Fun in the Sunshine State

We had a wonderful time on vacation in Florida last week! The kids loved playing on the beach! When we were planning to go the kids and I decided that we could swim in a pool at home, but could not play on the beach. So, we spent our time jumping waves, dodging jellyfish, and building sand castles. Talk about loads of FUN!!!!!!

Our first night we went to a great little place to eat in the Village called the Hammerhead. Live music, outdoor seating, and lots of seafood was allright with us. Afterward, we walked out on the boardwalk to see the boats.

Kaitlyn has become a real pro at eating crab.

The kids with our condo in the background.

Since this was a trip Toby won with Allstate, they had a big reception on Friday night. They had face painting and clowns making balloon figures for the kids. They loved it!



Ricky, didn't get his face painted, but when he realized that I was taking pictures he painted his face. TOO, FUNNY!!!!!!! What a ham!

Here are the beach pictures! As you can see, the kids loved every minute!!!!! We went crabbing one night, but Kensli was far from impressed! She thought that the sand crabs were spiders and had to be carried the entire time. She was not going to walk with those spiders everywhere!

I love this picture of Nic and Kensli! The wave had rushed in and they were a little like WHOA!!!
Another way to catch a wave!

At Rum Runners.........best hamburger ever!

Confusion At Jolee Island

Ricky is a literal person! You can't give him a vague assignment or directions without one million questions! Jokes are hard for him at times, and please don't say there is a hidden pirate ship without it truly being there! Brochures said that Jolee Island had a hidden pirate ship and we were off to find it! When we got to the island there were signs that directed you to the ship, roost, etc. We followed every path and couldn't seem to find the "pirate ship" ! It was actually the first playground that we went to. Do you know how many times we went around and around that little island? More times than I want to really remember. Finally, we convinced Ricky that there wasn't really a real pirate ship. His comment was, "WHAT? What do you mean? The brochure said so! Well.........that is LAME!!!!" Hard on the literal little man!!!!

Toby looking for the illusive pirate ship. He is actually on what they called the pirate ship. HAHA!!!!

A view from Jolee Island.

After the dissapointment of Jolee Island, we rented a golf cart for a couple hours and went for a spin. The resort was beautiful!

Listening to the band on the Green.

What My Kids Do With Their Free Time

What Happens in Branson......... DOES NOT stay in Branson

Wow, what a week! We had so much fun and had a few REALLY GOOD laughs while we were there! Some of the details of the trip shall forever be a giggle in my mind! To put it honestly, when you get grown men off on a trip together they will revert to boys! You know who you are.........and what you did! Lets just say that flippers, pools, races, male ego's, and pool ropes do not make for lots of SAFETY!!!!!! Right, Toby, Bill, and Doyle?* Oh, by the way.......... You might be a red neck if you go snorkling in a pool in Branson!

The girls worked hard and came in 17th place nation wide! The Elliot Team came in 13th! I feel like this is a great accomplishment and one to really be proud of!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our Team

Kaylie and Kaitlyn practicing buzzing in.

One big pillow fight!

There were 13 people in our condo and 7 of them were kids. Talk about pent up energy! Even though we would get out and do things they were still full of energy! There were lot's of pillow fights, jumping, running, and play fighting (from the boys).

After our team quizzed out we gave them an ice cream party!

We only had 2 days where we were free the entire day! On Friday, we went and rode go-carts and bumper boats! I was really proud of Ricky, because he drove a go-cart all by himself on the Wild Woody! He was the slowest cart, but I thought it so brave since he had never driven a go-cart before! The bumper boats were a wet and wild scream!

All Kaitlyn and Nic would say to Toby on the Wild Woody was, "Faster, Daddy, Faster!"


After the bumper boats......we were soaked!

Wax Museum

The group by the river
The last night

When we left on Saturday, Toby and I decided to take Senic Hwy 7 out of Branson! It was early morning, so the heat of the day had not set in! The mountains were beautiful! The kids loved getting out and looking around, all except Kaitlyn, who was snoozing in the car!

3 Gentlemen and a Princess

*Names have not been changed to protect the injured!

LET THE FUN BEGIN

We leave for Branson tomorrow! Now the fun has begun.........

2 large suitcases
4 smaller suitcases
7 days of underwear, socks, shoes, hair accessories, etc.
2 outfits per day for 7 days
toys
snacks
4 in-car DVD systems and DVD's to go with them
tylenol
ADVIL

I know I have not listed it all! There is a lot to think of when you take a trip with 4 kids!

Kensli is potty trained now, so we will be making frequent stops! For this reason, we are leaving a day ahead of the rest of the group!

Let the FUN begin!

A New Look and Lack of Sleep

How do you like the new look on the blog? A wonderful, talented fellow homeschool mom and adoptive parent designed this for us! It looks so good! If you are interested, she can redesign or design your blog, too. Just click on the link in the side bar! All cost goes toward her adoption!

Wow, it is amazing how time can ZOOM by when you are VERY BUSY!!!!! All the preparation for National Bible Quizzing has taken its toll on us! I am tired of the SAME 184 scriptures everyday! Kaitlyn even woke us up quoting in her sleep the other night! Yikes, talk about brain overload!!!!!!! It doesn't take her long to quote the scriptures, but when you factor in all interuptions from others, it really drags it out sometimes! Also, we are working on practice quizzes!

My brother came to town this week and with him comes lots of fun and no sleep! We love Pey, but I am tired after his visit, because we want to spend as much time with him as possible since he lives so far away! Alaska is hard to get to from here!

Just Pictures