Spring Break Recap: Sarasota, Florida

Happy Sunday! There is officially one more day of spring break left. Technically spring break should be over but tomorrow is a teacher work day. Almost time to get back to our usual routine. I can't imagine it should be that hard this time around waking up early, because these kids have been waking up early every day! Serena can sleep in, but the other 3 have been ready to go around 7 am every day. I've been going to sleep late too because my husband got me into watching Narcos on Netflix. It's so good! Some scenes are tough to watch but the story line is so good.

We had talked about going to Sarasota for a couple days for spring break about a month ago, but hadn't decided on anything. Last Sunday morning, Hank sprung it on me that we should go that same day. We waffled for a bit with either doing Naples, or Tampa, but settled on Sarasota. It's only about a 3 hour drive from Boca so not too much of a long drive for the kids. Because it was such short notice, we literally booked the hotel on the way up there. The weather was great while we were there, and we all had a good time even though we just sort of winged it without a plan or even deciding early on where to eat. We stayed at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in the arts district. The beds were very comfortable, the rooms were clean and the heated pool had a great view!

On our first day there we drove over to where the opera house was along the water and just explored. We noticed that Lion King was there and had a showing that was going to start in an hour, but it was too late to get tickets and there were no cancellations. We noticed two men that were stretching nearby and were wearing matching t-shirts. They looked like they might be in the show so I decided to ask them if they were, and if they knew how to get any last minute tickets. One of the men was actually Simba in the show! Still we weren't able to secure tickets. They mentioned that in some cases 30 minutes before the show a person might try to sell a ticket if their companion doesn't show up, but trying to secure 6 last minute tickets was going to be really difficult. So no Lion King for us, but it was still neat to have run into a cast member. We also explored the area by Mote Marine Laboratory which has a neat little park and nature walk area, and then drove through St. Armands Circle before going to downtown to find a restaurant. 

On our second day we ate breakfast at the hotel and then headed to The Ringling. It was beautiful and on the grounds they have a very fun park for the kids and a few flower gardens. Every Monday the museum of art including special exhibition galleries are free to the public. Regular admission pricing applies if you wish to visit the circus museum or Ca'd'Zan.

 After the museum we headed to Siesta key beach, but just to walk in the sand since it was still a bit chilly and the water was cold. The sand was so clean and amazingly soft! Ava said it felt like flour. 

After the beach we had a very late lunch/early dinner at a local seafood place and then stopped for ice cream at Crystal cream rolls in the nearby town Osprey. The girls and Hank loved it! I unfortunately couldn't eat it because I'm dairy sensitive, but I did have some of the toppings like a marshmallow and graham cracker. 

All in all we had a great time. Going on a trip without a plan is completely doable because we are still all together, and I know it sounds cheesy but we can have fun anywhere. Lately I feel like I'm really cherishing our family outings more than ever, because in two more years Serena will be done with high school and she may not be living at home if she decides to go away for college. It all just goes by too fast, and I'm hanging onto these moments where my 4 are still under the same roof. 

A mountain getaway at Black Thorn Farm & Kitchen!

It's been over two weeks since my last blog post, but better later then never! I have 4 kids, what can I say? Things almost never happen at the times I plan them. Just getting everyone out of the house on time is an experience not for the faint of heart. Sometimes it goes smoothly and sometimes....not so much.

After our new year's day trip to Savannah, Georgia, we headed out to North Carolina. What a fun trip! A couple weeks beforehand, we pulled up several VBRO rentals on the laptop and sat on the sofa with Serena for awhile after the kids went to bed, and narrowed down our top choices of where to stay. We wanted it to be somewhere in the mountains with a great view, and not near other houses. We had it down to our 4 top places and ultimately settled on Black Thorn Farm & Kitchen. The description of it being a working sheep farm and culinary destination ultimately won us over. Definitely an advantage over the others. We figured the girls would enjoy watching the sheep, and we love food so why not?! Hank loves lamb and I loved the idea of fresh baked goods delivered because I'm a carb addict like that. 

I mean just look at this bread! It really is what dreams are made of. So delicious.

