Our two-story home is 3,000 s.f. with a large pool and yard (approx. 3/4 acre), and a grass volleyball court. There's plenty of room inside and out for relaxing and entertaining both--a great get-away for a large family gathering or plenty of room for a couple or two. We run a casual, family-friendly household that includes a playroom, sitting room, huge great room with large kitchen/dining and TV room combo overlooking the large L-shaped, solar-heated, screen-enclosed pool.

Our kitchen and great room are huge and are the hub of the house. We have a large center island with a gas cooktop, and all the usual appliances: double wall ovens, toaster oven, microwave, coffee maker, quiet dishwasher, two fridge/freezers (one is the beverage fridge out in the garage), in-sink disposal, mixer, food processor, a ton of pots and pans and bakeware and cookbooks...pretty much anything you might need to keep yourself busy for hours if you really wanted to. (But really--who cooks on vacation?)

The playroom has a Mac computer with hi-speed internet access (wireless throughout the whole house and you can even get a signal outside), Nintendo Wii, board games, card games, toys...

The TV room has your usual electronics: 52" flatscreen LCD TV with DVR cable box (HBO and Cinemax), DVD player, stereo that plays inside and outside, a Netflix Roku downloader and AppleTV.

Our house can accommodate a lot of people! We have 4 official bedrooms, all upstairs; the large master has a king bed, jacuzzi tub and a big deck directly outside twin french doors with stairs that go down to the back yard/patio. The other 3 roomy bedrooms have: twin bunk beds, a queen bed, and a full bed in the last one; each has room for an extra airbed if needed. Downstairs, the sectional sofa has a full sleeper and an ottoman that folds out into a twin bed; there's also a separate room off the attached garage if someone wants complete privacy. Additionally, we have 4 queen airbeds, 2 twin airbeds and lots of sleeping bags if you're really bringing a crew with you. There are two bathrooms upstairs and one downstairs (accessible from the pool area as well).

As far as decor goes, I'm not sure you could call it anything more specific than casual and comfy. In our diverse group of friends and family, our house is one of the main gathering places and has no trouble accommodating everyone. We can fit everyone in the main great room, or smaller groups can break off into various other areas of the house and property.

We have many bikes of all sizes, scooters and skateboards available for trips to the parks and trails nearby.

Our neighborhood itself is on a low-traffic, dead-end street with friendly, fabulous neighbors. We are a true community with that perfect mix of helping each other out without being invasive. We get together for volleyball parties and casual hang-outs, cookie swaps and game nights, and everyone looks out for the kids.

We have all the usual modern conveniences within a 5-10 minute drive: grocery stores, movie theatres, retail shopping, restaurants, banks, health clubs, recreational facilities, post office, library, etc.

A ten-minute walk west will get you to Walsingham Park (http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/22_Walsingham.htm) which has playgrounds, picnic areas, a lake (we've seen people fishing, but haven't tried it ourselves), a dog park, a fabulous walk/bike/skate trail and an exercise circuit. Another ten-minute walk east takes you to the Pinellas Trail (http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/12_Trail.htm), which extends the north/south length of Pinellas County; you can walk, run, skate or ride bikes (we have lots of bikes you can use, all different sizes) to other locations within Pinellas, even get to the beaches if you're adventurous.

We are a 5-30 minute drive from multiple world-famous Gulf of Mexico beaches (Clearwater Beach, Johns Pass and Fort Desoto are three prime ones), deep-sea fishing, snorkeling/diving, sailing, boating, jet skiing and other water entertainments, golf (TPC course in Tampa), tennis, laser-tag, movie theatres, dining and shopping, etc.

A 30 minute drive will get you to Busch Gardens and Adventure Island (A.I. is open when it's warm, http://www.buschgardens.com/BGT/), Tampa Aquarium (http://www.flaquarium.org/), Lowry Park Zoo (http://www.lowryparkzoo.com/), Tampa Theatre (http://www.tampatheatre.org/) or Ruth Eckerd Hall (http://rutheckerdhall.com/), Raymond James Stadium in Tampa and Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg for sports and concerts, Salvador Dali museum (http://www.salvadordalimuseum.org/), art shows and festivals, go-kart racing (http://www.tampabaygp.com/), and egads, I'm sure there's more that I just can't think of right now.

With a 1.5 hour drive east you can get to Orlando which has all the Disney parks (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/), Universal Studios (http://www.universalorlando.com/), Wet-n-Wild (http://www.wetnwildorlando.com/), Sea World (http://www.seaworld.com/orlando/), etc. If you go south 45 mins, you hit Bradenton and Sarasota with boutique shopping and dining, the Bishop Planetarium (fun laser light shows) and a great outlet mall in Ellenton.

In short, there's always something to do around here.

We have a Dodge Magnum that seats 4 comfortably, 5 in a pinch, and a really old Eclipse convertible stick-shift that's just fun for tooting around in. Normally, we have a 2008 Dodge minivan that seats 7 but we are taking that one with us on the Christmas trip in December 2011.

We do not have a dedicated phone line at our house--we use our cell phones and Skype and iChat to communicate with everyone.

We can either board the dogs or pimp them out to friends if any Exchangers are unwilling or unable to care for them. Although, I will tell you that the chickens are oddly compelling little creatures, and the fresh eggs are definitely a bonus.

Our kids get out of school Dec 16 and go back Jan 2, and we'd like to hit a ski slope either the week before or the week after Christmas. We'll definitely be in PA for the Christmas weekend but the weeks before and after are flexible for us.

We are visiting family in Franklin PA for Christmas and would like to check out some snowboarding/skiing in either PA, VA or WV if anyone is interested in a swap either the week before or the week after Christmas.

Our family is comprised of mom Sandy and dad Robbin; we have three beautiful, funny children, ages 13, 11 and 7 (two girls and a little boy), two friendly, large dogs (Roxy and Coco) and five chickens. If any potential HomeExchangers are not pet-inclined, we can always find someplace for them to go during the visit. Well, except the chickens--but we can have one of the neighbors come in and take care of them.

We have a very fun mixture of friends and family who get together frequently for parties, traveling and home improvement projects.

We have our own business in the Casual Furniture industry and run Sales and Service for a couple of international manufacturers. I am also a casual photographer with all the gear and the addiction that goes with it--we are crazy busy and very active!

At this point in our lives, we have realized that the good life is all about spending time with those we love, expanding our horizons and experiences. We love to vacation with friends and try new places.

We have also traveled to: Germany, Italy, Turkey, the Carribbean, Mexico and England. On our long-range wish list, we would eventually like to visit Japan, Australia, Indonesia, Spain, Costa Rica, Brazil...and the list goes on. It's a big, beautiful world! We have numerous cruises under our belts as well, one of our favorites being the Mediterranean via Istanbul, Malta and Italy.

We enjoy any kind of traveling, especially with activities, and would love to go whitewater rafting down the Colorado River (maybe when the kids get a little bigger), zip-lining through a rain forest, join a cattle round-up and see what a western ranch is all about, visit the US National Parks, go diving in Australia, check out New Zealand, Russia, Egypt...and so many other adventures!

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