Beach

This past weekend we took a road trip down to the Florida gulf coast.  Glen took two days off so we were able to be there before the huge crowds.  On Wednesday (the day before we were to leave), Luke woke up with a 102 degree fever.  My boys hardly ever get fevers, so it always worries me when they do.  He was really sleepy, even though he slept all night.  He seemed much better after his nap, but right around dinner time, Micah started acting out of sorts and when I took his temp, he was at 102 degrees.  Our condo reservations were non-refundable, so we were going to try to make it at all costs.  Neither of the boys were acting like they were sick, they just had fevers.  Thursday morning, they seemed better.  I can't remember if I took their temps or not.  The drive down was supposed to take 6.5 hours, but we figured it would probably be closer to 8.  We had some fussy babies on the drive.  They both slept about 30 minutes before lunch and then never did really go back to sleep for the afternoon.  Micah would doze off and then wake up crying.  I felt bad because I guessed they weren't feeling great.  Thankfully they never got sick or anything in the car. 

We did have a mix-up with our room.  We specifically reserved a 1-bedroom condo, but when we checked in we were given keys to a studio (without being told).  Glen checked out the room and was pretty sure we wouldn't be able to make it work.  We went back to the office and they gave us a 1-bedroom room.  It was nice and had a view of the sound and the pool.  It seemed to kind of be under construction - like there was a stove/oven and microwave, but they were still wrapped in plastic, the sink in the master bathroom did not have any water (we ended up not even using that bathroom), there were cabinets being stored in the master closet.  It worked for us, though.  Unfortunately we could only stay there two nights, the third, we were told, would have to be in the studio room.  We put up a fight because we'd paid for a 1-bedroom.  Eventually we were given a 1 bedroom condo for the last night, in Destin.  That was an experience.  The place was nice - it had a dishwasher and full kitchen, and plenty of room for us.  We were just across the street from the beach, so we had lots of people walking by, but I'm glad for that expereince.

Our first night there was a thunder and lightening storm, so none of us slept very well. Micah still seemed to have a fever and the air conditioning wasn't blowing into the bedroom, so it was very stuffy and hot.  The second night Luke woke up for some reason and took over an hour to get him back to sleep.  The third night (in the other place) Luke slept all night and Micah woke up, but I patted his back for a minute and he went right back to sleep. It's always rough sleeping in new places.  In the mornings when we're so tired from being up all night we wonder why we did this to ourselves, but then the expereinces during the day make it worthwhile.

We had hoped to see one of Glen's former co-workers on Friday, but we could never get our schedules matched up.  In the morning we hung out at the condo pool.  It was fun, but we only lasted less than an hour because we were having to hold the boys the whole time.  They were tired from not sleeping and waking up so early, so we did an early lunch and naptime.  We went out to the "big beach" on Friday afternoon.  Glen had picked up some baby life vests at Costco before our trip, but they were too cumbersome and uncomfortable for the boys and us.  We tried taking the boys in the water in those, but quickly ditched the life vests.  They were scared enough of the water, we knew they wouldn't just wander into it.  Micah was okay in the water as long as he was being held.  Luke wanted no part of the water but was very content sitting on the blanket playing with the beach toys.  Micah was not a fan of the sand - didn't want any on him and was very worried when he saw it on my legs and feet.  We spent about an hour and a half there and had lots of fun just relaxing as a family.  Once we got cleaned up in our room we went out for seafood for dinner on the beach.

On Saturday we wanted to go out to the beach on the Sound because we knew the water would be calmer and thought the boys might like that better.  We had a lot of fun there.  The water was the perfect temperature and the boys were very happy being held in the water by us.  Luke did not want to be put down in the water or on the sand, so I held him as long as I could.  Finally I plopped him down on the blanket with water and pretzels and he was happy.  We could only stay there about an hour before we needed to get lunch and check in to our new room in Destin.  I can't explain how wonderful it was to have that time as a family doing something that I love.  Going to the beach with two toddlers is not the same as I remember it being before kids, but it was just as great in a different way.  That evening we drove to Navarre to meet two sets of friends and their kids for dinner.  It was a good time catching up and seeing how much their kids have grown.  I wish we could have spent more time together, but things are definitely different when you add kids to the mix.  We were so busy with all our kids (5 kids - all boys) that we didn't get one picture.  Boo.

Sunday the boys woke up pretty early, like 6:00, so we had a slow morning and left around 9:00.  They did great on the way home.  They both took a morning nap and then after lunch slept another hour and a half or two.  That portable dvd player is key.  It's so helpful for keeping them entertained and happy. 

Overall it was a wonderful time together as a family.  The first night I was really questioning what in the world we were thinking, but by the end I was able to look back and appreciate the opportunity.