Slice of Life: Kick-off in the Keys and onward to Orlando

We kicked off our summer with a trip to the Keys. My parents rented a house for the month of June on Summerland Key. So we had one day after the crazy goings-on of the bar crawl planning and event to get packed for our 10-day trip. Since my kiddos and their stuff take up a considerable amount of space and my parents were bringing their boat and staying for two weeks after we left, we drove two cars down.

My mom rode along with me to help with the driving and the never-ending requests that seem to filter from the backseat – "I lost my toy. I'm hungry/thirsty. I'm cold. I can't find my marker. Can you put on a movie for me? I can't hear my movie." And on. And on. And on. Luckily they both did very well. The car entertainment that I packed of coloring books, books, LeapPad games, toys, snacks and movies seemed to keep them happy and quiet for most of the 12-hour road trip. Occasionally, one of them would even sneak in a little nap.

The first few days were cloudy. So we unpacked, grocery shopped, got the boat in the water and got settled. It was still cloudy by day two, so we decided to venture up to Islamorada to Theater of the Sea.

We saw the dolphin show.

And sea lion show.

Jack tossed a ring on the sea lion's neck.

We snorkeled and swam in the lagoon with the parrot fish and barracuda {he was only about a foot long}.

We fed the parrot fish.

And saw lots of other marine life like, fish, rays and turtles in the natural pools.

We left Theater of the Sea and headed to Robbie's Marina.

We fed the hundreds of tarpon from the dock.

Older kids dangled the fish a little lower, to entice the tarpon to jump out of the water. It was pretty awesome.

The pelicans waited nearby to be fed as well. Jack insisted that he save one fish to feed a pelican.

We ate lunch dockside after the tarpon excitement.

We headed back just in time to catch a glimpse of the key deer at dusk on Big Pine Key.

The weather finally cleared and we headed out on the boat for some fishing. We caught a few bait fish and a mess of mangrove snapper, which cooked up into a nice dinner of fish tacos that night.

In between fishing and boating trips, we enjoyed our cool hot tub swims back at the house.

Then more boating and fishing.

We saw lots of dolphin, sea turtles, birds and flying fish. And chased after hooking up to one of the those giant tarpon or a big barracuda. When fishing got old {as it quickly did to the kids} they entertained themselves with Jack's saltwater fish guide, games on my cell phone or eating. When they finally couldn't take another minute, we'd head back to the house.

When it was time to go fast in the boat, tears and whining would subside. Jack perched himself on the front and held on to the rope like he was riding a wild bull.

Paige let her hair blow in the wind or most times took that opportunity to sneak in a nap with the cool breezes at her face and the low hum of the boat motor.

And sometimes we'd catch a nice sunset on our way back in.

Being on the boat with two kids wasn't always a day in paradise and the weather was quite windy for several days creating choppy boating conditions, so we took to the beach one day at Bahia Honda State Park. It was perfect wading conditions for the kids.

One day we let Nana and Poppy enjoy a morning of fishing alone while we swam in our "cold" tub and they brought us back some nice yellowtail snapper.

We also made the obligatory trip to Key West to see the sites of the Southernmost Point and Duval Street.

Jack got a chinese symbol for Samurai henna tattooed on his leg on Duval.

And we checked out the huge cruise ship on Mallory Pier. Can't believe how much this has changed in the last five years.

We took Jack to his first mini golf outing and he got a hole in one on 10.

He got to partake in sugary sodas and treats while on vacation and that was bliss to him.

Finally the water was calm enough to go to the reef, so on Wednesday we headed out to Looe Key. The yellowtail and sergeant majors swam right up to the boat and they were entertained by tossing pretzels to them to eat.

Jack was so brave and got right in the water without hesitation to snorkel the reef. He was pretty proud after his first reef dive.

We caught a few more yellowtail off of the fishing buoys at Looe Key. Then we headed back in and kayaked the canals that afternoon then cooled off with a swim in the canal. Luckily it was a very clean and clear canal for swimming.

Our biggest yellowtail catch of the day.

Wednesday afternoon, we headed back to Key West to catch the sunset celebration on Mallory Pier. Jack was awed by the street performaners.

Paige was not so awed, she was hot!

We cooled off with a few pina coladas and caught the Cat Man's show next.

Can't believe he is still doing this show after about 25 years.

And caught a beautiful sunset off the pier.

Then we went to the airport to pick up our daddy who flew in after work that day and finished the night with a delicious dinner at the Blue Heaven in the Bahamian Village, then back home to Summerland Key late that night.

We spent the next day back at Looe Key with Ben snorkeling and fishing. We spotted several large barracudas, two sharks and a goliath grouper {among all of the other smaller reef fish}. Then caught a few more yellowtail. It was nice day and good to have dad with us again. We left at 6 a.m. that next morning and headed to Orlando for Ben's dental conference and caught this gorgeous sunrise over the Seven Mile Bridge.

What a perfect ending to a perfect 10 day vacation in the Keys!

We hit Orlando around 1 p.m. and met the Clicks at the Gaylord Palms. Since we missed Logan's 4th birthday due to our first leg of the trip, we invited them to Orlando to celebrate on Logan's actual birthday with a trip to Sea World.

The hotel was great. Nancy somehow got upgraded to the Presidential Suite {boy is this going to set the bar high for Logan on her birthday}. We think because she requested a king and this was they only one that they had left, they gave it to her. At any rate, it proved to be a nice rendezvous and hangout spot for us with the kids.

After we arrived Ben had a lecture to attend, so we all hit the pool. It recently underwent a $50,000 renovation and included, splash pool, four big water slides and a zero entry kids pool that only went up to 4 feet deep. Talk a perfect playground for the kids! Paige zonked out just before our late lunch arrived.

That night we ate dinner at the Key West restaurant in the hotel. Coincidence?

The hotel has kids' events all surrounding the DreamWorks animation characters. A Shrekfeast – breakfast with Shrek and Friends. And the Crack-a-lackin' Pool Party – joined by the Madagascar characters. So, the next morning for Logan's official birthday we met at Shrekfeast and dined like ogres {ears and all} on swamp juice, eggs, Shrek waffles and cake dipped in the green chocolate fountain.

Shrek and Fiona even came by for a visit and photos.

Ben was done with this class just before lunch and we headed to Sea World that afternoon for some summer amusement park fun. I say that with a tinge of sarcasm. The dolphin show was amazing and not at all like I remember. Think Cirque du Soleil with dolphins.

The orca show was less than spectacular. Since the tragic incident with the trainer being killed by one of the orcas, they no longer allow the trainers in the water with the killer whales. The splashes and flips were big, but it was somewhat even boring at times.

The sharks, sting rays, beluga whale, walrus, polar bear, rides and carnival games were also great. We just didn't get to hit nearly as much as we would have liked due to the crowds and long lines.