Our little slice of Happily Ever After...

...The Final Florida Chronicles..

...the last few days of the trip were spent in Sarasota...and just like Bradenton, the sun, smiles and spirits were all bright...

 ....Salty Dog has great food that is served on frisbees, but more importantly, it has boats on one side and water on the other...my impatient little ones were more than pleased at this dinner choice...nothing like waiting on your hot dog while stepping aboard a center console...

 ...and then we were greeted with this...

 ...and for three of the four of us...it was our first time sailing...

 ...but night one was only to see the boat...and understand what the next day had in store for us...

...and then we wanted to get back to the condo so we could set up our gear...and spend more time with family...

...and Grandma Dawn made them sticker books for our arrival...and stickers are a real favorite in our house right now...so we are all thankful for the books...maybe this will help from keep them from showing up in my dryer lint tray, furniture and clothes...

 

...this is a rare glimpse of Grandma Dawn since she is usually on the other side of the lens...

 ...and she does great work with photography...I am learning so much...

 ...and speaking of photos...this fountain took the cake...it was a few minutes before nap...supposed to be a quick stop to rinse off sunscreen and sweat...and ended up as a highlight of the trip...nothing like splashing around on a sunny Florida day...

...and the smiles lasted well beyond the fountain, as we all headed home for nap...

 

...and once the babies were fast asleep, which didn't take long...the boys wanted to show me what 'real sailing' was all about...and while I had a great time...they pushed me...and we couldn't help but crack up as the boat was titled completely sideways, rail in the water and 'Should've known Better' came on the radio...yep, I should have...

...and we squeezed in one more delicious dinner, games and laughs before we packed up and headed home...

...I think they high fived...up high...down low...too slow...over 50 times while we waited for our pizzas...and the laughs were just as loud on the 50th time as they were the first...

...Pops and Grandma Dawn...Thank you for everything, especially for inspiring these smiles and laughs for 48 hours straight and for capturing all of them...we love you and can't wait to visit again soon...