Hanging Out at the Hotel

Here we are, back at the hotel. Phoebe helped tidy up the room after she accidentally-on-pupose dumped a bag of goldfish crackers all over the floor. Uncle Worm got big hugs, and she finished off the afternoon right: sitting in a box, watching TV. What better way is there to spend your Florida vacation, really? :)

We're Done at the Beach for Today!

You know it's time to head back to the hotel when Phoebe tries to take a nap in the sand...

Building Sand Castles with Daddy

Phoebe did a much better job building sand castles with Daddy...she actually helped (sort of) instead of crushing all the castle walls...well, she did that too, but at least she left them alone long enough to get a picture!

Mommy's Hands...Wringing...Clenching...

Daddy took Phoebe out in the water to play in the waves at the beach, while Mommy and Joey sat back on the sand, wringing their hands, worrying...ok, well that was just Mommy- Joey was too busy eating sand to worry about much of anything else. Phoebe had a BLAST out in the big waves, and Daddy held on tight- no one got sucked under the water or carried off by a shark, so it all worked out fine! :)

Daddy and Phoebe in the Fun Hallway

Phoebe really liked the hallway from the room to the elevator at the Wyndham.

She either walked right along with Daddy, holding his hand (DADDY'S hand, not Mommy- apparently there was something wrong with Mommy's hand, because Phoebe didn't want to hold it if there was anyone else around that she could hold hands with...Mommy's hand was the last reort. Boo.) Or if we were on the way back to the room, Daddy would say, "Go!" and she would run as fast as she could to our door (we were at the very end of the hall, so there was nowhere really to go except our door or the door to the supply closet). She ran with reckless abandon- arms churning, flip flops slapping carpet, butt shaking back and forth...it was like watching a hyper little duck trying to get away from an alligator...and every time, we would laugh and say, "Who taught that girl how to run?"

Toddler Pool

More pictures of the kiddies playing in the toddler pool! Mommy was the designated picture-taker for this pool adventure, so Daddy was the only one actually in the pool with the kids. Joey kept trying to crawl into the water- literally, like as in he would have kept crawling right under the water if we let him! Phoebe enjoyed being able to get in and out of the pool anytime she wanted...which she did, over and over and over again...

"More Pool, Dada!"

Here we are, hanging around the pools again! Phoebe tried her hand at the big water gun, but she got bored with that pretty quickly when she found that she couldn't shoot Momma or Bubba with the water. Then she decided to stretch out and soak up some rays on a lawn chair next to Buddy and Dada...then Daddy took both kids in for a dip in the big pool, where Phoebe kept trying to go out as deep as she could while still touching bottom on her tip toes...then we all headed over to the toddler pool to relax where the kids would have a harder time trying to drown themselves! :)

More Fountain Fun

Phoebe couldn't get enough of the fountains in the pool! She just kept squealing, laughing, hitting the water, running through the fountains, and coming back for more!

Splashing in the Water

Phoebe was so thrilled that THIS was a place where it is ok to splash in the water! Unlike the bathtub...

Pool Party!

The pool at the Wyndham was very toddler-friendly: it featured a walk-in shallow end, a splash fountain, a sprinkler tower, and a water gun! There was also an entirely separate pool just for toddlers, AND it was fenced in! Phoebe had a blast playing in the pool!

Playing in the Sand

Here we are, happy Indiana family in the hot Florida sun! Phoebe poured water out of her watering can over and over and over again, saying in this really cute little teacher voice, "First you pour the water, first you pour the water, first you pour the water..." as Joey looked on in amazement.

More Fun in the Sun

Phoebe LOVED building sand castles at the beach...and when I say "building sand castles," I am referring to the process of watching Mommy make a castle wall, then Phoebe knocking it down, and saying "more sand castle?" :) Both kids were doing very serious work in the sand: intense looks on their faces, sand all over the place, VERY serious sand play!

Playing in the Sand

This is where we spent a lot of our beach time: right at the edge of the water, sitting in the wet sand with the kids. Phoebe liked to splash around, pour water out of her watering can, and have her toes covered up with wet sand. Joey didn't know what to think of the sand or the water, except that the sand tasted kind of good, and the water tasted kind of gross. :)

First Time in the Ocean

Pompano Beach Bums

Here's Daddy, getting the babies acclimated to the water on our first day at the beach. Joey was a little apprehensive about the whole thing: he had sand all over himself, his hair was askew, the water was all wet...Phoebe thought it was all great- just as long as she could sit on Daddy's lap or have Daddy carry her around!

Let's Hit the Beach!

Phoebe was all about the beach: the swimsuit, the shades, the towels, the sand, the water, the "Schwimmers," the whole nine yards! When we got to our next destination on the trip, the Wyndham Palm-Aire Resort in

Pompano Beach, Phoebe could barely contain herself! She was "Ready!" The first day we went to the beach, both of the kids were a little hesitant. Phoebe was especially leery of the water- she liked to watch it and splash in it, but she didn't actually want to get in it much past her tippy toes...she did, however, have an awesome time playing in the sand with the million sand toys we brought! We were THAT family: you know the one, with eighteen beach bags, pale skin, SPF 1000 sunscreen, sun hats, cameras around the neck...yep, we were total beach tourists, and it was awesome!