After a great week in Massachusetts, we flew down to Florida for another week of family fun!
Our flight took us from Boston through Charlotte and then down to Tampa. As we got off of the Boston to Charlotte flight, I see a guy walk by with three little girls and I swear I had to blink a few times.... it was my friend Kriss Bryan! So we went to his gate and Emma, his wife and my best friend and neighbor growing up was there too! They were on their way to Mexico for a few days to celebrate Kriss's 40th birthday! NICE! What a coincidence though!
But first, and immediately: THE POOL!
Dual daddy-daughter cannonballs!
Kiddos and Daddy having a blast on the raft in the pool. Daddy = a giant child. Plus he's strong so they love playing with him in the pool!
Saturday was the start of the Ewbank-Jordan family reunion. Natalie and Grant were super excited to see their cousins Greta and James. They had only met James once before (last summer) and he was a teeny tiny baby! Look how big he is now!
Grant, Greta and Natalie watching something on the ipad. Three peas in a pod! I can't wait for James to get bigger and join this crowd.
The OG's of the Swales family.
The kids table (which included Jann and Dan!) chowing down on some pizza!
Day two of the family reunion, Sunday, started much like every other day... pool time! Grant didn't need floaties and often swam without them this year, but sometimes when he was in the deep end, he felt like he needed them.
Cory and James arrived and said hello to Aunt Barbara, Uncle Dave, Uncle Dan and Dad.
Uncle Dan and Dad, having some bloody Mary's!
One bloody Mary and the man with cancer going through chemo thinks he can do jackknives into the pool! Silly Pop Pop! (But the man CAN rock a jackknife, even at 74 years old!) We all chanted "Pop Pop! Pop Pop! Pop Pop!" before he jumped in (hence Natalie doing a cheer here).
Of course, this started a series of small children wanting to hear their names chanted, and thus wanted to jump in the pool over and over and over again. Here's Greta, jumping to her daddy!
Love seeing all of my family having fun in the pool!
Bailey family photo by the pool.
And then of course, we pretended that I was dumping them all into the pool ha ha.
After pool time was over, Adam and I were talking cameras and I used one of his lenses on my camera to take this sweet picture of the back of James's head!
Funny story behind this picture. (And thank goodness my Uncle Kevin's nose is clean!) I still had Adam's lens on my camera when I tried to take a selfie with it. This is all that came out of that attempt! Uncle Kevin, working on his Jell-O shot!
Todd and Aunt Rhonda, doing Jell-O shots!
The Chef's Spread! Mmmm. I'm hungry!
Look out everyone! Cousin Judi is armed with a beer and a knife!
Uncle Coco and James with Grant (and Natalie swinging in to put bunny ears on her brother!)
Here are all of the Ewbank ladies! Front row: Rhonda, Anne, Barbara and Diana. Back row: Terri, Sara, Jann, Annie, Judi (she's a Jordan, but we'll count her!), Brie, me and Stasi.
I can't claim credit for this picture- Adam (one of only three super tall guys in our family, all of which the shorty girls married) set up a tripod and took it (you can see the clicker in his hand on the right!). Ground: Brie, Greta, Cory, James, Diana (my mom), Grant, me, Todd, and Natalie. Seated: Bill (my dad), Uncle Dan and Aunt Barbara (our patriarch and matriarch!). Standing: Sara, Rhonda, Dave, Anne, Jordan, John, Dan (with JJ), Jann, Annie, Terri, Rob, Judi, Kevin, Stasi (with Ryan) and Adam (with Kate). The funny thing is, we are still missing the following people: Anne, Mark, Andrew, Nate, Maggie, Bill, Rosie, Grace, Hank, Danny, Denise, Sara (the younger), Mike, Cameron, Shannon, Thane, Josh, Adam, Matt, Alex (just missing from the picture - but he was there and had left early), and Andy (who had his own family reunion to attend!) From the Jordan side, we were missing Mike, Janie, Erin and Levon!
