Finally in Florida! It was a long drive. It was totally worth it don't get me wrong. But the drive down was LONG! We had stopped about 4 times in the first 6 hours and after being away from home for 9 hours we weren't even half way through Ohio. On one stop Laney busted her flip flops so we went into Meijer to pick up some new ones. While in Meijer, Evie blew out a diaper all over her clothes and dripping down Patrick's arm. She also spit up all over my shoulder this same stop. So Patrick had to find me a new shirt in the tightly packed van. We were definitely re thinking our decision to make the trip with all three kids at that point. Patrick wanted to drop me and Evie off at an airport to find a flight in desperation, for real! But, after that, Evie slept for 8 hours straight and Carson and Laney passed out too...and suddenly we were almost there! 23 hours after we left home...whew...we were heading out to the beach and we had forgotten all about the long car ride! Well, almost forgotten.
Laney had to pose wearing the romper that Grandma got her...if only we could all look that cute in a romper!
Patrick's Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mike graciously let us stay at their gorgeous oceanfront home, again! We went with the same plan as last year, just get here, and stay put! We never left the resort except to go to the grocery store up the street. Every day we hit the pool and the beach and sometimes went back two or three times. The kids don't need anything else when we go there....they just love playing in the sand endlessly and they could swim every day of the year if they could! Carson and Laney have been talking about going back to Florida ever since our trip last year, and this years trip did not disappoint!
Not a bad view at all...at all!
Aunt Sarah flew down to hang out with us for a couple days on our trip. The kids had a blast with her in the pool! It was nice to have an extra set of hands too! Sarah and I even got to lay out for an hour or so on my birthday and have a yummy cocktail too!
Evie was a champ in Florida. She took some naps at the pool and enjoyed walking with us on the beach. She also had no problem hanging out in the beautiful condo and enjoying the view from the patio.
Carson and Laney were best friends on our trip. Carson would give Laney piggy back rides through the pool and he had her jumping out to him too. He liked making sure she could swim back to the edge. He even played some make believe with some of her toys in the condo, which he rarely does. Don't worry though, the minute we pulled back into our driveway at home they were back to their usual bickering.
Laney really surprised us with her swimming this year! She was able to swim 10-15 feet under water back and forth from the wall to one of us. She was really determined to swim with Carson. As long as we were in the pool or sitting on the side, she was able to practice swimming on her own and she did great! It's so fun to see the things she can do when she really gets motivated.
Even in the heat of the day, Carson loved relaxing in the hot tub. He'd just go back and forth from the pool to the hot tub all day. He wears his goggles in the pool and loves to just swim to the bottom and hang out down there. He doesn't ever use swimmies or noodles anymore. He's a fish!
Getting ready to head out to the beach!
We had to do a little photo shoot when Evie wore the outfit Aunt Sarah got her!
The kids LOVED the ocean this year! Last year Laney was afraid of the waves and Carson pretty much stuck to playing on the beach as well. This year, Carson wanted to stand way out there and let the waves knock him down over and over. You could just tell he felt so free out there.
Laney was always trying to catch fish with her net :-) And one day she told me, "Mom, I keep looking but I just can't find the tide." Oh Laney.
All three looking and smiling, no way!
Laney is not a fan of having sunscreen put on her face, she only let her brother put it on for her. Hence all the extra sunscreen on her face!
Evie turned two months old on our trip. And wore her first swimsuit! She's smiling and talking a lot more and we just can't get enough! Laney turned one month old the first time we went to Palm Coast so Evie brought back lots of memories of Laney for me. Carson was just 2 the first time we went there! We were watching videos of him shaking as he jumped into the pool to Patrick way back then...and now he's swimming like a pro and catching Laney! What a difference 4 years makes!
The kids were so excited to have Evie dip her legs in the pool.
Carson's favorite thing to do: have Dad throw him across the pool!
A little boy came by to show the kids the real live star fish he had found. Very cool!
Carson spent hours digging this huge hole. When the waves started making their way up to the hole, he decided it would be wise to dig a small hole out from one of the sides leading to the trench that went back into the ocean. Cool idea...but it didn't keep the hole from disappearing the next day like he was hoping. Hours spent on this, and I still had to drag him in when it was time!
The kids loved watching all the fishermen fishing off the beach. This man and his son were so kind to let the kids help them out. They let them fish with them and when they caught small fish they'd let them throw the fish back in. Laney was helping them out with her net of course :-) They kept running to get more shrimp for the lines from their tackle box whenver they needed more bait. It was a highlight for Carson and Laney for sure.
That's a shrimp in Laney's hand! She wanted to know if we could cook it up and eat it!
There's a television in one of the bedrooms and the kids just think it's the coolest thing ever to get to watch tv in there before bed.
All tuckered out after a day of fun in the sun...and resting up for more of the same tomorrow!
Grandma gave the kids each a kite to use on the beach. Carson was all about it. Every time he got his kite up in the air he'd reel it back in, just to do it all over again because he said that was the most fun part. Laney liked flying the kite but she got tired after a while.
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Popsicle's on the porch.
On our way back home we planned a pit stop in Charlotte to see our friends Megan, Ricky, and Cali. We have a soft spot for that Charlotte area, it's always nice to stop in and see all the changes going on! We pointed out to Carson and Laney that they were both born in the hospital there as we drove through the city.
These two girls are just months apart...I'm sure they'd be the best of friends if we still lived there. We miss you guys!
The stop was perfect timing for our driving home adventure. The kids got to run around and eat dinner and Evie stayed awake for the 5 hours we were there. We made it home from Charlotte in 11 and 1/2 hours with only one 10 minute stop. The kids never even got out of the car. There's the road trippers we were looking for! We pulled in to our driveway at 7:30am just in time to get Carson breakfast and put him on the bus for school! What a fun trip. People thought we were crazy making this trip with an infant, but we would do it ten times over again. Thank you so much Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mike! We have made so many memories in Palm Coast and we are so grateful!
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