New Addition?!?

Russ and I recently closed on a beautiful condo in Farmington Vistas at The Plantation Golf & CC in Venice, FL! My grandparents are probably saying "There goes the neighborhood"...as we are now their 'neighbors'. They have been spending time in Venice for 16 years and after a visit around Thanksgiving...Russ was smitten with the area too. We looked at a few places during our visit, put in an offer on a place where we saw some real potential, it was accepted, and a few days ago finally closed on the unit and took possession this week. Thankfully Gg and Gpa are close by and have provided us with more help than we could have EVER asked for. This weekend was no exception. Gpa rolled up his sleeves and helped Granny, Russ and I around our condo while GG kept the girls entertain (while preparing all of our meals) at their condo! It was a VERY productive weekend thanks to all the hard work everyone put forth! We are looking forward to returning to enjoy the fruits of our labor (though with everything we have 'planned' it may be a while before we can just sit back and relax)! Here are some before and after photos! Enjoy!

This is the INCREDIBLE view from the patio...(I forgot to take before and after pictures of the patio---but hopefully I will get a few 'after' photos after my mom returns from her trip down there this month--hint hint!)
I can't wait to get back and enjoy another sunrise...and all the new plants Gpa and Russ picked out and planted!

Master Bedroom Before


Master Bedroom After (we plan to eventually take down the wall paper, but with everything else that needed to be done--there is no way we could have done that job in one weekend--especially this weekend! We SCRUBBED every inch and EVERYTHING in this room, replaced the sheets, bedding, wall decor and added a few extras)


Master bath before



Master Bath After (spent close to 3 hours SCRUBBING the floors/shower, replaced some of the 'guts' of the commode--possibly replacing the floor of the shower, have plans to strip the wall paper and will be replacing a section of the wall by the shower---this bathroom was so So SO NEGLECTED---but now it is looking a bit better!)




Dining room before

Dining room after (while you can't see the hours spent scrubbing the floor/walls/furniture--and you may not be able to see that we replaced the cushions on the chairs from this picture, it looks REMARKABLY better!)

Dining room 2 after

Guest bathroom before

Guest bathroom after (we painted the walls, hung a new border, curtain rod and shower liner/curtain, towels, bath mat...SCRUBBED the floors, re-caulked around the tub and commode, and are in the process of replacing the 'guts' of the commode---did I mention SCRUB?)
Guest bathroom after view 2

Guest bedroom before

Guest bedroom after (we SCRUBBED the walls, furniture and some of the carpet--though that is scheduled to be professionally cleaned next week...we swapped out televisions, replaced the sheets, bedding and wall hangings with brand new decor and SCRUBBED everything--again, did I mention we SCRUBBED and SCRUBBED and SCRUBBED?!)

Kitchen--not much different--we SCRUBBED the floors, appliances, cabinets, cleaned all the dishes, reorganized the cabinets/pantry

Kitchen-view from breakfast bar (eventually we would like to replace the stove/oven, dishwasher, take down the wall paper possibly replace the cabinets and counter tops---but for now we are keeping it as is)

Living Room before

Living Room after (we SCRUBBED the walls, vacuumed the furniture, replaced some of the decor, purchased a new flat screen, and a tv stand but still need to get a few more pictures for the walls and possibly replace the fan)

Living Room looking toward dining area


I didn't really get any pictures of the enclosed lanai either, but we (GG and Gpa) SCRUBBED the furniture before we arrived, washed the cushion covers of the furniture, we fixed and washed the windows/screens, re-caulked around the widows/baseboards, replaced some of the decor and are in the process of finding new cushions or possibly a sleeper sofa (so we can accommodate more guests).


Check back for more updates-- and thanks again Granny, GG and Gpa! We would not have been able to accomplish nearly what we did without your help!!! We are so grateful and so thankful you were willing and able to help!

Headin' back to Venice

We made it back to GG and Gpa's with Russ in tow. Lexie was ready to show off her swimming skills. Up to this point, she still didn't venture too far from the edge of the pool, the steps, or whomever was 'helping' her. She was getting much better about jumping into the pool, but still wasn't sure about getting water in her face. After a mid-morning swim with Nini and me, that all changed. While daddy was out golfing with the 'old 18 holers', we were busy practicing and perfecting our moves!

I managed to get Lexie to 'swim' in front of me while assuring her I had a hold of her from behind. The first couple of times, I did! It was almost like riding a bike...the child is on their bike while mom or dad is holding on to the back of if running along, then...you just have to let go and wait...and pray they don't wreck. Well, it was kinda like that, except...I knew she wasn't going to wreck--I just didn't want her to never trust me again. Long story short, after a few of those attempts of letting go so she could swim to Nini...she "didn't want 'help' anymore"...and she hasn't looked back since (well, except for a picture!)

