Mama is Off to Florida!!!



I've taken a break from blogging... and now Im back.

Nothing was really life changing that caused me to take a break.. just life in general... school, routines, laziness (just being honest).. spending more QT at night with the hubby, and preparing for ..... My sister's wedding.

Drumroll please...

Mama was headed to Florida SOLO....

the excitement from that sentence alone was enough...

And then the day before I flew out was here.. Thursday October 10th.

My in-laws drove in from Ohio to stay and help Mat with the kids while I was away for 2 days.

 

My bags were packed and I maybe slept 2 hours.

I volunteered to sleep in the 3rd floor playroom on the aerobed.... because I figured since my mother in law was going to be watching the kids all day the next day, she could get a good nights rest... who was I taking care of??? No one but ME... for the first time in probably 6 years. Weird.

I dozed off ....just for about 2 hours..

So Andrew woke up (like he always does) around 2.. and I rocked him back to sleep.. then tried to catch a few more hours.. but the excitement of it all... and fear of my iphone alarm failing had me just laying there... and finally I gave up after surfing pinterest, and reading blogs... I got up around 3... and started getting dressed etc... in the bathroom...

I was out the door by 4:30am, and on my way to the airport...

 

5:45.... In a seat on the plane... ready for a few days of R&R... and such a wonderful event.

This was so surreal..

Me

On a plane

Alone.

I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself.

Away we went... to Atlanta for our first stop.

I didn't travel completely alone.. My aunts, uncle, cousin and brother were all on the same flight to Florida. But I had my own seat fairly near the front of the plane.. and I was in heaven.

Of course before I even got to my destination.. I was already buying presents for the children I had only left not even an hour before.. 

By noon this was my view.

Ahhhhh serenity now

After I layed at the beach, I did the unthinkable.

I took a 2 hour nap.

Yes.
It was glorious.

I was all rested.. and then got ready for the rehersal dinner festivities.

My sis and her groom to be.. so stinkin cute.



All our family stayed on the NAS Pensacola.

That is where the ceremony was held. Right at a beach club overlooking the inlet.

It was beautiful.

The families had all arrived by Friday night, ready for wedding day.

After the rehersal dinner I was much looking forward to climbing in my hotel bed and sleeping until whenever I wanted... we had loud fans, earplugs, air conditioning .... it was awesome.

I fell asleep hard.. and didn't wake once.

I cant remember the last time I slept through the night.



Surf City {Day 4 & Traveling Back Day 5}

Day 4 - Sadness.

Our last day at the beach.. and I would have to say goodbye to my favorite place for I dont know how long.. booooo

 

Daddy and SJ had become sand castle experts.

They had so much fun together.

We got Andrew to take a nap for a good hour on the beach & half way through we got a little downpour of rain. It rained for maybe 5 minutes.. then the sunshine came back out.

Samantha thought it was so funny that we stayed at the beach under towels while it rained on us.

 

She discovered her "guys" ... Little sea creatures in shells that bury themselves in the sand.

She gathered as many as she could and gave them water

I don't know what their technical name is.. but you can see their tentacles? eyes? legs? who knows what they are sticking out of their shells... but she was fascinated.

We stayed at the beach as long as we could ... because night time re-visits had proved to be not such a good idea from the previous couple nights. So we headed back for naps, and I started packing away for the flight home the next day...

{hiding}

he looved playing hide and seek, and finding Samantha and I.. he's so far advanced because he has an older sibling to teach him everything. 

That afternoon we got some greasy southern fried goodness to eat from one of my favorite places, Batson's Galley. Fried Oysters, Shrimp, Scallops... Fries, Coleslaw, Hush Puppies.. OMG...

Daddy's friend & fiancé came to visit us, and we went for Frozen Yogurt.

Cake Batter, Candy Bar & Snickerdoodle toppings... yes please. 

 

 

And then just because there was a firetruck parked in the parking lot..

we decided to climb all over it.. good fun entertainment.

 

We got back, and said goodbye and Daddy and I started some more laundry, and organizing... and throwing out stuff we didn't need.

And these two were entertained thank goodness.. 

And just like that ... it was time to return home...

