Key West

This past week we took a little trip down to Key West, FL! I must admit, a few days before we left I really got to thinking: Why are we doing this? Are we crazy? However, the kids were absolutely AMAZING! The boys only fussed for a few minutes on the way down there. It did take us 8 hours, but we stopped for lunch for a while and made another stop so everyone could get out and stretch for a bit. Elliot was awesome. She totally entertained herself, played with her leapster (a Godsend), watched a movie, colored, etc. Even after the drive, I was still wondering how it would go with bed time. Thankfully we had a 3 bedroom townhouse so everyone had their own space. The boys went to sleep just fine in their pack and plays! Ezra even did 12 hours straight (and since we've been home Levi did too! MIRACLE!! Only problem is I wake up with 2 bricks on my chest! haha) Elliot had fun setting up her room and sleeping in it. YEA!!

I've been to Key West but never for more than a few hours. I was surprised at how family-friendly it could be and all the nice things we found to do. We ate breakfast at the house, did a morning activity, ate lunch out, drove around for nap time, did an afternoon activity, then went home for a sandwich/easy dinner and bed time. It worked perfectly for us.

I'm no good at picking just one picture, so below I have some headings with collages beneath. Remember, you can click on the images if you want to enlarge them. Enjoy!

The first day we headed to the aquarium and a beach. The aquarium was kinda small, but Elliot had a good time-and that's what's most important :-) The beach was a bit rocky, but still beautiful. It's always fun entertaining El (which Wes did with a dead lobster!) and trying to keep Levi from eating every small thing he see's:We also ventured up a lighthouse (good workout with a babe strapped on you!) and to the Hemmingway house:Found a fun little playground and walked along a pier. Elliot took the picture of Wes, I think it's kinda cool:
Had WAY TOO MUCH FUN taking pictures of this silly pelican and then all the seagulls that came to eat up all the kids goldfish we spilled:

We also ventured to the beach again. This one was super nice with beautiful clear water and soft sand. But, there really is NO relaxing! Ezra tries to see how far he can crawl away, Levi tries to climb everything in sight (chairs, stroller, etc.) or eat very small objects, and of course we need to spend special time doing thing with Elliot. We usually divide and conquer and each take a turn doing something one-on-one with the kids.
On the last evening we enjoyed a catamaran cruise to watch the sunset. It was beautiful, we all had fun doing a little dancing, and Elliot just loved when the seas got a little rough and water splashed on the boat. (Yah, I was scared...she loves adventure!) Oh, and she had her first soda (A Sprite) as a special treat on the boat.

WHAT A WONDERFUL VACATION! SUCCESS!!