And we're off! We have been so ready for this vacation this year. Not only because last year we had to take a year off of traveling or vacationing but also because we have been working so hard around here lately. Kenzie has rocked school all year, Will has been growing and learning, I have been trying my best to keep the house in order and writing reports, Steven has been working long hours and traveling (often overnight for days at a time) so much. We deserve this time to enjoy each other and make some new family memories together. It seems like far too often we don't get enough time together. And when we do have time together, so often we are busy with life in general.
So, when we had a chance to think about what type of vacation or trip we would like to take this year, we knew it needed to be something fairly simple because of our current life status but also something we love. Cue the Keys! The Keys have long been one of our favorite places on Earth. If we had unlimited funds (or even just a lot of money), I could see us buying a second house down there. Maybe one day... Until then... we visit any time we can.
Our plans have changed some over the course of the last week or so but we officially set out for South Florida Saturday morning. Originally, our plan was to drive straight through to Key Largo on Sunday but then we decided to go a day early and stay with some friends of ours in South Florida for a night so we could spend some time with them. We had everything all packed and ready to go and then Friday night was... bad. We don't know what was wrong with Kenzie, but she woke up for the first time around 1:30 in the morning crying. We had no idea what was going on with her but it set her off for the next few hours. Well, the next 5 or so hours until we finally let her get up to watch TV in the living room at 6:30 in hopes she would fall asleep. Parents of the year over here. It didn't work and after laying there for a while she went running to the bathroom to be sick. Over the next few hours she got sick a handful of times but it was never bad. We think we finally have her figured out. We think she gets sort of anxious whether it is nervousness or excitement when big things are coming up and has trouble sleeping. That makes her cranky and makes her cry. Then she gets all phlegm-y or something and that makes her feel sick and eventually makes her get sick. We debated what to do for a while and eventually decided she wasn't actually sick and we would go for it. So, we finished loading up a few things in the car and set off for breakfast then on to South Florida. We had grand plans to head down to Chick Fil A but for the second time in a couple of weeks our plans were derailed because the Chick Fil A was closed. Seriously. The kids weren't happy because they wanted to play on the playground but we had to change plans and head to McDonald's across the street. After that we were finally on our way to South Florida.
At breakfast both kids decided that juice was a necessity so we didn't make it too far down the road before they were requesting a potty break. I think we made it one service plaza down to Canoe Creek and we were making a stop for a bathroom break. It was a fairly quick one and then we were back on the road. Then it happened... Kenzie was so tired from her night that she fell asleep. Will stayed up talking for a while but he eventually went to sleep too. We think it was mostly self preservation. He was bored... so he slept. It actually worked out well because then we knew he would make the rest of the day with no issues without a nap. He can actually go all day if he has to but having at least a short nap was good. Both kids slept for almost 2 hours when we eventually stopped at the Palm Beach Service Plaza for a bathroom break because we had to go. We had to wake them up when we got there.
We decided to have lunch at that point because it had been a while since breakfast. The problem was that Kenzie was not fully awake and she wasn't having it. We ended up getting KFC and Steven and I ate our mac & cheese and coleslaw in the service plaza since that involved forks but we took the kids' popcorn chicken and the rest of our food into the car because we thought if we turned on a movie (Moana, of course) that they would eat more while they watched. Plus, we could keep moving. It worked out okay and they finished their chicken before we made it to Mike & Sevi's house. When we got there Reilly was finishing up lunch and the kids were super excited to play with his toys. His side eye as he watched the kids slowly take over his stuff was hysterical but he didn't miss a beat and it wasn't long before they were playing together (or at least near each other). They all had a good time. They spent the afternoon playing and then we all went out to Quarterdeck at the Dania Beach Pier.
I think the highlight of the trip down to the beach was the planes. We had to drive right by the airport and both kids loved watching the planes take off and land as we drove by. The traffic down near the pier was pretty busy, but we were able to find parking easily and made it to Quarterdeck. We ended up with about a 20 minute wait which wasn't the best with 3 small children but we made it out unscathed.
Dinner was good. I had a burger, the kids had hot dogs, and Steven had a shrimp and sausage poboy. He said his was only okay but my burger was great. Will didn't eat much. He was too busy making faces and eyes at the people at the table next to us. They were cracking up. He was giving them side eye and then basically flirting with the women at the table. He had them in stitches. Such a ham this kid. They also seemed like they might have been a few drinks in which made Will even funnier. Will thinking he is funner made him more of a ham. It was a cycle. After dinner we stood out at the top of the pier (before the cut off for the area that you have to pay to enter) and watched the waves and the people on the beach. This beach would be awesome for people watching. So. Many. People. Doing so many different things.
We made it back to the house by about 8:30 and got the kids ready for bed. Bedtime gave us a few issues. We knew that Will might have an issue sleeping without me in the room when he first went to sleep but we weren't sure what we would do. As it turned out, he wanted me to stay in the room. We put Kenzie on a small, low to the ground air mattress and Will on the top level of the daybed because I told him I would stay in bed with him. Then Kenzie had to potty. Then Will had to potty. Then I told Kenzie and Will that I wanted to go potty. And I left. I was out of the room for about 5 or 10 minutes and we heard doors opening and closing. Turns out, the kids were trying to get comfortable sharing the small air mattress. We decided to switch their beds. Kenzie moved to the top of the daybed and Will to the floor. I covered him and left that time with no issues. I guess he figured he was too tired to argue. They have been in there for a while now and no noise so we are assuming they are asleep. Night one was a success (after a setback or two).
