Camping, Trains, and Family

The last 4 days of our lives were completely dedicated to family and it was GLORIOUS!!  We kicked off our long weekend by checking out Santos, the new pizza place in Stuart.  YUM!  The chicken wings were a huge hit with the boys...

Seeing my little cave men enjoy themselves never ceases to make me smile. :-)

Friday, we headed up to the middle of the state for a weekend family retreat, compliments of the Florida National Guard.  The classes gave us some training and insight based on the following book...

It was a good reset for us and definitely gave us some more tools for our toolbox.  We love opportunities for self- improvement, especially ones that incorporate our unique situation as a military family.  GOOD STUFF!!!!!  

We got to squeeze in a quick family dinner before joining the festivities...

...then it was time to check into our cabins...

...how cute are they all packed up with their toys for a weekend of camping?!

This was our pet for the weekend...

...it was seriously the biggest spider I've ever seen.  We got to watch it recreate it web while we were there too.  Lucky us!!

Each family got a cabin, like the kind you stay in when you go to summer camp, which meant we got to sleep in bunk beds.  The boys thought this was the best thing EVER...

...they finally figured out how to make it all the way to the top by Saturday night...

No wonder I have anxiety!!!  Haha  They also thought it was awesome to refuse to sleep by themselves and join us in our teeny tiny beds instead...

...complete with feet in the face and all.  Poor daddy!

Part of the retreat included free time and we were able to sneak away to scope out the town of Taveres for the afternoon.  The town boasts has a fantastic historic train ride, which we missed but the conductor let us check out anyways....

...they seriously had some of the friendliest employees.  

The town is also home to an awesome wooden playground...

We were able to return Sunday after the retreat to go for a ride on the train...

Needless to say...it was a HUGE hit for our train-loving boys!  We're looking forward to going back to check out their Christmas train this winter.

While we were in the area, we were able to swing by and see Oma, which was a treat for all fo us.  It's always good to see family, even if it's only for a couple of hours.  We need to make that happen more often.

Today was spent mostly catching up from the weekend but Mickey and I did get time to sneak away for a litte breakfast date while the boys were at their play group.  We also ran some errands and before we knew it, it was time to go get our little guys.  We finished out the day with a trip to the gym, some tutoring, and lots of indoor family time thanks to quite the dreary day.  

Here's to hoping for less rain tomorrow so I can squeeze in a run in the morning...and see all of my story time friends too!!