Anyhoo, grab a cup of coffee because you'll be here reviewing the family vacation photos for quite a while. Sorry. And believe me, I cut out a LOT.
We'll start out with our "pet" for the week - this white bird we named "Shrimp." He sat with us on the beach, every day, all week. We'd set up our chairs and he'd show up within minutes. He must have known we were fun to hang out with. And he may or may not have known we had fishing bait in the vicinity. :)
Then we'll move on to my CUTE nephew Aaron. He's SUCH a doll. And he loves to pose.
It killed me comparing him to Noah and Jack. He's 3. I remember when my babies were 3. And the difference between 3 and 9 makes my heart ache!
One of the big attractions to Sanibel is the shelling. 3rd best shelling place in the world. My dad has done it for 20 years, and has Noah totally hooked. So they'd occasionally get up VERY early, at low tide, to go hunt for shells. I managed to make it out twice.
Here's what you see if you are lucky: (many times they are further out in the water, or you can only see a portion of a shell and you have to dig it out.)
Grandpa and Noah, two peas in a pod.
The perk of these early mornings is getting to see the sunrise. Spectacular.
In order: Marcy, Noah, Betsy and my Dad.
This the boardwalk heading out to the beach from our condos.
Here's camp Horak. This was our spot on the beach - all week.
This is heading back to our condos.
The 5 Horak-side cousins.
Needless to say, my dad was on CLOUD NINE.
We spent a lot of time at the beach. Other than that, we swam in the pool and rode bikes (there are bike trails all over the island). VERY mellow, and just perfect. Oh, and we ate. ALOT.
This is one of our favorites - The Bubble Room. It's very quirky and full of character. We go here mainly for the desert - cake. You get like 1/4 of a cake when you order a piece. Yummy.
Yes, he at the whole thing. (In two sittings, thankfully)
Here's Mark and the boys at 'o-dark thirty, heading out shelling.
Here's Noah's take for the day. Not bad!
Okay, another favorite restaurant is Cheeburger Cheeburger. On this trip, Mark decided to eat "The Pounder" so he could get his picture on the wall of fame. To be clear, "the Pounder" is a FULL 16 oz. of cooked beef.
Yuck.
Like father, like sons. The boys decided THEY were going to be put on the kids wall of fame and eat the 1/2 pounder. Mama overruled the pounder for them, much to their dismay.
As part of this great honor, you get to have your picture taken with the giant stuffed burger.
I've since called a cardiologist and opened an account to start making payments. Thought I'd get a head start.
This is heading back to our condos.
The 5 Horak-side cousins.
Needless to say, my dad was on CLOUD NINE.
We spent a lot of time at the beach. Other than that, we swam in the pool and rode bikes (there are bike trails all over the island). VERY mellow, and just perfect. Oh, and we ate. ALOT.
This is one of our favorites - The Bubble Room. It's very quirky and full of character. We go here mainly for the desert - cake. You get like 1/4 of a cake when you order a piece. Yummy.
Yes, he at the whole thing. (In two sittings, thankfully)
Here's Mark and the boys at 'o-dark thirty, heading out shelling.
Here's Noah's take for the day. Not bad!
Okay, another favorite restaurant is Cheeburger Cheeburger. On this trip, Mark decided to eat "The Pounder" so he could get his picture on the wall of fame. To be clear, "the Pounder" is a FULL 16 oz. of cooked beef.
Yuck.
Like father, like sons. The boys decided THEY were going to be put on the kids wall of fame and eat the 1/2 pounder. Mama overruled the pounder for them, much to their dismay.
As part of this great honor, you get to have your picture taken with the giant stuffed burger.
I've since called a cardiologist and opened an account to start making payments. Thought I'd get a head start.Back to the beach -
Uncle Josh was Jack's fishing guide for the week. Didn't have much luck, but he LOVES hanging out with Josh, so I don't think he cared much.
Josh, however, managed to catch a hammerhead shark. LITTLE one, thank heavens!
Here's Josh's son, Cayel. As you can see, he takes after his dad.
The boys played lots of paddleball - although you can't really tell in the photo.
In the pool!!
This was my view for much of the week. Which is really bothersome now with all this WINTER we've had since returning. Dislike.
I couldn't stop taking pictures of this little dude.
This was the last day there, and poor Jack had developed a nasty rash all over his neck. (Thus my Dad's fishing hat that covers the neck). We ended up at a doctor that afternoon and found he'd gotten into some type of pepper plant, which is the tropical equivalent of poison ivy. He got 2 prescriptions and was better a couple days later.
Photo session!
One last trip to our favorite ice cream joint . . .
It was a fabulous trip. The only downside to our trips to Sanibel is that we all suffer from PVB when we get back. (Post Vacation Blues). And let me tell you, it was like pouring salt in the wound when the PACKERS won the Superbowl the day after we returned.
Uncle Josh was Jack's fishing guide for the week. Didn't have much luck, but he LOVES hanging out with Josh, so I don't think he cared much.
Josh, however, managed to catch a hammerhead shark. LITTLE one, thank heavens!
Here's Josh's son, Cayel. As you can see, he takes after his dad.
The boys played lots of paddleball - although you can't really tell in the photo.
In the pool!!
This was my view for much of the week. Which is really bothersome now with all this WINTER we've had since returning. Dislike.
I couldn't stop taking pictures of this little dude.
This was the last day there, and poor Jack had developed a nasty rash all over his neck. (Thus my Dad's fishing hat that covers the neck). We ended up at a doctor that afternoon and found he'd gotten into some type of pepper plant, which is the tropical equivalent of poison ivy. He got 2 prescriptions and was better a couple days later.
Photo session!
One last trip to our favorite ice cream joint . . .
It was a fabulous trip. The only downside to our trips to Sanibel is that we all suffer from PVB when we get back. (Post Vacation Blues). And let me tell you, it was like pouring salt in the wound when the PACKERS won the Superbowl the day after we returned. Anyway, we've all since recovered and returned to our normal routine - and are so thankful for this week that we had together!