It was also Aunt Anne's birthday! So Jann surprised her with a heaping mess of desserts! Cupcakes, cheesecake and Hershey's kisses! (Natalie was over the moon!)
Me and my pretty girls, Greta, Kate and Natalie.
It was low tide and we spotted some dumba$$ who got out of the channel and ran aground (hey dummy... the markers are there for a reason!) So my dad has a horn and starts tooting the horn and pointing the direction the guy needed to go!
Judi said she HAD to get a picture of herself with her cousins doing Jell-O shots because no one would believe her (namely, her brother Mike!) Of course, she put her Jell-O shot cup down in front of her and doesn't have it in her hand in any of the pictures!
Panorama of my parents backyard. Sigh.
On the actual 4th of July, before the family came over for a third day of fun, we had my dad drive us down to the beach at the end of 20th Avenue. The water was AWESOME and definitely above 90!
After a bit of beach fun time, we went back to the house and family started arriving. We gave James some cute bibs with the German days of the week on them (why yes, James... it IS Montag!)
Cory and James. Hmmm. No resemblance here. Nope. Not at all.
Meanwhile, Greta took my phone and proceeded to take over 100 pictures with it. Here's one of my favorites- her little painted toes with cousin Jordan's big old shoes!
Todd and I were trying to learn how to play euchre from Aunt Anne, Uncle John and Jordan, but we only got a few games in before it was time for hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. For some reason, my parents never taught Cory and I how to play euchre! (Also: Aunt Anne does not seem happy with her hand here!)
On Tuesday, Uncle Dave offered to take us out in his pontoon boat. Since my dad is going through chemo and is pretty tired, he wasn't able to take us out in his boat, so this worked just as well! Check out this storm north of us in Clearwater!
On our way south, we swung by my parents house. Uncle John and Aunt Anne were there, wasting time waiting for their evening flight.
I always loved going under our drawbridges. With the new flyover at the Belleair Bridge, we no longer have a drawbridge there, so the Indian Rocks Bridge is the only one left in my area. Look! A car is above me!
Captain Dave at the helm and mommy is already in party mode!
Always one of my favorite homes along the Intracoastal is the mobile home up on pilings. I'm sure his flood insurance is much cheaper because of that!
Grant was very worried he would not be able to drive the boat. But Uncle Dave was SUPER NICE and didn't hesitate to let Grant take the wheel. He did pretty well! Uncle Dave supervised to make sure he knew to stay between the red and green markers.
We originally stopped at the Elks Lodge in Holiday Isles, but because it was the day after a holiday, they didn't open until 3. So we went out to the shallows near John's Pass and swam and picked up sand dollars with our toes. Then we came back to swim at the Elks Lodge pool and have a few cocktails! (Who, us?)
On our way home, Natalie got to take the wheel. You can see Uncle Dave is either a) waaaay more comfortable with a 9-year-old at the wheel, or b) relaxed from our Elks Lodge happy hour!
Amusement. This kid can fall asleep anywhere!
MANATEES! I couldn't believe it! They were so close to us!
His face was facing the sun, so we slapped a hat on him. He's out cold!
The water was a little higher as we came back to the Indian Rocks Bridge.
My parents house from farther out on the water. Hi mom and dad!
Approaching the "new" Belleair Bridge from the south. We really had a great time on Uncle Dave's boat - I hope we can go again next year!
We went to lunch with Cory and the kids at Chubby's while Brie had a work phone call to make.
Natalie and Greta saying CHEEEEEESE! I LOVE these two!
I feel like this child is so beautiful, that I know exactly what she will look like when she grows up, and her parents should be very, very worried.
Me and my Greta trying to be silly!
Not to forget my favorite furry nephew, Einstein!!
In the evening, after a nice lunch with Cory and the kiddos, we went out to one of our favorite places, FRENCHY'S!!! Todd and I both had fish tacos! So yum!
Nana and her favorite eldest granddaughter Natalie.
