Pool and waxing and locked out- Syd Slater

The two Syd's waxing the skim board and mowing down on some Oreos!


Syd slater, Syd spang and Ellie are taking a pose in the pool.

We got locked out and we were having some fun telling (to the camera) what was going on. Some of us got so board, we just did some random things. (Well mostly keefer.) He didn't care what he did in front of the camera. Syd Spang on the other hand was doing the "Candy Cane dance" back and forth. Which surprised me a little because she was doing that a lot that day and was trying get others to follow along. (no one really did, I don't think they would want to make a FOOL out of there selves like Syd did.)

BEACH FUN - Cathy Slater

Syd Slater riding in the waves...she did great! It was seriously cold!

Syd trying out her skim board...nice job

Syd & Keefer jumping in the waves! Have I mentioned how much I love the beach?

Fun, Fun, Fun! - Lori

A day on the beach. The big kids had a blast jumping the waves.

Skeeter found what we think could be a pearl buried in the sand along the bay. We can't wait to see what it is. Her birthstone is pearl and it sure would be cool if it were real!

Syd and Ellie hangin' at the beach.


The Slater's pose for a beach shot. Too cute!


Skeet with 3 hats on... why???? No clue!

Checking out the boats on the bay. We're soooo hoping to see a dolphin. We did see what looked like a seal swimming under the docks at the bay. It may have been a sea lion or a seal. It was really cool! We were all screaming and running on the dock when we saw it. Cathy is the one that spotted it first.

Cathy bought Ellie a pet hermit crab (without asking her mother). Ellie named him "Crabby" and she LOVES it! Crabby is a tough little guy... Ellie loves it to death and we're afraid that she literally will... If I would have known a $5 crab was the key to her happiness I would have got one a long time ago! Today we got one for Keefer and Syd Spang. Syd Slater didn't want one. The big girls got a cool hair thingy. We'll post the pics of that later.

Keefer lookin' cool on the water slide!

Lovin' life!

We got locked out of our condo for an hour (or maybe 2). It seemed very long. The lock broke and we had to hang in the hall. Poor Syd Slater was soaking wet and freezing the hole time and she had 2 cuts on her finger from finding sea creatures in the bay.

More Pics - Lori

MeMaw's new friend, Sheryl (aka Dorothy) helps her in to the lazy river.


Ellie Boo Bug made a new friend named Reagan. They played and played in the pool. I was so tickled to see her come out of her shell.



Syd Spang, Syd Slater and Keefer take a drip down the lazy river.



Boy, we have a cute group of kids! They are being sooooo good, helpful, polite and fun! The big kids have been great with Ellie. They are keeping her entertained and I've never had such a relaxing time. Ellie LOVES the Slater's... she will even go with Cathy by herself. I am in Mom heaven!

The kids are playing in the indoor pool while we relaxed in the hot tub.

The Bay -Syd Slater

We were all at the bay having fun ,but then all the kids came over to a separate part of the sand and there was a thing that looked like a plastic bag. Later that day we found out it was a (Phoenix praying mantis) but luckily we had Aunt Lori's computer and her smartness on Gooogle and it said it was a Portuguese man of war. It can even sting people when its dead! That guy was way off! Syd Spang and keefer and Ellie were afraid to pick it up, Syd slater had it in her hands asking people if they wanted to pick it up and to touch it. Everyone ended up touching it. Ellie touched it for like a half a second and was done with that. Meemaw's husband was stung by one so she got terrified by that we were all touching it! The water in the bay is all orange and brown because of all the boats that take off and the gas. When we were there we found a gas can lying on the bottom off the bay's floor. A couple days later we went back to the bay and meemaw decided to go all the way down to the Phoenix bay! She was excited she saw a duck with a green head. Syd slater came over to where she was standing and bent down and saw a fish. Syd Slater swooped her hands down and caught it. (good job) We all went back to the house and said our goodbyes to Rita and Randy. (The moms friend from work.) After we said bye Syd Slater,Ellie, and Syd Spang put the fish in a plastic container and let it swim around. Which Aunt Lori and Randy thought it was a baby Gar. No one really knows! Now Syd Spang and Keefer are playing Dancing with the Stars and are really rocking it! (GO SYD AND KEEF!) Ellie is cheering them on and not letting her mom (Lorri) out of her site.

Rita & Randy - Lori

Yesterday, Monday... I think, Rita & Randy Gage stopped by for a visit. They picked a perfect day with sunshine and a cool breeze. It felt kinda cold by the pool and out on the beach but it was still great. When they got here, we packed up some bags and loaded the kids in the van and went to the public beach. It's about 2 miles away from our condo. There is a bay in front of our place with a sandy area but it's not like a wide open stretch of beach. We got our ocean fix and the kids played in the sand. Syd, Syd and Keefer played in the big waves and Ellie played with the sand toys. MeMaw, Ellie and I left first so we could warm up and get out of the sand.