Lexie was so proud of herself---and so were we!!!
Look at her go...kick, kick, kick!
Time to rest...and blow a few bubbles!
"I sure do love to swim mommy!"
Later that afternoon, we managed to sneak back down to the pool to show Russ Lexie's big accomplishment! Of course, Olivia had a few of her own too! Russ would since 'ring around the posies' and bounce Olivia up and down to the rhythm of the tune. When it was time for everyone to 'fall down', he would dunk her under water. It got to the point where she would sing herself..then proceed to duck her face into the water! It was a riot...and unfortunately, I didn't catch it on video! :(

We celebrated in style by going out to dinner...GOLD RUSH! All you could eat ribs...and boy did Russ put a few of them down! We had a great time!

Olivia says "Where's the beef?"
The last couple of days were busy ones--we tried to manage to squeeze EVERY little bit of life that we could out of our vacation! Russ and I managed to golf (thanks to GG, Gpa, and Nini for looking after the girls for us!) Nini and I went shopping while everyone else went to the park, we went to the beach, ate at Sharky's on the pier for lunch, and we even managed to find a place to call our own!!! (Again, thanks to GG, Gpa, and Nini for helping out!) Russ contacted a Realtor and we found, made an offer on and are in the process of closing on a condo of our own!! Pictures will be posted soon! Needless to say, it was quite an eventful and FUN trip! Can't wait for our next one!

Olivia is definitely "paa-pa's" girl!
Keeping herself entertained...with the help of a few dinosaurs. She really liked to stick them between her toes! Who knew THAT could be so much fun!

Sharky's on the pier...great food, good tunes, and FANTASTIC views!

Lunchtime at the beach!
Lexie enjoying the view from the piers

Walking down the pier enjoying our last day
We may need to look into gymnastics for this little one...she LOVED walking on the 'balance beams' aka parking stops!
We were all a little sad that the pool was closed the last day we were there. The temps dipped into the lower 60's so they put the cover on the pool. Still hard to complain where there are sunny skies and 60 degree weather (especially when it is snowing back up north!)

Our Time in Tarpon

Granny and the girls at the park
Olivia making her way over to the big play park

Olivia going through the tunnel on the 'big slides'
Lexie loves to hang like a monkey
Olivia enjoying a stationary bike with the help of Granny...I don't know who is having more fun
My lovable Lexie
The girls found a car to drive
After the park, we made our way over to the beach...it was a little too chilly and WAY too windy to get in the water, but we were able to enjoy the sand none the less

Olivia pointing...'beesh'....
"Come on Granny---let's go this way"
Picturesque palms

I have to admit, I was trying to be a bit artsy with this photo...and I LOVE IT! Lexie running on the beach with her bucket of sand with Granny and Olivia in the background
Busy, busy, busy...she couldn't pick up the shells fast enough
More shells...though this time she braved the cool water temps to get one
We had a great couple of days with Granny! We made it to the park, the beach and the pool---and even managed to get some Christmas decorations up too!

Over the Clouds and Through the Jetbridge to GG & Gpa's we GO!!!!

Whew! We did it! We made it to Florida...I was going to put "I did it", but it was a group effort, so I can't take all the credit--the girls were GREAT for my first solo trip via the friendly skies! They are seasoned pros when it comes to flying, but this was our first trip without the help of daddy!

In any event, after deplaning for our turkey-day visit, we were greeted by GG and Nini at the airport! Lexie couldn't wait to get in the pool and start splashing around! The water was warm, the sun was out, the weather was perfect...we were having a great time! The only thing missing was Russ--though he would be joining us later!

The spectacular view from the lanai at GG and Gpa's

Olivia enjoying the views and some breakfast

GG keeping a close eye out for the alligator while Lexie enjoyed her breakfast outside...did I mention it was snowing back home?

We spent a couple of hours a day (typically in the morning) over at the pool...then it was lunch, followed by naps...and if we were lucky, an afternoon jaunt back to the pool. The girls and I sure were having a ball!


Swim, swim, swim!!! Nini and Olivia taking a break from the water

No rest for Nini...back in the water with Lexie---she just LOVES the water
Drying off to head back for a nap...I think she would have stayed in the pool all day if I let her!

Turkey day was upon us and GG put together a lovely spread...she even invited Granny down to join us for our Thanksgiving meal! Shortly after we were done eating, Granny and I loaded up the girls and headed north up to Tarpon Springs.

We have so much to be thankful for!