Fun Times

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. I haven't taken the time to sit and blog. I've had a phenomenal Spring Break. Be warned, this post is going to have lots of pictures. Colin and I picked up my parents from the airport on Tuesday evening. Since then, we've been busy busy busy. When they got here we ended up going straight back to our house. We grilled out and hung out at home for the rest of the night. 

On Wednesday Colin had to work so we went to this place called The Villages. Someone on the airplane down here had told my parents about it, so they wanted to go explore. Its a little less than an hour straight north of our house. It was like a retirement village, but it is pretty much its own little town. We just walked around, had lunch at a Mexican restaurant, and then went to the town square party (haha). They had live music, vendors, and country line dancing. It was quite funny to see all the old people dancing. We sat on the bench that you see in the pictures and did lots of people watching as well. It was funny.

The next day (Thursday) when Colin got home, we all went and rented a pontoon boat. The marina was literally 2 minutes down the road from our house. It was such a nice day out, and everyone had a great time. We cruised around the chain of lakes and enjoyed the sunshine. It was super!

We docked at the Tikki Bar for lunch, which is always fun. The first picture is a little dark. We asked a random person to take it, so what can ya do?

We then got in the boat and headed back towards the marina. We had to get the boat back by a certain time, otherwise we would've stayed out on the water longer. 

Colin got tired of being the captain, so some others took a turn driving.

I enjoyed driving the boat, but then I chickened out when a bridge came up and I was expected to go in between 2 pillars...plus there were 2 fishermen standing there. I complained and complained, but Colin still wouldn't take the wheel. So I stopped the boat. He STILL didn't come relieve me from the driver's seat!!! He said, "Mel, if you can drive the boat under the bridge, I will tell people that you officially know how to drive a boat." The bribery didn't work, and I am nothing if not stubborn PLUS I was too nervous! So...

He took over. Colin and I went to the front of the boat and enjoyed the ride.

Clearly someone took our picture without us knowing it!

And then that same person tried to take her own picture. 

We took the boat back and then returned home. It ended up being a fantastic day. Everyone had a blast!

The next day we had planned on going to Venice. We woke up fairly early and took off for the 2 hour drive. The first thing we did was head to the dog beach. Roi had a lovely time playing with all of the other dogs. He is such a social guy. He would play with one dog for a couple of minutes and then sprint to the other end of the dog beach to play with another. He really prefers playing with the smaller dogs, but he will interact with any dog. AND...he finally got in the water! I was such a proud mama. The last couple of times that we have been there, he has been too scared to enter the ocean. This time he went in pretty far out. Each time he ran from one end of the dog beach to the other, he would run along the shore in the water. Its really funny because every time we take Roi to a dog park, he ignores us. He is like a teenager who is embarrassed to be with his parents. He will trot right past us as we shout his name, but not turn his head to acknowledge. He will just keep going. So we saw a lot of this:

and this:

We spent a couple of hours there. Roi had a ball, and he was absolutely worn out by the time we left. We actually stayed there until Colin and I were starving. Our blood sugar was taking a downward spiral, and when that happens to *both* of us at the same time, it isn't a pretty thing!!! 

So we left to go have lunch at Sharky's, which is always promises to be fun. After we ate we walked out on the pier. We saw a few dolphins and a sting ray out there.

We left there and got the infamous orange ice cream on our way home. 

Today Colin had to go back to work. This morning the three of us went to an open house in my neighborhood for a house that is up for auction. Ever since, I've been begging them to buy it for a winter home! My mom and I went shopping for a few hours of the day. We got stuck outside in a huge parking lot in the middle of a down pour. Needless to say, we got soaked from head to toe. We got home and made tacos for dinner. After dinner, we made iced sugar cookies. My dad has been on the couch watching the Final Four and everything leading up to it all day. We don't have anything planned for tomorrow, but it is pretty much their last day here. They leave Monday, but I will be back to work by then. Colin will drive them to the airport and see them off. It has been a successful trip! Hopefully you are enjoying the spring weather wherever you are. Keep in touch!