The Sunshine State

What a long and wonderful week it has been....

Last Saturday morning we finished packing up the car, buckled the kids in and started a very long journey south to Port St. Lucie to see my parents. This is the first vacation we have really taken in a long time. There was definitely some excitement buzzing about the car as we started down the road. Seeing Kay Kay and Bampa, meeting Mickey Mouse, swimming and playing some golf were all on the horizon. The ride was long, but the boys did well. We stopped a few times to let them stretch their legs and get some fresh air. We made good time and pulled into Greenbrier Circle after about 11 hours of driving.

Halfway to FL. We are all getting a little silly. 

The week is kind of a blur since all good things seem to go by so fast. It was a perfect mix of planned and busy days with slow paced relaxing days. We swam at the pool at The Island Club and at my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Russ's pool (just across the pond in our backyard).

Practicing our backstroke.

Snoozing poolside

Splash, Splash, Splash!

We headed to the beach in Fort Pierce for the morning and played in the waves and the sand. We were there just long enough for Jack to get knocked over by some waves but get up laughing and Will to eat enough sand for 3 "sandwiches". We ended the day with another day at the pool.

Fearless in the water-good thing it was warm.

Sand baby

A lucky feather

Yum...a sandy shovel!

Tom dusted off his clubs and played a few rounds of golf. More importantly his blackberry was OFF and he was really able to unwind from a busy few weeks at work.

We took many walks around Greenbrier Circle, seeing neighbors and friends, meeting new dogs and collecting pine cones. The weather was perfect. 70's-80's, sunny with big, fluffy clouds that gave you a little relief from the hot sun-just when it seemed needed.

The house we stayed in sat on the edge of a little pond. On the other side of the pond was the back of Kathy and Russ's house. It had a large slider that opened up to a small lanai. A perfect spot for a morning cup of coffee or to relax after dinner. The lanai allowed us to have the large slider open all day, let the breeze through the house and keep the bugs out. Since there was a small ceiling overhead it stayed nice and shaded during the day and was the perfect place for the boys to play with their toy cars. Will mastered climbing up and down the small step that was the threshold between the house and the lanai.

Up and down the step.

Will and Kay Kay

3 Little monkeys

Will and Bampa

We grilled out (on a charcoal grill that had it's own challenges attached ;)), we ordered out, we sat and watched some tv at night with all the windows open and a gentle breeze keeping us cool, but not cold. Kay Kay and Bampa passed out many kisses and hugs. Jack and Bampa were reunited for many adventures-taking Annie for walks ("Come on, girl" Jack would call to her as he tapped his leg, just like Bampa.), chasing geckos, playing with bubbles on the driveway, playing cars on the Lanai, taking on underwater "Octonaut" adventures in the pool. Kay Kay helped me to navigate the pool and the beach with the two little ones. I certainly couldn't have done it without her! We quickly realized how much work it is to get down and  onto the beach and then how short the life of a beach day has become. Once Will was too sandy and the sun was getting too hot or a nap was on the horizon we had to pack back up and head home.

I escaped for a little pedicure touch up and even got my hair colored and cut one day. I felt like I was cheating on my favorite RI hair dresser, Nicole, but I knew this was a perfect opportunity to take a chance on someone else (with a personal recommendation-the hair dresser is my Aunt's). I am happy with the results and I know Kay Kay enjoyed her one on one time with Jack while Will took his nap.

It was a week of two's. Will took his first steps alone. Two here, Two there, while many smiling faces looked on cheering for him and egging him on to do more. He cut two teeth (the 2 front top ones to be exact).

Even though there were a few bumps along the way, we truly enjoyed our trip. The sunshine state delivered! We hope that we brought our own kind of sunshine to FL too. The kind that is made out of little baby giggles and belly laughs, active imaginations and finding the simplest things to be amazing (Jack turned a dried piece of palm into a rope and a tail and a sword. He took a very long pine needle that had 2 parts and called it his bug catcher). We know that there are some people we visited that needed that kind of sunshine to shine down on them.

As we pulled out of the PGA Village one last time on Saturday, I had such a sad feeling in my heart. I guess that means it was a good week. I know that we couldn't have stayed forever. I know that it is good to get back home, sleep in your own bed and get back to your own routine. I think that leaving just made me realize HOW much I miss my mom and being with her everyday-chatting, going on adventures with the kids, having many, many laughs. This trip was the last one on my list for now. It had been one of the dates on the calendar that we were counting down to. As of now, we don't have another trip planned to see any of our parents and I think that is where the sadness in my heart comes from. I know we will see them soon and it will be wonderful and at the end I will be sad again. This is all still part of us moving away. I am still adjusting.

Last night in FL. Jack didn't feel up to joining in. 

So last night, we pulled into our driveway, took out two kids who were antsy and tired and sick of being strapped in. We unloaded the car and started getting settled back into our life here in SC. In the week since we left, the weather has really started changing and the low for the week is supposed to be 75! The grass in our backyard is growing like crazy and we are buying a lawn mower this week to tackle it.

So that is a quick overview of our trip....


I left out one part-we took Jack on a special day trip to Disney. I will write about that separately.

Have a good week!