Clearwater Beach, Florida

While Rich's Uncle Vince + Family were here visiting, we decided to go back to Clearwater Beach. My favorite beach, hands down! The sand is fine in texture, white in color, and soft to walk and lie down on. It is a family-friendly beach. With a playground, jump house area, volleyball nets and Pier 60 close by, you will find lots of activities to keep your little people active. 

My kiddos love the water. The Gulf is much more calm than the East Coast beaches. So, Chase will adventure in the ocean a bit more than usual. The water is clear and doesn't look murky when the current rolls. Just.One.More reason to love this place. 

A few pictures to sum up our trip:

She didn't come close to the ocean with this boogie board. Just pulled it along the sand. 

The seagulls are wild here. And that sentence was me stating it politely. You cannot eat without them snatching the food from your space, hand, or mouth! Yes, I said, "mouth"!!!! Oh my gosh, they're insane birds. During our lunch, one person was the designated bird "shoo-er". (I made that up). Chase gets a kick out of them and their antics to take your food.

There's a diva on the beach!

The girl loves the sand!

We take a bar of soap or bottle of body wash to the beach each trip to use at the showers before we leave. This particular trip, we forgot the soap! She was a sand-covered mess, so is Daddy's Tahoe now. 

My boy around 6:00pm. Six hours of fun in the sun! His little friend just left the beach, so he had time for the camera.

Enjoying a quick junk food snack.

Getting every towel we brought dirty...Mommy was not a fan! I would rather use our picnic blanket and dry off with the clean towels. Oh well. Just another parenting learning curve.

The Afternoon: Day 2

After Sadie Reese's nap, we headed out to enjoy more of the pools at the resort. Rich's Uncle Vince + family joined us from NC for our last night. They are going to stay with us for the week for some FL fun and family visiting of those who live in Palm Bay. 

Below are some of the pictures we captured this afternoon:

Chase loves going underwater. He swam the lazy river instead of using a float. Just like his momma: has a need to feel in control. The lazy river doesn't allow that, so he'd rather swim it.

Sadie Reese loves going underwater, too! Eyes are wide open.

Sass-a-Frass

Kayla and Chase enjoying the lazy river.

The only time he used the lazy river float was in the zero-entry part of the pool.

Refer to the Popcorn post! A staple!

The cuties doing what they do best.

The Mister and I

Pure. Joy!

The day ended with having dinner at WildWest. Sadie had a bath prior to dinner. Can't tell. 

The next morning was check-out day.

The kids enjoyed some junk cereal until we found breakfast. They truly admire one another! 

Day 2 at Bonnet Creek

My current view while writing this post! So beautiful! 

You will definitely get your daily walking in when you stay here! 

A beautiful view of towers, lake, and amenities when sitting on the balcony=sweet bliss! 

Chase was excited to play miniature golf this morning. He and Daddy visited the lazy river and splash pad last night after I got Sadie to sleep. When they returned back to our room, he begged to play golf then. It was 11:00pm, so that answer was a big fat "nope". Ha! I would have agreed to it if the boy knew how to sleep in beyond 7:00am. He rises with the roosters, so allowing him to stay up late doesn't benefit him or us. 

After breakfast we ventured out roaming the resort for some fun! We enjoyed the playground, miniature golf, and found the gift shop/coffee shop! Now that it's nap-time for the tiny princess, the boys are enjoying some pool time while I relax on the balcony sipping lemonade, watching the view and the video baby monitor. Yep, this is my sweet spot! 

Some of my mobile captures from this morning...

"Why, so serious?"

Enjoying the playground. 

She *will* find a way! 

Putt-Putt time

My Lefty! 

Lasted about 2 holes, then she insisted to walk the greens, throw the golf ball, and play in the standing water. 

Feeding the ducks during our walk back to the room

I believe this is the largest Wyndham Resort we've stayed at during the 10 years we've been property owners. 

Surprise Trip

Rich and I wanted to take a mini vacation somewhere relaxing. A few weeks ago we spent 10 days traveling around NC. Of those 10 days, we stayed at 6 different locations. It was fun. It was also, exhausting! We wanted to go somewhere close by home so the drive wouldn't be so tortuous for us. I mean, the kids. We own timeshare through Wyndham and live 10 miles from Disney, so it was a no-brainer to visit! We checked in this afternoon and have really enjoyed the resort amenities! Here are a few snapshots of the day!

We told Chase on Thursday we were going away for the weekend, but didn't give any other clues or answer the millions of questions he asked. He was not a fan of it. His eagerness  and impatience paid off.

She was happy & awake in the driveway. One road later, knocked out!

It drove him bonkers that we wouldn't tell him the surprise!! 

A beautiful view from our 8th floor room!

Another view.

This resort has great amenities. 6 pools, private cabanas, 2 water slides, zero-entry pools, splash pad, playground, miniature golf, daytime resort activities and a viewing balcony to watch the fireworks from Epcot at 9:00pm.

Pool time with the peanut. She kept me busy as usual. Jumping in backwards and forwards, dunking her head, spinning uncontrollable like a drunken ballerina until she fell in the water off the steps and attempting to stay under longer than I want for her to. Phew!! But, at least she has the swimming skills and is not afraid of the water. 

We had a quick dinner and dessert while we watched AFV (America's Funniest Home Videos). It's a Wilder vacation tradition! 

Waiting for the fireworks to begin

Fireworks from Epcot! 

Popcorn

"MOMMY, Can we have popcorn, please?" 

I hear this question at least once a day. Every day. At home. At Target. At the movies. At others' homes. 

Popcorn: A Wilder Family staple

We finally purchased a popcorn machine. Exciting for the kids. Cheaper for the parents! And there's no junk in the popcorn. Yes, it's a win for all. 

Today was the first day we tried out the machine! 

Next time, we will not had the pat of butter. We weren't a fan of the poured butter on the popcorn. Some had a no butter taste, while other pieces were saturated. 

Yay, the first piece! 

Serious popcorn popping watching going on here! That was a mouthful to say! You try it!

Paradise Park

The kids and I frequent this local park. It is shaded, which is nice for Florida. It is large, which is great for the kids. The downside is how it's shaded. Trees galore surround the play equipment. I usually wouldn't mind Mother Nature surrounding me, but in this case it gives me the 'hibbi-jibbies'. Florida is known for its plethora of spiders, lizards, and more. Oftentimes, I find myself using my flip flops to swat away spider webs. Thankfully today I didn't see very many webs, bugs, or lizards. 

Here are a few pictures from our trip! 

She calls it, "roar".

The pictures above give you an idea of why we like the park. It keeps my kids very busy!

This superhero makes friends everywhere he goes! It's hard to snap a picture of him by himself anymore. He is usually next to kids we do not know. 

"I got this, mommy"

Puddles are so fun!

Playing "tag" with his new friends allowed another rare chance at an individual shot!

I leave you with this... "Remember you are not managing an inconvenience, you are raising a Human Being" - Katie Franz