Funny sweet april

I often gripe about my kids leaving their shoes in random places.  This is no exception.  I posted it on FB because I was so amused by it.  Best response was from Shannon saying, clearly the refridgerator ate Nick!

Love seeing these 2 clowns in their matching shoes.  Shane is in that sweet spot of shoes where we can all benefit.  How long will that last (6 months is my guess)

This guy is still collecting for lost teeth!  And he looks so stinking cute I couldn't resist a photo of sleepy drew counting his loot.

 

Baseball season - the BEST time of the year.

Hold on tight because its about to get crazy!!  These boys are in 3 different leagues with 3 different schedules.  

Drew is part of the Phillis round 2

Shane is thrilled to be a part of the Angles this year

Nick inspired his buddies to play on the Juniors and they are fielding an 8th grade team this year!

I love photos of these 3 in their different uniforms.  However as we are always running in different directions, this one was captured right outside the Brigg's house between transportation here and there!

Shane had some good innings as catcher - my action shots never come out like I imagine them to.

 

My sister came to see US for the first time since MARCH 15 2020!

The biggest thing COVID affected for us was our ability to get together with my sister and her family.  I am forever thankful we hosted my folks 50th wedding anniversary the weekend RIGHT before it all started.  Matter of fact, I joked about doing quarantine together for fear that without doing that, we just wouldn't see each other.  

Sadly that is what happened.  Their level of comfort was just different than ours and while they were able to catch my folks a few times, it wasn't until this meeting that they were comfortable enough to be together.  SO THIS is our first time together in OVER a year!  

Minimal pictures as it felt like a whirlwind, coming in on a day when we had tornado warnings and a hundred baseball practices and schedules to orchestrate.  We carved out some time to celebrate Madison's birthday and have a delicious Mexican meal together.  Thankfully they have us on their schedule to come back in a bit to celebrate Jackson and Mom's birthday

 

Spring break the final leg

 My folks bought a condo in the area they have been visiting for over 10 years!  They are wonderfully excited and have the desire to share it.  We were so fortunate to be able to add onto our Spring break and fly from BWI.  

We rented a sweet jeep (Chris’s idea!) and snuck in around 9 at night.  

The next morning when my mom walked us out to the beach It was such a moment of joy knowing how happy we all pray they will be here over the coming countless years

.

The pace of life back in FL is a relaxed vacation style that is so easy to slip into.  The boys had PLENTY to entertain themselves with.  They started with skim boards on the beach, moved to pool games and even tossed in some roller blading the area while goomba walked.  We never had the TV on and used the screen in during the hotter afternoon sun.

https://youtu.be/FSIhLki8W8Q

Here are some favorite parts.  Our adventure out to the Mucky Duck was filled with simple nuggets of joy—from finding 2 parking spots (to include one RiGHT at the entrance 

Meeting a cool lady who welcomed us to her table as she was sitting alone.  While she said she didn’t want to be social she later told us she was having a bad day.  So in turn she made our day which hopefully turned things around for her.

The sunset that night was beautiful.

Enjoyed by all

Doesn’t this guy look like he belongs here?

Plenty of sunsets to stop and enjoy

The days were filled with fun stuff—roller blading through the parking garage and along the trails

All hands on deck making meals

The kindness of a beach fisherman—letting drew pull in this catch

We managed to link with Danville Friday night.  He brought out Grey and LuLu to hang with the kiddos while we caught up and life between now and 2007 when we last saw each other!  Great to hear his winter time Maine adventure....  dinner was a simple pick up for Doc Fords as we could all enjoy it at the table area.

Glad I asked this crew to pose for a quick photo!!

Saturday we got to sample to local Sanibel ice cream

The last beautiful sunset of the trip.

The last morning, Chris nick and I got up for a sunrise walk.

Minimum screens in Sanibel - maximum reading.  we LOVE seeing the boys engrossed in books.  every night we swapped around sleeping rotations.  Twin in our bed and boys sharing the pull out in the side room.  Worked out great.

Love this little book worm

Time to call it and head to the airport.  Thanks to my folks for hosting such a great final leg.  We loved the time in your new happy place

We hit the CUTEST and most creative mini put course on our way to the airport.  I request by Drew.

