Spring Break in Florida

The kids and I returned last night from our Spring Break in Florida. It was so nice to see the cousins get together. Unfortunately they don't get to see each other often since we live so far away. We chose the right week to go because the weather was beautiful most of the days. Unfortunately the water was still very cold but the kids enjoyed it anyway. We stayed at Melissa's home this time and she tried hard to make us feel at home. I am sure it wasn't easy having so many extra people in her home especially when Josh works nights and needs to sleep during the day. It is nice that Missy and my mom live on the same street and we can walk between the houses. My mom worked hard making meals for us every night. I am surprised I only gained 2 or 3 pounds during that 10 days. I don't usually eat such big meals and big desserts each night. Unfortunately, now I have to go back to doing all the cooking and cleaning.

The first night, we went to Billy's house for swimming (he heated the pool) and pizza. It was so nice to see his family since most of my kids haven't seen them for years. Zach was the only one that saw them last year at Poppie's funeral. Billy and Kristen spent a lot of time with us during our stay which I really appreciate since I know they are extremely busy. Erin got to have a couple sleepovers with Gabriella. That was a real treat since we don't do sleepovers. But we made an exception for cousins. Erin spent every night except one at Grandmas. I think she enjoyed helping Nonnie and Grandma in the kitchen and getting away from all the boys at Missy's house.

Tuesday we went to the Venice Beach and had some pictures taken. The kids didn't cooperate too well but they had fun looking for sharks teeth on the beach. Wednesday we went boating in Venice. I loved the boat ride because it was nice and slow. The kids got to play on a small island for a long time too. I miss not living close to a beach.

We went to the mall and Eric and Erin saw Alice and Wonderland. Nathan wanted to see it and when I told him that Eric said it would be too scary, he responded with, "Eric thinks Dora is scary!" He was trying to prove a point to me that Eric isn't a good judge of scariness. I didn't give in. Friday was pretty yucky weather and I don't even remember what we did that day.

Saturday we were supposed to go boating, but couldn't because of a small craft advisory. So we went to Ponce de Leon park and had a bbq with the whole family (minus Charlie, Margareth, and Mario) instead. The kids enjoyed running around the park even though it was pretty windy. Here is a picture of all 8 cousins.

On Sunday, we went to church and then took the kids to a little park to play. Then we had a big dinner together and celebrated Nonnie's 90th birthday early since we won't be there on her real birthday, March 20. Plane tickets were way to expensive to fly back any later than March 17.

On Monday, we went to Englewood Beach. Zachary has been looking forward to a long beach walk with Grandma. That was his favorite part of San Diego 6 months ago. So they walked over 2 miles collecting shells while Nonnie and I watched Nathan and Justin play at the beach. They played so nicely together. We found that 2 get along a lot better than 3. That statement that three is a crowd is definitely true when it comes to Nathan, Zach, and Justin.

On Tuesday, my Aunt Carol flew in. Billy took the kids, Nonnie, Carol, Grandma, and I back to Venice beach for a boat ride and tubing. Eric, Erin, and Zachary enjoyed the tubing. Nathan begged for Erin and Zachary to get off of it. He was very nervous for them. He never mentioned being scared for Eric. I found that kind of funny. Billy was a good sport and took the kids boating even though it was windy and cold. The kids had a great time even though they were thrown into very cold water.

On Wednesday, we endured 12 hours of travel time to get back to Tucson. All the flights went well and the kids were pretty good. It was nice to crawl into bed last night after rushing to get Buzz from the kennel, unpacking, paying bills, going through the mail, and waiting for Mario's call. I think I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow.

We appreciate all the sacrifices everyone made to make our visit enjoyable.