Ahh, why did vacation have to end? I'm sure everyone says that but man, how true is it? It was so nice to be away from the cold and the snow…I loved seeing my family and my old friends, and getting out of cooking for more than two weeks was a huge bonus. I spent a good chunk of the time talking to Brian about moving back down there and I'm kind of surprised he didn't tell me to shut up because I was relentless haha It was just amazing to see the kids surrounded by so many people who loved them and the look on Braxton's face every time we went to the beach was so sweet. He absolutely loved it, even being in the water was fun to him which surprised me a little.
The drive down to Florida didn't go completely as planned but it wasn't so terrible. Leaving at night was what got us…we just aren't night people anymore and then add the fact that Braxton decided to stay awake the entire time and Ava was grumpy, which is rare for her, so it was just difficult. We got about 5 hours from home before we decided to stop at 4 am and get a room. We then had the best 3 1/2 hours of sleep ever before stopping at a Cracker Barrel for some breakfast. The drive from there was supposed to only be 8 hours away but between bathroom breaks/diaper changes and lunch, our drive ended up being about 10 hours. We spent the night in South Carolina at Brian's grandparents' house before starting back up our drive. I have to say, I'm quite proud of Braxton and Ava for the way they did in the car but I genuinely don't think Brian and I will ever want to do that kind of drive with the kids again. It was just too much at times and it was kind of exhausting!
We got to my mom's house at 11:30 at night and we didn't go to sleep until about 1 or so but luckily Braxton and Ava slept well that night. Braxton woke up around 6:30 the next morning and since Brian and Ava were still sleeping I decided to take him a block away to the beach. That's what I love about where my mom lives, everything is in walking distance and the beach is so close. The whole drive down from New York I kept telling Braxton that we were going to see the beach so once he finally saw it, his face was just so excited! He absolutely loved it and he even went down to the water on his own. The picture above is from that morning and it's probably one of my favorite memories. We don't get a lot of one on one time with each other where we can go out and explore so this was perfect.
We spent the next two days with my sister Toni where she had a bounce house set up for the kids to play in as well as all sorts of things for Braxton to play with. My nephew Adam and my niece Nevada are great and they loved having another kid to play with, even if Braxton doesn't share so well at times. Toni is probably the most thoughtful person I have ever met in my life and she had everything set up so perfectly for us. In the guest house Braxton and Ava both had Easter baskets waiting for them and in our bedroom, on the bed, she had chocolate for me and bread, peanut butter, and jelly waiting for Brian because that's his favorite.
The next day we went to Gatorland where Toni's husband works as security. He wrestles alligators ya'll! I've been there a few times but this was the first time with kids…Braxton was scared of the alligators but he still had fun. We watched a fun gator show and spent most of the time just walking around. Braxton's favorites were all the different birds.
There was a splash park that we went to at the end and that's where Braxton had the most fun.
After all that excitement we had to drive down to Ft. Lauderdale to drop Brian off so he could get situated for the cruise. It was a 3 hour drive down which I wasn't looking forward to only because I didn't want to drive back by myself with the kids. It was the first time for the guys to meet Ava since she was born so I got a few pictures like I did when Braxton was her age.
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| This kid loves the drums. |
The next day we spent the morning at the beach with my mom, just for a little while. It was "chilly" according to her. It was the first time Ava had ever seen the ocean and she loved it, even in her Solly wrap.
Later on, one of my oldest friends and I got together. Korryn and I go so far back and I feel like no matter how long, or the distance, we can still pick back up from the last time we saw each other. This time when we met up, I got to meet her son Talon and she got to meet Ava. Talon took a few to stop being so shy but as soon as I started to throw him and Braxton on the bed, over and over again, he loved me. I genuinely loved being around him and it was so sweet to finally see the baby she gave birth to…even if he's a giant now at eighteen months.
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| Ava, Talon, and baby Nemo…Braxton was taking an overdue nap when this was taken. |
With Brian gone, I was obviously solo on the whole parenting thing. I had some help thanks to my mom but still, it was difficult. There were days where I didn't sit down, and have a moment to myself, until 11 at night. It was a bunch of go go go, and not so much a true "vacation" but it was fun. I'm pretty sure I told people a few times just how exhausted I was haha It really made me think of how lucky I am considering I usually have Brian to fall back on. I definitely won't take him for granted after this trip, that's for sure, and he was only gone for six days! Braxton was a handful, which he always is, but it was a little different this time. There were times where he stressed me out but then he would make a goofy face or cuddle up to me and be so sweet and the stress would just go away…
I'll be posting part two coming up shortly!
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