day four

After another 17-hour drive, we returned home at 1:00 AM this morning from our Florida vacation. However, the fact that we are once again in Virginia, will not preclude me from continuing to post pictures of our epic trip. As the temperature here fluctuates between the 30's and the 50's and we are drenched in Spring showers, I'm really going to enjoy reflecting on our seven-day break to a semi-tropical climate.



Newsflash: I had absolutely no idea how much I missed warmth until this past week. Coating the children in sunscreen every day was a divine luxury.

Last Wednesday, day four of our vacation, was spent at The Children's Museum of the Treasure Coast. If you live in Florida, or are visiting the area around Hutchinson Island, I would highly recommend a visit to this museum ... especially if you have young children. This museum might not be an ideal destination if say, you're a 20-year old on Spring Break.

We adore children's museums and would frequent the one in San Diego at least once a month. Even though we don't live in South Carolina, we currently belong to the phenomenal Children's Museum in Greenville because the purchase of a family membership generally pays for itself, if we visit more than once. For instance, during our "transition" this past summer, we visited no less than five times. In a row. And we fully expect that we'll be returning when we visit my mother and Jim, this coming summer. (Mom and Jim, head's up! How's your schedule in July?)

(Edited to add: If you're a children's museum aficionado, make sure to check out the "Reciprocal Program." It certainly helps the wallet when the children's museum to which you belong participates in this program. As it turns out, The Children's Museum of the Treasure Coast does.) Although not all of the exhibits were complete, what exhibits they do have are perfect for little ones. There's an auto center.



And a vet center.



And there's a pirate ship with a cannon.



Balls are shot over the side of the boat ...



And then retrieved and hoisted back up in a bucket by whomever is on the ground.



There's the galley ...



Where kids can practice their cooking skills.



(I love the little tongue sticking out of the mouth ... a sure sign of concentration.)



Or maybe he's just thinking how tasty his carrot stew will be - for people other than himself - because he wouldn't ever actually eat a carrot.



But apparently they were a necessity for his recipe because once he ran out, he dashed off to the store to pick up some more.



Speaking of the store... the kids took turns working different jobs. Except re-stocking the shelves. It seems that responsibility kept falling to me. Repeatedly. Here's a little boy in the bakery that looks like he's about to fall asleep on his feet.



Vacations can really take it out of you.



Directly outside of the museum is a small water park and since the temperatures were in the low 80's and the children didn't get out of their bathing suits once during any of the daylight hours we were in Florida, there was no question what was next on their agenda.









On the 10-minute drive back to our vacation headquarters, all four of the children dozed off in the car. But once we pulled in to the parking lot, they hopped out and jumped directly in to the hot tub. Here they are strategizing ....



"Whaddya think we should we do, tomorrow?"