They were goofing off and being silly and apparently Pop Pop thought this was funny too!
When we left Frenchy's, we tried to go down to the Kooky Coconut to get some ice cream, but there was just TOO much peanut butter ice cream flavors to even attempt to get any ice cream. On the way back to IRB, we could see the sunset over the Sand Key Bridge.
Instead, we checked out the sunset, (which had just occurred!) in Indian Rocks Beach. The sky was so beautiful!
The beautiful sky and the sunset in Indian Rocks Beach.
In Philly, we stopped to get some dinner but there wasn't a lot of time so we just got drinks. They look ready for the long flight home!
Big boy has arrived home at the Munich Air Traffic Control Tower. (Where I presume he will one day work). Until next time, Tampa Bay!
Our flight took us from Boston through Charlotte and then down to Tampa. As we got off of the Boston to Charlotte flight, I see a guy walk by with three little girls and I swear I had to blink a few times.... it was my friend Kriss Bryan! So we went to his gate and Emma, his wife and my best friend and neighbor growing up was there too! They were on their way to Mexico for a few days to celebrate Kriss's 40th birthday! NICE! What a coincidence though!
But first, and immediately: THE POOL!
Dual daddy-daughter cannonballs!
Kiddos and Daddy having a blast on the raft in the pool. Daddy = a giant child. Plus he's strong so they love playing with him in the pool!
Saturday was the start of the Ewbank-Jordan family reunion. Natalie and Grant were super excited to see their cousins Greta and James. They had only met James once before (last summer) and he was a teeny tiny baby! Look how big he is now!
Grant, Greta and Natalie watching something on the ipad. Three peas in a pod! I can't wait for James to get bigger and join this crowd.
The OG's of the Swales family.
Family members arriving and congregating on the dock. JJ is with his dad Dan on the left, Aunt Anne has the braided hair, Jordan and Natalie are having a deep conversation about being a flight attendant, and we have Aunt Sara, cousin Judi (partially obscured by Jordan), Aunt Barbara, Uncle John, and Uncle Dave (as well as a friend of Rhonda and Dave's! Come one, come all!)
The kids table (which included Jann and Dan!) chowing down on some pizza!
Day two of the family reunion, Sunday, started much like every other day... pool time! Grant didn't need floaties and often swam without them this year, but sometimes when he was in the deep end, he felt like he needed them.
Cory and James arrived and said hello to Aunt Barbara, Uncle Dave, Uncle Dan and Dad.
Uncle Dan and Dad, having some bloody Mary's!
One bloody Mary and the man with cancer going through chemo thinks he can do jackknives into the pool! Silly Pop Pop! (But the man CAN rock a jackknife, even at 74 years old!) We all chanted "Pop Pop! Pop Pop! Pop Pop!" before he jumped in (hence Natalie doing a cheer here).
Of course, this started a series of small children wanting to hear their names chanted, and thus wanted to jump in the pool over and over and over again. Here's Greta, jumping to her daddy!
Love seeing all of my family having fun in the pool!
Bailey family photo by the pool.
And then of course, we pretended that I was dumping them all into the pool ha ha.
After pool time was over, Adam and I were talking cameras and I used one of his lenses on my camera to take this sweet picture of the back of James's head!
Funny story behind this picture. (And thank goodness my Uncle Kevin's nose is clean!) I still had Adam's lens on my camera when I tried to take a selfie with it. This is all that came out of that attempt! Uncle Kevin, working on his Jell-O shot!
Todd and Aunt Rhonda, doing Jell-O shots!
I snuck this picture of Aunt Annie giving raspberries to her grandson, Ryan. I just love it! Someone loves their Grannie Annie!
The chef's... even after Aunt Rhonda probably broke her finger by slamming it in the door!
The Chef's Spread! Mmmm. I'm hungry!
Look out everyone! Cousin Judi is armed with a beer and a knife!
Uncle Coco and James with Grant (and Natalie swinging in to put bunny ears on her brother!)
