Every now and then, you need to stop and build a sandcastle. I mean, just stop, get down in the sand with a child, and build a sandcastle.
Last week, I was on vacation with my family in Florida.
It was great. We had a condo on the beach. We spent time shelling, swimming in a warm salt water pool, boating with dolphins, fishing, eating ice cream, visiting Busch Gardens and enjoying some valuable family time.
And, of course, building sandcastles.
Since I remembered everything on my vacation checklist, I was prepared to jot down any notes that I might want to blog about this week. Following are some of the highlights:
- Before we even got to the gate in the Portland airport, G announced my age to the entire security line after finding out kids under 12 didn’t have to take their shoes off. “My mommy has to take her shoes off because she is XX!” (He learned quickly that sons don’t announce their mommy’s age to a crowd. Even if they did find it amusing.)
- When we walked on the plane for the first leg of our trip, the flight attendants and pilots immediately led my kids into the cockpit and instructed me to take pictures. And then they left. Seriously, my kids were moving levers that looked pretty darn important, and I was in charge. “Are you sure they should be touching that stuff?” I yelled to the pilot. He said they were fine. He has clearly never met my 3 year old.
- Biz giggled throughout the entire takeoff. Loudly. He sounded like he was on a roller coaster. Hands up and everything. Of course, the whole family did the same. It was pretty fun.
- On the second leg of our trip, two women were talking about how old the plane was and that you die faster using a cushion as a flotation device vs. a life vest. Have these conversations in your homes, people. Not on an airplane behind a 6 year old!
- On a happier note, I received a compliment from a flight attendant for having well behaved kids. He said he wished all the kids that flew were like that. Makes a mama proud.
- On the car ride from the airport to our condo in Sanibel, I realized that music sounds infinitely better when the weather is nice. We heard songs like “Living on a Prayer,” “You Can Call Me Al,” “Love bites,” “Cat Scratch Fever” and the like. I felt like I was back in time. It was great. (Please don’t tell me if you don’t recognize these songs. It will only make me feel old.)
- At one point I observed naked people on a boat very close to shore. I had to look twice from the beach because I thought I was seeing things. Unfortunately, I wasn’t.
- We collected a ton of shells and saw a lot of critters during the week. It was pretty crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it. The shells were perfectly in tact, and we saw things like fighting conch (Biz’s “buddies”), starfish, string ray, crabs and jellyfish.
- I actually did some fishing with the boys. I never fish. I caught a tree.
- At Busch Gardens, I saw a child texting and driving a bumper car. I don’t even know what to think about that. Moving on.
- Want to see the saddest face in the world? Tell my 3 year old he can’t ride a roller coaster or feed kangaroos because he’s not old enough.
- G went on roller coasters that I wouldn’t ride now. Never mind when I was 6. I didn’t think he’d go through with it. I was proud of my brave boy. (Biz, of course, would go on any roller coaster in a heartbeat if they let him.)
- Suntan lotion lasts way longer in Maine. I usually buy one bottle for the summer. We went through a bottle of suntan lotion in Florida in 6 days.
- If you act like you know what you are doing, people get out of your way. Even if you’re 3. On our trip back, Biz pushed the flight attendants and pilots out of the way and went straight into the cockpit of our plane. Next thing I know, I hear him saying “Welcome aboard” on the loud speaker.
And then there was this.
[FMP width=”500″ height=”281″]https://anotherjennifer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/IMG_0809.mov[/FMP]
I think it’s a flying sea slug, but I’m not entirely sure. If you can properly identify it, please let me know. We saw it in the water by Parrot Key Caribbean Grill in Fort Myers. It kinda freaked us out.
So, it was a great vacation. I still feel relaxed.
Thanks to my guest bloggers last week for keeping the content going. I hope you enjoyed their posts as much as I did. As I read them on the beach. 🙂
Now, go out and build a sandcastle!
