Hello Siesta Key!
We returned to Siesta Key, Florida for what is probably going to be an annual trip for the Kies family. We absolutely love it there. The sand, the sea, the family atmosphere, the proximity to Disney, the super easy direct flight from Moline, and the endless amount of fun outdoor activities. We opted to stay at a new condominium this year called the Sarasota Surf and Racquet Club. We LOVED it. Our modern condo was feet from the sand and a beautiful salt water pool that had perfect views of the beach. We ate all our meals sitting on this enclosed lanai that had beautiful views. 
The week that we were in Siesta Key there was a big sugar sand sculpting contest up in Clearwater, Florida about an hour north of where we were staying. We talked about driving up to see the sculptures but instead, just out our door, a fella was doing some amazing work for us to enjoy all week.
First day at the beach!! We spent the entire day, Sunday, at the beach or in the pool. The weather was pristine with little to no wind which made the sea very calm. We built castles, swam in the ocean and then hopped in the pool before cooking up some tacos to eat on our lanai.
Sand angel.
This particular day we were sending beach pictures to Aunt Kelly in Colorado. She told us she was getting slammed with snow!! Kennon came up with the idea of 'making it snow on the beach mom!' The kids ran back and forth from our 'camp' to the ocean, collecting shells and getting water to build castles. It was just a great day.
It was kind of nice to end our day at the pool to wash off the endless amounts of sand that stuck to our bodies and anything and everything that came in contact with the beach!
The pool was really nice- apparently it was renovated a couple of years back. It is salt water, heated and has a nice shallow end and deep end. Both kids were happy practicing their swim lessons skills and didn't have much fear of the water. We opted to bring both of their swim floaters to allow Eric and I to relax a bit on the side of the pool and not worry about them in the water.
I was so excited to be staying in Siesta Key over the weekend. Last time we were there we arrived on a Monday and left on Friday. On Sunday nights at the public Siesta Key beach ( just a 1/2 mile beach walk north from our private beach) the village holds a Drum Circle. Basically it is anyone and everyone that plays a drum like ( and I mean drum like….) instrument is welcome to come join and play. It is very informal and all sorts of characters show up. Even if you don't have an instrument to play the Siesta Key Village ( or someone) brings all these fun kid toys for the kids to dance/play with. It is sort of a bit like a circus…with hula hoops, juggler type utensils, scarves etc. It was a SUPER culture filled night. Some people just set up their chairs and listen to the drums and people watch, others get out and dance with the kids…there were some belly dancers and jugglers. The kids had a ball and I finally got brave enough to let them go out and join in the fun with the other kids. It was pretty busy and again all sorts/kinds of people…I was little skittish but they had a ball after they wore me down begging to go out and dance.
Walking up to the Drum Circle
The kids giving me their smiles in between begging to go out and dance with the other kids and characters.
Kennon trying his hand at the hula hoop while the beat plays on.
Maddox trying these balance sticks…I have no idea what these things are called. But this sort of odd guy kept coming over and saying 'they should switch'. I'm not sure if he was indicating that Kennon should be doing the sticks and Maddox the hula or what…the drums were really loud and it was pretty clear he had had a fair amount of illegal substances in his life. He was dancing around himself with this goofy smile throwing up scarves!! Again…culture :)
Siesta Key just renovated their public beach facilities. They have this great eatery that sits up high with a great view, a perfect shaded playground and a nice bathhouse. We couldn't NOT get ice cream :)
This wasn't the prettiest sunset we saw all week but it was pretty perfect.
Smiles and ice cream on faces :)
The public beaches tend to sort of have an over abundance of birds flying around. I think the public beaches are generally more populated and the beach goers tend to have food with them and I'm sure that 'occasionally' ;) the birds get fed. Kennon had a ball chasing the birds off the beach…yes this sounds inhumane but it was hilarious watching him run after the birds yelling 'RAH…RAH' as if to scare them. I can still hear him! Oh…the memories.
There's that pretty sunset!
Trying to get a decent family photo after a bowl of sugar, dancing around like a crazy fool with sticks and hulas and chasing birds down the beach becomes next to impossible.
Crazy kids…perfect sunset…!
Even with help from a nice bystander, Kennon couldn't resist continuing on with the sillies.
