Belize...

it's taken me almost a week to get these pictures together, so i'm just going to leave this post pretty short. the week before school started the whole family (and our friends the Czarneckys) flew down to Belize for a much needed beach vacation. last year we all went to Grayton Beach, but this year we opted for a little more adventure. if you're wondering how we chose Belize, well, it's simple...1. The Husband and i went there 3 years ago for our 10th anniversary trip and fell in love with the place 2. it's only a 2 1/2 hour direct flight from DFW and 3. the country speaks primarily English and the water is ok to drink. Belize is a very tiny country with absolutely no fast food restaurants or shopping centers. if you want to stay off the grid, this is the place to do it. although, if you have some picky eaters in your group, they might get a little hungry. the kids found the local market to be a mecca of interesting items. they pretty much lived off Pineapple Fanta the entire week we were there. for me, being pregnant had some other food disadvantages...i didn't drink the milk (it smelled and tasted very wrong), i couldn't eat the "raw" seafood, and they didn't have sweet tea, but other than that the food is absolutely amazing.

our adventure on the trip included a Jungle Tour with this crazy local named Percy, who, when we went diving for lobster, just stripped down to his "manties" and jumped overboard with a giant stick with a hook on it. Percy was an interesting character, but extremely friendly and he even took us to his momma's place to eat lunch (stewed chicken and coleslaw - pretty sure that's a Belizean staple). we spent a couple days at a pool down the street, which was amazing and completely deserted (most of the time we were the only ones there and it was a giant resort pool - very strange). we drove up into the jungle and went zip lining, and yes, pregnant momma went too. the last day we took a boat out to Laughing Bird Caye, which is the southernmost island of the Belize Barrier Reef. since none of us are PADI certified to dive, we all stuck to snorkeling around the island. when we stepped off the boat it was seriously like Gilligan's Island there. you could see from one end to the other and walk across the entire island from east to west in less than 20 steps. being in the water was like swimming in a giant aquarium. after our week long adventure it was time to say goodbye to Belize and head back home, just in time for school to start...

school's out for summer...

our kids didn't even hear the last bell at school this year. we pulled them out a couple days early and headed out of town quick like. our kids desperately needed a break (ok, so maybe we all needed it) from the day to day business around home. we packed up the truck and drove on to New Orleans. this has turned into a yearly thing for us. the drive home to Florida is only 12 hours, but we like to break it up and make a stop in NOLA for a night. the kids love it and it gives us a chance to explore a very interesting culture. this year we took the boys on a swamp tour, which meant a couple of hours hanging around on a very slow moving pontoon boat, but we did get to see some alligators.

i didn't do a great job of taking pictures this time around. we made it to the beach 4 days out of the 6 we were home, but never once broke out the camera. i would like to call this a successful vacation, because i'm pretty sure i only put my watch on once the entire week and i can bet that i never even wore a bra the entire time we were gone. yep, pretty good vacation. 

our last day we spent lunching with my sis and my dad at this very interesting little spot called Tucker Duke's Lunch Box (they don't have a website) in Valparaiso, FL. talk about an eclectic menu...maple bacon popcorn? pimento cheese grits? a double cheeseburger stuffed between two grilled cheese sandwiches? yes, they have all that and more, but just don't order a sweet tea, they use instant crap (why bother?). the rest of the day we spent on the boat pulling the boys on the tube. i'm pretty sure this was the first time they've ever attempted it, but they held on pretty good.

and after enjoying our nice relaxing week "off", it was time to head home...

i think i'm going to melt...

no joke...it hasn't rained in over 2 months and the temperatures have barely made it below 99 degrees all summer. our yard would literally catch fire is someone tossed a cigarette out their car window. using the sprinklers doesn't help much either, because the water evaporates the second it shoots out of the sprinkler. yesterday this is what the temperature was registering in the car...

the heat has been miserable

in spite of the heat, the boys took a short ALL BOYS trip to St. Louis last weekend. and by all boys, i mean, Momma stayed home all weekend by herself! that's right, i had the house to myself for 3 whole gloriously quiet days! i had my nails done, my hair cut, went shopping, went running, cleaned the house, and enjoyed the quiet. if anyone ever gets the chance for this "Mommy Vacation", TAKE IT and RUN!

now, the boys on the other hand, had a blast in St. Louis. they met up with Papa Cool, Uncle Mikey, Uncle "Fregg", cousin Ian, and Gramma Mac. they all went to a Cardinals game, ate dinner at The Millennium Hotel, rode tractors, visited St. Louis University, waited in line for hours at the Gateway Arch, took a helicopter ride, and the best part of all....they flew in an airplane (the kids have been dying to fly somewhere)! it was a crazy fast fun weekend, but i'm pretty sure everyone enjoyed themselves...

and if you're so inclined...just a short video of the actual helicopter ride (seriously think the entire ride was only 5 minutes). this is something only The Husband would do, because MommaCakes would have poo poo'd that idea in a second!