Here are all of the Ewbank ladies! Front row: Rhonda, Anne, Barbara and Diana. Back row: Terri, Sara, Jann, Annie, Judi (she's a Jordan, but we'll count her!), Brie, me and Stasi.
I can't claim credit for this picture- Adam (one of only three super tall guys in our family, all of which the shorty girls married) set up a tripod and took it (you can see the clicker in his hand on the right!). Ground: Brie, Greta, Cory, James, Diana (my mom), Grant, me, Todd, and Natalie. Seated: Bill (my dad), Uncle Dan and Aunt Barbara (our patriarch and matriarch!). Standing: Sara, Rhonda, Dave, Anne, Jordan, John, Dan (with JJ), Jann, Annie, Terri, Rob, Judi, Kevin, Stasi (with Ryan) and Adam (with Kate). The funny thing is, we are still missing the following people: Anne, Mark, Andrew, Nate, Maggie, Bill, Rosie, Grace, Hank, Danny, Denise, Sara (the younger), Mike, Cameron, Shannon, Thane, Josh, Adam, Matt, Alex (just missing from the picture - but he was there and had left early), and Andy (who had his own family reunion to attend!) From the Jordan side, we were missing Mike, Janie, Erin and Levon!
It was also Aunt Anne's birthday! So Jann surprised her with a heaping mess of desserts! Cupcakes, cheesecake and Hershey's kisses! (Natalie was over the moon!)
Here are the cousins and their boys! Stasi with Ryan, Jann with JJ, Cory with James and me with the big boy, Grant! If Alex had still been there, we would have made Terri pick him up, ha ha!
Me and my pretty girls, Greta, Kate and Natalie.
It was low tide and we spotted some dumba$$ who got out of the channel and ran aground (hey dummy... the markers are there for a reason!) So my dad has a horn and starts tooting the horn and pointing the direction the guy needed to go!
Judi said she HAD to get a picture of herself with her cousins doing Jell-O shots because no one would believe her (namely, her brother Mike!) Of course, she put her Jell-O shot cup down in front of her and doesn't have it in her hand in any of the pictures!
Panorama of my parents backyard. Sigh.
Some of the best fireworks we saw were on the 3rd of July and all of them were privately funded. It reminded me of last year in New Hampshire!
On the actual 4th of July, before the family came over for a third day of fun, we had my dad drive us down to the beach at the end of 20th Avenue. The water was AWESOME and definitely above 90!
After a bit of beach fun time, we went back to the house and family started arriving. We gave James some cute bibs with the German days of the week on them (why yes, James... it IS Montag!)
Cory and James. Hmmm. No resemblance here. Nope. Not at all.
Meanwhile, Greta took my phone and proceeded to take over 100 pictures with it. Here's one of my favorites- her little painted toes with cousin Jordan's big old shoes!
Todd and I were trying to learn how to play euchre from Aunt Anne, Uncle John and Jordan, but we only got a few games in before it was time for hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. For some reason, my parents never taught Cory and I how to play euchre! (Also: Aunt Anne does not seem happy with her hand here!)
On Tuesday, Uncle Dave offered to take us out in his pontoon boat. Since my dad is going through chemo and is pretty tired, he wasn't able to take us out in his boat, so this worked just as well! Check out this storm north of us in Clearwater!
On our way south, we swung by my parents house. Uncle John and Aunt Anne were there, wasting time waiting for their evening flight.
I always loved going under our drawbridges. With the new flyover at the Belleair Bridge, we no longer have a drawbridge there, so the Indian Rocks Bridge is the only one left in my area. Look! A car is above me!
Captain Dave at the helm and mommy is already in party mode!
Always one of my favorite homes along the Intracoastal is the mobile home up on pilings. I'm sure his flood insurance is much cheaper because of that!
Grant was very worried he would not be able to drive the boat. But Uncle Dave was SUPER NICE and didn't hesitate to let Grant take the wheel. He did pretty well! Uncle Dave supervised to make sure he knew to stay between the red and green markers.
