Ormond Beach, Florida 2009

Lots of lessons learned this trip...1) Never ever drive again. Even taking 2 days to make the trip. It still sucks. 2) 7 days on the beach - day in/day out - is too long. At least with kids this age. They wanted to swim 12 hours a day making very tired kids. Very tired kids = very stressed out Mommy. 3) Check out immediately and find new accomodations once you find out your condo has wet carpet padding from 3o inches of rain 10 days prior and makes the place stink. Also, if you smell cigarrete smoke upon entering room - and its a non-smoking room. Again, check out immediately. It WILL aggravate your daughters asthma. 4) My hair does not adjust well to the humidity.

Ok, now that all the logistics are out of the way - we did have a good time. Especially the kids. They would wake up at 7:00 am every morning and want to hit the pool immediately. We were in the pool every day by 8:30 which wasn't that big of a deal because it was almost 90 degrees that early in the morning.

When we arrived a huge thunderstorm had just passed through and we were greated by a beautiful double rainbow. It didn't rain or cloud up once the entire time until the day before we were to leave and storms rolled in. So, we left a day early.

As I headed to the grocery store to buy some necessities (aka - beer and coffee), Steve took the girls out to the beach.

Descriptions under each picture.
The girls the afternoon we first arrived jumping the waves.

Daddy and his girls searching for sea shells (we kinda had to force/make them do this each day. Don't they know you are SUPPOSE to do this when you go to the beach???).

Me and the girls (all 4 of them). LOL

Ava chilling on a raft in the pool.

Ava being Ava and throwing a fit because her sand was not coming out of the bucket.

Isabella washing the sand off of her hands.

It's still not coming out!!!!!

Ava deciding to start over and dumping all the sand from her bucket into the ocean.

Family foot portrait. :)

Ava in the ocean

Isabella testing the water. She actually swam in the ocean a couple of days. I was shocked she decided to do this. She watches way too much Discovery TV and Animal Planet and knows what is looming in the ocean. LOL

Steve throwing Isabella in the pool.

We went and played Putt Putt one afternoon. They LOVED this. Isabella did really well and was able to par most holes. Ava - not so much. She was very innovative with her method of getting the ball in the hole. The girls hair is so matted and messy because they had just got out of the pool and threw some clothes on before we headed out.

Me and the girls at the putt putt course. See how well my hair is reacting to the humidity??? This was the only time it wasn't in a ponytail or me having a hat on.

Here is a picture of Ava's method. Throw down putter and push the ball with your hands. Worked every time!

We went to Outback after putt putt and Ava ate all of Steve's green beans. She put it in her mouth like braces in this picture. LOL

Only family picture of the entire trip - other than our feet picture.