Back in early June, after a particularly tough day at work, we decided to take a spontaneous drive up to Plum Island to spend some time by the ocean – the perfect remedy for a stressful day. We made a quick stop at home for flips flops, books, a blanket and a kite and headed for the beach. We spent a couple of hours just lounging – Aaron flew a kite – we watched local fishermen… We stayed until the sun went down and the bugs moved in. It was a lovely evening and reminder that our shore vacation was just around the corner.

Here is a small album of photos from various visits with Amy, Joe, Justin and Brian across the months of April and May. You’ll notice most of the photos are of their boys. It’s hard to believe Justin is almost 4 and Brian is already coming up on 1 – makes me feel old. (Shut up Peter :)

Shortly after I returned from the Florida Keys, I flew out to Portland, Oregon for Bonney’s west coast baby shower. She asked Laura and Courtney (friends of hers from college) and me to fly out a few days early for a little get away to the coast before the shower. After we all arrived in Portland we drove to a little coastal town called Manzanita where we stayed in a great cabin that was walking distance to the beach. We watched movies, shopped, walked on the beach and just relaxed. It was great! We all had a great time together, but felt it was much too short. Above is a photo of the four of us outside our cabin. After a couple of days, we headed back to Portland for Bonney’s shower that was being held at her house and co-hosted by her niece and a friend from soccer.

At the end of March Aaron, Rita and I spent a week together in the Florida Keys. We all flew into Miami, and elected to rent a car to drive down the full length of the Keys as we had heard about the beautiful vistas. That turned out to be a slightly overrated experience – although there were some moments where all you could see was beautiful water in all directions – the views were mostly of strip malls, tattoo parlors, liquor stores, etc. – but the rest of the trip was just what we were hoping for. We rented a house on Sugarloaf Key (about 15 minutes outside of Key West) that was on the water and had a pool. We spent the week relaxing at the house, reading, playing games, going out to eat, swimming in the pool… Our one big activity for the week was a private charter and snorkeling trip out of Key West with Dream Chaser Charters, who we would definitely recommend. We had a great day being out on the water, snorkeling and they even served us a delicious lunch. At the end of the week we drove up to Miami and spent a fun night there in The Angler’s Resort. It was a fun and relaxing week. Click on the photo above to see the album from our time in the Keys.