Our Florida Trip

We had planned months ago, to go to Florida to see Stewart's parents and meet up with his brother's family. It was going to be kind of like a family reunion. We were really looking forward to the warm sun and seeing the family. Plans kind of took a bit of a detour when I fell and broke my leg. We were wondering if we should still go and how were we going to do it with me on crutches. After much thought, we asked our Nanny Sara to go with us and help out; of course she said yes! The trip was set and the packing began. We packed and packed and packed again. The packing was finally done, when all of our clothes were able to fit into one BIG suitcase. That doesn't count the booster seat, the car seat, the diaper bag and a backpack. We were going as light as possible.

Wednesday morning came VERY early as the alarm rang at 4:00am. We made it to the airport via taxi (because it had snowed) and did curbside check in. Stewart made a good call and arranged a wheelchair for me; it helped SO much. We made it through security and got breakfast to go. We figured that we would eat on the airplane. We got to board early and it worked out well. We opened our bag of breakfast and began to eat. The bagels we bought were terrible! They were so hard, none of us ate them. We sat on the airplane parked at the gate for an hour; while waited to be De iced. We were so concerned that we were going to miss our connecting flight. Finally we were off, and had a smooth flight to Vegas. Somehow we arrived early and was able to get lunch for our flight. Our plane left on time and we were on our way to Florida. We did a lot of reading, napping and eating! We arrived on time and collected our bags and headed to pick up our rental car. After a few minutes of installing the car seat and booster, we were on our way to Sarasota. We were only an hour away! Grandma Grace and Zayde met us at our condo and had our kitchen totally stocked. We were SO excited to finally see them. We had two days with just Grandma Grace and Zayde before Stewart's brother's family came. We played in the pools, went to the aquarium, walked in the sand, had great meals and visited. Friday night Stewart's brother's family arrived. (Dan's family (Stewart's brother) had never met Brooklyn and we had never met their newest little boy Jonah.) Bright and early Saturday morning, we met up. It was AWESOME! It had been about two years, since we last saw them. All the kids were so excited to see each other. From here on out, it was spent playing in the condos, going in the pools, going for walks, and playing on the beach. The weather wasn't great, but we made the most out of it. On Monday we went to Sears and had our family pictures taken. (This is when things kind of went downhill) Stewart began to not feel well during our photo session, so we kind of hurried it up. While we decided on which pictures each of us wanted to order, Brooklyn had a little accident. (I am not talking about a diaper accident.) She and Stewart were walking around in the tire department when she pulled a jug of antifreeze off the shelf. It cut her lip, her gum line and her tongue. Blood was all over her face. Good thing we already took the pictures! Some lady from security/first aid, came to assist us. By this time, Stewart just wanted to lay down. We left the mall and headed home. It wasn't long before Stewart was in bed. That night when he still had a fever, I knew he was not well. We left the kids with Nanny Sara and went to the ER. After a few hours, he tested positive for Influenza A. The next day was tough! Stewart spent the day in bed, Nanny Sara wasn't feeling good, and I had a headache. Thankfully Grandma Grace and Zayde helped with the girls. (Dan's family left early that day to fly home. We really didn't even get to say a real goodbye.) That night we packed and cleaned the condo. On Wednesday morning, we said our goodbyes to Grandma Grace and Zayde and headed to the airport. We returned the rental car and headed to the gate. We were in bad shape! Stewart was as sick as a dog, Brooklyn had a runny nose and Maya had a tummy ache. We left on time and was on our way home. We weren't even on the plane for an hour when Maya decided to throw up. Yes, she told me that she was going to, so I did have time to get a barf bag. The guy sitting next to us, was not so nice. He rang his call button and asked the flight attendant if her could change seats. He told her that the smell of the throw up was making him ill! Good thing he left, Maya and I got the whole row to ourselves! We finally made it home after a long day of travel. We all had doctor appointments the next day... I was diagnosed with bronchitis, Maya had the flu and Brooklyn had another ear infection. What a trip it was!

Brooklyn had no problem sleeping on the airplane.

Brooklyn's first time with pig tails!

The view from the back.

Thursday morning we went to the aquarium...
Of course, Stewart needed a picture of the "porkfish." Personally, I didn't see anything special about this fish. Sorry!

Grandma Grace showed Maya the hermit crab in the bottom of the tank.

Brooklyn was very interested in the jellyfish. Thanks to daddy, she got a front row seat!

Check out those dimples on Maya's face---so sweet!

