Our Winter Florida Trip

As usual, we packed a years worth of memories in our short, 4-week vacation to Florida this winter! However, between my camera being broken, my camera-phone taking fuzzy pictures, and my laptop losing its battery- I have been slow updating the blog. It seems my ideal spot in the house where my creativity flows......is on the couch! Not sitting at a desk where my laptop is most cooperative while plugged in.

It was a great flight down to FL since we were all able to fly together. Of course, it goes without saying that Levi was a complete terror on the flight, but that was to be expected! Nothing a little benadryl couldn't help with on the flight back home ; ).

Felix ran a camp in Orlando, and I brought the kids to visit with our friends in Gainesville and then meet up with Felix, Grandma, and our Aunts & cousins in Orlando. My friend Catherine & I brought the kids to the museum in Gainesville, right across the street from the rec center where I used to work when I was in college, and yet- I somehow never even knew about this museum. It was a great place to bring the kids, they had a blast running around playing together without even skipping a beat. I also had a chance to meet up with my friend Gina, and we spoiled ourselves by hiring 2 babysitters to watch our 5 children for an hour while we hung out with a nice hot cup of Starbucks. Talk about being a spoiled little lady!!!But, I absolutely love visiting with my friends. We have known each other basically out entire lives, and now as adults, it is like having another sister- it is pretty awesome to just sit together in the backyard chatting away, watching our kids play. I am so very, very lucky.

We then went to Grandma's house to visit for a few days. Emma & Levi love all the attention and playtime they get when we visit! We spent the morning running around in a great park just down the street before heading back for a quick nap. As we were walking back to the car we saw the ducks playing in the water- too bad we didn't have any bread to feed them!

Emma carrying her & Levi's water bottles in the Florida heat!

We had a crazy night out at Dave & Buster's with everyone! Little Emma loved playing air hockey with Alexsa- it is one of her favorite games at our bouncy house place by our house. And we had trouble keeping Levi away from the basketball games. We took a quick break to sit down for a nice dinner before heading out for some more games and cashing in our tickets for a fun prize!

The next morning we opened presents before leaving. Celeste hand-made a beautiful butterfly mask for Emma and a pirate mask for Levi- it was awesome. We have some very talented cousins!!
After Orlando, we went back to West Palm and 1st thing in the morning, went out for a quick breakfast while my parents were still sleeping. And as we got our food, Emma vomited all over her plate. So we left.
And my poor little girl was sick for the rest of the day, but she was such a trooper! After 24 hours she was fine, and we drove south to visit the Altomari's on Christmas day while Felix was starting his camp in Miami. We left early because I, apparently, had whatever bug Emma did. And after a rough night, I got a call the next morning from Felix. He had the same night I did. Somehow, Levi thankfully didn't get it, but the point is- the week between Christmas & New Years pretty much stunk for us!! Thank goodness I was home with my parents, who without even a question- handled everything from the moment the kids woke up in the morning until they went to bed at night.

New Years Eve was a big celebration this year. We celebrated Roger's birthday AND little Eli's birthday, so we had a great time. And Felix & I even played wii for the first time. It was interesting to learn we have some sore losers in the family!!

After New Years, Felix & I took advantage of all the extra adult supervision and snuck away for a night all to ourselves. I was most looking forward to waking up on my own in the morning with nothing to do- and spending quality time with Felix, of course. This was the first time we were EVER away from both kids together. I tried so hard to stay in bed and sleep late that morning.....but I couldn't do it! We had a nice relaxing time and enjoyed being together with nothing to do. Thanks mom & dad! And, yet- it was pretty nice when we got home once the kids were in bed, and Emma came out of her room, saw me, gave me a big hug and started crying. Oh, the love!