Monday morning we drove up to the sleepy little Siesta Key Village which is just about 1 mile up the road from our condo. We decided to try to visit different eateries than we did last year. We quickly discovered our new favorite brunch spot called the Sun Garden Cafe. It was cute little establishment which used all local veggies/fruits/homegrown eggs and BACON, great service, a nice kid friendly menu, and they served breakfast and lunch which worked well for us to get going out of the condo SLOWLY :)
This day we took a short break from the beach and drove up to Sarasota- just a quick 15 minute drive. We had learned about this great shaded playground with a splash pad called Bay Front Park on the Sarasota Bay last time were were in FL but we didn't get a chance to visit. The kids really enjoyed the splash pad…note to self…bring swim suits next time!! The weather was again perfect and the views of the bay couldn't have been better. So relaxing and beautiful.
We really didn't go a day without playing on the beach in some capacity whether it be in the morning and then an activity in the afternoon or vice versa. This day the wind was up just a bit which provided some fun surf!
Jumping the Waves
More work from our 'personal' sand sculptor
Maddox's only homework from Mrs. Gaspelin was to keep a journal of her vacation. She did a really good job with a little coaching from Eric. Mrs. Gaspelin even had her read her entries when she got back. I do think the kids were great companions this trip playing on the beach and in the water. We only saw the typical brotherly:sisterly arguments when they were over tired.
A morning view from our lanai. Most mornings Eric would get up ( as he is a morning person) and go for a run. Then when he came back, about the time the kids were getting up, I'd go out for a run. We both managed to get in about 4 runs during the week. There is just something about running on the beach. Perfect time to spot dolphins just off the shore. So so cool!
Waiting on the 'tree bench' at the Sun Garden Cafe in the Village
Kennon is really into dinosaurs right now…but he is NOT quick to forget his love of sharks which preceded the dinosaurs. During our trip last year we ran out of time to drive down to Venice to look for shark teeth. The beach at Venice is apparently a prime spot to find shark teeth due to this shelf that is just off the shore and is a fossil deposit. The town of Venice was super nice and may definitely come up on our 'to visit again' list. We really just made a bee line for the beach this go around. Amazing to me the sand and really surf is totally different than Siesta Key. The sand is more grayish/black ( which actually made it hot to walk on) as opposed to the beautiful white Siesta Key quartz sand which is never hot. However I felt like walking in the ocean at Venice was a tad nicer as the sand was sort of quick sand feeling and you sort of just sank down into the sand. We played for a couple of hours in the sand while Eric searched for shark's teeth. It is kind of a tedious job looking for shark teeth and the kids quickly lost interest. Eric continued on and we left with several teeth. After the fact Eric researched a bit more and we'll try down the beach to the south a bit more to be more fruitful next time.
See how the sand is more grey…and not white and I actually think the water is more blue too. Beautiful!
There wasn't much surf at Venice so we were able to really swim in the water.
After we decided the sand was TOO HOT at Venice and Eric had had his fill of looking for sharks' teeth we headed back home to the white sandy beach and spent the rest of the afternoon at the condo. The buildings in the background are our resort. Our particular condo was on the left about 4 sections back. Location Location Location :)
Our condo had some fun beach balls/paddles/footballs in it which the kids put to good use on Tuesday afternoon.
Last year we tried ALL the ice cream shops in Siesta Key but found that one in particular was our favorite. We visited the Orange Octopus nightly….yes nightly…for a scoop.
Tuesday nights at our Resort they have a band on the beach. We 'dressed up' and headed down for the entertainment. There were lots of kids that were all sort of familiar to us as we had gotten to know the other families staying at the resort. The sunset was beautiful and it was just a really nice night.
This was BY FAR the largest shark tooth Eric was able to find and ironically he found this one in his FIRST scoop. We were totally shocked and immediately thought wow this is going to be way easier than we thought. However unfortunately he didn't get anything nearly even 1/4 of that size the rest of the time we were in Venice. We'll try again another visit.
Most of you know we surprised the kids with a trip to the Magic Kingdom. They were totally shocked. I didn't know what to expect with plunking it right in the middle of our vacation but it turned out to be perfect. It was a super easy drive over to Disney from Siesta Key. We opted to stay in a Disney property to gain some perks. We chose the Art of Animation Resort and more specifically a Little Mermaid room. The kids ( and really Eric and I too) went bonkers over the resort. It was adorable and really plays to the kids with different areas of the resort dedicated to various Disney movies. We really enjoyed just exploring the resort and swimming in the Little Mermaid and Nemo pools Wednesday. It was early to bed Wednesday night as we had planned a packed day on Thursday in the Magic Kingdom.
The Finding Nemo pool which was the main pool of the resort.
Simba standing on Pride Rock in the Lion King section.
This picture doesn't do it justice but this sculpture is huge. You can see the doors to enter the hotel rooms at the bottom. The building behind the sculpture is filled with hotel rooms. Timone, Pumba, and Simba.
