Longest Drive of the Trip

Raising these four boys is definitely not an easy task (or a quiet or uneventful one), but I have to give them credit. They are excellent riders. All of our road tripping has certainly paid off that they can endure Niceville, FL to San Antonio, TX in one day. Drive time was 11 hours and 45 minutes, but with stops to break it up it took a total of 12 hours and 30 minutes. And Doug gets all the credit for safely getting us across that stretch of the country, at times the highway was an absolute mess! We literally saw four mattresses & dozens of blown tires and even a carburetor all on the highway!!

First gas stop was of course at Buc-ee’s. Aunt Abbie has had these boys hyped up on this enigma for years. It did not disappoint them! From clean bathrooms, to chicken fingers & brisket, to rows and rows of stuffed animals to laugh at, it was a convenient and fun pit stop. Highly recommend.

Next fun pit stop was in Louisiana. It was time to introduce the boys to beignets at Cafe du Monde! 

Obviously they were a hit!!

The next item of interest was making our first crossing of the Mississippi. The next time we do this should be about 5 weeks from now.

And I have to point out that we listened to this very enjoyable audio book, “Frindle” by Andrew Clements, to take a break from screens in the back seat. We all loved it.

It seemed to take so long to drive out of Florida’s pan handle and through the base of Mississippi and Louisiana, so it was very exciting when we crossed into Texas! That much closer to our destination for that day and friends and family awaiting us throughout the state.

We arrived in San Antonio to a lovely welcome by our friends and their three boys. Stay tuned for our adventures together!

Florida Fun with the Cousin Crew Part 2

After my birthday, we had one day off of birthday celebrations which we used to have just as much fun as we have on birthdays!

Here’s the breakfast crew. Every year it’s so special to watch the cousins grow and see how their friendships change, develop and grow as well. This visit they were all so super comfortable with each other. What a blessing!

Koen got up on one ski!! Another family member can slalom!

And Tav continues to gain confidence and skill on two.

We went to Schooner’s for lunch (again via boat, so fun!). More playtime for the cousins.

And look at these cuties!!!

Koen got up early Saturday morning to accompany Elizabeth to her horseback riding lesson. She didn’t want to leave the cousins, so Koen offered to go. Problem solved. And oh so sweet!

Saturday was Eleanor’s 11th birthday. She always requests tubing for her birthday activity and the cousins are happy to oblige! 

After the tubing fun (and a quick storm) we blasted out on the boat for the birthday girl’s lunch. 

It’s a good thing we got out early because we had quite a bit of weather throughout the afternoon. Aunt Leah had birthday bingo on hand for some indoor birthday fun.

And then on Sunday it was Penn’s 10th birthday!! He was so excited to turn double digits. We’ve been celebrating him all month with some special family traditions before we left New Hampshire, but we made sure to make his actual day special and that’s easy to do when surrounded by loving family. 

We started the day all at church together. Then we got the kids in the pool afterwards. Uncle Doug was a good sport and gave the kids a good time!

There was a boat outing (of course) to pick up fresh fish and shrimp for Penn’s birthday dinner at home.

Penn had a few presents and a lot of cards (and doting cousins).

We made a quick run out on the calm water for a final water ski and wakeboard session. Koen did a great job wakeboarding and I caught him catching some air!

Then Uncle Phil went and showed us how it’s really done. So good to watch him have some fun after he’s been pulling my kids all week.

I got a chance to slalom which I’m always grateful for, seems like one of those things you just have to do when you get the opportunity!

There was more pool and yard play when we returned. Koen and Eleanor worked on some acrobatic moves in the pool. (The day before Eleanor and I had a blast making up synchronized swimming routines. Aunt Leah has to send the video still, but I was impressed we are relatively in sync!). 

Tav and Eleanor played a lot of cornhole. Tavin won every time!!

After all that fun, a delicious dinner of grilled fish and shrimp prepared by Doug for the birthday boy, it was finally time for cake! Chocolate fudge cake with Nutella buttercream frosting, made with love by me for Penn, my biggest Nutella fan.

The birthday video is to big to load here! But the cake was sweet, but the birthday boy was sweeter. Especially when we ended the night with having to say all our goodbyes. These kids really care about each other and Penn has such a sweet, sensitive heart. He hates goodbyes. Thankfully we know we will be back and we know we are headed off on more adventures and family and friends await on this journey. Tomorrow, Texas!!

Florida Fun with the Cousin Crew Part 1

On our first full day, the 22nd, we jumped right into the water activities. Koen and Tavin are getting so good! 

These cuties make great spotters… 

This is Tavin on 2 skis…

Boating = cousin chat times in the boat.

This is Koen on two skis (but wait for it, he graduates to getting up on one ski!).

After lots of water skiing for most of the cousins (Penn & Jansen haven’t found their love for it yet) we headed to a late lunch via boat at Doc’s Oyster Bar. I love the opportunity to embrace the bayou lifestyle when we come here. Going to lunch via boat?! Yes, please!  After lunch we let the kids swing on a local rope swing. Just more water fun, are you surprised?

Not an uneventful first day! But after some chill time in the AC (it was 100 degrees this day!) several of us headed out on the sailboat for the locals Wednesday night fun race. I got to be Phil’s first mate, a job I really enjoy. I was at the helm under his instructions & we made a great team. We even got “best start” for the night!

The next day was my birthday! Phil & Leah had to work, so it was a little more low key which was fine by me. We had a lovely evening all together. Doug made me a delicious meal and I was showered with presents and sweet attention.

Pool time at sunset to top it all off!!

Ah, our photo bomber. Always ready to make us laugh.

I’ll stop here for now, but part 2 coming right up!!