a time that was 6 minutes faster than the second place participant. We're so proud of them!

Payton's Visit

One of Jonah's best friends, Payton, came to visit for a week from Maryland. We kept him busy all week showing him all of our favorite places and things to do in Florida!

Shake Pit!

Disney Hollywood Studios

Mooch!

Fishing!

Surfing!

A day on the bay!

Tubing!

Watch Hill, Rhode Island

My good friend, Kristy and her kids spend the summer with her parents in Watch Hill, RI. Isabella and her daughter, Noel are best friends and plotted all through the spring about us coming for a visit...well, it actually happened! Isabella and I flew up for a few days and had an amazing time!

This is "the Barn" across the street from Kristy's parent's house where we all stayed...sooo cute inside and out!

The Yacht Club and downtown Watch Hill on the harbor.
Kristy's parents have a cabana on the beach and we spent most of our week enjoying the beautiful views and (chilly!) ocean waves!

Isabella with Noel and her sister, Kathryn

Who knew wet sand could provide hours of entertainment?

The hydrangeas were in full bloom in RI...sure wish they grew in Florida! They were just beautiful and I couldn't get enough pictures of them!

The Ocean House is an old hotel that was recently renovated and reopened in town. Like something from a movie set, the hotel was as incredible inside as out!

The village of Watch Hill is filled with quaint little shops...that we visited almost daily!
The Carousel is the oldest one in the United States.