vacation

In November Dave had his annual sales meeting in Marco Island, Florida, so we decided to make a little family vacation of it and went down a few days early. We stayed in a beautiful resort and for most of the trip the weather was lovely – in the 80s (while Philly was having their first cold snap).

The happy sisters

We took a nature hike through a national park. We were on the lookout for alligators, but unfortunately never saw one. Lots of birds and other little critters though.

If only we could walk on the beach in November every year! 
Turns out one of my good friends who moved to Florida a few years ago lived just 30 minutes from where we were staying. We were able to get together and I met her son, Myles, for the first time. Here are Lauren and Myles after a marathon day in the pool. 
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We just got home from a weeks vacation down south. Our good friends Carl & Amanda moved to Winston Salem, NC last year and we finally got down to visit them. Sophie had a fabulous time with their daughter Gianna, who is older and therefore much more fun than any of us to hang out with.

The very first thing they did when we arrived was to pull out the fancy dress clothes. Perfect for swinging… white gloves and all.

 We went for a “walk in the woods” (not quite a hike with the little ones), and Gianna was sure to show Sophie the way. Of course, she couldn’t do everything that big kids can do – like stream jumping. One day…

Before and after NC we stopped into Charlottesville to break up the ride. My dad hung the swing that was his, mine & Becky’s and now Sophie & Lauren’s in the backyard. Sophie enjoyed it very much. 
This was a week of many firsts for Sophie. Here she is tasting her first honeysuckle. 

Group shot with Grandma. 

After the second swing through of Charlottesville we headed to Shenandoah, Va. where we rented a cabin for a few days with my parents. They had a canoe at the house that Dave and Sophie went out in it a few times…. her first canoe ride. 
Dad, Mom & Lauren

Another first… Sophie’s first fish! And the only fish caught the whole weekend. With a stick, fishing hook and dental floss no less! 

And the last – and probably most enjoyable first – Sophie’s first s’mores experience (which was actually on the deck at Carl & Amanda’s house). Here’s a shot of Pap Pap giving her some instruction at the cabin. 

Me and the girls… 
What a great vacation! Relaxing and adventurous all in one week. 

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At the end of August we took a week and headed up to New England to stay on a boat and sail around, visiting a few different places. We started in Newport, sailed to the tip of Cape Cod to Cuttyhunk and then went to Martha’s Vineyard where we visited Edgartown and Vineyard Haven. It was an excellent vacation with perfect weather. Sophie got sea sick the first day and then was great for the rest of the week.

Sophie spent a lot of time helping Dave steer the boat. 

We dubbed this hairdo “boat hair.” She wouldn’t keep her hat on, so this was the only way I could keep it out of her face. I think it might be a new fashion statement. 

We enjoyed a lot of ice cream. This is a spot in Edgartown. 

Heading off to visit the Edgartown Lighthouse. 

We visited a nature sanctuary where they had a kids program. They found lots of little water critters and then the instructors talked about what everything was. I’m not sure who was more into it, Dave or Sophie. 

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Last week we took a big family vacation to St. John. We rented a house on the Cruz Bay side, on the boarder of the national park. It was an amazing week of good food, snorkeling, swimming, hiking, and generally just unwinding. Sophie loved the sun, sand, water and all of the attention from grandparents, her aunt and cousin.

 Here’s a shot of the house from the driveway. It was made up of three separate buildings, with a pool separating two of them, and a courtyard separating the other two.

 Bathing Beauty

The whole crew on our last day (sigh). 
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At the beginning of February Dave sailed in a Regatta in Miami, so we decided to make a little family vacation and went down a few days early to spend some time in Key West. The weather was amazing – just the break we all needed from the snow in Philly. This was Sophie’s first time on a plane and she was a champ – especially on the way home when it was just me and her. We stayed at a cute B&B called Avalon and rented the “cottage” in the back by the pool, so while she napped we could do a little sunbathing.
This was her first time in a pool. At first she wasn’t a fan, but once we started splashing around she warmed up to it. She still hung on pretty close though. We’ll get her signed up for swim lessons soon!

Sporting her bathing suit

We watched the sun rise almost every morning at a dock just a block from the B&B.

Sophie at the Southernmost point in the US

We discovered that she was not a fan of sand. As soon as we put her down on it, she would lift one let, then the other, or try and lean on something, like she is here with the beach chair. We’ll have to work on that one.

Walking with daddy.
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We spent the last 4 days with the Sharp’s on their boat in the Chesapeake. It was a wonderful, relaxing vacation. We met them in Rock Hall, MD, sailed to Annapolis, then Lankford Creek, and then back to Rock Hall. The first night was really hot, but it got better after that – and we were able to sit out under the stars at night and do some swimming during the day.
Sophie enjoyed being on the boat. She spent most of the timing laying back with her hair blowing in the breeze.

She also had a chance to do a little swimming. Although she wasn’t a huge fan of the life vest, she didn’t seem to mind the water. She floated around for a few minutes before she wanted to get out. Luckily the water felt just like bath water. We’ll have her swimming like an olympian in no time!

Zoe had her 15th birthday on Monday and we celebrated with cake and ice cream.

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