We’re back from our spring break family getaway to beautiful Florida! our trip was packed to max with both active activities and plenty of pool/beach time. The weather was great too – not too hot, a little overcast to prevent sunburns and on the few cold days we still managed to have a blast!
I have to share just a few pictures with you guys. I’m still on that great vacation high, when you randomly remember sweet memories. Let’s talk beach first – gorgeous! We stayed on the sand key area of clearwater. If you’re looking for a great family vacation spot, clearwater is awesome! The beach is perfect and there is a lot to do with kids off the beach as well.
The beach itself…White sand and covered (literally) in seashells…
Even when we tried digging for crabs (never found any) all you will find are even more seashells…
The waves were calm for the kids…
We walked and played a lot on the beach…And of course, came home with a huge bag of seashells. I’ll share those soon…
On the two cold days, we ventured out to the downtown clearwater area for miniature golf and some playground time. On the other day we hit Busch Gardens Tampa = awesome!!! The memories made at Busch Gardens might be top of the list for me on this trip.
Memories I won’t forget…..
Our 8 year old feeding kangaroos….
He is our animal lover and would not be shocked if he ends up being a veterinarian or a zoologist…Anything involving animals and he will be living a great life. The joey’s are small enough to walk through the gate slats to interact with you (so awesome hugging a kangaroo!) while the adults were contained behind the fence…
We brought this one home with us…
Charlie’s just going to have to get used to our newest family member.
Our 6 year old, the scooby-doo fanatic, spotted another child walking through the park with a large stuffed scooby. From that point we were on the hunt to find out where we could buy or win one. The moment he won this guy….Priceless!…
We had to buy an extra plane seat on the way home in order to accommodate our new traveler.
I’m kidding.
And finally, our sweet 3 year old girly girl. We spent a good amount of time in the sesame street section of the park. It’s a dream come true for any sesame fan. You can meet all of the characters…And we did! Ernie, Bert, the count, Zoe, Abby, Elmo, big bird, and of course Rosita….
She not only stopped by our lunch table to take a photo, but she grabbed some crayons and a coloring page and sat down with our girl for at least 10 minutes of coloring fun. Such a special time!
It was really a great time for our family. It was especially nice because we haven’t been together much with my husband already working on the west coast while we finish up the school year in the south. It certainly was hard to return home. especially coming back to 40 degree temps and piles and piles of papers to sort…
Oh yea – the joys of going on vacation and letting everything else go. When you return = avalanche of mail and papers to tackle.
But don’t feel too badly for me. I had it quickly sorted and organized with my pile method. When we get home from an extended time away, the first thing I do is make sure anything paper related or things that need my attention make their way to the office. When, when I have a good hour, I head into the office and sort it all out. Here’s a closer look at my piles…
Once everything has been sorted, my stress level goes down significantly. It’s much easier to tackle when you know what there is to work on. I quickly put away pretty much everything you see above. And after I am done hitting “publish” on this post, i’m off to pay bills and tackle my to-do stack.
Easy peasy!
Soooooo, enough about my vacation and mountains of papers….I know you are all dying to know who won the Martha Stewart wall manager. I was pretty excited to choose the winner too. The winner via rafflecopter is….
Thank you so much to all of you for taking the time to enter and leave a blog comment. You guys had awesome ideas on how to incorporate the system into your own homes. I’m so sorry all of you couldn’t win a Martha Stewart wall manager. this was one of those giveaways that I wish I could have given one to everyone because it really is a great system.
Off to tackle those papers!
Thank you so much! Loving all of your organizational tips on your blog. Excited to receive my Martha Stewart organization tool! Thanks again!
yay!!! i e-mailed you!
Looks like a great vacation! We will be going to Busch Gardens this summer, my daughter is so excited! The character dining looks adorable. Did you need to make separate reservations for that?
NO! there was barely anyone in the park – we couldn't believe it! maybe summer will be busier, however. we walked right into the dining area, no need for a reservation. it was their all you can eat buffet in the sesame street area and it's open from 12-3 each day. the characters rotate in and out. it was amazing!
i hope you enjoy it this summer too! so much fun!!!
Thanks for the info, I can't wait =)
We are on vacation now in Branson where we thought it would be warmer than home. Nope, COLDER than Minnesota right now!!! Still enjoying the fun that Branson offers but dressing in scarf, gloves, and warm coat. Loved your beach pictures and method of getting back in control of the mail after your vacation. I will be doing the same thing in about 4 days! Hugs
I know! We've been having some odd spring weather! Yesterday was about 75 and sunny here – today was 45 and cold rain. Ugh!! Never can tell these days.
Hope you enjoyed your trip and made it back safely – to just a small stack of mail 🙂
Sam