SAND. SUNSHINE. SEASHELLS.

I must fess up, this vacation isn't all sand, sunshine, and seashells. My husband's a hard working man, so does it surprise you that he is working while we are here?! Let me back up a little....he owns his own painting and restoration company, and he's always looking for new and creative ways to advertise. It didn't really surprise me that on our first trip here three years ago, he wanted to put his painting add in the island directory. I'm not gonna lie...it's expensive to come here. Where we come from trading manual labor isn't unordinary, and we thought why not give it a try down here too? He's gotten a few calls since then, but usually when the homeowner finds out we live in Minnesota and can't come on a moments notice, they turn away. Not this time. A man who owns a realty company down here and owns/rents several properties on the island hired Nick and was willing to work around our time frame. We were planning to come here this fall again anyways, but now we got to stay for free in trade for some painting. Not a bad deal at all.

The only problem was, once we got down here, we realized 'Who the heck wants to work while on a tropical island'?! We were just itching to get out there on the beach, dig our toes in the sand and search for the perfect seashells. If it were up to me, I would have played hooky and done just that, leaving me scrambling to cram in the painting at the end. But my man's a hard worker, and I really admire his drive, dedication and commitment to seeing things through to the end. The kids and I tried patiently to stay busy, but couldn't shake knowing that the real fun would begin once Nick was able to join us. I wanted him to be done with the painting so badly that I even helped him while the kids napped. In my mind I thought painting spindles would be quick, easy work, but in the end, painting three levels of decks on two different houses is no easy feat.

He worked hard, long days, but we still managed to have a little fun in the evenings before the sun set. He finished the projects in less than three days, leaving us with three days to do whatever we pleased. Yay!

Day one...while Daddy worked we played.

 There are two ginormous showers in our house, which are fun for littles to play in!

 Staying true to her style, Nugget loves ALL seashells. Any kind will do.
Broken, small, large, unique...she can't get enough!

We've been a bit creative in our toy selection this week.

When Daddy was done working, we rushed out to catch the sunset and play on the beach until dark.

 

The sand is so soft and fine. And sticks everywhere.

Daddy caught a big one! Err...got the line caught on something. Maybe next time.

Lessons from Daddy: How to pee on the beach.

 The scenery is so gorgeous here, I just can't resist. There's something new every time.

 Who says there's no Fall in Florida?

Goodnight Moon.

Day two.

 Found some games in the house, yay for toys!

More playing on the beach.

Happy man.

Brother enjoyed the beach, until he tried to leave the comfort of the blanket. Watch and see...

Poor little man. All that hard work and determination cause he wanted to get to his Mama. Crying every step of the way, but he persevered.

He sure loves me a whole lot. The feeling is mutual, buddy.

After nap we went and played at one of the pools. We had fun but I don't think the dozen or so retired folks enjoyed our company as much. They were all silently reading books, then we came in. Only two older gentleman smiled at us, while a few of the ladies gave me scowls. Nice.

Again after Daddy was done working, we watched the sunset and played on the beach.

 

 I absolutely adore this picture. She just loves her Daddy so much, and he loves her right back.

 So green, stunning!

Goodnight Moon.

Day three...the final day of painting! I took the kids over to the other house so that I could help paint while Brother took his morning nap. Then we went and played at the playground for a bit, and came back after lunch for both kids' afternoon nap. Nick and I knocked out the rest of the painting during that time and were so happy to be done. Freedom!

We celebrated by going to the beach!

 So happy to be filling her bag with seashells.

Still not digging the sand.

After dinner we hit up the pool, mostly so Nick and I could get a drink at the pool bar. Ha. It was well deserved, right?

And Little Miss Nugget enjoyed her first Shirley Temple...

She kept saying 'This doesn't really taste very good', all while sucking it down in the meantime.

It must not have been that bad after all!

And one more...Goodnight Moon.

Now that the work was done, it was time to bring on the real fun! Stay tuned!