Back to reality - Paradise is No More

After 10 months or so of planning our extended family vacation the time has come and gone and we are back from paradise. Our chosen destination was Upper (North) Captiva. This is a little island, about 550 acres off the coast of Ft. Myers, Florida. The island was actually part of Captiva Island at one time but a hurricane from the early 1900's split the island and that is how the Upper (North) Captiva island name came to be. In order to get to the island you must travel by boat. There are no cars, grocery store, commercial or tourist things to do. The island is very laid back. About 300 acres are reserved for a wildlife, nature park. So wildlife is in abundance and the beaches are full of shells.

Our planning took coordinating schedules for 14 people coming from all directions, planning meals for the week, making a grocery list and hoping we didn't forget anything. We also had 4 little ones under the age of 6 that we wanted to make sure we kept occupied.

Part I - Planes, Cars, Boat, & Golf Carts

The first big action - arriving and catching the ferry. Most of the group met early Saturday morning and we picked up our groceries, shopped for any last minute items we might of forgot and for some it was re-shopping for things confiscated by the TSA at the airport. Gotta love the new guidelines.

We had 72 bags of groceries, not sure how many coolers and 12 cases of water. We were set for the week. Ready to board our ferry, take the 30 minute boat ride across to the island and our "Island Host" would be there to take us the next step. (more on Island Host to follow)

Arrival to the Island - here our mode of transportation is primarily golf carts and at the house we had bikes and there is always the good old fashion way of getting around by foot. There WERE to be two golf carts to meet us, we would load our stuff on the trailers and deliver us to our house. (details to follow)

First Snips of "locks"

It's been known for awhile that Chloe was in much need of a hair trimming and shaping, I just haven't been able to bring myself to do it. There is something about that first innocent hair.

Well when I came home from my scrapbooking weekend, Tony said we are cutting her hair. After a discussion I said I would trim the hair in her eyes, so the poor child can see.

It was not an easy task to have Chloe sit still and in a couple of areas it is a little shorter than I wanted.

So for now her bangs have been trimmed and she still has the loose curls in the back, of her sweet baby hair.

Loads of the WHITE stuff to play

After our skiing adventure and our safe return home with hazardous conditions we continued to watch it snow, snow and snow some more.

On Saturday morning Cleis couldn't wait to get out and play in the white stuff. She helped Tony snow blow the drive way, she took a little adventure around the yard. She played with the dogs down the street, and the neighborhood girl across the street. And after more than two hours playing she was not ready to come in so she could warm up.

Chloe was able to enjoy the snow for a few minutes. I didn't have proper gear to keep her out there for very long. She was out long enough for me to get some pictures and video.

Winter Play Land

Well for three months we have tried to take Cleis snow skiing and the weather has not worked in our favor. This past Friday was our last chance to take advantage of the Retro pricing at Paoli Peaks. We figured take her when the price is right that way if she doesn't like it, no big deal we're not out a bunch of and it's okay if we don't get to ski.

Well once again the weather was not in our favor but Tony was determined we were going. So we made the plans, dropped Chloe off to Mimi Cheri and Papaw Jerry's, got all our gear out and loaded and headed off for a good nights sleep. We woke Friday morning expecting the weather to be here and there was nothing - good but disappointing. Everyone got ready and we started out the door and the snow started. We went on as planned. Once we got onto Hwy 150 things went from fair to worse and the further west we went the worse the roads became. We took it slow and all turned out well.

Once we arrived we suited up and headed to the slopes with our gear. Because we had to purchase rental for Cleis her admission included a group lesson. We arrive at the lesson and learn that she must be 6 years old. We explain the news to Cleis and she's okay with it, she just wants to go down the hill. We step aside and plan to listen to take some pointers from the instructor and the instructor must have felt sorry for us and gave up one of his instructors to give Cleis a private lesson for about 45 minutes. We stayed with Cleis a couple of times down the hill to see how she was doing and to make sure she was comfortable. Once we felt comfortable, Tony and I headed off on our own to take a couple of runs.