When we got back we had a picnic at the grilling area. The charcoal burgers were so good! Then we played at the pool until it got too chilly and we moved in to the heated indoor pool/hot tubs. What a life.

Last night we stayed up and had some drinks and cracked up, talked, played Quelf... At some point it came up that I was a wrestling manager at Adams Central and I had to prove to Cathy that I could "take her down"... It sounded like a good idea at 2am, so I did. She was pinned!!! I think Rita might have taken a picture???? Oh dear!

It was pay back because she bought Ellie a pet hermit crab without asking me! I'm going to buy the other kids one today.

Dukie and Eddie and Joey might get a surprise too :)
Time to go have coffee on the deck. It might rain today.

Pics - Lori

Waterslide - keefer S

Mom Spang goes down the water slide.

Mom Slater takes her turn!

This is the water slide. we all went down the water slide.(even Ellie). Its been a good time here. My first time was great. I figured out that when you lay flat you go faster. It goes way faster. When the moms did it was the best.

The Condo - Syd Slater

Our condo

This is the condo we are staying at. Its very nice, It has lots of things we didn't expect. Were lucky there's a pool outside with a giant water slide. (It keeps all the kids busy while the moms relax and memaw is cleaning inside.) We really appreciate Memaw cleaning for us and really running the house smoothly. If Memaw reads this THANK YOU! Our house is on the 2nd. floor and has a outview of the Bay off the patio. The pool is like bathwater , but the Lazy river is FREEZING! The first time we went down the water slide we thought the water would be warm but, we thought wrong. Ellie spang went down the water slide with Syd Slater and had a blast but Ellie didn't like the cold water so she made Sydney hold her above her head so she wouldn't get wet. (good thinking Ellie.)

jellyfish - Syd Spang

Portuguese Man of war washed up at Orange Beach, AL

The news today is that Portuguese Man-of-war's aka. Phoenix praying mantises washed up at Phoenix on the Bay 2. (picture to left) They are very dangerous, they can sting even when they are dead! The Spang's and Slater's discovered this March 29th, 2009. Every one thought they were dead jellyfish. Sydney Slater picked one up so every one could touch it. Everyone actually did including the 3 year old Ellie Spang. Sydney Slater popped one. When we came back to the pool area we showed a man the picture we got of it and he said it was a Phoenix Praying Mantis. We corrected him to Portuguese Man-of-war. When we got home to the condo Dodie aka. Memaw freaked out because her husband once was stung by one. he could have had to go to the hospital. Then we all washed our hands, Sydney washed her leg because stuff flew all over it when she popped one. And after that we went to sleep.

Sydney Spang

Day One - Lori

5:01pm

I can't possibly do Day One justice because I don't have the time and energy right now (well, I guess I do have the time :) to explain what happens to three adult women with NO sleep, 4 kids, 15 hours stuck in a car, and liquid courage... Let's just say, it's not pretty! I'm not really sure I could even remember those 7.5 hours either. I know we unloaded, put stuff away, put suits & sunscreen on and headed to the beautiful pool. The kids had a blast, Cathy and I ventured down the water slide after the kids had a go, and we had beverages poolside. We met a lot of people at the pool that we were a little scared to face in the light of today. We were feeling NO PAIN, we were extremely grateful for our blessings and absolutely LOVE our accommodations.

It's now day two, we slept about 12 hours last night (the kids probably slept between 13-15 hours) and we have had a perfect 2nd day! It's warm, sunny and wonderful!!!!!!

We just came up from the pool and the kids are sun burnt. Ellie and Keefer are the worst even though we slathered them in sun screen several times.

The Slater's are heading to the public beach 2 miles away but the Spang's and MeMaw are staying here. Ellie is exhausted and the kids need a break from the sun and I'm going to tackle the beach another day. We're going to play a game called "Quelf". The Slater's say it is a great game for all ages.. I have a feeling it will earn a blog of it's own. Sounds like a funny one...

We miss the Dad's! We love you all and wish you were all here with us!
Out...
Lori

THE 15 HOUR DRIVE - Lori

Sunday, March something (I think the 29th), 2009
7:30am (Not sure what time zone)

Looks like we made it! Look how far we've come now baby...

