Vacation: Florida

Our family went on vacation this summer....like all of us. Papa, Mimi, Uncle Matt, Aunt Jami, Rebekkah, Elijah, Uncle Andrew, Daddy, Mommy, Eliana, and Easton! We all loaded up in Papa's truck and Mimi's Van and headed down to Florida!

We have been talking about going to the beach since Christmas! We knew at Thanksgiving that we were going to make this trip - we were going to visit Papa-Great! You two kiddos have never met your Papa-Great, so I am very excited for you guys to meet him!

So, Easton, you are too young to know what's going on - but Eliana - you have been ANTICIPATING this trip - and the closer it got the more excited you became! You asked me EVERY day for a week if we were going to Mimi and Papa's house. So we drew out a little calendar and crossed days off. This helped because you knew you had SEVEN more sleeps before you could go to Mimi's house and then the beach. You would ask every day to see "The list" and you even understood it - because Monday, June 30th, as you were going to bed you told me - I go to sleep ONE more time and then I go to Mimi and Papa's house!!! :)

So, Tuesday, July 1, we headed to Buhler to meet the rest of the family. You and your cousins were SO excited! We loaded up the truck and van and surprisingly had enough room! Everyone said our family brought so much stuff - but I really packed light....it's just with having a baby I needed a few more things! :)
Tuesday night we slept at Mimi and Papa's house....

Then Wednesday, July 2nd, at 5:00 a.m. we loaded up the vehicles with ourselves and headed out. Easton fell right back asleep and so did Elijah. Easton, Elijah, and mommy were in the back seat of the truck, with daddy and Papa in the front seat. Then Uncle Matt and Uncle Andrew were in the front seat of the van, with Mimi and Aunt Jami in the middle, and Bekkah and Eliana in the back. Eliana and Rebekkah did not fall back asleep. So you girls were awake from 5 a.m. until about 11:00. It was CRAZY!
We stopped at Wal-Mart in Oklahoma City, after a few hours of driving. We had to stop because one of the DVD players did not work. We did bathroom break, changed you kiddos out of your jammies, and then we did exercises. We played follow the leader, and then we did stretches and jumping jacks out in the parking lot! :)
When we got back in to the van and truck the BEACH FAIRY had visited and there were PRESENTS in your car seats! The Beach Fairy brought you little magnetic pieces to play out The Very Hungry Caterpillar book! (The Beach Fairy was really your Mimi - we were worried you kids would fight us to get back in to your carseats - so we thought of a way to entice you. And it worked! You guys didn't fight us the first time - but there were other times when we tried to get in the car one or two of you didn't want to - but when you saw the Beach Fairy came you were all excited! Your Mimi was so creative in getting you presents! She wanted to really focus on making it something TO DO. So you had the caterpillar game, and a craft, a nursery rhyme coloring book that she made! It has been awesome!!)
We continued to drive. Then we stopped for lunch (I do not know where). We had packed picnic stuff...mainly because we knew with all the traveling we would not want to stop at a restaurant and expect you kiddos to sit still! So we found a park and we stopped and had a picnic and played at on an awesome playground! It was SO hot though!! :)
Then we got back in the car - again! And we drove. We stopped one other time for bathrooms and gas. and then we made it to our hotel! We stopped at Alexandria, Louisiana, and we made it there at about 6:00 p.m. It was rainy out....which wasn't good because we were going to swim...and the pool was outside. So we went up to our rooms - and in the brief 10 minutes you kids were going crazy...so we decided that it wasn't ACTUALLY raining so we could probably go swim until we saw lightening. So we went out and the water was SO warm! And it didn't rain on us! It was so much fun! You kids, all four of you, love the water and you love jumping in and out of the water! SO much fun! And all 3 of you bigger kids went under at least once....but there was ALWAYS an adult right there to pull you back up - you kids are just too adventurous, we're going to have to really watch you this week! :)
Then we ate pizza by the pool, followed by some more swimming and then it was up to take baths and go to bed!
Your daddy slept in one of the beds with Eliana, and I slept with Easton in another bed. We slept so good! And your daddy and I got more sleep than normal because there was nothing to do once you kiddos fell asleep - normally we have to switch laundry, or do dishes, or pick up. And we weren't at home to do it! :)

We had a fabulous day one....I mean as fabulous as being in a car all day can be! Overall you all traveled well. Easton fell apart the last hour of the day but not bad. Elijah slept, or played, or watched Mickey the whole way. The girls went back and forth on being good - but they also BARELY slept!!
We were ready for day 2 - less driving - and we would reach our destination!

