Hello from Sunny Florida!

Well, as I post this, our vacation is already on the downslope. We arrived here in Florida last Wednesday afternoon and we will be heading home this Thursday. Joey and Alec will stay behind to spend another week with Grandma and Grandpa. It has been almost four years since we've gotten down here to visit Shaun's mom and stepdad and it's been a lovely stay so far. The weather has been perfect for swimming in their awesome pool and even Kyle and Lauren are loving it. I remember coming down when Joey was about Lauren's age and we had to bribe him with bowls of M&M's just to get him to sit on the steps! Lauren is already jumping off the side while holding my hands. Kyle is swimming all over the pool with the aid of water wings and loves to go down the slide. It's about 9:30 a.m. here and Kyle just asked when we are going in the pool ;)

We celebrated Lauren's 3rd birthday here on Friday the 17th. We started the day by hitting a garage sale where Lauren got a Barbie princess book and a tricycle to ride here at Grandma's, then spent the day swimming and went to an area festival that evening. We didn't get a cake, but we did treat Lauren and the boys to some yummy ice cream. I'd still like to do a party for her after we get home, but I think she had a really fun day. We spent Saturday at the beach and the kids had a blast. Kyle and Alec absolutely loved playing in the sand.

I'm not sure what we will do the last couple of days here, but for us, playing in the pool and relaxing are as much of a vacation as anything else. I rather like not having to run here and there with 4 children everyday, but we may work something else in before we leave. It's crazy how fast vacations go. I'll have some great pictures to share when I get home!