After her lesson we took a break and Cleis needed to get warm. So we headed in to the lodge and shared a couple of cups of our Williams-Sonoma hot chocolate (best stuff ever). Then it was back out to the slopes and Cleis said she was ready to do the big hill. So down we went and never looked back. Cleis was ready to cover all the slopes and so that is what we did.

Even with the extra element of the weather, the wind was a bit strong, overall the day was great. Cleis had a great time. Tony and I squeezed in some good runs and we're planning for next year. Oh yeah, while we were there we ran into a family that had a 2 1/2 year old and he was already out on the slopes. We'll be starting earlier with Chloe and who knows we may be back to our annual Snowshoe trip before we know it. I can't wait!!!!

Busy Valentine's

We have started our Valentine Day off in full swing. A few days ago Cleis said she wanted waffles for breakfast so we started our monring with Cleis making waffles. Then we palyed with our Valentine presents. After some time playing it was off to prepare our strawberries for dipping and make some cupcakes. Cleis did all the mixing, even breaking the eggs, for the cupcakes. We got our cupcakes off to the oven and then it was doll time and reading books. We did this while our cupcakes were cooking. When they were finished and cooling we started dipping our strawberries. Once again, Cleis was "Betty Crocker" and did all the dipping for the strawberries. She did a beautiful job. I can't wait to enjoy them later.

Now we're off to prepare for some "glamour shots". Cleis loves to have photo sessions. I'm going to take some of her by herself while Chloe is down for nap and then I'll take some of both of them together. That is if our second half is cooperative. Stay tuned in to see what we get.

To finish off our Valentine Day we are celebrating with Sushi.

What an action packed fun filled day. Nothing like sharing the day with my girls and showing them how much they are loved.

First Winter Wonderland

Last night we had our first significant snowfall that Cleis has been able to enjoy and the first ever for Chloe. During our last snowfall in December of 2004 Cleis was not able to play in that snow due to her unknown illness at the time and the recurring pneumonia.

But last night she made up for it. She couldn't wait to get her snow suit on and go play in the snow. She made snowballs. (the best she could w/the quality of snow) She went on a big walk and she helped her daddy snow blow the driveway.

***pictures to follow - major difficulties lately at the Newell homestead with cameras and memory cards - but I do have some

School Shopping

I can't believe that I'm actually writing about sending my darling Cleis to Kindergarten, she will be enrolling in the 2008-2009 school year. Before Tony and I ever had children this school stuff was not an area we ever agreed on. I am a for private school and my other half doesn't feel it necessary. So off began my research several months ago (actually 4 years ago) on the schools that are offered in our cluster. In our community that is how we are grouped - depending on boundaries you have what is called a cluster of schools and that is what you choose from. And then you also have the option to choose from a Magnet/Traditional program.

After many hours and much research I put together my findings and off we went to interview and tour the schools I felt like were the best choices. It was amazing some of the things I discovered. To name a few, some teachers and rooms extremely organized or neatly organized and then some I'm not sure how they know where to find their students. Most teachers looked like they were there to teach the kids and not just getting a paycheck or looking for a friend. Others looked liked they just crawled out of bed and put on their best jogging suit and stopped at the BP to pick them up a Big Gulp to slurp on all day.

As Tony put it, it's like buying a boat. You find a boat with most of your options but it still has some things you don't like about it. Then there's another boat with most of the same options but has one different option you like too or don't like. So you go with the option that you think will serve you best.

Well I hope that is what Tony and I have done. You are given the choice of two schools and the option to apply for the Traditional program. For our two choices we actually only went with one school. We felt strongly about our first choice and all the other schools we looked at were low on our like list. We also applied for the Traditional program, this is a gamble as the student is chosen by a lottery.

It will be several weeks before we know where Cleis will be going to school next year but we are keeping our fingers crossed she will be chosen for one of our choices or there will be two very upset parents going back to the drawing board.

We'll keep you posted on the outcome.