old town

Weighing out what to do on a beautiful day around here, we ended up cruising to Old Town (we originally wanted to visit the inventor's museum, but it was randomly closed due to planned power outages ;( - so we'll try again another time) So we walked down by the water and explored inside the Torpedo Factory and Archeology Museum. The Kilwins ice cream is the best!

bubble bounce

Just in case the pretty flower fields aren't enough to attracted our attention, there are bubble wands and big bounces ;)

sunflowers

Burnside Farms hands you a pair of clippers, a pretty basket, and a sunflower umbrella before you head out into the fields full of sunflowers you can cut and take home.  We found some unique dark and light combos.  Aiden like singing in the sunflowers ;) a la the umbrella and singing in the rain...

would you rather

Would you rather have access to only glue or only scissors?

Only glue because then all I have to do is to is squirt the glue to catch the scissors I see going by really fast!

Would you rather eat stale gummy worms or a real worm?

Stale gummy worms because it's still a yummy gummy

Would you rather have to carry a balloon everywhere you go or always wear suspenders?

Carry a balloon everywhere because I could just let go of it whenever I want to

Would you rather have all the books ever written memorized or solve any math problem instantly?

Solve every math problem because then I would just win win at school

Would you rather have to stay awake or in bed for 24 hours?  In bed because I don't like being awake that much for a long time, so if I was asleep I would do some dreams.

Would you rather spend your whole day laying in bed but not sleeping or sleeping but not in your bed?

Sleeping but not in my bed, because I could maybe sleep in Aiden's bed instead?

go orioles

These enthusiastic buddies cheering on the Orioles! Philip and Alexander are a good enthusiasm match with Aiden ;) This game went to 12 innings and ended in a very exciting walk off home run!

cirque

Another amazing Cirque show to feed the imagination!  We all just love these shows!

raccoons first day

These raccoons started back to school today without the cute raccoons smooshing down their bedhead ;)  First Day of Friday Grade - I want to be a doctor!  First Day of Fourth Grade - I want to be an actor! 

They marched right on the bus and Keaton was especially pumped to sit in the back away from the kindergartener only section.  I saw them through the dark tinted windows waving and smiling... and I look forward to those smiles bouncing off the bus later today (4:25 so late!)

My friend's nine week old new puppy, Eddie, is the new bus stop buddy.

goof troop

In between renditions of Hot Dog, Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog, we were getting ready for school to start by marching around with kiwi cushions.  Love these goofs and I will miss them when they start school TODAY!

tidbits

Closing out the summer as pool rats and an attempt at a lemonade stand with our buddies that live tucked away on a culdesac.  The costumes got people's attention  ;)

The Welcome Back breakfast for the parents was a big spread of quiche and carbs. We asked for more protein this year and boy did the parents deliver the eggs ;)  Giving the teachers some energy of their setup day.

fl science center

This museum is such a treat! We had nearly perfect weather while we were in Ft. Lauderdale and kept trying to save this for a rainy day - but it's so great we decided to go even when it wasn't raining ;)

young at art 1

This Young at Art museum was made even more awesome with two new exhibits including this ball pit, palindrome park, and the feelings exhibit. This place is like a feast for the camera and the imagination.

young at art 2

So many treats at this place, and I'm so glad that our flight cancellation gave us a bonus day to visit. These cute guys made paper boxes and tube puppies with dog tag ears ;) 

lighthouse cove

We snuck in a visit to the beach by the timeshare we usually visit in January.  Snapped some traditional pictures with the lighthouse...

family

So much fun seeing how happy my 95 year old Poppy is!  Huge thanks for everything to my aunt and uncle ;)

treats

Check out that cute pineapple with sunglasses my aunt made ;)  The We Take the Cake bundt and four layer peanut butter mousse are out of this world.  Those BLT deviled eggs and that farmhouse burger were out of control egg lover treats.  The margaritas and pina coladas that Uncle Scott makes are wonderful.  The ridic number of sweets was topped off with J picking up donuts on my birthday and they accidentally gave him an extra dozen ;)

swim

These guys made the absolute most of Lulu and Scott's awesome pool!  The pelican and turtle floats were especially awesome. The water blasters and snorkel face mask were big hits.

drone

My aunt's drone is super fun to watch.  It was even more fun to see my 95 year old grandpa's amazement at watching and hearing about it!

sailing

Sing it Christopher Cross style: Saaaaailing, takes me away!   Such a fun time with these goof balls heading out on the intercoastal to sail in the ocean.  Huge thanks to Captain Scott and Lulu!

sailing 2

Bubbles, fun hats, and a good breeze is all you need ;)

sail swim

Does it get any better than swimming off the anchored boat?!  These big guys were begging to snorkel, but riding the waves in the life vests was fun!

beach

The Ft. Lauderdale beach was so incredibly calm.  We mostly floated around on the boogie boards, built a few sand castles, and goofed with Lulu's gags ;)  We even got to see a manatee float by in the shallow water about 30 feet off shore!  It was my aunt's first time seeing one in the open ocean.

fishing

The first morning in Florida, Lulu and Scott were so nice to hook up the fishing rods for the boys (and untangle, and rehook, and bait, and repeat). Aiden caught two puffer fish and Keaton caught one.  The puffer actually puffed up for us while making that air blowing noise.  Making memories! 

iFly

My aunt hatched a fun plan to surprise the boys with an iFly indoor skydiving birthday treat!  It was so fun to see their expressions and excitement.  When you smile in a wind tunnel it's even bigger ;)  Thanks Lulu for sharing this bucket list item with us!

ifly video

In order: Aiden, Keaton, Heather, J, and Lauren iFly! from LB on Vimeo.

eclipse

Skipping ahead in my camera roll that is busting at the seams with fun FL pics, to share these treats from the eclipse yesterday. We invited a great group of neighbors to the park down the street. We shared our photo board we painted - I could never be a mural painter - challenging!  The shadows were great and our pinholes were working well.  Our views were great with eclipse glasses, until literally 3 minutes to the maximum eclipse and a huge cloud rolled in with a loud thunder clap - ha!  We all ran for cover and made it out just in time for a huge 15 minute thunder storm.  We made it back out to see the last bit of the eclipse after it cleared out. I'd say that the clouds made it more memorable ;)

florida video

We got home late last night after an extra bonus day in Florida (after our first flight was cancelled)! I have so many fun photos to sift through, but thanks to the GoPro Quik app which made these fun highlight videos ;) Love it!

Sailing! from LB on Vimeo.

Beach! from LB on Vimeo.

Swimming! from LB on Vimeo.