Highlights:
We rode the shuttle from the parking lot to the airport. It was maybe 2 1/2 minutes of BLISS for the children who enjoyed the rebellious freedom of not being buckled. They kept questioning us "Are you sure we don't have to be bucked? Really???" Also on the shuttle was a group of four women who were off on a girl's weekend. One of them pulled out a package of Thanks A Lot Girl Scout cookies. These are Luke's favorite kind which he was sure to let everyone know. "MOMMY! Doze are my favowite cookies!!!!!!!" She kindly offered one to each kid. We seriously considered just calling it a day, they were so amazed by the first 15 minutes.
Outside of juggling the multiple car seats, security was a breeze. By some miracle I had the foresight to pack lunches so we passed the time with a little brown-bag and some very enthusiastic plane watching.
The kids were very good on the flight down. Kiera hit her nap-time wall and was losing steam, and kept hopping across the aisle from Matt to me and back. Which was fine. Until she simply gave up and laid down in the middle of the aisle. Funny, but inconvenient. She finally fell asleep while we were descending, but otherwise everyone stayed occupied and mostly happy.
We looked like a pack of homeless people pushing every worldly possession we had on one of those luggage carts, stacked to the ceiling with car seats. But otherwise we managed to find our bags, get our car, and get out of there in really good time, leaving us a chance to zip over the bridge and to the island in time for dinner.
Kiera was a great little traveler for almost all of the trip. She's so happy and as long as there's a cup of milk at the ready she is on board for almost anything. We didn't even bring a stroller which had a chance of being really stupid but turned out just fine. The humidity just bounced up her curly curls right up which I adored. She loved digging in the sand and smashing our sandcastles, but was very leery of getting her toes wet in the ocean. That trepidation did not translate to the pool though. She would find her swimsuit and drag it out demanding 'schwim shoot' and making it clear she was ready to go. She has almost no fear of the pool water, and would just lean right in, assuming someone was there to catch her. I loved having her stand on the lip of the pool doing her jump-in countdown: "one...two...fee...foh...five...six...seben...eight...nine...seben...eight...................NINE!" She was almost never without her precious shub-o for splashing and digging. I kept that perfect alabaster skin uber covered and managed to bring her back as milky as when she got there.
Joining the Florida retirees, Luke fell in love with shuffleboard. Or rather, shuffobow'd. He also enjoyed getting smacked in the face by salty waves and chasing unsuspecting feathered friends along the beach. He and GG took a couple walks with Grandma and Grandpa to get ice cream which was about the best thing of his life. We took a few little bike rides too and he loved that. He was in the water a lot but stayed close to the steps and never without his life jacket. For as much of a wild man as he can be, he has a thread of cautiousness and fear in unfamiliar settings. Not a bad thing; but so counter to the other 95% that it catches me off guard sometimes. However in his ever-determined way he did muster up the courage to jump off the steps all the way under the water which was great. He also loved toting around the Go Pro, including of course stuffing it in his new alligator's mouth for Croc Cam.
GG was a complete fish the entire trip. If she didn't spend 8 hours a day in the water I'd be surprised. She was bold enough to go sans life jacket and dive down to retrieve toys, and jump into the deep end and swim to the side. Big strides for that one. I put probably dozens and dozens of sunscreen applications but despite that she did get a little pink under her eyes and across her shoulders. Taking her goggles on and off a thousand times probably didn't help. Note to self: zinc stick. But her skin recovered quickly and she turned into a brown baby overnight. Dang that girl and her tan-ability. Dang her. I also suddenly found this incredibly grown up girl whose stems are sprouting overnight. Just. So. Big. (until she and Luke collectively crashed into the Vacation Wall Of Done around day four or five, at which point they both turned into whiny little babies who Matt and I vowed to leave on the tarmac.)
It was a great combination to travel with the grandparents but have separate spaces. We spent a lot of time all together and a lot of time just the five of us ("just"), including a little day trip to Captiva. The kids were told they could get one thing for a souvenir which caused joy and hysteria throughout the land. Unwisely we did not put a price limit on said souvenir. GG found a little make up bag that she "had to have". It was a Lily Pulitzer. Do I own any Lily Pulitzer? No. But now my first grader does (whaddareyagonnado? The girl's got taste). Lukas chose a furry green pig that walks and oinks. His name is Bacon Bits. This acquisition led to a visit to Sanibel's finest hardware store for batteries. Kiera could not be convinced to get anything. We also went to the famed Bubble Room for lunch (famed both for the eclectic decor and as being the place where Karl, Kathy, and my Mom got super sick last time in FL). Bubble Room's menu has two notable items: one, the she-crab soup. Yes please may I have another. Two, the eNORmous slices of cake. It's more like a cement brick-sized wedge. There was only one choice which did not have nuts - always so relieved to hear little Lukie ask - which we got to go. Destination: seaside after dinner with four forks and our iPhones, loaded and ready to play Cake By The Ocean while eating cake, by the ocean. The kids found this hilarious and it was probably the cutest little moment of our trip.
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| gg at about 18 months |
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| kiera same age |
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| matt embarks on an emergency rum run |