The Elephant Graveyard from the Lion King
The Little Mermaid Pool -where we swam the most.
Our Little Mermaid room- it was adorable and even had a purplish/blue light in the shower area so as to make it seem like you were taking a shower in the ocean.
Man…I'm just realizing how long Maddox's hair is looking at this picture!
Time for a dip with King Triton
The kids with Doc from Cars in the Cars section.
Flo
Lightning McQueen and ???? somebody help me? Not sure who the gal / guy on the left is… and in fact I may have the previous lady's name wrong. Forgive me. The Cars area was adorable and it literally seemed like we were walking through the little town the movie is filmed in ( again my memory is not serving me well). I want to say Propwash Junction but I"m pretty certain that town is from the Planes movie
Sarge
TowMater
We kind of went all out in the food department while we were at Disney. I didn't monitor the sugar/veggie intake. We just took it all in :) and it was ALL good. These cupcakes and the goodies you can see to the left were so good. The frosting was amazing….and I consider myself a bit of a frosting snob.
We caught a bus from the Art of Animation resort to go to the Magic Kingdom early on Thursday morning. We had an 8am breakfast reservation at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and his Friends in the Magic Kingdom. I never get tired of seeing that Mickey face made of flowers.
Waiting for the staff to open the doors to the Kingdom.
Much like the Mickey face of flowers there is just something so captivating about that castle.
Getting to meet Eeyore!
Pooh!
Tigger…in case you are wondering..yes.... was like psychedelic orange!! Is he really that orange in the books??? Seemed a little off but he did give me the biggest snuggest hug of all the characters which is sort of right on cue with his character I think! Do you think they practice that?? LOL…it's getting late so humor is keeping me going on this post.
Piglet with perfect smiles
'It's a Small World After All…' Enough said :)
Walking into Ariel's Grotto
The iconic Dumbo ride
The last year or so Maddox has really been into Rapunzel ( which has now actually shifted to Ariel). Anyhow the meet and greet with Rapunzel is coupled with Cinderella. So we got a fast pass (a perk of staying at the resort) for the Cinderella/Rapunzel meet and greet. I know there are a lot of pictures but she did such a good job of chatting with the kids…I just love their expressions of adoration.
Rapunzel was much spunkier ( as she normally is in comparison to Cinderella) and she talked about what pictures they would paint to put on their castle walls. So fun.
The teacups…much like our first trip to Disney I sat this ride out…happily :)
In line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This was really the only line we had to stand in for any length of time and it was only like 25 minutes and it moved super fast. Big Thunder was to be closed for renovations but it was open much to our excitement…especially Kennon! We rode it twice during our day. So so fun!
Since we were at the Magic Kingdom for the day we got to see the Move it Shake it Parade that happens daily at 3pm. We were always back at the resort taking naps during the parade when we were at the Magic Kingdom the last time. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it and it really was fun. The characters and floats were amazing. It is all timed to music that is piped through windows of the buildings. I actually saw the windows open to expose the speaker just minutes before the parade started.
Tinkerbell and Peter Pan
Kennon loved this dragon that was with the Peter Pan float.
You can't see their faces well but they were priceless. They stretched themselves to see what was coming around the corner and squealed with glee and pointed when it was something they really loved. It really made the whole trip watching them be captivated by the parade.
And who has to be at the finale of a parade in Magic Kingdom….Mickey and Minnie riding in a hot air balloon!
After the parade the kids happily and thankfully took a little snooze in the stroller that I had rented as Eric and I walked the park, grabbed an ice coffee and re-grouped a bit.
Actually now that I think about it this was the longest line…these darn cars..that the kids begged to ride. I don't know what it is about wanting to drive your own car…although I vaguely remember having the same request when I was little. This line was probably close to 30 minutes and sort of in the sun which made it a bit more daunting but we made it.
Maddox actually did really well! She turned to me at one point during the drive and said 'well you know I have driven a golf cart or two in my life'!! ( apparently, Grandpa Jim, your golf cart has similar steering;) I totally cracked up! She was very proud of herself :) Adorable...that comment alone was WELL worth the wait. Kennon had a ball too and ephatically reported to me after his ride that 'Dad ran into someone in front of him'. ( not sure how that happened since Daddy was in control of the pedals and Kennon just the steering wheel.... did you happen to miss the 100 signs that say 'please keep the length of one car between yourself and the car ahead of you Dad?? ;) !!
What is that…10 and 3…??! She's not all that far off !
We got to Magic Kingdom at 7:30am and didn't leave the park until 7pm…phew…we had an awesome day. The kids were super good, we had little line waiting, and the weather was absolutely perfect! We took the bus back to the resort snapped a few more fun pictures and then hopped in the car to drive back to the beach.
