What a great week!

We had a fantastic vacation week in Panama City, Florida! We enjoyed the resort, Splash, with the lazy river, the pools and the water park area. The beach was great even though the water wasn't the best. Except for the last day we were there, the water was full of algae, from what scientist refer to as the "Dead Zone". It was just plain gross! We were able to find some clear parts but for the most part the kids would get green slime on them when they went into the water. Did that stop them? Heck no!

We did some fishing and sweet Grace caught 4 fish! Two she caught with no bait at all! Sarah caught 2 and Matthew and Analiese just had fun! It was the first time we had fished and the kids definitely want to go again. It was exciting when we got to see the dolphins swimming up close to us!

We went to Seaside, where the movie Truman was filmed, for dinner. Years ago, when Sarah was 18 months old, we went and Dave took a photo of Sarah and I sitting in some chairs. We tried to recreate the picture but could not convince Dave of the exact setting. So....I'll post the original with the recreation and you can see how much Sarah has grown and how OLD I've become!

We spent several nights out on the beach looking for crabs! They were much, much bigger than the ones we saw last year at the Atlantic coast beach. Matthew chased a small crab, caught it and held it in his hands. I kept telling him it was going to bite him, but he wanted to hold it and take it home! Good thing for the crab that I made Matthew throw it back onto the sand.

Analiese spent lots of time practicing her swimming, as did Matthew. Analiese is just about ready to get rid of her floaty, but Matthew needs a little more time. They both should be ready by the end of the summer.

Once again, we had a fun, fun time with the Brown's. Maya and Analiese are just the best buds and two peas in a pod! They not only are from the same geographic area in China, they look alike, act alike and have the same sensitive souls. Sarah and Conner are best buds who do not miss a minute to be together. They pick up immediately where they left off months ago. They can play in the pool, in the ocean, build in the sand or pretend to be chefs and never get bored. I sure hope this friendship lasts a long time!

Kira, on the other hand, is an old soul. She so wants to be part of the older girls (10 and 7!). She is definitely a diva in training! It was great to see Aly after about two years. She was a great help with the kids and fun to be with. I sure hope she enjoyed being with the "old folks" for a couple of days.

And then there is Nancy. It is always great to spend time relaxing with her. We like the same things and find it very easy to talk about nothing, everything and lots in between! Our spouses are alike in many ways and get along as well. We've been sharing beach vacations for about 3 years now and I can see many, many more in our future!

The week went by too quickly and now we are home. Oh, it's nice to sleep in my bed and cuddle with my cats but I sure do miss the sound of the waves waking me up each morning!