On the Beach and In the Pool

Here we are our first time at the beach. To continue our comedy of errors, I accidentally stole someone's beach chairs they brought from home and set them up under an umbrella that had to be rented! You can imagine my embarrassment!

Both girls were a little concerned about the waves but in this case, Lissie was the more adventurous.

After Abby decided that she was afraid of the waves and didn't want to play in the sand, we ended up at the pool. Even that wasn't perfect for her though as she liked the "warm pool" (indoor pool) the best!

Later in the afternoon after some naps, we tried the beach again and found a nice spot where the building was tall enough to provide shade. The girls enjoyed walking in the sand as long as the waves weren't too close!

Lissie loved playing in the sand.

In fact, she tried to eat the beach!

Abby played the whole time far away from the ocean. She seemed to have fun though.

I think her favorite part was the shower afterwards to rinse off all the sand. She kept saying "good shower"!

Hotel Fun

Cutie pie Abby asleep with her Hippo blankie in her very own queen size bed. She loaded up one side with all of the pillows and snuggled into them. Too cute!


Early morning wake-up call!!! Actually it was almost 9AM...thank you time change!


One of Abby's favorite things to do was paint with her new Elmers paint brushes and paper. This has to be one of the best inventions in the world. The brushes are colorless and only show up on the special paper!


Our pretty girl waiting for Mommy and Daddy to get ready.

We spent the rest of this day mainly at Craig and Barbie's and then went down to the beach. To catch up on these first two days of our trip feel free to read my previous post. I would link you to it but I don't know how:)

And so it begins....

As you already know, our trip to Florida was not without issues. It started out really well though. Mom was kind enough to take us to the airport and we arrived with plenty of time to get all of our stuff together. I had checked all of the travel and security requirements ahead of time so we were all prepared with our ziplock baggies of liquids and the correct number of bags to check or carry-on.
Here are our carry-ons. We had a rolling bag for each of us, not to mention the stroller, carseat and diaper bag!


Ready to go. I can't believe we dragged all of that stuff around three airports!


Daddy and his girls on the plane. Both little ones slept fairly well on the flights and were extremely well behaved.


When we arrived in Florida we were suprised by Craig, Barbie and Porter waiting for us. I felt bad for them though because we took forever to get off the plane. We were always the first on and the last off. Much easier that way with the carseat. Of course, after getting off the plane we all had to make a pit stop for diaper changes and the potty! When we finally went to get our luggage it was already off the carousel and the only luggage there!! Fortunately I had found a free rental car upgrade coupon on the plane so when we got our car we were able to get one to hold all of our luggage. Abby loved her "new car".

We had a wonderful dinner with Craig and Barbie and then slowly made our way to the hotel. After a few issues there we finally settled into our room. Abby was thrilled to sleep in her "new big (queen size) bed". Lissie loved the bathroom. That kept both girls occupied for at least half an hour!!!


It took a while to get everyone to sleep but eventually we were all out and dreaming of starting our relaxing vacation!

Too quiet!

While I was looking at some of our pictures and trying to get organized, I realized that it was too quiet. I went looking for Abby and here is what I found. Her highness had gotten on my dresser, found my barely eaten package of Starburst and had devoured almost half of it. Doesn't she look angelic?!

We're Back!

Okay, having read the last blog again it really sounds like we had a horrible time. We really had a great time and would definitely do it again. I have over 900 photos and videos though so I will update you on all of our fun a little bit at a time as I go through all of the pictures. Get back to you soon.

Seriously?!

Well, I thought I wouldn't get a chance to blog while on vacation but luckily for me Craig and Barbie brought their computer to the beach. Right now the boys are watching the Tennessee vs UCLA game so I thought I would tell you about our trip so far.

It started out well. The flights were on time and fairly easy especially with the help of several new gadgets and toys for the girls. I will never travel without a Tote-a-tot or a Zoobie again. The only trouble was on the last flight. A single dad asked me to watch over his 2 month old infant while he used the restroom. Of course, I said yes. As I turned to check on the sleeping baby, Lissie, who was not sleeping, grabbed Mike's drink and spilled it all over him. Seriously?! This is where the trouble begins. After that the flight was unpleasant for Mike but also fairly short. Craig and Barbie met us at the airport with sweet little Porter. It was awesome to meet my new little nephew finally! We had dinner at a little pizza and burger joint near their home and then went to find the hotel. Now we were very fortunate to be able to borrow Dad's Garmin "Gabby". Unfortunately though, Craig and Barbie's area is so new that it isn't on any of the loaded maps. As we tried to make our way to the hotel, I got Mike lost and we ended up in a Walgreens parking lot. Seriously? We finally made it to the hotel, got all of our stuff up to the room (1 Large suitcase, 3 carry-ons, a diaper bag and pack n play) and realized that they had given us only one king bed. Seriously? We pack everything back up and head back down for the new room, only to find out it's only a few doors down from where we just came. It was 10PM by the time we got settled. The next morning the girls slept blissfully late. We got up at 9 and packed all of our stuff back up to head over to Craig and Barbie's for a little while as we couldn't check in at the beach until after 4. As we're leaving the hotel, I realize, I don't have my phone. 20 minutes later and two new keys for the same room we finally find it in the diaper bag where it was supposed to be the whole time! Seriously?! I'm getting stressed just thinking about all of this again. We relaxed most of the day at Craig and Barbie's with a trip to Target and a great burger place called Five Guys.

Around 4PM we were ready to leave for Ormond Beach. Lissie was less than thrilled to be back in the car but she fell asleep quickly. Abby on the other hand entertained herself beautifully. Although, when we stopped at Taco Bell for a snack, she had an accident all over the car seat. Seriously? She ended up in a Pull-Up for the rest of the trip. We finally arrived and after the usual check in chaos we got to our room. Let me just say, this place is OLD. Also, I was dissappointed that there wasn't a washer and dryer in the unit especially since now I have to clean a carseat cover! Once we were all settled we decided to go to the pool rather than grocery shop. Lets have FUN!!! We make our way to the pool which is very nice. After about 5 minutes though Abby swallows too much water and gags (vomits) all over herself. That hot dog for lunch was definitely not my best idea! We manage to keep it all out of the pool and get her cleaned up and get back in the water for more fun. Craig and Barbie came down with Porter a little later and were on deck for episode number 2. Seriously? This one went in the pool......we left immediately. After showers, Mike and I decide to take the girls to get a quick fast food dinner. Big mistake. The second Lissie gets strapped into her seat she starts screaming. We end up at Burger King and Mike gets her out, hands her to me and I have to feed her in the front seat of the car in the parking lot. If this weren't bad enough, all of a sudden there is a police helicopter flying overhead and flashing lights all around. I immediately have visions of an escaped convict looking for a getaway and the back door of my car is open and I'm half-naked in the front!!! Seriously?!?!? We get the food and since Lissie isn't done eating Mike double checks the order. Of course, its wrong. We get it fixed and head back to the resort. By the way, did I mention that Abby had another accident in the car seat during all of this!!! When we get back, Mike sets the food on the trunk of the car to get Lissie out. I bet you can guess what happens next...Yep...the food ends up on the parking garage floor. Seriously! After some choice words from both of us, we managed to salvage some of it, get upstairs and finally end our day. Sorry there are no pictures but I didn't think anyone would want to see the hot dog. Seriously!

Some Pics

Lissie wants to be a big girl and use the sink just like her sister Abby! She was so proud of herself!!!

Daddy and his girls saying goodnight to Lissie.

We're off on vacation to visit my new nephew Porter. I'll update when we get back. Ta-ta for now:)