"Hey come look here. There are a lot of Nemo fish! There is one, two, three, four...they are moving around too fast, I can't finish counting them."

This lobster was a big hit... he was HUGE and his colors were so cool.

Goof balls! After a few moments Maya wanted to be "something else," so they all traded places and.......

she still ended up wanting to be the turtle. Oh well.

We visited the shark and stingray tank when the trainers were feeding them.

The stingrays were so big.

Nanny Sara and Maya visited the "touch" tank where they each felt a stingray.

While we all stopped for a cup of hot cocoa, Brooklyn had her snack. A meal wouldn't be complete without yogurt!

We compared our heights to a manatee...here was Sara.

Here was little B.

And then Miss Maya.

Maya had never seen a manatee or a sea turtle before.

Brooklyn did some exploring on her own.

That was until Maya saw what she was doing and wanted to do the same thing.

We saw two dolphins in the outdoor pool.

And on our way out, we stopped off to see some owls.

On Friday, we split up. Grandma Grace gave Sara and I a tour around the area. Daddy and Zayde took the girls to the beach and hung around the condos.

Brooklyn was "feeding" the pretend flamingo outside on our patio. She LOVED this plastic bird!

Zayde and Brooklyn had a snack on the patio.

Maya took the baby doll for a walk in the sand.

On Saturday, we spent the entire morning on the beach.

Nanny Sara helped Brooklyn walk on the sand. The sand in Florida is much different then we are used to in Oregon. It was VERY firm and SO clean.

Maya found some garbage, just as Zayde told us that people don't leave garbage here on the beach. We thought it was so funny.

While Grandma Grace, Stewart, Hannah and Maya went for a walk, the other kiddos stayed behind to play in the sand.

It was especially cute seeing Brooklyn and Jonah play together.

This was Brooklyn's first time EVER playing in sand. She absolutely LOVED it!

Not sure who had more fun....Uncle Danny or the kids?

After the girls woke from their naps, we met the others at the pool.

Everyone had a great time swimming (playing) together.

Hannah and Emma were so good to Maya. They pushed and pulled her all over the pool.

Emma and Maya played so nicely together.

Maya: "I made such a funny face. Hannah said that the purple thing was a noodle. Isn't that silly?

Brooklyn was never left out of the fun. She loved spinning in the water with Nanny Sara. Big D was so funny with that noodle. He rode it like a horse. I wish I could have gotten a picture when he jumped into the pool with it. That was the best!

Good thing we were the only family in the pool. With all the rafts, boards, noodles and kids, there wasn't a ton of room left for anyone else.

The hot tub was a big hit too.

Both families brought silly bands to trade with each other. Emma and I were trying to separate all of them. We had A LOT!

After dinner, Big D told Maya he would read a book to her. She SO badly wants to learn to read.

Sunday was much like Saturday. After breakfast we went to the beach and played in the sand.

Maya liked that the sand was so soft.

Emma gave Jonah a great piggy back ride.

Big D relaxed in the sand.

Maya tried to bury herself with sand.

After we played on the beach and before we headed in for lunch, we stopped for a kodak moment.

Again, after naps we met up at the pool for some afternoon pool time.
Maya and Em got warmed up in the hot tub. Oh look, there is me in the background; too bad I wasn't able to use the pool or hot tub.

Family fun!

Daddy's favorite place!

Little B swam with daddy.

It wouldn't be right if Maya didn't get special swim time with daddy.

After dinner, while the adults played Yahtzee the kids watched a movie.

Monday morning was the big day....PICTURES! While we waited for Sears to open, the kids had a good time at the mall playground.

Jonah and B in the big blue car.

Brooklyn and Maya in the big red car.

How funny is this...Brooklyn is so little she wasn't even sitting on the seat!

Hey were missed Hannah! Where was she? Oh yeah, she walked down to Starbucks with Auntie Elisa.

Brooklyn crawled through the tunnel.

TA DA!! Here they are....

The grand kids with Grandma Grace and Zayde.

All the cousins together!

The whole gang.

On Tuesday, we just bummed around the condo. We spent most of the day on the beach and at playground.

Brooklyn's favorite was the swing. Thanks Auntie Linda for Brooklyn's ADORABLE sweatshirt; it finally fits her.

Our last visit to the beach. I only put this photo in, to show everyone that I really did make it down on the beach and that I really experienced Florida's sand!

Hopefully next time we go, it will be less eventful. We loved being with our family and we appreciated all the help from everyone who made this trip possible. Now Stewart and I need a vacation....just the two of us!