Cheeseburgers in paradise...

I'm going to keep this short and sweet because I write way too often on this little blog of mine. Oh, I am funny today.

Last week CJ and I hopped a jet plane with my parents and sister. We disappeared from the Iowa chill for an entire luxurious week of sand, waves, a backyard pool, fishing in the Gulf, shark petting, dolphin watching, manatee gawking, sea turtle oogling, and sun soaking in one of my favorite places in the world...Florida. Marco Island to be exact. It is a hot spot for our family. I have been to the Marco beaches six times in my life and that is without mentioning my numerous other trips to the sunny state. Yes, I am Florida groupie. Year round I am a full fledged lover of summer. My favorite scents are sun tan lotion and chlorine. I prefer sitting in sand over sitting in a lounge chair. I would honesty live most of my life if a swimsuit if I called Florida home. But my family is in Iowa and I love my family. Quite frankly I really like Iowa too so I call Iowa home but a little slice of my heart is nestled in that sweet spot where the ocean crashes into beachy sands.

I will quit gushing over my love for all things warm and instead share some of my favorite photos from our trip. (Oh, and Kate had school, Matt had work and Natalie is a baby so they stayed home. I am so very lucky.)

The view from the backyard. For Christmas I would like this built outside my back door.

Sunset from a beach side restaurant.


Lindsay, my sister, and CJ taking a dip in the pool.


Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. We caught three bonnet head sharks.
CJ alone caught 10 fish. And altogether we had a full 10 large enough to clean and eat.
We took them directly to the Waterfront Dolphin, a tiki hut nearby, and had those fishies for lunch two hours after they were on our line.

CJ's first catch and it was big enough to keep!

Lindsay and her shark.





And the whole gang.
Thanks to my mom, dad, Lindsay and CJ for a wonderful week in paradise.
And a huge thank you to Matt for staying home with the girls and to Mike and LeAnn for watching Natalie during the day. This trip wouldn't have happened without you!

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