Our trip to Florida this year was so wonderful! We had a terrible February weather-wise (the kids were out of school for four out of five of the days leading up to our trip, we got a foot of snow!) so we were extremely ready to head down for our visit with Grandma Mary and Grandpa Dave!
We had to leave later than usual because of Dave's robotics schedule (they made state finals though so he was super excited about that!). Since we left later than normal we got to Florida Saturday evening. The kids still wanted to take a little walk and had to make sure the pool was nice and warm for the next day.
Pool temp was acceptable.
The kids always get up early, even on vacation so they hang out with Grandpa Dave in the mornings and take a walk before he makes them breakfast.
Photo with the Chef.
At the Jetties.
Typically we go to the Jetties beach but this year we decided to branch out and try a couple different ones. We didn't want to do any other activities because of Covid so we thought this would shake things up a bit for the kids!
Ike dancing with Grandma Mary.
More scootering. Dave looks so grown up in this picture!
Boys taking an illegal dip in the hot tub. :)
At the end of this evening we busted out a game Josh's grandma had picked up called Hoopla. We ended up playing it every single night! It was basically charades but had a lot more options, we just decided to play it like charades to make it easier. The kids absolutely loved it and we even got Mary and Dave to act clues out a couple of times! Here's a video of us trying to figure Dave's out.
On Monday we headed to Caspersen Beach in Venice. It was about a 20 minute drive, not bad at all!
Tuesday we got going early to hit Siesta Key Beach. It's the most popular beach in the area so we knew we needed to get there in the morning to get a spot. Glad we did! By the time we left around 2 there was no parking left in the huge lot!
No waves for the boogie boards so Ike took a little rest on them.
This beach was gorgeous!
The kids didn't like it nearly as much as Caspersen though. Hard to believe for me but I'm glad we got to visit it and enjoy for the day!
We had lunch at their concession stand which was delicious and not terribly priced-I'd recommend for sure!
Wednesday we were back to Caspersen so the kids could make drip sand castles. Not sure why it only worked for them at this beach but whatever!
We found this magnifying glass left on the beach and it provided hours of entertainment to the kids (especially Ike) the rest of the trip!
Pool was empty in the afternoons so we started going to the beach first then hitting the pool after! We also went to the Grove for ice cream on Wednesday but I don't have a picture of that!
Dave and I saw a gator on our walk that afternoon.
This is from Caspersen Beach. I love the way the darker sand looks here!
Thursday we were back at the Jetties to have lunch with Mary and Dave and then they joined us for some beach time.
So much time spent trying to catch seaweed on fire. It never really worked but he got it to smoke a bit!
Dave and I on one of our frequent walks along the beach.
Of course we buried Ike.
For our last day we went back to Caspersen because it was the kids' favorite. Before we hit the beach we went to the Grove for another round of ice cream!
Annual picture-pretty sure Dave's gonna outgrow me in two years or less!
Saturday we got up nice and early to head home! Always so hard to leave.
I think this was the best year we have had with weather in Florida in all of our trips. We needed that sunshine so I'm so thankful for that! We were pampered by Grandma Mary and Grandpa Dave as usual-yummy breakfasts and delicious dinners (Ike's favorite was the cube steaks and Dave's was chicken with Texas potatoes). We look so forward to our time down in Lake Village every year and are so grateful they continue to provide us with a place to visit and precious memories!
