We escaped for the day

I spent most of Saturday cracking the whip on Lily, figuratively only, so don't get in a panic, so that she would finish her school project. We had initially planned to head over to the West Coast for the weekend but knew this wasn't going to happen as the weekend approached but the end of the project still loomed in the distance. I realised by Friday evening that she could easily finish it up on Saturday if she really knuckled down so I dangled the proverbial carrot in front of her nose and told her we would do something wonderful to celebrate once she was done because she deserved it. By late Saturday afternoon the last embellishment was in place and the lid put back on the glue pot. She was done.

After the girls went to bed I started packing the bags for a day trip over to the West Coast so that once everyone was up we could jump in the car and go. I hadn't told them of my plans because I really wanted them to sleep well and not wake up at some ridiculous hour because they were excited. We all slept quite late but were still on the road by 10.30am.

We love Naples, really love it. The drive over was smooth and we didn't stop at all. I have a new routine for longish trips; I pack a cooler and place it in the back with the girls and let them help themselves to what they want when they want it. We turned the DVD players on, ( we never let them have those) and we hit the gas. We didn't stop until we pulled into the parking lot at the beach.

There was a massive Hip-Hop festival in Miami this weekend on SoBe so our beaches were out of commission. Once we arrived on the beach in Naples it appeared that everyone from Miami had had the same idea as us. I have never seen so many people on the beach there yet it still didn't compare to here. Rosie, so happy to be at the beach

Lil, looking way older than 9! Gulp. Dang Brazilian friends and their gifts of bikinis!

My big girl

Surfer girl

This Pelican was caught by a fisherman on the pier. He,along with a group of men reeled him in and then caught him in a massive net. They held him down while they took the hook out and freed him of all the line. IT was quite disturbing to watch but refreshing to see people do the right thing. I'm sure over here they would have just cut the line and let him go.

Daddio, chilling

There goes that surfer girl again

Sisters on the pier watching the dolphin. Rosie was absolutely amazed by them. She thought they were whales.

A great place for dinner

dinner time

We had such a great day. I showered the girls off at the beach which made Lily chant we are not Hobo's. I then took them into the changing rooms and got them dressed for dinner. I really do take being organised to a whole new level even the hubs is shocked and he has been around for nearly 27 years! We walked around for a while until we saw our favourite ice cream shop and then we ate dessert. By the time we headed back it was late. Rosie won't sleep in the car at night because she finds it scary.I will admit that the Tamiami Trail isn't the nicest road to drive especially at night it is also an incredibly dangerous one. It must be dangerous if I only go 5 miles an hour above the posted speed limit! Lily slept nearly the whole way home! Bring on the summer vacation cos I can't wait to go back. My favourite Hotel over there has a roof top pool and the kidlets love it.