Vacation, Part III

After our week of sand (and I am STILL finding sand in all the crevices of our house and car), we hopped in the car for a short four hour trip to Florida to spend time with my side of the family. It was a nice way to relax and the kids were provided with endless entertainment (read: my parents have a pool). I think they spent most days in their pajamas and/or bathing suits and it was not uncommon to declare a swim in the pool as the requisite bath for the day. We got to consume a lot of shave ice and even made it down to the beach again. Mostly, it was a time to relax and unwind while not feeling rushed or hurried to get anything done. Many times I feel like I don't get to relax on vacation because I'm trying to cram so much "stuff" into a 6 or 7 day period. This trip was a nice respite from all of that. We had no plans and just decided what to do when the moment was upon us.

Well, I guess I can't say we had no plans. We did have a very big day in the works once we got to sunny Florida. We had promised the kids that we would head down to Orlando one day to Sea World to meet Shamu and his pals. I know, a Floridian should know better than to take her children to an Orlando theme park in the dead of summer ... but I gave in. We just went in knowing that we would sweat and it would be crowded.

The kids really did enjoy the park. It helped that we had a stroller for each of them and that they got several breaks when they sat down to watch the shows. There were also several exhibits that were inside, which gave me some time to catch up with my good friend A.C. We also chose to eat at an indoors restaurant, which I think really helped as well. It was the only part of the day where everyone's faces weren't flushed and red!

I didn't get an opportunity to take many pictures with all the gear and children we were juggling, but here are the ones we managed to get.

Waiting for Shamu to get jumpin'

He (she??) did not disappoint.

The best alternative to air conditioning ...

The kids made it until about 4:00 when you could start to see the exhaustion setting in. Luke passed out sitting straight up in his stroller and didn't even wake up when I took him into the bathroom to change him. It had been so long since I had changed a sleeping baby that I forgot the golden rule of sleeping baby diaper changing ... beware of upward shooting streams! Seriously. I thought I had been peed on during a diaper change for the last time over a year ago, but I guess Luke wanted to be sure to baptize me one last time. I guess it's sort of his duty as the last baby and all. So if I wasn't ready to leave before changing the diaper, I was definitely ready once I was nice and soaked with urine.

After Sea World, it was more of the same at Nonni and Grandad's house until we had to head home. I was ready to be back in my own house after 3 weeks, but definitely NOT ready to end vacation. I'm so thankful that both Matt and I have great families that love us and our children enough to take time out of their lives to make lasting memories with us. Thanks for a great month of vacation everyone!