More Florida Photos

 We arrived home from Florida last night.  I just wanted to share some more photos from our trip.  This is Shannon on the sand bar we went to on Anna Maria Island.  She is looking for shells and sand dollars.

Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico, west coast of Florida

  We had a wonderful two weeks visiting with my sisters and their families that we don't get to see often enough.  We spent a fews days at Anna Maria Island before we came home, thanks to Tom's mom letting us use her condos there.  Thanks so much, Marilyn!  We enjoyed spending time there and being so close to the wonderful beach on the Gulf of Mexico.  The sand was white and felt like powder, and the girls were thrilled that they could actually find shells there.  We took a boat ride (photo above) to a sand bar,where we got out of the boat and found lots of sand dollars in the shallow, clear water.

Shannon and her cousin, Kylie.  They had a blast playing in the sand and water together.

Playing in the soft, white sand was a favorite thing for Shannon.  This sand never seemed to get hot the way it does here.  The water in the Gulf was nice and warm, for those of us used to the cold Pacific Ocean.  We spent hours in the water.

This bird would come almost all the way up to our sliding back door at the condo.  He was looking for a snack.   He let the kids get pretty close to him.  This is taken from the back door of the condo.

One of the nice things about this vacation for Kelly was not having to think about doctor appts. and chemo treatments.  Unfortunately, we are back home and back to real life.  She had labs today and has chemo tomorrow morning at the infusion center.  It was a nice three weeks off, which is the longest she has ever gone between chemo treatments.  

Kevin is also leaving again tomorrow morning for another two months in Hawaii with Marine Forces Pacific. We will miss him.  We were getting used to having him around.

Kelly, Megan and Shannon leave Sunday for Camp Ronald McDonald in our local mountains.  It is for Oncology patients and their siblings.  They are looking forward to a week of fun.  Kelly has met quite a few kids that are also cancer patients and have situations similar to hers.  But Megan and Shannon don't know too many friends that are dealing with sisters having cancer.  I hope this will be good for them to be with other kids who understand what they are dealing with.  When a child has cancer, it definitely affects the entire family, including the siblings.