Hello! We are sorry for the long delay in posting pictures from our wonderful trip to Captiva Island. This was Mom's 28th year going to Captiva and as mentioned before, we are the 4th generation to vacation there. This was my 7th year going to Captiva and Cooper's 5th year. It is our favorite place on Earth!
This was my face, bright and early at the airport as we
patiently waited to board our plane for Fort Myers, FL.
We arrived late afternoon on Saturday and of course wanted to do everything before bedtime. The most important part of our day, is watching the breathtaking sunsets on the beach.
Per Captiva tradition, a musician on the island sings a sunset song; at the end, you toss a shell into the Gulf of Mexico and make a wish.
We love the beach!
I love pictures... not.
Shelling is unbeatable on Captiva... I was ready to find my favorite shells... olives (Cooper calls them pickle shells), sand dollars, star fish, conch shells, you name it!
Our morning routine was to walk several miles (Mom in her trusty knee brace) down the beach to shell, take pictures, and enjoy the morning sun. Daddy golfed most mornings while we fell easily into our island routine.
Mom was able to read and enjoy her last "hurrah" before her looming ACL surgery.
Here is Mom and her cousin Melissa ("Missy"). They love catching up, talking about the life of a teacher, and just visiting. We are so blessed to have our cousins in our lives as we are all so close.
We went on a shelling boat tour, but found the same shells on the secluded island as we would've found on the resort's beach, oh well. The boat ride was fun!
Daddy snorkeled on the drop-off and saw hundreds of sand dollars. These were all alive, so we had to put them back ($500 fine per alive shell if caught!), but it was still awesome to see them scooped like this.
Favorite Cooper pics from the week....
Cooper was so exhausted (well, so was I), that he fell fast asleep while holding a transformer on the porch swing. The fun in the sun sure wipes you out!
Mom and Dad being huge dorks with their hand-shaped heart/sunset pic....
This flower is for Grandma... she wasn't able to be with us in Captiva because she continues to live in Africa...sigh. We hope these pictures will entice her to return soon!
We just adore our cousin Camden. We love all our cousins who were in Captiva with us this year, although it was a much smaller group due to conflicts with schedules (Jim and Karri just had baby Ava, Grandma and Grandpa are in Africa, and Stef and Bruce returned the previous week from Mexico). As a result, we had the big villa to ourselves!
In the above picture, Cooper is holding a baby starfish that was found in the ocean.
Here I am catching some major waves on a boogie board.
Hammock time with my cousins Maddie and Grace.
We were able to golf a round with Daddy while the girls hit the day spa. I mostly enjoyed the golf cart while Cooper stuck with the golf game the entire 9 holes. Show off.
Our favorite restaurant... The Mucky Duck (notice Cooper's odd expression, um, OK). We took the below picture for the Leinenkugel family... hometown pride).
Next favorite restaurant is the Bubble Room! Papa and Grandma Sharon drove from Fort Myers to spend the day with us. We went to the beach in the afternoon followed by dinner at the crazy Bubble Room. It was great to see them and spend time together.
Here is a group photo of Mommy's cousin Melissa, her husband Chris, Mommy's cousin Jason (Melissa's brother) and his wife Kelly. Follow all of that?!?!?
We spent our mornings at the pool and the afternoons at the beach. Such a perfect set-up. We bought snorkel gear and loved swimming all over the pool. Cooper is pictured below....
Riding the dolphin
My parents asked us what we were most excited about prior to our trip. I said, "the trolley"! I love the trolley. It is the main mode of transportation on the island. They allow cars and many people rent golf carts, but the trolley is so unique. We just love it, even if that means we wait on the trolley benches for 20+ minutes for a ride, grrrrrr...
We returned home the following Friday evening and on Sunday night, Mommy received an email that involved job sharing for next year. She met with Heather (her job share partner) and their principal on Monday morning. Unfortunately, some "top administrators" decided that job share teams would be required to teach 5 days a week, half-days. This might sound nice, but the idea of consistency, sharing the work load, equal prep minutes, and so on is best met in a full-day schedule. Mommy and Heather have job shared for 6 years and they have an awesome system. Besides principal support, parents who have written letters of support, support from staff, and so on, they were unable to change this situation. What has followed since then has been pure HE Double Hockey Sticks.... Heather resigned last week (understandably so), leaving Mommy to decide whether to go back full-time, resign, or request a leave of absence so that she has time to find a new job share partner the following school year. So many emotions are factors in this decision... she cries, than gets mad, and just knows in her heart, that no matter what is decided, her "perfect" balanced life is no longer. Please pray for clarify, comfort and strength as she navigates through this life-changing decision.
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