Family Fun in Florida 2023

I'm a couple months behind in posting this. Hopefully I can back date the post to June

Our family hasn't taken many vacations over the last 25 year. And of the few we have taken, all of them have consisted of staying with family or friends and always dictated by a soccer trip either before or after the vacation. This time...we took a real vacation, planned months before and dates carefully picked so everyone could take time off work and Reagan had NO conflicts with Husker soccer or school. Chris and I worked extra hours and sold stuff from the basement to pay cash for this trip to Florida with our family of 6.

Bad luck hit when Reagan tore her ACL during a spring game in Colorado in late April. She made the decision to travel with her team to Iceland (duh...trip of a lifetime) in May and then have surgery June 1st (3 days before our flights). I may have cried several times. Thankfully I was able to be with Reagan on surgery day and spend the night the next several nights before jumping on the plane on June 4th. But I really missed her in Florida.

We stayed in a wonderful VRBO owned by someone in Nebraska. The master plan community was perfect until we realized there were no coffee shops within a 30 min drive. WHAT? How is that possible? We had a great pool, golf cart and enough space for everyone in the family.

ME & MY GUY!

I could have spent many more hours/days at the beach

This trip taught me that I am more of an ocean-beach girl than the rest of the Raabe clan

The family at the ocean

Joe's first time at the ocean

Fort Meyers Airport is small enough that this is how we deplaned

Gotta take a selfie

We had the chance to catch up with a couple Nebraska friends who now live in the Fort Myers, FL area. Emma and Sierra graduated HS together. Sierra has a super cute apartment with a great view. She's living her best life.

Chris, Joe and I took a hike and got caught in an absolute downpour about half a mile from the car. After looking for wildlife the entire hike, as we jogged back to the car Joe nearly stepped on a HUGE yellow snake. He tried to warn us but it was raining so hard we couldn't hear him yelling at us.

Who doesn't love this?

Take me back to the beach

One of our favorite parts of the trip was this "SwampTour" down the Peace River on an incredibly LOUD airboat. We saw a gator nest and some gators along the way and then suddenly we turned around to get a closer view of this bad boy...about eight and half feet long.

Our last day we spent some time with Jim and Lindsey Heck and the 3 girls.

Nebraska transplants...oh how I miss them!!

The Heck household has a cute puppy, a snake, and several reptiles.

Liv loves snakes

The eye of Hurricane Ian hit Fort Myers, FL in September 2022, nine months later there were still many signs of the devastation Ian dished out. This picture is a boat graveyard outside of a restaurant. 

Not sure when we will take another vacation but I have started a travel envelope. 

Lots of big things coming up in the Raabe family...

Baby Willow - October

College Graduation - December

High School Graduation - May

When will we find time to travel???

Husker Soccer goes to Iceland 🇮🇸

These ladies traveled to Iceland May 21-31, 2023

They saw all the site, ate great good, played (and WON) 4 games and had the time of their lives. What a special trip! 

My pictures are in reverse order, the blue lagoon was the last day. 

Reagan and Katie Stoneburber at the Blue Lagoon

At the waterfalls

Reagan and Roommate Riss Popoola

Abbey and Reagan

It was unseasonably chilly for the Huskers, in the mid 40s, cloudy and very windy the entire trip

The ferry ride was canceled the second day due to extremely high winds. 

Reagan and Canadian Flo B

The ACL buddies 

Reagan and Lauren Buzzel

Roommate Abbey Schwarz and Reagan

Maggie Altman from San Fran and Reagan

In May Iceland gets a total of 3-4 hours of darkness per day

Rehab buddies…even when traveling

The 3 injured girls

Katie had foot surgery

Buzzy had ACL surgery

Reagan will have ACL surgery when home from Iceland

Attending one of 2 professional games

My life 360 map

Reagan and roommate Sarah Weber

Katie Stoneburner documented the trip through her camera lens and then put together this video. This will be a trip of a lifetime for these girls

https://youtu.be/LKCni5Fmt6o

Husker soccer brought a media team along and this is their video…

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cthyd16NnAo/?igshid=MWQ1ZGUxMzBkMA==

❤️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️❤️

Moms Day 2023

Mom and her friend Shirley was in town a little before Mother’s Day

The annual flower planting

Celebrating Nana

 

Millard West loved Michigan Ave

Basically every trip we have ever taken has been due to a kid’s activity. This one is no different. It has been a blast following Olivia and her Show Choir around Nebraska and Iowa for high school competitions. (Have I said this before…if you haven’t attended one of these events you must. It’s like NOTHING I have ever experienced before.) Anyway, Millard West HS show choirs went to the Heart of America (HOA) competition in Chicago. The hype for this event was remarkable. If I’m honest, the actual event did not live up to the cost or the hype. None the less, it was a great experience for the kids and an opportunity for Chris and I hang out in Michigan Ave. Plus we started a great podcast on the 7 hour commute, The Exorcist Files.

Our friend’s FAVORITE pizza place in Chicago is Lou Malnati’s. We agree, I wanna go back! 

Tall buildings and city lights at the Intercontinental Hotel

I’ll be honest, I’ve heard so many bad things about the lawlessness in Chicago, I was a bit nervous about going there. What surprised us was the lack of people. We pulled in at 4:30pm on Friday only to find the streets bare. This has got to be a first. I was a bit worried that Rapture happened and we  were “Left Behind”. Ha We had a great trip and we’re relieved to find the believers still roaming the streets. 

The Bean

Millennium Park 

I spent a little time at the 5-story Starbucks

🌟Reserve Roasterie🌟

Uptown Girls

Oh my beautiful singer!!!

Uptown Girls & West In The Groove

 

Hugs, Kisses and Lots of Birthday Wishes

We love Birthdays

The Raabes do food and birthdays well. I have always made a big deal of celebrating my girls' special days. Now that Emma is out of the house I don't spend the week making all her favorite foods nor do I decorate her bedroom while she's sleeping. I guess Joe would find that quite creepy if I were sneaking in their house with balloons and streamers in the middle of the night. Instead we met at Emma's favorite Sushi place. I made Cherry Brownies and the family came together for laughs, stories and some special gifts. It's such a joy to celebrate the amazing woman she continues to become.

Look at that Glow

I was fortunate enough to be included in Emma's Friend Celebration

Does that mean I've hit a new level of acceptance? We hit up her favorite Taco place in Blackstone, Mula Mexican Kitchen and then walked across the street for Coneflower ice cream. It's was pretty cold to be eating that frozen deliciousness but oh so worth it! Some of these girls I have know for decades while others I met this year. Emma has found some great gals. Missing Emma L and Kaylee

Happy Birthday Sweet Emma!!! Love, Mama

May blessings follow you through life wherever Christ may lead you. 

May love be right beside you, and joy and peace precede you. 

May God's Word light your path each day while grace and patience guide your way.