Florida Beach Vacation

There was a meme circulating facebook yesterday or the day before ... I remember the days I prayed for what I have now.  That sort of hit me because part of our recent trip to Florida I thought about that.  While the kids played in the pool or the baby was sleeping (certainly not when she was screaming - then I only think please help me make it stop!) I would find myself counting them and making sure they were all breathing and thinking ... wow.  Six years ago ... how hard I prayed for these little miracles.

It's a funny thing when you're family is "complete."  I feel like that's a funny phrase and kind of like tempting God or Fate or whatever your persuasion because if nothing else, trying to have children taught me that we have no control.  So, insofar as a person can plan, our family is complete.  We're done. This is us.

It is so, so, so surreal to be on that side of this equation, after the years I spent on the other side.  But we do feel complete and done and final.  I have guilt over how perfect I find my family.  This is what I wanted.  This is what I prayed for.

I have guilt that my prayers were answered.  Brothers, one girl.  That was my equation.  That was what my perfect little H 5 looked like.

It will be messy.  I mean it really already is.  But it won't always feel perfect.  Everyday won't be a vacation, like this past week.  There were stressful minutes on vacation too but as I was telling Lewis yesterday ... you don't photograph those.  So they become funny anecdotes or book ends around the happy pictures that make the photo album.  Oh the baby cried to and from Ft. Lauderdale?  Lewis spent four hours driving to the airport twice because we left the DSLR on the plane?

Yeah not too many pictures of those trips.  But they are funny stories now.

We had such a good time despite some of the growing pains ... we're really good at traveling with 2.  There are tricks to traveling with 3 that we have yet to uncover.  But we were pretty proud of ourselves.



The boys loved their beach vacation.  They loved the pool and sleeping in the same bed and watching the iPad all through nap time and eating snacks on the floor and just hotel stay in general.

They play really well together for the most part.  The only issue really arrises from having to share.  And we all have issues with that.

Miss J for her part spent most of the trip like this.  She loved being out in the [shaded] sun and hearing the ocean.  She was a great baby and really only cried from about 5-9.  Which, unfortunately, was when my mother had her so I could go to the corporate events with Lewis.

Which was really a nice treat.  I got to see some of our old friends from Boston (who now live south) and just other folks who also "won" the trip.  It's a dumb way of saying it because you don't "win" it.  You work your tail off.  You hustle.  If you don't hustle you don't make it.  It's a carrot dangling out there for everyone but only a few can actually make it.  It's really pretty difficult.  You have to be over 140% of your goal to make it.

That's a ton.  And it's really not common to do that. Anyway I'm proud of my spouse.  He works hard. And I love these kiddos.  They are so much work but they are a lot of fun.  And it's fun to be on vacation with them because you can give them things.


And they really, as I said, do have fun together.

I did have to put a moratorium on wrestling in the pool.  My nerves couldn't take it.

Since we were going to be in Florida anyway I thought Disney would be fun.  We only did two days, really just a day and a half.  We drove up from Miami and then went to the park.  The kids were worn out but they rallied.  After four days straight at the beach and no naps and late nights ... they were tired!  But they had a super time.  G loved the roller coasters and D was in awe of the whole thing.  I love going.  It's such a fun treat.



The Disney photographers add "magic" to their pictures if you want to have them take them and buy them online.  We did one and I haven't bought it but I screen shotted it on my phone.  And then I thought it was cute so I made my own.  And I like mine better.  They are a bit of stuff and nonsense.  But they make me smile.


D is not a fan of characters.  Any of them.  Not even the princesses that look more like people.  He would have none of it.

The highlight for everyone was the parade and the light show on the castle and the fireworks.  They had a great time with all of that.  The baby not so much.  That was during her fussy time and she freaked a bit on me.  But that was the only time she acted up.  She slept pretty much the entire visit to the park in the ergo.  I walked around carrying her and riding rides and the only one that I think I should have skipped was the astro orbiter because the centrifugal force was a bit much.  But other than that ... anything D could ride was okay with her.

Vacations are fun because Daddy is around and it's two on three instead of one on three.