cuz thats what we were, a bunch of nuts in one shell!!
i can honestly say, i wasnt entirely sure what to expect going into this trip...10 people under one roof, 5 of them under the age of 5...for 5 nights!! are we crazy??!! YES!! mandy and i have always been a little crazy....but i can honestly say that the week didnt fall into that category! what it did turn out to be was TOTALLY AMAZING!! Frank and i have by far declared it one of the best weeks of our life! and i think our boys would totally agree!! we went into this trip without any plans or expectations and i think that helped make it as successful as it was.
we pulled out of our driveway around 10pm saturday night and drove...all night long...to Dave & Enna's house, where we pulled in a little before lunch. Dom and Dana met us there, we had some awesome subs for lunch and then frank and i laid down - for what turned out to be a 4 hour nap!! meanwhile, dave and enna bravely took our 3 boys, plus Nico, to an indoor bounce house place!! what a blessing that was for us! not only did it allow us to get enough rest to make it through our next night of driving, but it also tired the kids out so that our night of driving was a big success!! and we were back on the road around 9pm...
first stop, Dad C's house, where we spent the day swimming with Frank's dad and his fiance and her son... it was such a wonderful visit! my boys all got a good swimming lesson in with Grandpa Frank. we ate a wonderful lunch and just enjoyed some good quality time together! back on the road around dinner time, we had another 40 minutes or so until we reached our final destination, the Inglese house!!
when we got there monday night we were showered with surprises and we were just in time to order some pizza and hangout for a bit before we totally crashed for the night!
Tuesday - the day that set the tone for the whole week!! mandy let her kids stay home from school which gave us the freedom to do whatever, without any time constraints...so our first stop, the pool! we packed some snacks and headed to the pool until lunch time and it was awesome! we had the whole pool to ourselves and i was finally able to meet mandy's good friend heather!
that evening we packed everyone up and headed up to Ft. Meyers Pier, with mandy's parents as well. we walked into a few of the shops, where my boys acquired their first package of Silly Bands! then headed toward the beach where we first spotted a school of small sting ray, followed by a living sand dollar, sea star and a sea urchin. in all my amazement with the sea life surrounding me, i made it perfectly clear that the two things i wanted to see most while in FL were manatee and dolphins! the dolphins were quickly promised, but i was told the manatee would be a tough one.
we headed up to the pier and as i was about to buy the kids some suckers, everyone started shouting "shannon, theres manatee, come quick!!" and much to our surprise, sofia spotted a clan of 4 manatee swimming right under the pier!! it was breathtaking!
we ended the night with an awesome dinner and a pitcher of margaritas, ice cream and a God sent sunset!!
Wednesday - Kolby and Lucia were off to school and we were off to Vanderbilt beach for some fun in the sun! and a giant sting ray spotting of course!! about 5 feet wide, brown with white spots, just like Mr. Ray from finding nemo...and he was about 4 feet from the shore! for a second he looked to be swimming right at me, but he made a quick turn and ended up about a foot and a half away from frank! what a sight!! playing in the sand was pretty awesome too, but seeing the bravery of my boys, splashing in the ocean waters...thats something i will never forget!
that evening we headed to downtown naples where the kids (+ mandy and i) had a blast on the playground! we walked the naples pier and had some quickly melting ice cream after we watched some dolphins put on a pretty good show for us!
that night was officially declared "adult night"!! we got all the kids to bed and Bartender Anthony got the night going for us...the rest is history! and it was just like old times...its always so reassuring to know that no matter how much time goes by, with true friends, you can always pick up right where you left off! mandy and i have been friends for 13 years and you would never believe that we have now spent more of them in seperate states than we have together!
forever young (and crazy) at heart!!
to be continued....