The big highlight of the trip was our 4-night cruise we took with 24 family members to celebrate Grandaddy's 90th birthday. Amazing that we (mom, our cruise director) pulled it off and we all had a pretty nice time! It took us a day to really get into the swing of things having 2 kids on the boat, but we eventually figured it out and had fun. I was most surprised by the fact that we were actually able to coordinate and meet-up with everyone for the majority of the time. It was surprisingly relaxing, and it was great to just sit and chat with the family. We had an interior room with no windows, which worked to our advantage since the kids slept in very late in the mornings!h Emma even slept on a top bunk-bed which she was very excited about, and Levi slept like an angel (after the 1st night) in his crib.We had a great time relaxing on the deck, enjoying meals with everyone, watching shows, and walking around the Keys & Cozumel a bit.

Strolling along Key West- our boat in the back.



Fat Tuesday's. Somehow, this visit to Key West with my two children in tow was very different than my New Years celebrations here during my college years!



swinging from the tree vines

The boat had a nice little enclosed area for kids with this little playhouse and a wading pool. It was too cold to go in the pool, but the kids had fun playing- until Levi slipped off the ledge and got a fat lip. Oops!

On the 2nd day, Felix stayed in our room with Levi during naptime while I brought Emma around the boat to check out the scenery. We came across the free babysitting room, and Emma ASKED to go in and play. Of course, I was more than happy to let her play in there! After I dropped her off, I hightailed it to the top deck, grabbed a lounge chair, and read my book for a nice relaxing hour. Wow! I certainly felt spoiled!!!

Formal night on the cruise. Emma was so excited to wear her new dress. Pink all over with black polka-dots. She was waiting to wear that dress for weeks. She even told her preschool teachers about the dress before we flew to Florida.

Unfortunately, both kids somehow came down with a fever on the boat. Luckily, we didn't really have anything to do except lounge around, so they were able to rest and enjoy themselves as much as they could. And sweet sleepy babies are so snuggly!!!!

Levi getting some fresh air in Cozumel while trying to fight off his fever

The Mercado's!

The gator got Gavin!!!

And of course, we had a great celebration song that Mom wrote for everyone to sing and honor Grandaddy for his 90th birthday!

Saba and his great-grandkids (Eli is missing....)

After our celebration song, we all went to play a game of TV trivia, followed by family trivia. Our team was picked to compete on stage- Murray's Misfits! Joel, Roger, Dad & Felix. And we won! Some might say the win was just a 'slap in the face'..... hahahahahaha.

The men, focused!

The cheering squad!

The winners with their trophies!

Eli & Levi watching the water

It was very windy on the boat! We went all the way to the top to attempt a game of mini-golf. Emma tried one putt and cried to go downstairs before getting blown over. And Steph auditioned for the titanic.

It was a great trip filled with wonderful, wonderful, memories. Happy Birthday Grandaddy, we love you!
Wow. I'm exhausted just thinking about the trip! After the cruise, we were able to make a quick day-trip back to Miami to visit with a few friends. It is so nice to see our friends, and it is especially great to watch my kids love and play with them too, just like they were family. We are lucky lucky lucky. Well- not so lucky when we hit traffic on the way home and Levi screamed for an entire hour.......

And we ended the trip with a visit to Sugar Sand Park with Jackie, which was super cool and totally exceeded our expectations for a playground/park! The kids ran around the gigantic "fort", played in the sandbox, raced jaguars, and for a fun surprise- played in their little water spray playground! Followed by a carousel ride, picnic lunch, and playtime in their indoor science explorer room. Even I was having a blast!!!

So, all in all, it was a fantastic trip. I cannot believe how much we packed into the 4-weeks, how well the kids slept while we were there, great times playing with our cousins and family and friends, and lots of different and new experiences!

I think what makes the trip seem even better, is the fact that our return home was a very smooth transition back into our schedule. I made it a priority to have the house sparkling clean before we left, so we arrived home to a clean and spotless house. I also made sure to have our schedule planned, in addition to our weekly menu and a grocery list. So, we were up and running the day after we arrived, and that helps make things much smoother! It also was a nice welcome to come home to a sun-filled sky (freezing, but sunny!) with green grass in the yard and not a drop of snow. Ahhhhh, so very, very nice : )