Three's Company!: July 2016

6 Year, 12 Weeks.

13 years ago at this time, we were celebrating our honeymoon in the Mediterranean, our cruise starting from the spectacular city of Venice. We decided last weekend to go back to Venice and relive some of those amazing moments.

Well, sort of.

Actually, it was Venice, Florida, and not THE Venice, Italy. As much as we would have liked to go back, it would've been pretty daunting, not to mention expensive, having our crew with us. So yeah, Venice, Florida it was. Venice Beach, to be exact.

It was our last hurrah for the kids, our last trip "away" for the summer before school begins in 2 weeks. We were joined by the Clarke family, to spend some fun in the sun and enjoy the beaches there in the area, known for their fossilized sharks teeth, Venice Beach being known as the "Shark Teeth Capital of the World." We had just recently found out about this, which is sad, considering we've lived in Florida for so long. Anyway, with Braelyn being so fascinated with fossils and aspiring to be an archeologist with a focus on paleontology, we thought it would be a fun experience for everyone. And it went off without a hitch! Well, for us at least. Unfortunately it was a different story for the Clarkes.

Heading out bright and early Saturday morning.

Met up with the Clarke's at Caspersen Beach. They had driven up late the night before,
and experienced a sleepless night since Isabella was sick and had a hard time keeping anything down.
Messy on both ends.

Kohl using the metal detector to search for treasure.

Meanwhile, Brae was in the water searching for sharks' teeth.

Using her sifter to comb through all the sand and shells brought in.

The crew enjoying the cool water.

Checked into our room, Kohl waiting for his turn in the shower.

Maddy all cleaned up and ready for supper out.

Kohl hamming it up in the hotel lobby.

Where else to eat in Venice than in an Italian restaurant!

I mean, the pizza was amazing!!

And of course, gelato for dessert!

That's one happy kid.

They stayed up until close to midnight, as we played games and caught up together.
Maddy couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

Enjoyed breakfast at the hotel.

Getting ready for our day, waiting to head out.
Daddy was helping jumpstart the Clarke's car as it wasn't starting up.
A trip to Advanced Auto Parts for a battery check-up showed that both vehicles were ok.

Ducklings following Mommy to Manasota Beach.

The waves were a little bigger so they were able to use their boards.

Braelyn continuing to comb for sharks teeth. We procured some sand flea rakes from the
hotel to help us in our endeavor.

We had a lot of fun searching for the pieces of black gold!

Maddy's turn with the rake.

Time to head out and the Clark's vehicle wouldn't start, even with us trying to jumpstart it.
They would have AAA come and tow them to Tire Kingdom, where they replaced a bad alternator and belt. Oh, and did I mention that Jared forgot his iPhone in his pocket while he was submerged in the ocean? What a day.

Braelyn back at the hotel sifting through her find.

After supper, Mommy helps to organize and classify the teeth.

Putting oils on Maddy. She was dehydrated from the heat that day and wasn't feeling well that evening.

Early Monday, took Brae and Kohl to look for sharks teeth first thing in the
morning as the sun was coming up.

Combing through the rocks to see what came in overnight.

Kohl enjoying breakfast after working hard walking on the beach!

She likes to add a little waffle to her whipped cream...

We stopped at Siesta Key on our way back home.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day.

And even more stunning beach!

Trying to take a siesta. Trying.

It was a huge beach, and quite the trek back to the parking area.
They resorted to using their body boards to lug their supplies with them.

Hot and sun-kissed, we had lunch at Lelu's coffee house.

It was a very cute and relaxed bistro, with not a lot of people, but good food, coffee, and desserts.

Maddy chowing down on a chocolate muffin.

Kohl knocked out, Maddy photo bombs.

Mommy starting to get back to a work frame of mind on the drive back up!

The rest of our week:

Picking up supplies and enjoying samples at Costco.

Met our neighbors new chocolate Labradoodle puppies! Braelyn fell in love!

Having breakfast at the park.

Braelyn continues to read up while the twins played at the park.

Kids summer movie series at the Garden Theatre, last one of the season.

Picked up Tux from his staycation over the weekend.

Tuesday night we camped out downstairs due to our upstairs AC unit not cooling.

At least they were comfortable. The unit was fixed the following day,
1 new capacitor , 3 lbs of Freon, and $533 later.

Enjoying mangoes from Lolo's garden!

Picked up our school uniforms for this year.

Trying to determine styles and sizes.

Swung by to see our friend Marya at the salon to get the girls some new do's.

So much more professionally done than at Hair Cuttery!!

Braelyn before and after.

Maddy before and after.

Randoms:

We found 137 sharks teeth!!

We found a shop for Nana at Venice Beach!

The gnocchi was crazy good.

Kohl found himself a new pillow!

Bumped into a former high school classmate and his wife, who were also staying at the hotel in
Venice Beach over the weekend, celebrating their anniversary.