Home Again, Home Again

Oh Florida, how we miss you!

We especially miss your white sandy beaches.

When we went to Siesta Key in Sarasota, it was actually hot that day, so we could get in the water without freezing.


And play in the sand without freezing.


And chase after seagulls that were attacking our chips and blankets without freezing.


And gather shells without freezing.

And play some more in the water without freezing.


And...well...you get the picture that we were really enjoying both the beach and the warm weather!

And now we're back home, safe and sound.

And already planning the next time we can go to Florida and get back to the beach (but the next time will be with Kent and Jesse too!)

(OK, OK, enough with starting a sentence with "And." I'm sure all you teachers who read this are cringing with each and every new sentence! Kim, there goes my readability score for the blog!)

Letter to Kent & Jesse

Dear Kent and Jesse,

Sorry it's taken so long to write to you again. We've been busy "beaching" it here. On both the East and West coast of Florida. Tuesday we went to Cocoa Beach on the east coast of Florida and played in the Atlantic Ocean. I believe that's a first for me.


It was extremely cold, so I'm glad that you weren't here, Jesse. Because I'm almost positive you wouldn't have liked the cold wind and the even colder water. Meredith and I braved the water - but as you can tell from the pictures, we didn't brave the water for long!


The afternoon was spent picking up shells, building a small sandcastle, writing love notes in the sand,

and watching and helping Dad fly a kite.


On our way home from the beach, we had our traditional seafood meal that we have to have every Florida vacation. However, we had it at quite a non-traditional place. Mom and I were impressed with the food and I thought the ambiance was fun. Except, of course, for the half-naked mermaid hanging from the ceiling!

If only it wasn't so cold, we could have sat on the patio and smelled the fishy smell while viewing the million-dollar homes that were across the river and right by the coast.

Today we went to Siesta Key in Sarasota on the west side of Florida. Pictures will be coming sometime soon...but here's a taste of what's to come. This is what Meredith spent a lot of the afternoon today working on.



We miss you and will be home soon!
Theresa and Meredith

P.S. Meredith was quite upset with me after my last post because I didn't include either of the pictures that she so carefully planned. She took great pains to pick out the background and to set everything up. So here are her My Little Ponies...

and here is the white tiger (named Sweet Berry after the My Little Pony of the same name) that Grandma got her at Busch Gardens.

Letter to Kent & Jesse

Dear Kent and Jesse,

We are missing you terribly while we are in Florida and you are home in Iowa.

We missed you on the plane ride here. (We got to see the sun setting at however many thousand feet high. It was pretty cool!)
Well, actually, you probably didn't want to ride on the plane and get in late and then still have to wait another hour and a half until your luggage got here...by that time it was after midnight...

...and we missed you while we froze yesterday in our thin sweatshirts at the flea market, and then again while we picked tangerines and oranges. The tangerine trees are totally loaded with fruit, but it's not very good because they are so seedy. However, the fresh orange juice totally made up for the not-so-great tangerines!


Today we had a great day at Busch Gardens in Tampa...but again we wished you were here with us!

One of our favorite things (or actually 4 of our favorite things) was the jungle "animals" that walked the sidewalks around the Jungle section of Busch Gardens. The "animals" were really men or women on stilts that were dressed to look like either a frog, birds, or some sort of spidery creature. They were really, really fun. And Meredith was totally taken with them...she would have spent the whole time right there, I think, had I let her.


The spidery guy was on stilts that were so tall, he could walk right over everyone. He would weave his way around people so effortlessly, you forgot that he was on such high stilts. Meredith loved to stand there and get his attention so that he would walk right over her while she stood there.


Then there was the bird that liked to get in your face.


And the other bird that would eat your head...


And finally, the tree frog that would jump up and down on his stilts...and maybe take your visor and try it on his head for style!


Then there were the 2 places in the park where kids could climb in and on and around all sorts of things. Forget about using Wii Fit for me - my legs got a great workout climbing on and through everything, trying to keep up with Mer!

Yes, it does look like she's giving me a "Hurry up, Mommy!" look right there!

We also loved seeing all the animals.

Like giraffes,

(don't ya love the roller coaster in the background?)

and Clydesdales,

and elephants, (who, incidentally, like to eat apples and sweet potatoes...)


and flamingos everywhere,



and even a ginormous butterfly,


and so many other animals, it's too many to even count.

All in all, a great but exhausting day.

Give Jesse hugs and kisses from us and tell him that we'll be home before you know it!

Theresa & Mer


P.S. Kent, thank you so much for letting us bring the ipod. I know that it's yours and mine to share, so we are grateful that you let us bring it along. It has come in handy a lot for both Meredith and I!

Florida here we come! (Part II)

One thing that is so special to me about this trip to Florida with Meredith is that I took a trip like that with my mom when I was 4. We flew in an airplane (Mom, was that my first airplane ride?) to visit both of my grandparents in Sarasota, FL. (Most Florida trips were taken via car.) I don't remember too terribly much about the trip, but I do remember that it was special to be able to do that with just my mom.


And now Meredith will have that same special memory of going on a trip to Florida to visit her grandparents with her mom.

I had to look back at pictures from the trip - aren't they too cute?!? Here I am with my Grandpa and Grandma Litwiller...


I especially love my red socks or tights with my white sandals.

Mom, was this the trip that I told Grandpa Beachy that the reason he couldn't wear a sundress like mine was because he didn't have any hair?

Anyway, can you tell that I'm waaaay excited??

Thank you to Kent for letting Mer and I go, and thanks to my parents for having us!

Florida here we come!

Meredith and I are thrilled that we will be leaving for Florida in just 4 days. My parents left for Florida on the 11th of January. Seemingly months ago!


Not only will we get to bask in the warmth and sunshine of Florida, but we'll get to be with my mom and dad.

I can't wait!


Mom and Dad - get ready because we're set to invade you!

To Florida They Go

Well it's official.

My parents are leaving for Florida in just a few days.

I knew this would be coming.

But I'm still not ready for them to be gone.

For. So. Long.

Just this morning my mom got the go-ahead from her doctor.

Mom and Dad, we'll miss you terribly.

But I don't blame you for wanting to get to see this.