Well, my parents, the Ohio snowbirds, have once again flown the coop. For quite a few years now they have left Ohio in search of warmer weather in the winter. This is their third time renting this rustic little cabin in Weeki Watchee Florida. And for the third time, we shacked up with them.
Since Paul's Shuttle was driving through Atlanta, he went against his better judgement and delivered my beautiful bedroom set that I purchased in Ohio back in September last year.
Ok this was just set down inside the door and obviously has zero styling, but OMG I am in love!! I rubbed these down with Feed-N-Wax and they are BEAUTIFUL!! I gave my dad extra hugs and kisses for this haul. Ernesto walked into the living room the next morning and said "this house is starting to look like a home." Yes. What a difference paint and some furniture can make! (house post coming soon, I promise!)
Again, this picture doesn't depict "looks like a home" but..... this new furniture is sooooo good! With the walls painted, we will just need to pick up all our clothes of the floor and put them IN the dresser, and add the artwork...THEN it will look like a home!
Back in January, my mom had surgery. It was nasal surgery to help her breathe easier. (it was like she had a constant sinus infection) It went smoothly and this lady is breathing and sleeping much better (and quieter!)
My dad had a couple stents installed 10 years ago and then AGAIN just a week before this trip. Whaaat?? I KNOW. A WEEK BEFORE!! Nothin' slows them down apparently.
And despite these minor blockage issues (read sarcasm please) my dad is a major 'meat and potatoes' kind of guy. Well, my dad is also a man with some artery blockage.
Ernesto has been on a ribeye steak kick (Sam Clubs sells a HUGE 3-pack), so on the first night my parents were there we grilled the honkers and ate a delicious dinner. I created this funny picture to send out to the family.
"WHERE THE HELL IS MOM?" hahahahahaha
Later that week, we picked the boys up from school (on friday) and headed south to join my parents in Weeki Wachee. They fell asleep only in the last 2 hours of the 7 hour drive, but it wasn't bad at all. There was a lot of "Are we there yet?"
We arrived in the dark. The kids woke up briefly, ate a snack and turned in for the night. Not surprisingly, they were up bright and early, and I didn't mind at all. As soon as it was light, we were out the door...and it's only a few steps to the water.
This was our third year visiting, (2014 and 2015) and there is something so special about this place. Weeki Wachee. Partly the name, but also the beautiful blue-green water and the lush plants.
Sitting on the dock is so relaxing. Until you remember that you have three kids with you, that is.
It was awesome, and a little relaxing the first day - we hung out the WHOLE DAY watching these professional fisherman.
Seriously, after about 10 minutes of practice BOTH of them were casting out halfway across the river with their little Spiderman fishing poles. I was impressed and it kept them occupied for HOURS! Did they have hooks? HELL to the NO! Are you kidding? What a disaster that would've been!
They will be ready though for REAL fishing next time.
Baby girl wanted to give it a try too, and a very patient grandma gave her some lessons.
Mostly she went around giving moral support.
The girl is a major kisser! Once she kisses one person, she has to go around to everyone!
A kisser and water-bug.
You better believe Ill be setting this up on my deck DAILY at my house. So Simple.
Since it was a Saturday the water gets super busy with kayakers, canoe-ers and paddle boarders. The people watching is second to none.
By the end of our fist day, we were ready to take a spin ourselves!
Paloma was back at the cabin napping with my parents. The boys were on a mission building and castles while I relaxed right here on this blanket.
I was surprised they let papi bury them, and although they busted out almost immediately, they had some good laughs!
Where is crazy Neto?!
My brother Tim didn't get any rest either. He brought a soccer ball for Mateo and because he played once with him and gave great tips, Mateo would not let him rest.
If they weren't playing soccer, Mateo was bugging him about WHEN he was going to play soccer. "Uncle Tim, are you ready to play soccer again?"
He finally got wise and let YouTube do a little of the teaching.
This guy is the only one who had it right. The "art" of relaxing.
Marcelo got it right.....ONCE. He fell asleep in the kayak with grandpa.
