Oma & Pappy's Best Souvenir Ever!

Honestly, it all started innocently enough. The kids wanted to make a quick trip to the Naples mall, so we set out to do just that yesterday morning after a late breakfast. As Oma browsed in a store with Alex and Nick, Carly and I made a beeline for the pet store, which is on our list of "must visit" stops in the mall every time we're here. We walked in and what was looking up at us with the most adorable little face I've ever seen? An 8 week old coal black miniature Schnauzer. Those of you who know my parents know that Schnauzers are their favorite dog of all. So I asked the sales clerk if we could hold the puppy . . . and next, in walked Oma. Let's just say that she fell head over heels almost immediately and thus began a long series of phone calls, text messages, and ultimately, an unplanned trip to the mall by Pappy and Mike to meet the precious little puppy and to hopefully gain Pappy's approval. As suspected, one look was all it took and Pappy was also SOLD.

Travel crate . . . . $30.99

3 lb bag of puppy food . . . . $12.99

Bag of squeak tennis balls . . . . $3.49

Bringing Anistasia home . . . . PRICELESS!

We are 100% convinced that little Anistasia has hit the puppy jackpot -- she will have a wonderful, happy life with her new parents. She loves all of us and has had a big evening of playtime and exploring. She's presently asleep on Pappy's lap . . . time will tell how much sleep the rest of us get tonight. Carly is convinced that she needs to hold her all night long, so this could get interesting very quickly. LOL!

Heading out tomorrow -- Orlando, here we come!

Ya Gotta Love It

Where does the time go? Feels like we just got here and now we're on our dreaded LAST DAY of island time. As they say, time flies when you're having fun . . . and especially when you're relaxing and enjoying the lazy days of summer. :o)

Alex takes the ACT tomorrow morning in Naples . . . and from there we will head to Orlando for a day at the Magic Kingdom and a day at the Kennedy Space Center. We'll head for home on Tuesday . . . just in time for Mike's birthday. :o)

We've had a WONDERFUL vacation!!

Vacation Fun

Parasail, Anyone?

What to do when you're in the mood for a change of scenery? PARASAILING! Nick decided to give it a try (I've been a few times before), so we seized the opportunity and DID IT! A perfect day for flying. :o) We were hoping to see some dolphins in the water while we were up in the sky but no such luck. We did see a couple of sea turtles swimming by as we were coming in for a landing, so that was pretty cool. What fun!!

Sea Turtle Alert!

It's sea turtle nesting season here in Marco ... I think the season runs from May - November. In all of our years of coming here, we've seen plenty of turtle tracks and nests but NEVER have we seen a live turtle. They typically come up to the beach overnight to lay their eggs and are long gone before sunrise. Not the case this morning, though! One lone turtle apparently got disoriented last night and she was still SLOWLY making her way back to the water when we were on our morning walk. She eventually did make it back to the water, so that was a relief. We couldn't get close enough to take good pictures, but here are a few of the shots I was able to get:

Some of her tracks:

All in all, a GREAT and EXCITING way to start the day!

Having a wonderful time here in Marco!

Fun in the Sun

Having a great time!

Back to the Beach We Go!

Yep - we're back in Marco Island! Our favorite little slice of paradise! We left Wednesday afternoon and arrived on Thursday around noon. HOT temps + lots of sunshine = PERFECT BEACH VACATION! Love it, love it, love it!

Will try to post pics soon!

Hip Hip Hooray! SUMMER HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!!!