Spring break

I just wanted to share some fun things we did on the girls’ spring break. They arrived on the 18th with their mom and left today Sunday, March 25th. It has been a rather quiet day. No nana, nana, nana….earily quiet! I actually miss them. We packed a lot in! Swimming always seems to be the biggest hit…before breakfast, after breakfast, they would swim during breakfast if they could!!

Every morning Savannah woke me up to play Go Fish…by the end of the trip papa had taught her to play Crazy 8’s.

We had a great adventure one night on the golf carts. Steve had Savvy, Max and I had Lilah. Our cart was going particularly slow…that’s because it was running out of juice…and then it died. Papa took Lilah while Max and I waited for a quick cart exchange. Towards the end of our adventure papa’s cart started slowing down and it died too. We were pretty close to the clubhouse so we left his at the water station and he hopped on the back of ours. He was giving me a lot of orders from the back of the cart…I slowed down and told him this one was dying too…he jumped off and said he would walk. We took off full throttle…lol..there was nothing wrong with my cart…I was just tired of listening to him…is that bad? LOL

I planed a little one on one with each of the girls. Savannah chose the bookstore where she picked out her first chapter book; Anne of Green Gables. We got it on Tuesday and she was done by Saturday. She wanted to read anytime she wasn’t swimming. We now have a rather big goal…when she gets through the entire series of books, I promised her a trip (just the 2 of us) to PEI to visit the home of Anne of Green Gables. Savvy and I had a lot of fun speaking like Anne throughout the week. We determined we were ‘kindred spirits’ things were ‘perfectly horrifying’ and we started nic-naming trees and parks just like Anne does in her book.

My date with Lilah was a morning at the Naples Zoo. She fed the giraffe and we rode a camel too. It was a perfect morning to go..not too hot and not too cold. The animals all seemed to be up and about so we saw them in action. Often times we have gone to the zoo to watch them all nap. LOL

Her visit to the zoo ended with a trip through the gift store where she picked out something for herself and her sister. I love this zoo for any age group. It is small enough for Lilah (4)  to comfortably walk around without having to worry about a stroller. They offer daily shows where they feature different zoo animals…they really makelearningg a lot of fun!

We all did a trip to Build a Bear. The girls love picking out their bears and dressing them. We have done this a few times. It isn’t cheap let me tell ya! 2 animals came to $130 plus the shipping home as they wouldn’t fit in their carry on….not to mention the tears when they found out there was no room! EESH!

Friday night was dinner and dancing at our club. The girls were looking forward to it all week. Every time they come for a visit they love the Friday night dances.  Lilah, of course, made friends with every little child there and was the life of the party. She just itches to get up on that stage! I wonder who she gets that from? LOL  Savvy is a bit more reserved. She danced a bit but then didn’t know ‘which of her moves she should do’ so she sat out for a while with papa. Melt my heart.

Sea-dooing is an absolute must ‘doo’ with the kids…young and old! Steve and I go out every chance we get. Sweetwater Lifestyles and Adventures on Bonita Beach Rd is a great place to rent skis. The tour guides always take us on fantastic tours of the backwater and if the Gulf is calm enough we can have some fun jumping each others wakes. It is always a thrill to see the dolphins….I never get tired of seeing them. They always make me smile….this week was no exception. We had a couple of dolphins put on a fantastic show for us on the Gulf. They were jumping high out of the water right in front of our skis!

Boating is another family favourite. We love touring the backwaters and finding a beach to park on. We were lucky enough to get the 2 story pontoon boat with a slide from the second story of the boat that catapults you into the water. As soon as we got to the beach we must have had 8 other children on our boat playing on the slide with the girls. It was a lot of fun for everyone. A few weeks ago we were out on the same boat with some of our friends…age, slides and fun…doesn’t matter. We had such a good time.

The girls even got to see a Manatee up close for the first time. There were a few cool days and the Manatees love the warmer water. This photo was taken right out front of Sweetwater HO at Back Water Jacks and marina. They really are gentle giants.

Like I said…. I miss them already. I am already counting the days till I see them again. This season is winding down for us…we will be home towards the end of April….unless the Cdn weather really sucks…lol…then I might stick around a bit longer….sorry girls.

What do you do with your grandchildren when they come down? I would love to hear about it and hopefully try some new adventures on their next visit.

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