Vacation Tid Bits

A couple of weeks ago my sweet mom and dad invited all of us to go down to Florida with them. At first we weren't sure we could take them up on their offer, but eventually the allure of the beach got the better of us, and we gratefully agreed to go. I've tried writing about this trip several times already, but writing about the first day alone was as long as a normal post! So, since I'm sure I'm the only one who would want to read the long winded version of my trip, I have it tucked away in my drafts, and in the meantime I thought I'd share some highlights from our vacation this past week.

1. Our van broke down about halfway to Florida. We had taken a lunch break in Alabama, and when we loaded back up our air conditioning wasn't working. We didn't figure it was that big of a deal, but by the time we got to Pensacola our van was smoking. Erik and his dad assesed the problem over the phone, and while I won't pretend to know anything about cars, I heard the words "shred" and "engine" in the same sentence, never a good sign. Erik and I were so upset that first night, I don't think either of us slept that whole night. We just prayed for God to take care of the situation. The next morning when Erik started calling repair shops, things did not look too promising. The price to fix our van was outrageous, and to top it off no one was going to be able to get it fixed for another week. Amazingly enough, my dad knew someone in Pensacola who owned a car repair shop. He was able to get us in that day, and had it fixed by noon the next day. While it was still very expensive, it was much cheaper than we had originally been told.

2. The same day our van broke down, we saw on the news that the beaches were now closed because of the oil spill. However the next day we found a bay in Pensacola that was still open, and shuttled people back and forth from the hotel to the beach. Since we knew Jack would probably be scared, he stayed behind with my mom and I while Erik and Dad took Anna and Lily. Anna loved the water, and in no time at all was becoming a bit too daring!

3. By Friday our van was fixed, and my parents had to head over to Navarre. Originally, the five of us were just going to hang out in Pensacola, but my mom and dad generously offered to put us up in the hotel they were staying at. This hotel just happened to be a five minute drive away from the beach, and this beach was still open! With the stress over our van done,we were finally able to relax and enjoy ourselves. The kids loved the ocean. Well, Jack loved playing in the sand and having his feet splashed by waves. Dad, Erik, and I took turns taking Anna out in the water, and she laughed harder than I had ever heard her laugh out there. My sweet Mom stayed up on shore with Lily and kept any eye on Jack. Poor Lily got used to sleeping under a beach umbrella, lathered in sunscreen, with a hat protecting her from the sun.

4. Even though I'm glad to be home with my kids in their own rooms again, I really loved waking up in the mornings and snuggling in bed watching cartoons with them. The kids did awesome sleeping, and didn't even wake up when Lily got up for her middle of the night feeding.

5. Taking a walk on a Pier is a very romantic date!

6. While I was taking a shower, and thought everyone else was still asleep one morning, Anna somehow got ahold of Pepto Bismol. Unfortunately, the cap must not have been on securely(at least I hope she hasn't figured out child proof caps!) and finger painted her bed with bright pink pepto bismol. Her blankets are still stained bright pink.

7. We made it home safe, and our van hasn't given us any more trouble. Jack is still talking about the beach, and we all have tans(I'll use that term loosely for myself and Anna who unfortunately inherited my easily burnt complexion.) Thanks for a great vacation, Mom and Dad!