Endless Summer (I wish!)

Is it really the end of July already? How can that be??!! Let's see -- since I last posted, we returned home from vacation and went on another vacation! :o) We headed to Wisconsin Dells last week with another family and had a blast. Alex has been there many times with the family that joined us, but for the rest of the Miller clan, this was our first visit. We will definitely go back!! We stayed at Mt. Olympus Resort & Theme Park, which includes a little bit of everything. Amazing go cart tracks, awesome roller coasters (OUCH -- after getting tossed and thrown about at very high speeds, I have to admit that I felt every bit of my almost 44 years each morning when I climbed out of bed), kiddie rides, water slides galore (both indoor and outdoor), midway games, bumper boats, etc. Definitely something for everyone! I added a short slide show so you can see for yourselves.

Nick attended basketball camp at Illinois State University a couple of weeks ago and track camp at our high school last week before we left for the Dells. He will start football practice on Monday, August 4, which means our evenings become chaos for the next 12 weeks (but in a good way). Alex has continued with football "captain's practices" and weight lifting and will start two-a-day sessions on August 13. School starts for us on August 20, so unfortunately, the summer really is starting to wind down. I guess that means it is time to shop for school supplies, uniforms, etc. If history is any indication, I will successfully procrastinate those things till the very bitter end. LOL.

Thanks for checking in with us! Enjoy what remains of those lazy, crazy, hazy days of summer!

Marco Island Sunsets

Leaving here is always hard, and that is exactly what we'll be doing later today. Our only saving grace is that we know we'll be back again. Here are just a few of the many amazing sunsets we've seen the last 2 weeks. Oh how we wish we could just stay here forever. We've all had a GREAT time -- but as they say, all good things must come to an end. We'll head to the beach and pool for a couple of hours this morning, get everyone showered, tidy things up in the condo, load the car, and hit the road for home probably around 2pm. And then it is back to reality! :o)

Goodbye Marco Island! Till next time . . .

Family Photo Shoot

Well, we had our annual family photo shoot last night and got some pretty good pictures. Here's one of the kids that turned out cute. The weather was a little 'difficult' because it decided to be very hazy in the late afternoon/evening, which we hadn't yet experienced on this trip. Thankfully, the kids (and adults - ha) were all patient and cooperative so we were able to capture several good shots.

Vacation Update

We're continuing to have a wonderful time!! The weather has cooperated perfectly. One might think it would be unbearably hot in south Florida this time of the year, but surprisingly the temps have only been in the high 80's. We've seen some amazing cloud formations pretty much each day, but really haven't had much rain here on the island. Naples, which is just north of Marco, has not fared so well, so the thunderstorms are spotty and isolated indeed. This is perfect beach and pool weather, for sure!!

We had a great 4th of July -- but we've NEVER before seen so many people on the beach here -- it was literally wall to wall canopies, umbrellas, chairs, etc for as far as you could see in both directions. Turns out Marco Island is THE place to be for the 4th of July holiday! We watched fireworks from the balcony of the condo as they were shot off a barge about a mile out in the ocean. Very cool.

I added a slide show of our July 3 offshore fishing excursion. A great time was had by all (Oma stayed home -- the captain could only take 6 passengers max). We all caught plenty of fish (Carly caught the most if you can believe!). Alex hooked a 5 foot SHARK and took part in a valiant fight to reel him in, but the shark snapped the line about 15 minutes later. DARN! Not sure I would have wanted that thing IN the boat, though, anyway! ha. Mike later hooked AND successfully reeled in a 2.5 foot Bonnet Shark. Nick caught a good sized Pompano (for you fish eaters, that is good eating!) and I caught a small Robin Fish (poisonous -- not good eating). I lost track of the number of fish we hooked that day -- many of them were poisonous catfish that we had to throw back. The excursion was something we've never done before and was something we definitely will do again. Enjoy the slide show!

We went to Naples on July 5, hit the mall, a few stores, and ate at one of our favorite places -- P F Chang's. YUM! Today we had another beach day .... and tomorrow, more of the same. Ya gotta love a beach vacation, huh? I could stay here forever .......

Will post more soon!

Summer Vacation 2008

Greetings from Marco Island!! Ahhhh, our little slice of paradise ... well, actually, its my parents' little slice of paradise, but fortunately they're willing to share. (smile) We've been here so many times that it feels like our second home. Carly and Nick can't remember not coming here, so it would be accurate to say that this is just a natural part of our summer. We arrived on Saturday, June 28 and we'll head home on Friday, July 11. Between now and then, there will be plenty of beach time, relaxation, pool time, good eating and, of course, a cocktail now and then. I'll post a few pictures and maybe even a slide show (I'm new at blogging -- this is actually my debut at it - ha) now and then. Check back often!

Happy Summer everyone!!!