The three of them FINALLY got to relaxing around 9pm each night. (a little earlier for Paloma)
I know SOME of you might want to hear a bad story once in a while over here on VivaCindy so here you go: the second night we were there, I got the least amount of sleep in one night in my whole CAREER as a mother. Yep, even as infants I never EVER pulled an all nighter-or even a half nighter. UNTIL NOW!
I still don't know what was bothering Paloma that night, but we didn't get to sleep until 4 am?? Wha??? I couldn't lay her down without her waking up. Of course, I wasn't going to let her cry in the tiny cabin (like I would at home) so it was up and down, down and up and oh so frustrating. UGH! Everything great the next night. Weird. She does have a couple new teeth cutting in, but geeeeeezzzzz...WHAT WAS IT MAMI???
Oh who cares? You are the CUTEST and can do whatever you want!!!!
After 4 nights we cruised home to complete our first official road trip in our new mini-van. It did not disappoint. Im a convert. Still not positive if it is the actual mini-van space or the bells & whistles of a new car, but we are very happy with our purchase!!
We arrived in the dark. The kids woke up briefly, ate a snack and turned in for the night. Not surprisingly, they were up bright and early, and I didn't mind at all. As soon as it was light, we were out the door...and it's only a few steps to the water.
This was our third year visiting, (2014 and 2015) and there is something so special about this place. Weeki Wachee. Partly the name, but also the beautiful blue-green water and the lush plants.
Sitting on the dock is so relaxing. Until you remember that you have three kids with you, that is.
It was awesome, and a little relaxing the first day - we hung out the WHOLE DAY watching these professional fisherman.
Seriously, after about 10 minutes of practice BOTH of them were casting out halfway across the river with their little Spiderman fishing poles. I was impressed and it kept them occupied for HOURS! Did they have hooks? HELL to the NO! Are you kidding? What a disaster that would've been!
They will be ready though for REAL fishing next time.
Baby girl wanted to give it a try too, and a very patient grandma gave her some lessons.
Mostly she went around giving moral support.
The girl is a major kisser! Once she kisses one person, she has to go around to everyone!
A kisser and water-bug.
Since it was a Saturday the water gets super busy with kayakers, canoe-ers and paddle boarders. The people watching is second to none.
There is a great little beach called Pine Island just a few miles away. I know you have seen it before, and I may even take the same pictures every year. The beach hasn't changed at all, but boy are these guys bigger. (check out this picture and this one too)
It was not cold, but not bathing suit weather either (at least for me). In fact, I was quite comfortable under this cover while the wind blew wildly.
I may or may not have secretly let these seagulls see our bag of pretzels. There were about 4x this amount swarming.
Paloma turned 17 months the day we arrived. So crazy. How is she this old? If I keep breastfeeding her she will STAY a baby right?! I'm going to give it a try and I'll let you know what happens. No matter what, she will always be my baby girl. My GORGEOUS mexi-CAN-a!
Too many cute pictures begs for a collage.
Papi tried to relax a little bit too. You know hes a serious napper when you can sleep through this.
If they weren't playing soccer, Mateo was bugging him about WHEN he was going to play soccer. "Uncle Tim, are you ready to play soccer again?"
He finally got wise and let YouTube do a little of the teaching.
This guy is the only one who had it right. The "art" of relaxing.
The three of them FINALLY got to relaxing around 9pm each night. (a little earlier for Paloma)
I still don't know what was bothering Paloma that night, but we didn't get to sleep until 4 am?? Wha??? I couldn't lay her down without her waking up. Of course, I wasn't going to let her cry in the tiny cabin (like I would at home) so it was up and down, down and up and oh so frustrating. UGH! Everything great the next night. Weird. She does have a couple new teeth cutting in, but geeeeeezzzzz...WHAT WAS IT MAMI???
After 4 nights we cruised home to complete our first official road trip in our new mini-van. It did not disappoint. Im a convert. Still not positive if it is the actual mini-van space or the bells & whistles of a new car, but we are very happy with our purchase!!
