Audrey piloting the boat. 
I have had a long absence from working on the blog. Once we got to Marathon everything else seemed to be much more important and I let it fall by the wayside.


Marathon was as wonderful as I was hoping it would be. Instead of the city mooring field we had planned on, we ended up staying at a beautiful marina at the entrance to Boot Key Harbor (because of our fuel system problems). The marina had a gorgeous saline pool and super nice people. We really enjoyed the whole trip. The entire island is only 7 miles long, and the taxis are a $5 flat fee anywhere on the island, so the girls and I cabbed it all over, and I don’t think we missed anything we had been hoping to do.


We spent Easter there




kayaking off of Sombrero Beach


They can be really sweet sisters sometimes! 

too cool for the pool

sunset at the marina
We played with the local homeschool group and some other marina kids too. That was one of the big draws of Marathon for us. We had heard about all of the great homeschool kids there and the activities for them. We weren’t disappointed! The girls participated in homeschool PE, homeschool gymnastics and even had a few playdates! Overall it was a very successful kid trip.

the girls working on their backbends
ice cream date! 
more gymnastics
My dad visited for almost 2 weeks. We really explored the Keys while he was with us, including the famous Lorelei restaurant on Islamorada, where our Lorelei was famous. We also went to Theater of the Sea. It was such a cool place. A very small marine animal park where we were able to get really close to the animals. The girls volunteered to participate in the shows, and my dad took us swimming with the dolphins. Happy birthday to me :). The girls and I still can’t stop talking about the experience! The dolphins are HUGE in person, but there was no fear. They are so gentle and it was pretty magical!

giving Grampsy a backrub
ready for lunch at the Lorelei
Anne's Beach

mango tree
Me and my Dad. 

goofing around in Key West




biplane rides with Grampsy

a view of Marathon from above

Lorelei helping with the sea lion show at Theater of the Sea

cooling off

hugging dolphins

Theater of the Sea



Audrey catching a ride
More Sombrero Beach

relaxing on the boom

making friends with flamingos on our second trip to Key West

I already can't wait to go back!