'breakin 2

We spent MLK weekend down at my dad and Linda's in Ft. Myers for a little post-Christmas celebration. We had not been down there since May, and we had not taken a long car trip since the summer trip to ND, so we were due. Although the four hour car trip pales in comparison to the 30 hours it takes to get to ND, the children still found it almost unbearable. I guess they are a little out of practice.

Henry had been asking to go bowling, so I figured we would go in Ft. Myers (Galaxy Lanes!) while we were enjoying the company of such accomplished bowlers as Poppop (Jr.) and Uncle Andy. Andy bowled the highest score. I was second and my dad was third. Henry, of course, bowled a strike and had a higher score than Linda and Patrick, putting him fourth. The Rodi contingent seems to excel at sports that involve a lot of sitting. Ceci, of course, had a hilariously unorthodox bowling technique that usually involved some form of modern dance. Malcolm, of course, took what Andy coined his "victory lap" every time he rolled the ball. It is a post- Christmas miracle that Malcolm did not break his foot while we were there as his second favorite thing to do was walk along the racks and try to pick up various bowling balls.

Here we are posing in the kids lane. Please notice the carpeted walls with a space theme. If only I could have that carpet in my house. My life would be complete.

Poppop and Baway (Linda) like to sleep until a normal hour in the morning, and since our kids rise with the sun, we decided to spend the morning hours of Saturday and Sunday on Ft. Myers Beach. It is a short drive from their house, and the weather was warm enough that we weren't freezing. The kids even ended up in their swimsuits running in and out of the water. Kids.

This is when we first got there, before they all got their shirts soaking wet.

Ceci practicing her beach goddess pose. You can see how far in the water Henry went. He would have stayed in there all day if we had let him. We also built a sand castle which I told the kids to pose by, and this is what I got:

That water was so cold that it made my feet hurt just to stand in it. Henry was wet up to his chest. Eventually, they were both shirtless.

On Sunday, we decided to attempt mini-golfing again. However, Patrick and I are older and wiser now, so we put Malcolm on a leash. Yes, we are those parents who leash their kids. Have you met Malcolm? He would have wandered straight into the fake blue toilet water pond complete with dead fish floating at the top, not to mention the havoc he would have wrought on the other players' golf games. So, we leashed him, and he actually golfed, and wrought havoc on only his siblings. However, using the leash and adding two more adults severely reduced the antics to golfing ratio.

Ready to Rumble!

Hmmm, I think if I hit it hard enough, it will go in a hole somewhere...

Mini-golf is hard work!

My dad, however, did almost start a fight with an impatient grandpa behind us. At one point, said grandpa walked clear up the green of the hole we were attempting to finish. My dad did not say anything to the man directly, thank the Lord, but did make it clear he was unhappy with the audience. The guy backed off a bit after that.

Back off! I'm golfin' here!

Also while in Ft. Myers, I attended my first Zumba class. Linda had wanted me to go with her for a while, but I conveniently forgot my workout clothes. Every time. So this time, I felt up for an adventure, I guess. She called to remind me to bring my clothes, and I obliged. Have you done Zumba? It is hilarious. If you are in need of a good time, you should try it. I like to dance, but I am not very good at dance moves, per se. I am sure if I attended regularly, I would improve in that arena. But it doesn't really matter because it is so fast that I don't know if anyone even expects you to follow the moves exactly. The music is loud and the instructor is shouting but not in an offensive way. It kind of reminds me of a wedding. You know when you are dancing at a wedding, having a good time with your friends, and you think, "If working out was like this, I would do it all the time!" Well, working out is like that. At Zumba.

On the way home, Ceci, still not understanding the city/ state differential, repeatedly asked if we have a beach in Florida (meaning Gainesville). Patrick, whose desire it is to only confound her more, apparently, kept replying, "Yes, Florida is almost all beach." to which she said, "Can we go when we get home!" and he would say, "There is no beach at home." I tried to explain the whole Gainesville is in Florida thing to her, but she wasn't having it. "Daddy said there is a beach in Florida!"

I love this guy.