Seasons of Love: First Family Vacation

(I have been trying to finish this for weeks. I finally just ignored grad work and house stuff to finish.)

We did it! We flew on an airplane...twice...with a toddler and survived!

I have been really antsy for awhile. I needed a get-away badly. So Michael and I planned a trip to Florida. My BIL and his wife invited us to stay with them and we took them up on the offer. Bonus: they still had all their baby stuff so we could travel "lightly".

I am always a wreck before any flight. I'm not nervous about flying; I'm nervous about missing a flight. We are always at the airport super early because I get nervous about checking-in and security. This trip was no different. Getting through security with a toddler was a sight! We had about a half dozen of those tubs for shoes, bags, laptop, camera, etc... and then we had to fold up the stroller and put it through. Then we had to collect everything and they had to test the liquids in the sippy cups. Once we were through security I was able to breathe normally again. (For the most part...I still had to fly with a toddler!)

We boarded the plane and a nice gentleman was our seatmate. I immediately felt bad for him because I didn't know what could happen. He said he'd been through this with his own kids, and not to worry (like that stopped me.) Before take off the flight attendant informed the man there was an empty seat a few rows up if he would like to move. He said he was fine, but she told him it was more for our sake, and Michael said he wouldn't hurt our feelings, so he took the other seat. This was a blessing because Dylan was antsy and after we got in the air he began getting fussy and whiny. He didn't want snacks or drinks or toys. I knew he was tired, but he wouldn't sleep. Finally, after passing him back and forth a few times Dylan finally fell asleep in my arms. The rest of the flight was great. And after we landed everyone around us cooed over him (happens everywhere we go!).

We spent the next 6 days having a blast. We spent all of our time with Michael's brother and SIL and their beautiful 6 year old twin girls. We went to Orlando and visited Downtown Disney for some shopping. We ran into our good friends, the Ho family, who was also on vacation. We all had dinner together; 6 adults and 6 kids! We stayed overnight and had breakfast with Pluto and Goofy. Dylan loved that! We spent a day at Clearwater Beach, but Dylan was NOT a big fan. He did much better when we went back another evening and just walked the shore (it was a lot cooler and that helped).

We had fun the whole trip, but my FAVORITE part was our last full day. We went to Busch Gardens! I loved seeing the animals, eating food, and riding rides, but my favorite part was the Sesame Street area they have. You know you are a parent when your excitement stems from the happiness of your kids. Dylan LOVED this park. He got to meet some of the characters he loves watching on TV. He had his picture taken with almost all of them. He enjoyed going through the giant tree-house with Michael, bouncing on the rope bridges. He liked riding the carousel. But the part he really enjoyed was the splash park. He would run around getting wet and when he got splashed in the face he would squeal and go in for more. He also enjoyed an animal show that had critters doing all kinds of things. I can't wait until he's bigger and understands even more.

We had a great trip! We did so much and spent time with family we don't see often enough. When we got home and started looking through pictures I was already mentally planning another one, but Michael said "We just got home!" HA! I loved this trip and can't wait to take many more with my wonderful guys!