Before I get ahead of myself though, let's get back to the farm. The "high house" where we stayed had everything we could of possibly needed. From cookware, to toiletries, books, DVD's and basic necessities, all our needs were met. We went to the grocery store the second day we were there and just had so much fun cooking simple country meals like steak, meatloaf, and pan seared lamb. I loved cooking in the kitchen, and the house was clean, charming, and comfortable.

It was cold outside but we still enjoyed being out on the deck at times looking at the mountains, and also exploring the grounds and petting some of the sheep. It was really nice to just unwind and unplug from the world. Sure I still did two loads of laundry, and made the beds, and tidied up but it was different than if I was doing those chores at home. Much to Serena's dismay, she was still on kitchen duty for the most part and had to do after dinner dishes.

We also went to a local ski resort in search of some snow. The girls had a great time snow tubing!

It's been a few weeks now since we settled back into the hustle and bustle of daily life, but I will always have fond thoughts of our tranquil stay at Black Thorn Farm in the basin of Sandy Mush. It was definitely a unique farm to table vacation experience and we'd love to go back sometime.

Have a great weekend!

Spring break in South Florida - the ultimate staycation!

Originally we had no plans to leave south Florida for spring break, but the weekend before, H mentioned going up to Sarasota, St. Petersburg, or Georgia. Yeah Georgia was a little random there, but initially he thought the drive was just going to be 8 hours. He enticed me after showing me a few gorgeous rustic cabins we could rent in the mountains. Turns out it's more of a 10 hour drive and we just don't like making those kind of drives anymore. Especially not sleep deprived with the kids.

In the end we just decided to stay in good ole Florida, there is still much we haven't experienced here. I'm so glad H took the week off with us. We all had a great time and we stayed busy. Even though it's not always easy getting all 4 kids out and about, we are used to it and being stuck indoors would just mean all of us getting under each other's skin at some point or another!

Monday we went to Lauderdale by the sea which is about 20 minutes from us. We had Dandee donuts for breakfast and then headed to the beach. Lauderdale by the sea has 2.5 miles of beautiful beaches and a pier. Most hotels, restaurants and shops are just a few minutes walk from Anglin's square which is a charming oceanfront gathering.

Tuesday we drove about 40 minutes north to Jupiter Island. We went to Busch wildlife sanctuary, and then blowing rocks preserve. For dinner we had Guanabanas which is a really great restaurant with intracoastal views. Jupiter island was probably may favorite little day trip. Busch Sanctuary is a refuge & nature center for Florida wildlife with kid friendly trails through woods & wetlands. They have pretty much everything you'd see at a zoo without an admission price. It was great. Afterwards we went to Blowing rocks preserve. The preserve was named for it's rocky Anastasia limestone shoreline-the largest on the U.S Atlantic coast. It's really neat to see, but you definitely need to be careful when you are by the rocks. There are parts that are hidden under the sand and Serena and I got poked a few times when we were taking pictures. 

Wednesday we worked on a few things around the house, laundry, cleaning etc, but by the afternoon Mariam said she wanted to go fishing. We went to a nearby park about 15 minutes away called Tradewinds Park. We go there every so often since they have horses and $3 pony rides that the girls enjoy. We didn't catch anything but it really melts my heart seeing the girls gather around their daddy as he shows them how to cast a line. 

Thursday we headed to Miami to go to the Miami Seaquarium. They often have tickets on Groupon so do take advantage of that if you can. The shows were really cute and we were all excited for Mariam that she asked to participate in the flipper dolphin show. She really enjoyed it! Afterwards we had dinner at Maroosh restuarant in Coral Gables. It was really good and probably the best Mediterranean restaurant I've been too in South Florida yet. 

By Friday we were pretty exhausted so we stayed home and worked on some thing, did a little grocery shopping and had an impromptu dinner at our house of chicken wings, fries and pizza with a few of our neighbors. 

Saturday I took Layla & Mariam to the Palm Beach Opera where they got to see their first opera, Le Nozze Di Figaro. It was a sweet experience to share with them for sure!

The whole week the weather was really gorgeous. Definitely a nice break with the family! Tomorrow the kids are back at school but it's a short week. They are also off for Good Friday.