We originally stopped at the Elks Lodge in Holiday Isles, but because it was the day after a holiday, they didn't open until 3. So we went out to the shallows near John's Pass and swam and picked up sand dollars with our toes. Then we came back to swim at the Elks Lodge pool and have a few cocktails! (Who, us?)
On our way home, Natalie got to take the wheel. You can see Uncle Dave is either a) waaaay more comfortable with a 9-year-old at the wheel, or b) relaxed from our Elks Lodge happy hour!
Amusement. This kid can fall asleep anywhere!
MANATEES! I couldn't believe it! They were so close to us!
His face was facing the sun, so we slapped a hat on him. He's out cold!
The water was a little higher as we came back to the Indian Rocks Bridge.
My parents house from farther out on the water. Hi mom and dad!
Approaching the "new" Belleair Bridge from the south. We really had a great time on Uncle Dave's boat - I hope we can go again next year!
Back at home in the evening, Todd and I sat on the dock and watched the storms in the distance. I sincerely miss these storms!
Another day in Florida meant another day at the pool. Grant and Natalie spent some time shoving each other in the water. At first, it was all Grant.
But then Natalie got her revenge!
One evening during the week, we met up with Stasi and Adam (who were also staying the whole week) and went to dinner at Guppies with them. I had the most AMAZING "Kona coffee dusted scallops with mango vanilla bean sauce, and caramelized plantains." One of the best meals I've had there!
Then we all hopped in a car and headed over toward the Gandy bridge and met up for drinks with Cory and Brie!
Poor Adam always gets stuck taking the pictures so I had to include this one too!
In case you were wondering how hot it was in Florida... Yes. That says 101!
On our way to Cory's house on Thursday, we ran into a big thunderstorm. I took a picture of the reflection of the raindrops on the dashboard.
We went to lunch with Cory and the kids at Chubby's while Brie had a work phone call to make.
Natalie and Greta saying CHEEEEEESE! I LOVE these two!
Is there a cuter guy under the age of 2 on this planet!? Ok, I'm biased!
James and I reading a Sesame Street book!
OMG!!!! EEEEEK! This picture makes me feel like a 10-year-old girl meeting One Direction.
Natalie, kissing Greta goodbye. She loves her Natawie!
I feel like this child is so beautiful, that I know exactly what she will look like when she grows up, and her parents should be very, very worried.
Me and my Greta trying to be silly!
Not to forget my favorite furry nephew, Einstein!!
In the evening, after a nice lunch with Cory and the kiddos, we went out to one of our favorite places, FRENCHY'S!!! Todd and I both had fish tacos! So yum!
Nana and her favorite eldest granddaughter Natalie.
They were goofing off and being silly and apparently Pop Pop thought this was funny too!
When we left Frenchy's, we tried to go down to the Kooky Coconut to get some ice cream, but there was just TOO much peanut butter ice cream flavors to even attempt to get any ice cream. On the way back to IRB, we could see the sunset over the Sand Key Bridge.
Instead, we checked out the sunset, (which had just occurred!) in Indian Rocks Beach. The sky was so beautiful!
The beautiful sky and the sunset in Indian Rocks Beach.
Family sunset selfie. Damn, we're pretty cute!
COOL picture of Todd probably throwing gang signs in the sunset.
Me and the hubs. This is when he was starting to grow his beard. I also like that we have pensive Grant watching the sunset in the background.
On Friday, it was time to start our journey home. Our flight from Philadelphia to Munich looked like this! This is the first time we EVER sat the kids by themselves! We normally fly in the center "4" of a 2-4-2 configuration but we were so excited to be able to sit near them but apart from them!
In Philly, we stopped to get some dinner but there wasn't a lot of time so we just got drinks. They look ready for the long flight home!
Big boy has arrived home at the Munich Air Traffic Control Tower. (Where I presume he will one day work). Until next time, Tampa Bay!
