Vacay 2013 - Part 1

Our summer vacation spot this year was the Clearwater/Tampa area.  We opted to buy some Busch Gardens passes and try it out this year.

One unfortunate event that happened before we left the house was Jim's cell phone belt clip broke.  Jim without a phone clip = unhappy man = difficult coexistence for us all.  The Verizon store, the ReTech store and Wal-Mart in Ocala left us with nothing.  At least not the one he was looking for, so when we arrived in Tampa we stopped by a Target.

Here, the children are entertaining themselves in the electronic aisle while daddy looks for a suitable clip.  Now that I think about it, I don't think they've ever tried on "real" headphones and listened to music before.

Our first stop, after the hotel and settling in and finding a clip and supper, was Clearwater beach.  It was voted "Florida's best beach town" and boasts sugary white sand beaches.  Beautiful, it was.  What we failed to plan for was one road in and out of the area on top of rush hour.  Oh well, we showed up a little later than we expected, but they got in some good sand and water time and a show by Aaron Bonk.

Reminiscing about Nathan when he was 22 months old in St. Augustine.

 

Brandon 26 months old.

 

 

Thus begins a series of pictures of me on the beach.

 

Don't you just love the attention to detail (I say sarcastically).

 

What a great place to practice your cartwheels!  Much better than the living room.

 

Jim saying, "I love the beach."  (again, said sarcastically)  Must explain why he was aiming for the shots of my rear end the entire time.

Shoveling/slinging sand.

 

Pouring water on mommy's leg is fun.

 

Her grand creation in the sand.

 

Here's Aaron Bonk, the "Object Manipulation Specialist" that put on a juggling/variety show on the boardwalk as we were leaving.  Nathan was enthralled and we made sure to thoroughly explain to him that balancing swords or knives on his forehead or swinging around fire-laced whips were NOT going to happen in our house.  No matter how much he practiced.

Last minute Father's Day getaway

Jim very casually mentioned something the Friday evening before Father's Day, about going to St. Augustine for the weekend. I've learned that the casual part of his "mentioning" is really and truly his way of trying to let me know he's got something in mind that he'd really like to do, although it doesn't come across as a strong desire. You see, this is bad because I'm a "Here's Your Sign" kinda gal. I don't get innuendo, or beating around the bush. I've gotta have black and white, just come right out and say it because my nearsightedness doesn't allow me to read in between the lines you're holding up 20 feet away.

Another version of him being so "forthright" is when he will ask, "What were you planning on accomplishing this weekend?"

Translation: I'm going to ask you what you were planning on doing to feel you out and then casually mention what I was hoping to do myself just to see if you'd be cooperative enough and know that I won't be able to watch the kids very much.

I'm just now figuring this out and it will be 10 years this August, and I've known him for 13 years. That's how much of a learning curve I'm dealing with people.

So, I've learned to cast the lure back into his waters and search out more information. Turns out, he was serious about going to St. Augustine, staying the night and celebrating Father's Day there. I figured this out Saturday morning.

The good-deal-search machine kicked into high gear. I banned children from the office so I could check out all the websites and make all the phone calls I needed to find the best deal. The room was booked at 9am, we planned to be packed and out the door by 11, didn't make it until 12, but we were on our way.

It might have taken so long to pack because there was a feeding in the middle of all the packing and we have a 2 year old that likes to unpack quicker than I can pack. We also have a 5 year old that is determined to ask every question under the sun and bottom line is this: my brain doesn't function well with distractions. It should have been the part of the test I failed when I applied to become a mommy. I'm pretty sure I packed each bag 3-4 times and went over the contents in my mind about a dozen times each.

We made a quick stop by McDonald's, and ate it in the car on the way there.

There's about 1/2 hour of wooded area that's pretty boring right out of town, so out came the camera and some silliness.
It's hard to get some z's with two older siblings flanking him.
I love this view.
Thinking about life, I'm sure.
Trying to avoid thinking about life for the weekend.
Thinking about heavy equipment.
Thinking about what outfit she's going to change into next.
Both of them took quick naps and by the time we got to the "helltel" (as Katherine used to call them), both kiddos were raring to go swimming. It was still nap time and soon to be feeding time for little guy, so I stayed back in the room.
That evening, we made a trip to our favorite place to eat, The Columbia, and stopped for some ice cream also. Thankfully, it doesn't get dark until later so we enjoyed some walking along the beach.Happy Father's Day Jim. You are the hardest working man I know, and you do it all for us. You show your love for us every day with your big hugs, zerbert kisses, loud exclamations, calm demeanor and trips to work everyday. We are so blessed to be able to call you Daddy and Husband. We love you thiiiiiiiiiis much (arms stretched wide).