Trip to "Florida"

Let me begin by saying this: We did not go to Florida.

We, in fact, went to Gulf Shores, Alabama. But Nathan, whose precious teacher last year was from Florida (and thus had Florida Week at school), insisted that we take a beach vacation to Florida.

Thus, Gulf Shores became Florida.

In case you're wondering if taking a beach trip without your husband (working nights--couldn't get off--boo), and with a four year old and a one year old is relaxing, I can assure you (as can the rest of my family), it is not.

Jack screamed the whole way to "Florida" and then the whole way to Virginia. I think we were tempted to pull into Best Buy and spend $119.00 on noise-canceling headphones ("How does she know the exact price?" you're asking yourself. . . ).

But did we have fun?

Oh yes, we did!

We went out to eat (and played Pass Jack Around And See If You Can Keep Him Happy For More Than Sixty Seconds). We stayed up late every night playing Apples to Apples and eating copious amounts of peanut M&Ms. We somehow managed to avoid sunburns all around. And the boys? They were in heaven! They're both little fish, really.

The way it worked out, I actually got to spend some quality one-on-one time with both of my sweet boys. With Nathan, we went to the famous (cliche?) "Shark Store," and picked out some goodies. We also went crab hunting (I'm significantly less terrified of this activity than I was in high school. #perksofbeingaboymom).

And one evening, after Nathan literally fell asleep in the middle of dinner, Jack and I went out on the beach. I wanted to take him out for a peaceful walk, or to play in the sand, or to search for shells. Jack wanted to dive head first into the ocean. He actually did. We both ended up soaking wet--in regular clothes, mind you--with me wrangling him, screaming, the entire walk back to the beach house. But, alas, the pictures look really peaceful, don't they?

On the way back to Virginia, amidst the screaming and wailing and gnashing of tee--okay you get the point--Nathan said, "Mom, thanks so much for taking us to Florida." He was covered in his milkshake that he'd spilled, and I was about to rip my ears off, but I smiled back at him and said, "You're welcome, sugar."

My momma always tells me, "Even though they're little, they'll still remember. You're planting seeds of love and adventure, and those are character building."

Okay, momma, you're usually right about everything. Really, though.

So, yay for our trip to Florida! While I shudder at the thought of having a one year old near any body of water ever again, we're taking a family vacation to Cape Cod in less than a month. :)

Thanks for the memories, Florida. :)