Flashback: THE BEACH!!!

Florida was just so busy and wonderful that our beach excursion requires a whole new post. We had a very special four days as a family when we ventured to Treasure Island, FL. This trip was planned as a celebration of my wonderful dad and his passage into his 60's. I know he really appreciated and savored the extra time he got with his wife, daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren. His goal is to live to 100 so we look forward to 40 more years of his love, wisdom and adventures.

We all absolutely loved the beach! The grandparents and the dads took the kiddos out to see the beach before sunset on the first night we got to Treasure Island. Derrick got Liam half undressed, let him run loose and then snapped this picture on his iPhone. Liam was walking well enough by this point that he didn't have any problems on the uneven sand. A giant sandbox provides extreme fun for a one year old. Over the course of the week, Liam had a great time playing with his cousins. Lukas (4) was really good at digging holes and piling it high. Isabel (23 mo) was good at strutting her stuff back and forth to the water to fill pails of water. Liam was good at climbing in the big holes Lukas had dug. He would plop right in, sign "bath" and get a huge grin on his face as water was poured in his hole. Of course, he ended up buried in wet sand and stuck in a hole but to him, it was the greatest!

We all got fully submerged in the water at one point or another. The temperature was pleasant. Some previous renters in our condos had left boogie boards which the guys made use of a lot. Treasure Island Beach is on the gulf side of Florida so the waves aren't necessarily gnarly but the guys made it fun. You can see below how the dangerous waves knocked them off their boards and sent them spiraling into the water. Baby Girl and I even rode the waves on a boogie board.

The beach holds special memories for me. Riding the waves on boogie boards was just one of the times I reminisced about our summer trips to Jersey to visit Yiayia and Popou. Derrick and I walked along the beach one afternoon with Liam and stopped to try our hand at drizzle castles. Popou still holds the record in my opinion for the most elaborate drizzle castles but I bet he'd say we taught Liam well. We really loved the warmth, sun and fun at the Florida beach. It was such a nice treat for us Coloradoans who are used to very different December weather.

The time with family was priceless. We went to a special birthday dinner at Bubba Gumps...yummy...and then had fantastic ice cream on the boardwalk. The cousins LOVED being together! Liam would wake up saying "cousin" and let out silly, excited giggles when the big cousins came in to play and entertain us all. All the adults had a wonderful time together, too. Oh, and Olli let us in on the big European tradition of setting off fireworks on New Year's Eve. We set them off on the beach before the kids went to bed. Later that night, Olli, Lauren, Derrick and I went out for a dinner date and then came back home for ice cream and to watch the ball drop with my parents. We packed a lot of memorable things into our Florida trip. We hope to be able to visit again.

Flashback Friday: December 2011 and Lakeland

It's Friday, let's see if I can squeeze in a Flashback post. Well, this one maybe technically isn't a flashback since it is about our most recent holidays and vacation but it is a little late. Beware, this will be a bit of a long post.

We had a fantastic December! My Dad turned 60 and boy does it look good on him. My sister and her awesome family came into town on my Dad's birthday, December 17th and we got to have a nice party with them and the Wildhabers. The other fantastic thing about the 17th is that my Yiayia joined her Lord in heaven! Her health really plummeted the day before; my mom, my dad, Derrick and myself got to visit her, share memories, give thanks and say goodbye before she passed in the early morning of the 17th. Lauren was just a day away but was able to be with family to celebrate Yiayia's life at our special family lunch later that week. On his birthday my Dad got a hot air balloon trip that will take him high up in the sky and Yiayia got to go beyond all atmospheric heights to praise Jesus and "hang out" with Popou. What a wonderful day! The birthday party was very fun with kiddos around and with my nephew, Lukas, helping present the special birthday gift. Sadly, I did not take photos but my sister did so go check out her blog for pics and more details about the day. Thanks, Lauren! ;)

We had a great Christmas morning as we gathered together as a family at my parents' house. We enjoyed our traditional cinnamon buns and eggs for breakfast before focusing on God's gift, Jesus, and reading the Christmas story found in Luke. Liam was much more aware of Christmas this year. Unwrapping presents was fun because ripping paper is always fun. He was blessed with very fun gifts. Mama and Dada got him a special helicopter and he received other cars, trucks, sand toys and books which he is totally into right now. Umm, I just checked and don't think I took any pictures on Christmas day. Yikes! I know I took a lot of video. I really thought I took pics but maybe not. I'll have Derrick try to help me find them or else beg for some images from my sister and brother-in-law who were busy documenting the day. If I get some pictures, I'll try to post them.

Ok, well, moving on to our Florida vacation! We left the white snow on Christmas day and headed into the warm Florida sun. We spent a few wonderful days with family in Lakeland. We ate Aunt Linda's wonderful home cooking (outside on Christmas evening no less), visited Uncle Mark's school, the pastor's monkey zoo, etc. The grandkids got to meet their Great Grandpa Stanley which was very special. I do have pictures to document the family times in Florida.

Four full generations of Kirbys

The trampoline was great fun for Olli-I mean-the KIDS!

Aunt Linda and Uncle Mark were so thoughtful in filling up the sandbox.

An intense, no holds barred game of Rook is VERY Kirby and I guess my Derrick held his own.

Walking around the lake..."Uh, oh, alligator!!!" says Liam.

Lakeland has the most awesome park! The cousins could dig for dinosaur bones, climb and climb and climb, jump and jump and jump or slide down so many cool slides or even the grassy slope. It's hard to explain how amazing the place was. Here's a little video of our fun.

I'm going to stop there for today. There is already a lot of read and look at so I'll post tomorrow about the beach part of our Florida trip.