I strategically placed Disney in the vacation to allow us a FULL day of beach/rest and relaxation time after our day at Magic Kingdom. It worked out perfectly as the kids were ready after all the stimulation of Disney to get back in the ocean/sand.
It was a little more windy this day which provided some awesome waves to play in.
Such a cool shot!! Thank you iphone :)
The resort had some cool picnic tablets right on the beach so we made some sandwiches at the condo and brought them down for a seaside lunch. You can see Kennon is enjoying some sand with his juice box…. We actually ate a fair amount of our meals at the condo which was nice. We tended to go out for just one meal a day which was kind on our budget.
View from our lanai. Gorgeous
Dinner out our last night.
A visit to the playground and one last Siesta Key sunset.
Fun chairs at the Siesta Key Public Beach. I think Maddox looks so old here!
More fun sculptures to wake up to on our last morning.
We opted to not get all sandy our last morning. The kids enjoyed the pool for a bit after Eric and I got in one last beach run. And then it was time to pack up and drive up to the St. Pete airport. Luckily we didn't swim any longer than we did…we were just a tad late and Allegiant almost wouldn't let us get on the plane! YIKES! In my defense there was an MVA that we had to contend with on the interstate. The Allegiant clerk looked at me like 'uh we don't care lady'.
Bye bye white sand of Siesta Key….thank you for all the great family memories and traditions in the making…. See you next year.
Just a quick update on the kids since I didn't get one done on the last post. Maddox is getting excited for her dance recital. All her practices at this point are in this sort of large dance studio and her peers are 'the crowd'. It is nice for them to be able to perform for other dancers building their confidence about dancing in front of others. She is really excited this year as her costume is beautiful with lots of sparkles and frills. She really LOVES to dance.....I can just see it on her face as she moves across the stage. Her coordination and overall body control have improved over the year which her physical therapist mom is happy to see. I can't believe she'll be done with Kindergarten in just a few short weeks. Her last day is May 31st. This entire month they are doing fun activities beginning with each letter of the alphabet. So for instance on G day they got to chew gum ( provided by the teacher) in class all day. N was 'name day' and they got to choose a new name to be called throughout the day. Maddox picked 'Melody'. M was movie day and they got to watch a movie at school called the Mouse and the Motorcycle. She is excited each morning to look at her calendar and see what the day's special activity is going to be. She continues to read and write marvelously. In fact she walked into our bedroom this morning with her Storybook Bible in hand just reading away one hand holding the book the other pointing to the words along the page. ( walking and reading at the same time...now that's talent) Put a huge smile on my face. I think her interest in reading has rose even higher in the last few weeks. She asks to bring a book on the bus now so she can read on the way to/from school...mind you folks her ride is maybe 5 minutes each way. But, I certainly don't turn down that request. She said she's going to bring her Bible tomorrow. Melt my heart. Thank you Lord. Kennon is doing well in school too and is certainly starting to learn to read with help from his big sister. He will be assessed on Friday for the Pleasant Valley Transition to Kindergarten program that I'd like for him to attend next year. I'm crossing my fingers he'll get in. He is SOOO ready for Kindergarten educationally but just not maturity wise. His loves continue to be dinosaurs and really his love of working. That kid is a worker bee. He helped me plant 10 plus plants on Friday, working hard to move the rock and then dig the hole. His attention span/attention to detail at blue collar type work is really quite amazing. He is doing well with his asthma/allergies. We have even quit giving him the Claritin and he seems to be doing well despite the Spring bloom. I'll talk with Dr Delessio at his 5 year well check about actually taking him off his daily inhaled asthma medication. YIPPY! He is playing soccer right now and LOVES it. Eric and I are both knee deep in training for our next major athletic event. He is going to do TOMRV with is brother Scott from Minneapolis. This is a 2 day bike ride from Bettendorf to Dubuque. It is extremely hilly and a very challenging ride. Each day is 100 miles. Go ERIC!! I am going to do the Quad City Triathlon. So between my swims and runs and bike rides and Eric's long bike rides we find it challenging to get everything in. But we are hanging in. I actually stepped down from the training aspect of my job at VNA. I'll keep going with the audit/quality work but the time it was taking to train new employees was really impeding on our familys' schedule. Eric is just busy at The Planning Center... I feel like I write that every post. But it is certainly the truth. Work does not slow down for him,...new clients, servicing existing one and the demands of being a President of a company. This week they launched an entirely new website which Eric wasn't the lead on but certainly had a hand in. Ok folks...thanks for reading...I know it is long!
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