“Guess what, mom? We have four more days until summer vacation!” 

Mario stood in the kitchen on Wednesday morning and gleefully informed me of this fact as he drank his gatorade.  He doesn’t quite get the whole “spring break” deal.  After we counted down the days again together, he proceeded to talk about what he was expecting to do in Florida.

“I am going to put my goggles on and swim in the ocean and pet a dolphin and a shark and an alligator. I am going to make sure that the shark moves far away so Ria is not scared.”

Always protecting his sis.  Maria chimed in on her expectations for Florida:

“I am going to put on my bikini, lay on my beach towel, and get a tan.” 

Remind me again that she is 6 and not 16?!

We headed to Target last night to pick up some necessities and a few “fun” items like hats and sunglasses and coloring books.  Mario picked out a west-side ball cap with a skull and bones on it at first.  I cringed when he picked it up.  It was two times too big for him even though it was in the little boys’ section, and thank go for that fact.  Remember, Mario hates anything that is big on him – he likes things tight.  He quickly discarded the skull cap when he saw it swimming on his head.  There was a beach straw hat I had my eye on for him, and I was excited to see him pick it up and try it on.  He modeled that hat in the mirror for five whole minutes.  Turning from side to side and adjusting the hat in numerous ways.  What a ham.  He finally turned to Maria and me and commented “This hat is wicked!”  Yeah, that is his new term he loves to use.

Maria picked out a princess ball cap at first.  I asked her why she would pick a princess cap when she was not into princesses anymore and she just shrugged her shoulders.  I know the reason she picked it.  It was right by her side on the shelf and she was tired from a long day at school.  If she is tired, my girl could care less what she gets.  I had to help her pick another hat because I couldn’t bear to see her revert to her princess days.  She ended up with a pink ball cap.  We grabbed some sunglasses and beach wear.  The kids kept pointing to beach towels and sunscreen but I told them we’d stop at a store on our drive to Naples.  They were amazed that there would be stores like Target in Florida!

Mario walked around the store with his straw hat on, flipping it off his head when girls approached him and saying “Howdy partner!”  When we got to the checkout line, Maria marveled at the woman in front of us with three-inch red heels on her feet.  “Mom, you should get a pair of those for Naples.”  I asked her “when would I wear them, Ri?”  Her response: “to breakfast, of course!”