It was so nice to have so many extra sets of hands around to help and the kids got plenty of attention. It was a true vacation for me. The kids stayed at my parent's house and Dayven and I stayed at my Grandma's (she's now in a nursing home) about 3 blocks away. We never set an alarm, just woke when we felt like it and headed over to my parents. The kids were usually up and already eating breakfast by the time we got there. So nice to sleep in a little!
We filled our days with all the usual things we love about Cedar Key - riding the golf cart around town, walking along the fishing pier, daily trips to the Shark Park downtown, playing around at the beach and just enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. We even got a sitter one night so we could enjoy a relaxing dinner out with my parents. We headed to our favorite spot on the island for crab bisque and grouper sandwiches.
The kids were quite entertained just spending time at my parents, playing with toys and hanging out. Hadley did the same puzzles over and over (it's her latest craze) and Wyatt seemed to find things to do too. Dayven busied himself catching mullet off the dock with his castnet, relaxing and spending time with the kids. I caught up on my People magazines and really enjoyed just being able to sit and chat with my mom. My parents also helped me work on my Halloween costume. Since they're so creative I knew they would have some ideas on how to make it fun. It turned out so cute and I'm excited to wear it to the party we're going to next weekend. We even saw a few wild critters while we were there. Dayven spotted a huge gator in the canal just a few houses down from my parents. My brother and I actually swam in this canal when we were kids. We also saw too huge (at least 6' long) diamondback rattlesnakes fighting in the bushes just a few feet from my parents yard. They were standing up on end twisting around each other. At first we thought they were mating, but then they started lashing out at each other. I have never seen anything like it - really fascinating to watch. We stood and watched for a while, but then they started moving closer to the yard so we took off. Maybe now I might think twice about walking through their yard at night!
We went to see my Grandma in the nursing home, which was pretty depressing. It's just so sad to see someone who was once so vibrant going downhill so much. She has really changed a lot since we last saw her in March, when she was still living in her home. Sometimes she seemed ok during the visit, but other times you can tell she's just not following it all. My dad walked her back to her room while we went to the car. He said she asked "How are Chelsea and Josh doing?" not realizing I had just been there.
She is currently in the dementia ward and it was really hard to walk through there. Some of the people are in pretty bad shape and seem really out of it. It was interesting to see the "stations" they had set up, where you can sit at a desk and type a letter, a baby changing station with baby dolls and a mailbox so people can pretend they are mailing things. Apparently people revert back to things they did at earlier stages of their life. The kids had fun entertaining themselves with the mailbox since it was outside and full of frogs. There was a woman who was absolutely fixated with the kids and followed us outside. She was bending down in the kids faces and singing "Skip to my Lou", clapping her hands and talking really loudly to them. I think maybe she thought they were her kids. Hadley was completely freaked out and clung to my legs. Wyatt watched her with an odd curiousity and kept trying to talk to her. He kept asking "Mommy, who is that!?" and looking at us waiting for some explanation as to what was going on. None of us were sure what to say. He finally asked her "What is your name?" Right at that moment she noticed him standing by the mailbox and said "Ain't no mail!" He said "Oh. "Hi, Ain't no mail, it's nice to meet you! I'm Wyatt!" We roared with laughter at hearing this. Thankfully 'Ain't no mail' had no idea what we were laughing at. That was the only funny thing that happened on our visit to the nursing home, but we laughed about it later that day remembering it.
Dayven, my Uncle Tom and I went fishing on the boat with an old childhood friend of mine who is now a fishing guide. We fished around the outlying islands and had a lot of fun. We caught plenty of trout and even a few redfish too. My redfish was under the limit so I had to throw it back, but the trouts I caught were good. We caught a few random things like catfish, ladyfish and remora, all of which were thrown back. Someone even hooked a stingray, but thankfully it broke the line so no one had to mess with it. Dayven and Uncle Tom had some redfish large enough to keep and combined with the trout we caught, we had a nice mix. We grilled it all for dinner that night and it was delish. Dayven had so much fun and wanted to fish even longer so he and Danny went back out a couple of days later and caught a bunch more.
We had a couple of days of rain so we headed into Gainesville to check out an indoor play center so the kids could blow off a little steam. Of course, I never miss an opportunity for a trip to Target. Supposedly they are coming to Canada in the fall of 2012, but I'm not sure we'll still be here to see it. For now, I'll just enjoy it while we're home visiting.
We always spend our last night in Tampa so we can catch an early flight home in the morning. We decided to take the kids to check out the Lowry Park Zoo. It was a really nice zoo, just the right size for our age of kids and plenty to do. We all had a great time. Wyatt loved the playground and rides the best. Hadley's favorite was the pony ride, but I didn't realize the horses were hooked together and they were going to put her on the back one while the guide held the front one. I was quite nervous watching her since there was only a small strap keeping her on the saddle, but she held on tight and loved it. I was very thankful when it was over, but she asked to go again! Our last night we always take the hotel shuttle to the mall right nearby to walk around and have dinner. Too bad our suitcases were already bulging or I would have picked up a couple more things. I walked right through Nordstrom without even stopping. Are you impressed? I even amazed myself. If I thought I could have crammed one more thing in my suitcase I may have been tempted, but since nothing fits me right now except shoes and purses (too bulky to squeeze in), I just kept walking. We did pick up Hadley's Halloween costume, which she was thrilled with and wore for the rest of the night. She puts it on every day now that we're home too. We're getting our money's worth with that one!
The kids did great on the flight. We even got several compliments on how well behaved they were. Wyatt completely zones out once he's able to turn his ipod on and watch movies. Hadley is a little trickier to entertain since the movies don't satisfy her for long. She is up, down, pushing buttons, looking over the back of the seat, eating continuous snacks and walking around. But at least she's generally happy and not crying. The flights were all on time and without a hitch so the travel day was mostly uneventful, which is what we always hope for.
Coming home is always bittersweet. It's good to be back in our own beds and getting back into a routine, but I really miss my parents too and wish we lived closer. Next time we see them we'll have one more family member in the crew!
1 comment:
You are so lucky the kids behave on your long plane trips. We just got back from an 8 hr. flight from Lisbon Portugal and a young mother had 2 small boys, and her dad with her. They were in the bulk head. The smallest child cried all the way. We were about 3 rows back from them.I don't think she had anything for them to munch on or anything for them to play with. We had a great 17 days, weather was great. I did get tired of walking on cobble stones but Billy got all the wine he wanted. He was happy.
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