Luckily, the Wilmington airport is pretty small, and very kid friendly.. while we waited.

A quick flight down to Atlanta...and we suvrived the first flight again with no problems, whining, crying .. ANYTHING!!! Amazing....

 

Entertainment was taken care of in ATL, since we had a great view of one of the runways.. where a plane takes off every 3 or 4 minutes.. Andrew & Sass were in their glory.

 

What a much needed vacation..

And don't let me kid anyone.. It was tiring, sometimes stressful, but well worth it.

Im so glad we got away for a while.. and theres no better place than our old little beach town.

Hope we get back there again someday soon!

Surf City {Day 3}

Day 3

All we needed was a little rest!!

And they were ready to go!

My two babies..

on the beach where our little family started..I loved it.



I hit up my favorite family dollar for some goodies.. and we made some cool stuff with these pipe cleaners in the sand.

Andrew just loved playing in the sand.

Feeling it between his fingers, and making sand piles.



 

Naptime happened ... and I hit up some Antique & Consignment Beach Shops.

And purchased some beach treasures.

At night we spent some time at Soundside Park, then headed for some ice cream

 



Bubble Gum is her favorite sans the pieces of bubble gum.

 



Strawberry for the little man.

 

And then home for the nightly baths, books, & bed routine.

Andrew was still waking up at least 2-3 times.. I would heat up some milk, and rock him back to sleep.. I was very very tired the next day.. so coffee to the rescue was pretty much how I survived this vacay.

Surf City {Vacation Day 2}

Day 2

We woke up and started prepping for our return to the beach!

I couldn't wait to see that familiar water, sand and sun.

 

 

But I needed sunblock.

I ran to good ole Family Dollar which is right in front of our old condo complex.

As I walked over there, I couldn't help but remember how many times I had made this walk.. by myself while Mat was in Iraq, during breaks when I worked from home, during cravings when I was pregnant with Samantha in 2008, and with Samantha in the stroller when she was an itty bitty newborn.

The memories were so so thick.

Incredible how fast time has gone since I've lived here.. seems like yesterday, but at the same time it seems like a lifetime ago. Either way the feeling was wonderful, and I didnt want to leave. ever.

So I'll get all sappy now..

Here's where I'd buy my little bean in my belly some baby stuff when I was a very newly pregnant momma ... 

Just walking down the aisles put me right back where we were at the time, in the military, post-Iraq.

Not much has changed at this store! 

Andrew was beach ready when I got back.. playing with his $12.00 Airforce One bribery toy we bought early before we stepped foot on our first airline. Little did we know he'd do so well anyways.

And then we hit the short 1 mile drive to the beach.

Heaven.

We were here..

 

Andrew had to take it all in...

But Little Topsail Native (SJ) was all too familiar with the scene.. she was back to her birthplace.



 

So he decided to check it out.

He ran and ran towards the water.. and something inside said "he's not gonna stop" ... and he didn't.

He ran right in the water.. and as Daddy was walking him around he insisted on trying to squirm out of our hands... and he plopped face first and went under water..

After that he kept his distance for a while.. ha!

Better I guess that I didn't have to chase him all over kingdom come!

Sass was in her glory.. building castles, playing, swimming.. 

The big bad ocean got the best of him the first day...he looks scared out of his mind.

We stayed until lunch, then everyone took naps..

And Momma escaped again for some memory walks.. 

And I got a fabulous beach haircut. 

And I passed by our old condo door.. just to take a look...

So many memories behind this door.

We were reunited after Iraq for 13 months here.. We found out we were pregnant here.

We brought SJ home for the first time here. Ahhh our first home.

 



Yes, everyone took naps...

My boys.. love them.

We tried to head to the beach in the evening to soak it all up..

Sassy was up for it...

Andrew was fading fast... 

 

Too fast.....all the jetlag caught up to the big guy.

We ordered sushi to go from our favorite place in the world Nikki's

Hello Crunch Roll.. How I've missed you so.

Samantha discovered that evening that she loves the movie The Incredibles..

So we watched a little & had some snacks after dinner

We all showered and turned in for the night..

Or everyone else did.. and Andrew and I were up 2 times overnight..