By Geri Imler on 12/21/2009 2:33 PM

Day 2 in Florida included a nice walk, "fishing," and more beach time.  In the morning, we decided to take the girls on a walk around the neighborhood and out to a small bridge that went over some water.  Gramma and Grandpa had gotten them these plastic Dora fishing poles that have a pink plastic fish at the end of the line.  So the girls cast it out by letting the line out while holding a button, and then they reel it back in by turning the handle, just like with a real fishing pole.  Abigail and Emma had been using the fising poles to "fish" on the patio, but we thought it would be fun to actually use them off the bridge so that the fish would come out of the water for them.  So we took off on a walk, exploring the plants and scenery, until we got to the bridge.  There, Gramma and Grandpa helped Abigail and Emma cast out into the water below and reel in their fish.  The girls thought this was cool and really enjoyed seeing their fish come out of the water.  Sophie enjoyed the walk in her Snugli on Daddy.  She looked around the whole time, falling asleep in it at the end of the walk until she needed some "Mommy time."  Too cute!  Later we all went to the beach again.  There, Sophie fell asleep in this play thing we had brought with us.  I am sure the warm weather and sound of the waves helped her to doze off.  Meanwhile, Abigail and Emma again had a blast playing in the sand, waves, and shells.  One of my favorite moments from the trip happened that day at the beach.  When we first got to the beach, the waves were a bit higher than they had been on the previous day.  After getting their shoes and things off, Abigail and Emma headed towards the water.  I continued to organize the things we had brought with us, only to look up and see them talking to each other.  Then they held each other's hand and decided to brave the waves together.  It was ADORABLE.  I mean, you could just see that they were talking it over, decided they could go out into that scary water, but do it together, holding hands.  And they didn't even realize we were watching them.  ADORABLE is all I can say about it.  Luckily since I was by our stuff I had the camera within reach so was able to snap a few photos of the moment.  Another fun experience for the girls that day was when Tim took both girls out into the water and waves with him.  They enjoyed it, though they held on tight to him!  Emma enjoyed the sand a lot that day, making all kinds of creations and pretending to mix "soup" and make "food" and all kinds of things.  Abigail was pretty funny with the water as she often ran out to it and then would put out her hands and arms as if trying to tell it to "Stop!"  She can be so dramatic at times!  Sophie did not sleep the whole time, but woke up and "talked" to her toys and enjoyed a bottle.  Overall, it was a really fun day again, and the girls were super tired when bed time rolled around!  I belive this might have been the night when Emma fell out of her bed (they are used to bedrails at home, and we didn't have any there).  What was funny about it was that she wasn't concerned that she fell, but just that she was having trouble climbing back up into bed to go back to sleep!  This would not be the last time one of them fell out of bed during the night.  Once Abigail fell out and didn't even cry, but when I went to check on her, I found her trying to curl up on the floor so that she could go back to sleep.  It was so cute!  Check out some photos from our adventures on our second day in Florida. 

   

Emma (yellow stripes) and Abigail (red stripes) trying to "fish" in a puddle and looking at a plant on our walk.  Sophie on our walk (right).

 

Abigail "fishing" off of the bridge with Grandpa Dave.

  

Emma "fishing" off of the bridge with Gramma Michele.

   

Sophie getting tired on the walk home (left).  Sophie asleep at the beach (middle and right).

One of my favorite photos!  Abigail and Emma braving the beach and waves together. SO ADORABLE!

    

Abigail checking out the water (left) and heading out into it with Daddy (middle).  Abigail and Daddy getting hit by a wave (right). 

    

Emma checking out the water (left) and heaidng out into it with Daddy (middle).  Daddy and Emma waving at us (right).

    

Abigail telling the water to "Stop!" (left).  Emma creating things in the sand (right).

  

Sophie talking to her toys and playing at the beach (left).  Abigail and Emma helping Grandpa Dave with a dump truck full of sand (right).

