A weekend at Castaway Bay

We spent a wonderful weekend with our Bo, Grandma, Uncle Jason, Aunt Tiffany and cousin Andrew at Castaway Bay, an indoor waterpark.  We were celebrating Bo and Grandma's Birthday!

 

 

The kids were in seventh heaven with two sets of bunk beds and their very own TV to watch. 

 

We did spend a little bit of time in the arcade on Saturday night.  It is insane how fast you can blow through money in those places!  Ava was little miss frustrated.  She was grumpy after a long day of swimming and she does not react well when she can't do something perfect the first time.  She tried ski-ball and at first pitched it like a baseball.  I demonstrated proper form and she just couldn't roll it fast enough to get it anywhere.  Carter and I had a heated game of air hockey, one of his favorites.  Dawson was just happy to try any of the games, but driving a car like a maniac was just a favorite. 

 

Our sweet little cousin toddled around the arcade and just enjoyed the sights and sounds.  I remember those days of cheap entertainment!  Andrew very sweetly kissed the snoopy statue in the kiddie car.  Maybe it reminded him of slinky?

 

 

 

Ava at the top of the toddler size water slide.  Dawson and Ava went down this slide over and over and over.  She was a little daredevil and was not content to relax in the water like her brother.  There was a rather scary (for a four year old) raft ride that included some drops and lots of turns.  She was barely tall enough to go on it, but she loved every single second of it and did it over and over again!

 

 

Dawson at the top of the water slide.  This kid loved the toddler area, but boy did he play himself out quickly!   I'm pretty sure Ava and Carter could have stayed there hours longer.

 

Bo and our favorite little water baby

 

Carter's favorite spot was the wave pool.  Unless he was going down a water slide he wanted to be in the wave pool.  

 

Big Smiles from the boys

 

Dawson, smile for the camera. 

 

This is the silly little dance/face I got.  He is such a ham.

 

Happy Happy Birthday Grandma and Bo

 

I couldn't believe I got a good picture on the first try.  Everyone looking at the camera, and some smiles too!

 

Carter had to check out the map to make sure that he hit it all up before we left.

 

 

 

Mike had to make sure to take a (fake) palm tree picture.

 

Thank you for the wonderful memorable weekend!

Dawson's Birthday Adventure: Frozen the Movie!

This morning I gave Dawson three choices for his birthday adventure:  go to see Stan Hywet Christmas trees, Chuck E. Cheese, or to see the movie Frozen.  Dawson immediately responded that he wanted to go to the movie theatre and see Frozen. 

 

Poor Carter was pretty upset because he really wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese.  But maybe on your birthday!  He was being so persuasive, but Doc was having none of it.

 

 

Random pictures we took from the theatre:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ava is still wearing her gymnastics medal and carrying her roses into the theatre.

 

Dawson cuddled his Aunt Patty for awhile before he realized that Daddy had the big popcorn bucket.  Then it was off to Daddy's lap for the rest of the time.

 

The kids really enjoyed the movie and surprisingly the adults did as well.  Dawson and Carter's favorite part was the snowman named Olaf.  Ava liked the snow queen Elsa the best.  The kids had the best behavior in the theatre and enjoyed every minute.  It was a great birthday for everyone!     

Cruising!

We just returned from a wonderful cruise with the Labbett/Chester side of the family.  Thank you to Grandma and Bo who wonderfully handled these three crazies and their myriad of classes, parties, preschool and playing responsibilities.  The kids did miss us of course, and hearing Ava crying on the phone about missing us was a little traumatic.  We all made it through the week and had a great time, but seeing Ava run to me at the airport for the longest hug/snuggle was the best.  Dawson also gave me a long hug.  Carter on the other hand, very nonchalantly said "hi Mom and Dad."  Funny kid.

 

 

 

 

Anyways, pictures of our cruise.  Mike was going to be all over that shuffleboard.  But we didn't play once, I didn't see anyone play at all!

 

The (cess) pool

 

This was taken when we first got on the cruise around 11:30 and the ship didn't depart until 4.

 

Our first stop was in Key West.  Mike and I checked out the beach, and he snorkeled.  I swam and read, relaxed and maybe even slept a little.  This picture is on top of Fort Zachary.

 

 

 

Fort Zachary is a little underwhelming after visiting the Castillo this summer.