Tomorrow we will stay in South Florida until after lunch and then we will head down to Key Largo where we will meet Grandma and Grandaddy. We are having a good time and are excited to get to the Keys.
So, when we had a chance to think about what type of vacation or trip we would like to take this year, we knew it needed to be something fairly simple because of our current life status but also something we love. Cue the Keys! The Keys have long been one of our favorite places on Earth. If we had unlimited funds (or even just a lot of money), I could see us buying a second house down there. Maybe one day... Until then... we visit any time we can.
Our plans have changed some over the course of the last week or so but we officially set out for South Florida Saturday morning. Originally, our plan was to drive straight through to Key Largo on Sunday but then we decided to go a day early and stay with some friends of ours in South Florida for a night so we could spend some time with them. We had everything all packed and ready to go and then Friday night was... bad. We don't know what was wrong with Kenzie, but she woke up for the first time around 1:30 in the morning crying. We had no idea what was going on with her but it set her off for the next few hours. Well, the next 5 or so hours until we finally let her get up to watch TV in the living room at 6:30 in hopes she would fall asleep. Parents of the year over here. It didn't work and after laying there for a while she went running to the bathroom to be sick. Over the next few hours she got sick a handful of times but it was never bad. We think we finally have her figured out. We think she gets sort of anxious whether it is nervousness or excitement when big things are coming up and has trouble sleeping. That makes her cranky and makes her cry. Then she gets all phlegm-y or something and that makes her feel sick and eventually makes her get sick. We debated what to do for a while and eventually decided she wasn't actually sick and we would go for it. So, we finished loading up a few things in the car and set off for breakfast then on to South Florida. We had grand plans to head down to Chick Fil A but for the second time in a couple of weeks our plans were derailed because the Chick Fil A was closed. Seriously. The kids weren't happy because they wanted to play on the playground but we had to change plans and head to McDonald's across the street. After that we were finally on our way to South Florida.
At breakfast both kids decided that juice was a necessity so we didn't make it too far down the road before they were requesting a potty break. I think we made it one service plaza down to Canoe Creek and we were making a stop for a bathroom break. It was a fairly quick one and then we were back on the road. Then it happened... Kenzie was so tired from her night that she fell asleep. Will stayed up talking for a while but he eventually went to sleep too. We think it was mostly self preservation. He was bored... so he slept. It actually worked out well because then we knew he would make the rest of the day with no issues without a nap. He can actually go all day if he has to but having at least a short nap was good. Both kids slept for almost 2 hours when we eventually stopped at the Palm Beach Service Plaza for a bathroom break because we had to go. We had to wake them up when we got there.
We decided to have lunch at that point because it had been a while since breakfast. The problem was that Kenzie was not fully awake and she wasn't having it. We ended up getting KFC and Steven and I ate our mac & cheese and coleslaw in the service plaza since that involved forks but we took the kids' popcorn chicken and the rest of our food into the car because we thought if we turned on a movie (Moana, of course) that they would eat more while they watched. Plus, we could keep moving. It worked out okay and they finished their chicken before we made it to Mike & Sevi's house. When we got there Reilly was finishing up lunch and the kids were super excited to play with his toys. His side eye as he watched the kids slowly take over his stuff was hysterical but he didn't miss a beat and it wasn't long before they were playing together (or at least near each other). They all had a good time. They spent the afternoon playing and then we all went out to Quarterdeck at the Dania Beach Pier.
I think the highlight of the trip down to the beach was the planes. We had to drive right by the airport and both kids loved watching the planes take off and land as we drove by. The traffic down near the pier was pretty busy, but we were able to find parking easily and made it to Quarterdeck. We ended up with about a 20 minute wait which wasn't the best with 3 small children but we made it out unscathed.
Dinner was good. I had a burger, the kids had hot dogs, and Steven had a shrimp and sausage poboy. He said his was only okay but my burger was great. Will didn't eat much. He was too busy making faces and eyes at the people at the table next to us. They were cracking up. He was giving them side eye and then basically flirting with the women at the table. He had them in stitches. Such a ham this kid. They also seemed like they might have been a few drinks in which made Will even funnier. Will thinking he is funner made him more of a ham. It was a cycle. After dinner we stood out at the top of the pier (before the cut off for the area that you have to pay to enter) and watched the waves and the people on the beach. This beach would be awesome for people watching. So. Many. People. Doing so many different things.
We made it back to the house by about 8:30 and got the kids ready for bed. Bedtime gave us a few issues. We knew that Will might have an issue sleeping without me in the room when he first went to sleep but we weren't sure what we would do. As it turned out, he wanted me to stay in the room. We put Kenzie on a small, low to the ground air mattress and Will on the top level of the daybed because I told him I would stay in bed with him. Then Kenzie had to potty. Then Will had to potty. Then I told Kenzie and Will that I wanted to go potty. And I left. I was out of the room for about 5 or 10 minutes and we heard doors opening and closing. Turns out, the kids were trying to get comfortable sharing the small air mattress. We decided to switch their beds. Kenzie moved to the top of the daybed and Will to the floor. I covered him and left that time with no issues. I guess he figured he was too tired to argue. They have been in there for a while now and no noise so we are assuming they are asleep. Night one was a success (after a setback or two).
Tomorrow we will stay in South Florida until after lunch and then we will head down to Key Largo where we will meet Grandma and Grandaddy. We are having a good time and are excited to get to the Keys.
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