road trip to florida!!!

With Sonja K....


With Sonja and Margaret and Adrian and Camille, Charlotte Claire, and Jonathan...

We drove and drove and drove...and arrived in Amelia Island on Sunday morning. Our room wasn't ready yet, but the hotel people were so very nice and let us use the bathrooms to change, and let us park the van there. The beach was right there, just a short walk, and within view.

We splashed in the cold water, and nodded off on our blanket. The kids collected shells and kicked the soccer ball.


Miss Charlotte Claire...



After our time on the beach, we checked in and discovered we were really hungry. We ordered pizza, and Miss Sonja and I went to pick them up, stopping first at Publix, which of course I loved, and got some salad and drinks, and some really pretty cupcakes for the kids.

After dinner and some lounging around the room, we headed down to the beach...it was amazing in the dark, the sky lit up with stars.

One of the interesting things about having lots of kids is trying to connect with each one of them. Having Sonja K. 14, Jonathan 12, Char 10, and Cam 9 is VERY FUN. Sonja is the youngest of my five-girls-in-a-row, and is almost 15, and is a regular eye-rolling teenager. But when she's with the younger ones, she tends to be more carefree. And it's fun.

We are with Grandma now...fresh strawberries are in season here. Imagine that. It's actually HOT OUT.

And now I will sign off, and write again later...