Making sure we have the right books before boarding the plane

Spring break leg 2

 Sunday night we recalibrated our trip a bit.  Wyland let us know that 5 of the folks he works every day with came down with  COVID—it’s even spreading around Wyland’s soccer teams.  As we had several more connections to make we figured it was best to limit exposures where we could.  

We found a cool hotel close by and hit my project site first.  This is proof my family really is up for anything.

Max and Mike toured the crew through the basement demo work (they were even pouring concrete that day) and up through the units in progress to include the finished ones.  While I know the kids take plenty of cues from Chris and I, I thought it was unique to see the generation in between being successful as well.

The amount of work these guys tackle never ceases to amaze me

That night we met Sherry and Mike for dinner at the Roost.  A DC hot spot with tons of food and drink options.  They are experts at finding DC hot spots!! So great to catch up on their lives for an evening.  Love that they both made the time;!

Look what these boys can do when motivated by golf!

Chris took them to Top Golf!  While not normally on the DC monument tour, this crew had a blast.  They picked me up at work and we headed for the final leg of our spring break trip. I gotta admit—I really love traveling with this family.  Snacks were packed, they all carry a bag-they are completely enamored by the plane, stewardess's and getting the back row all together.

Spring break Leg 1

We made it late Friday night—an easy drive that turned windy for the final 30 minutes.  We were thankful we had driven in before.  The ladies stayed up for us flashing lights to bring us in.  Once unloaded, the kids stayed up exploring and getting acquainted while Diane suggested we try the hot tub—her favorite new addition since we were there last.  That made for a wonderful end to a late night!

The kids had a chill morning of space and exploration which is the true beauty of their home.  We walked and ran their loop and prepped for our afternoon hike.  

https://youtu.be/iWHKPjraTOA

Here is the video too

Love how filling the car for the 10 minute ride is way more fun than driving separate.  Plus we were meeting Wayne and baller Blake right before the hike.

The hike was legit and started with quite the incline AROUND the tunnel.  Our mountain goat kids went ahead scoring the ridges and adding more steps.  We got them to pose a few reluctant times.  Love that Diane is on my photo page.

Pretty sure we should have gone down first as they are just too fast

About the head into the rather long tunnel—

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paw_Paw_Tunnel

Right before we went in we stopped to look over the edge noticing folks had thrown change possibly making a wish—look what was on the railing we were leaning over.  2 dimes—maybe here from Farrah’s mom Patty who said domes are left from someone you know up in heaven.

Almost a mile long and rather dark—there is a legit need for flashlights and hand holding—thank you Diane and Drew!

Snacks and sodas and an old bridge Diane had discovered a few visitors ago.  It’s had a unique almost apocolopic vibe.  It’s what happens when something is no longer useful-nature seems to take it back. 

These guys got to work firming up the rock foundation.  The bigger the splash the better

Dirty hands to validate the hard work

Love seeing these 2 paired back up—also giggling at the toilet paper.  There will not be a shortage at the Wisneski River retreat in the near future!

The night was filled with Tik Tok dancing (one choreographed by us!  Literally—ok-orchestrated by Diane) 

Here is our first tik tok -

https://youtu.be/fbt_6iYIi9s

YouTube videos perhaps or check my kids thread!

This is the one Diane helped us create - videoed by Drew and Blake

https://youtu.be/MrdoRsjH2zc

Thankful we had another day to do River things on Sunday.  Kids packed a lunch and went canoeing/exploring while we rocked another hike.  Than opted to suit up and walk to Jules house to say hi.  Blake’s outfit is classic River retreat in my book!

Brianna asked if the kids wanted to be the first in the lake this year?  They could say yes fast enough.

First lest feed the massive Koi so they don’t this we are the dinner

The view from his lake is truly beautiful.  Another great slice of paradise;)

I have lots of cool slow motion videos but for some reason I still cannot post them here.  YouTube possibly 

When we got back—Nick and Chris were thrilled to rock some yard work in exchange for keeping the Wisneski’s here through dinner

Once they left we had some final ‘relaxation and serenity missions’. During the Kayak Nick when back to their exploring spot.  The boys fished while we boated

 

We made it in right AS the sky opened up and poured on us.  As we packed up and did a little laundry we choose our favorite movie throw back and watched Top Gun together.

So lucky to be trusted for an extra night out at the lake.  It’s not the same without our buddies but you sure feel closer to them while you are there!  Now rather than head to Maryland