By Geri Imler on 12/16/2009 2:57 PM

Since we have around 800 photos from our Floriday trip (I know, we were a bit snap happy with the camera, but could you blame us when our kids are so cute?!?), I have decided it would be best to blog about each day individually so I could sort photos that way.  Our first day was quite the adventure.  First we had to get all of our stuff and everyone to the airport.  Tim dropped me and Sophie, along with all of our bags, off while he and Abigail and Emma took the car to park for the week we would be gone.  The girls thought this was so cool because they got to ride a bus back to meet up with me.  Check in and security stuff went rather smoothly considering all that has to come off (even Sophie's little shoes!) and be taken out of our bag (all of the electronics from camera to laptop to dvd player).  It is so nice that our airport has a "family line" where we can take a bit longer and not feel so rushed.  The flight itself went okay.  We managed to get three seats together so I sat in between Abigail and Emma while Tim sat with Sophie across the aisle from us.  The girls watched a bit of a movie, colored in their coloring books and notebooks, and stayed entertained for most of the two and a half hours we were up in the air.  When we left our hometown, it was not that cold outside, but when we landed in Florida, it was hot!  We met up with Gramma, Grandpa, and Uncle Dan at the aiport, loaded up the car, and headed to Marco Island.  Once there, after unpacking and getting things organized a bit, we headed to the beach to play in the water and sand, as well as see the sunset.  The girls had an absolutely FANTASTIC time!  I was interested in seeing how they would respond to the beach this year.  Last year they liked it a lot, and this year they seemed to just love-love-LOVE it!  They were not afraid of the waves at all, running right out and into them and then running back up on the beach when they got wet.  They played in the sand, threw shells into the water, carried water in buckets, and basically were the cutest little kids in the world!  Seriously, moments like that just melt my heart when I see them experiencing life and loving it.  After the sunset, we went back and tried out the heated pool, had some dinner, and called it a night.  The girls were all exhausted from their travels and beachtime, and the next day was sure to bring more sunny Florida fun!

  

Emma and Abigail watching as our plane pulls in to load/unload (left).  Sophie on her first plane ride (right)!

    

Abigail playing in the sand.

     

Abigail playing in the sand and waves.

    

Grandpa Dave with Sophie (left), and helping Abigail (middle) and Emma (right) jump over the waves.

    

Emma playing in the sand.

    

Emma playing in the sand and water, and both girls checking out the water (right).

    

Sophie with Mommy and Daddy.

   

Sophie's first time in the water as Abigail looks on (left), both girls enjoying the beach (middle), and Emma waving as Abigail throws a shell in the waves (right).

By Geri Imler on 12/16/2009 1:51 PM

I am going to try to catch up the blog by starting with the most recent things and working backwards until I am caught up.  This holiday season is keeping me busy, for sure!  Anyways, this past Saturday, the 12th of December, the girls went over to the YMCA to see Santa.  This year is so different from last year in that they have been watching Christmas movies and asking questions and trying to understand Santa, Baby Jesus, and everything that is wrapped up in this season.  When they saw Santa, they stood there in amazement, just observing and taking him in.  Then, when it was our turn to talk to him, Emma went right up to sit next to him, and continued to sit there the whole time with the BIGGEST, cheesiest grin on her face as she looked at him.  It was so adorable!  Abigail, surprisingly, became shy and didn't want to sit by Santa unless she sat on my lap.  So I held Sophie and Abigail while the girls told him their names (including Abigail telling him Sophie's name), and that they both wanted "lots of toys" for Christmas.  Santa told them he liked their hats, so Emma told him there was a "flower" on it and was super proud of it.  Too cute!  After they talked to him, we got a photo together, and then it was off to eat a little bit of a pancake breakfast they were having there at the YMCA.  Overall, the girls did a great job with Santa and are super excited for Christmas. 

  

Santa talking to Abigail and Sophie (left) and to Emma (right).

Abigail, Mommy, Sophie, Santa, and Emma

Sophie is amazed at meeting Santa for the first time! 

On a side note, check out my three little monkeys all in the same jammies this morning...

Abigail, Sophie, and Emma

By Geri Imler on 12/11/2009 9:44 AM

I am WAY behind on this blog!  I have not been able to catch up since before Thanksgiving!  We have just been too busy around here!  First, we went out of town for Thanksgiving.  Then, when we got back, I had two days to pack for all of us for a vacation to sunny Florida.  We then left for a week, returning late Wednesday night.  So, I have a ton to catch up on here, but have no time as now I have to get some holiday shopping and errands done!  Hopefully I will be able to post some photos from our Thanksgiving holiday and from our trip soon.  Stay tuned!  :-)