Well, what can I say? I should have written what would have been a much more COLORFUL depiction of our travel story yesterday when I had about 1 hour of sleep and liquid courage. It is now the morning after, I slept 11.5 hours last night and I am typing on our balcony overlooking lush grounds complete with a lazy river, baby pool, water slide, heated swimming pool, beautiful seascape of the bay with all of the resting water vessels lined up along the dock... The sun will begin to peak over the horizon soon and I await with much anticipation. The children lie nestled peacefully scattered around the condo. THIS IS THE LIFE!!!!!!

Now, I must snap out of it and channel the part of my brain that is attempting to block out the previous 15 hours...THE DRIVE DOWN (dum, dum, dum dum....)

Actually, the anticipation of the drive was much scarier than it turned out to be. We did have some laughs that had us wondering if we needed to stop and find a pharmacy that carried adult depends. None-the-less, we made it.

Cathy (my new sister) began the adventure behind the wheel. The packing astounded Tim (my husband) because we managed to pack enough for a small country to live for about a month. Now keep in mind, I am the master organizer (self-proclaimed, of course) and I put much thought and consideration into my packing. I made lists (yes several), I laid it out way in advanced (OK, we just booked the place on Wed so I had 1.5 days-part of the problem), I went over many scenarios, weather forecasts, money saving ideas, etc... I'm sure that Cathy and my Mother (poor woman that we convinced we were taking her on a relaxing, wonderful vacation (A.K.A babysitter, cooker, cleaner, driver... you get the picture :) planned equally as well as I did! However, when all of the "gear" was laid out behind the Slater Mobile it was clear that we would need a plan "B". We crammed, stashed, squished and crowded as much as we humanly could into the van (around the 7 passengers mind you) and ended up with everything but a few grocery items, a 20 pack of Mic Ultra, a beach chair, a seat messager, and a case of water. Not bad, if I do say so myself. The end result though, was a 10 year old, a 9 year old and an 11 year old (taller than myself) in the back bench seat with items stacked to the ceiling behind them (including 3 boogie boards), their pillows & blankets on their laps, a travel entertainment bag at their feet (3 of them), a box with the wii system, a bag of DVD's, a large adult travel bag, a 12 pack of beer, a small cooler, a very large purse (my mother's), a large bag of car snacks, a DVD holder, a music holder, and what we thought might be a decaying animal buried in the rubble (turned out to be Keefer's feet) stacked in the middle isle!!!!! I'll let you sit with this vision for a moment, and will spare you the description of the middle (MeMaw & 4 year old) and front (Cathy & Lori) of the van which was packed equal to the back!

We were off... I'm almost sad (not at the time) that I won't have an opportunity to tell you some dramatic, horror story of the next 14.5 hours because I do love to tell a good story (and might make one up about it by the time we get home, just for fun) but really it was uneventful. The kids must have been sitting with the adult guardian angels because they did not fight, complain, or whine one time! Not even Ellie (age 4). They watched a few movies with headsets on so the ladies could listen to WONDERFUL CD's (my mix of songs was by far the best, just ask Cathy). Ellie fell asleep shortly after her pick of movies around 11pm and slept the ENTIRE night without a peep! The other kids fell asleep a little later and also slept through the night. Cathy drove until 3:3o am and I tried to get some sleep while she drove but just couldn't get comfortable. I think I pieced together about an hour before I took the wheel. BACKGROUND INFO: I usually go to bed by 8:30 pm and fall asleep about 9:30 and like to have about 9 hours shut-eye.

Also keep in mind, that Cathy's entire drive was dry, flat and she had 2 adults to entertain her. She did hit one traffic jam because 2 semi's flipped into the median on I65. I'm pretty sure we sat or drove 5 mph for around 45 minutes, but MeMaw & Cathy are convinced it was 1.5-2 hours. I just hate people that exaggerate (my husband seems to think I possess this quality-yeah right!)

Anyway, at 3:35am I was delirious with exhaustion, it immediately started to rain, the roads turned into mountainous, wet death slopes that winded left and right at 90 degree angles (I swear my husband is wrong about me). I had a rough start... I was swerving around and scaring the passengers because I wasn't used to Cathy's wheel, but I quickly gained control (I always do - those who know me well, know I'm a bit of a control freak) and shortly after that I lost it again. Not the wheel this time, but over myself. I began a hysterical laughing fit (about nothing) by myself... my eyes were filled with blinding tears, and I had that ugly cry look. This lasted about 10 minutes and then it was smooth sailing until I couldn't go any more around 7:45 or 8am.

Cathy took the wheel again (man she's a trooper) and I tried too sleep until Ellie woke up but again, could not. Before we knew it, we were here and like a director on a movie set was directing the universe, the clouds parted, the sun beamed down blanketing Phoenix on the Bay II's sun deck, and the God's smiled on us all!

Now, I need another cup of coffee before I can wrap my mind around what happened next and load the pictures of our first few hours yesterday.