Day 2 of our vacation, Wednesday, July 3rd, we woke up, got ready, and headed down to the hotel lobby for breakfast. It had a great breakfast - Easton ate some muffins - which he LOVED and made a HUGE mess!! Then it was back in the car at 8:00 a.m. for another long day of driving.
Again, everyone traveled pretty well. We stopped for a picnic lunch at a park, and then at least in the truck - both boys slept for most of the afternoon!
We arrived at our Condo at about 4:00 p.m. We took our stuff in then, changed for the beach, and headed out. Our Condo was probably a 3 minute walk from the beach. It was PERFECT! We got to the beach and it was beautiful. There were not a lot of people there (this changed further on in to the weekend, since it was July 4th). Easton wasn't that impressed by the beach  - he for sure wasn't fond of the water - it was too chilly for you :) Eliana, you appeared to maybe like the water at first...but then you weren't sure as the week progressed. But you both LOVED the sand! Eliana, you loved smashing sand castles! :)
Then we went back up to our condo, had dinner, and then hung out and finally went to bed.

Day 3: July 4: On the Fourth of July we woke up and headed down to the beach in the morning. We did not wake you kids up early or anything - so we made it down there about 10 or so. It was a bit more packed - but not too bad. We played in the sand, made castles, and played in the Ocean.
Easton, you fell asleep on the way back from the beach.
After lunch and naps just our family headed back down to the beach for about an hour. That was a lot of fun - really peaceful - we just sat on the edge of the beach, water just coming up and running over our toes. It was wonderful.
Then we headed back up and we went swimming in the pool - while Papa grilled burgers for dinner. You both LOVED the pool! Holy cow! Eliana, we got you a life jacket thing - and with that on you can swim pretty much by yourself! Your confidence soared throughout the trip....which you know is good and bad ;) And Easton, you loved swimming around in your yellow ring thing :)
After dinner and swimming we went and watched some fireworks. The fireworks were far enough away that they weren't very loud - which meant they did not scare you kids. But since it was so late - and we had such a busy day, Eliana, you were being a little ornery (as you get when you're tired).

After the awesome fireworks show we headed back up to the condo and straight to bed - you were both so tired after our long day that you both slept great!! Easton didn't wake up until 3:30! :)

Day 4: July 5th
Mommy started this day off by waking up and working out on the beach at 5:30 a.m. It was nice and calm out there. It was kind of fun to do it, Mimi and Uncle Andrew went with me and we got to watch the sun rise!! This was the day we were headed to see your Great-Papa! I call my grandpa Papa - just like you call your grandpa Papa :) We went bowling first and it was so much fun to Bowl as an entire family!! Easton you thought the BIG balls were cool - Eliana, you bowled for a little bit and then decided you were bored and just wanted to run on the ramp! :) After we bowled we went to see Papa and it was so nice to visit with Him and Sherry. It was great to see them. It was awesome for both of you to meet him! With them living in Florida and it's hard for them to travel, so neither of you had met papa yet. You kiddos lasted a little while and then Daddy and Mimi took you guys outside to play. When we got back from Papa's we drove through and picked up lunch, then we had naps. After naps Aunt Jami and Uncle Matt went on a nice date to eat some good seafood and Daddy and Uncle Andrew went out to have some nice seafood as well. I don't really like seafood so I stayed at the condo with Mimi and papa and you four kiddos and we played games. Then after that you kids went to the beach with Mimi and Papa to build a BIIIG sand castle!! :)

Day 5: July 6th (our last day in Florida)
On this morning we got up and headed down to the beach. We had lots of relaxing fun on the beach. There were a lot less people, since the holiday was over and we had a lot of room to run around. It was so relaxing, we spent 4 1/2 hours on the beach. We built sand castles, smashed sand castles, swam in the ocean, found seashells, took a nap (well, Easton and Papa), and it was just SO enjoyable and peaceful! When we got back from the beach you kiddos took a nap and Daddy and I went and did a little bit of tourist shopping and we found a DELICIOUS ice cream parlor! yummy!! That evening we had a delicious dinner and then we got dressed and headed down to the beach to take "professional" pictures. It was a lot of fun and the pictures I took turned out fairly well! :) After we took pictures we went swimming at our pool one last time before it was officially bed time and time to pack up to head home.

Day 6 and 7: July 7 and 8th
We loaded the car early in the morning. Then we all ate breakfast. Afterwards we loaded up and headed to the Gulfarium Sea Adventure park. It was a lot of fun to see the sea animals and to watch the shows. Afterwards we grabbed lunch and started the long trek back to Kansas. We pretty much did the same as on the way down to Florida. Stopped at parks for meals and breaks and stopped overnight in a hotel. However, we got to the hotel really late this time so we didn't get to swim. The kids all slept on the way there so they were up and ready to play when we pulled in to the hotel at 10:30 that night!! But luckily we did sleep, left the next morning at 8 and made it back to Buhler.

We had the most wonderful vacation!! We can't thank Mimi and Papa enough for planning this vacation for us all!! We are so lucky to have mimi and papa. This trip was a memory for a lifetime! I know the two of you may be too little to truly remember it - but that's why I write this blog so you can read about what a wonderful trip it was! :) Thank you Mimi and Papa for helping us make memories!! We love you!!

The next post will just be pictures from the trip!!

Love you!
Mommy