 

But the very very very BEST part of the trip was our excursion in Cozumel.  Paddle Boarding and Snorkeling was THE highlight of our trip.

 

We paddle boarded for about an hour.  There were six people in our excursion and we were all up and standing within fifteen minutes in the water, not too bad!  Mike took a crash and burn approach and fell about five times.  I was a little more cautious and only fell twice. 

 

I felt like yoga really helped my paddle boarding skills, because it is all about balance.  I can't tell you how amazingly gorgeous it was.  It was an overcast day and it drizzled a little bit while we were there.  But the water was absolutely crystal clear and we could see all the way to the bottom at least ten feet or more.

 

At the end of paddle boarding, we saw dolphins about fifty feet out.  We tried to approach them, but they swam off. 

 

I don't have any pictures of snorkeling, but it was gorgeous.  They feed the fish, so as soon as you jump in the water the fish come looking for food.  I've never been surrounded by so many fish in my life!  Mike and I love snorkeling so we were free diving and trying to get to the bottom.  We saw so many different kinds of fish, a sting ray, sand crab and I held a sea urchin.  We had a blast and are already dreaming of our next vacation to Cozumel!

 

We also indulged in the most delicious plate of nachos I've ever had in my entire life!

 

Happy Birthday Sara (on Monday)

Happy Birthday Bridget and Riley (on Friday)

 

Everyone:

 

Bridget, Margie, Riley, Bob Bob, Meme, Mike, Tracey, Aunt Jeanne, Aunt Patty, Patrick, Sara and Brendan

 

Mike had a stare down with a brontosaurus.

 

Our verdict?  I don't think cruising is our type of vacation, but I loved spending time with our family, getting to enjoy the beach and celebrating my sister's accomplishment!

Florida Vacation- the Journey Down

Well, we finally made it home.  I must say that although we had the BEST time, I'm so happy to be home.  I missed my bed, and got super tired of hotel rooms and gas station bathrooms.  We left last Wednesday July 3rd and drove from Ohio to Charlotte, North Carolina.  We stayed in a hotel room for the night to gather up the energy for the looooong ten and a half hour trek the next day. 

So here is how we sleep three to a bed:  two at the top and one at the bottom.  I don't know what we are going to do when they get older!

So I really hate hotel rooms and try to touch as little as possible.  In particular I HATE the floor.  So Dawson decided to eat his pancakes on the floor.  He really does have an immune system of steel.

Looking cool in his sunnies, ready for the Florida sun!

The next day we drove for ten and a half hours, from Charlotte to Miami.  While it was a long day, with lots and lots of bathroom stops, we made it.  I have to brag, the kids are becoming much better travelers than when they were younger.  Given plenty of snacks and movies we cruised through the trip pretty well.  Much different from past trips!  On the way down it was July 4th and we got to see so many fireworks!  It helped break up the trip and added a fun element of excitement as we were nearing the very end of the trip.

The next day we spent relaxing with our cousins

and playing in their pool.

cousin Riley is our favorite baby-sitter!

We also fed some weird durkeys

We checked out the dock near their clubhouse, the kids were so scared of it because it was floating!

Here's what I learned:  

If you give Dawson a snap pea he will pull out each little pea and shoot them at his daddy during the drive.

Don't give the kids crayons that will get left in the car and then be heated to oblivion in the Florida sun.  They WILL melt.

LOTS more pictures to come!

COSI Part 2

Up next?

Progress!

Carriage Rides

How do I text on this phone?

Saddle Up

Take a picture

This baby loves Uncle Patrick.  I went to pick him up and he said "NO, Pat-wick."

In this picture Uncle Patrick took him for a ride down the bannister in the stairway.

A ride in a space capsule

Water

Bang! Bang!

Huge Light Bright

Funny Story about the 3D movie theatre:

As you can see in this picture everyone was wearing their glasses.  In the opening advertisement candy jumped out at the audience.  Two kids jumped and refused to put their glasses back on, for the entire movie!

Hey, look Mommy came too!

Who are those people on TV?

The 3-D shark movie was Dawson's first movie theatre experience.  While he was plied with twizzlers to sit still and quiet the whole time, I think he liked it.

Definitely a fun day, and I hope we can make it back soon!