Fabulous Florida

What a wonderful trip I had last weekend to see Sharon in Florida with just the girls, Emily and Lauren and my mom. Little Ben stayed in St. louis with daddy and much help from family to care for him in my absence. He actually survived without me proving many wrong. We flew down on Thursday and went to SeaWorld on Friday. Mom had a motorized scooter but after one too many close calls running over small children, we opted for a regular wheelchair instead. It was better exercise for me anyway. She thoroughly enjoyed the whale and dolphin shows and loved seeing us feed the sharks and pet the rays. Sharon and I enjoyed plenty of good ole complimentary AB products to get us through the day. I had not seen my mom have that much energy in so many years, it was such a blessing and joy to have her spend that time with us. We went down to Naples Beach on saturday and actually met a family from church who have a daughter in Emily's class and were on Marco Island for the week. Their daughter did not know we were coming and the look on her face when Em walked up to her on the beach was priceless.
On sunday we had to take mom back down to Naples to see the sunset from the pier and she wanted to watch the girls play in the ocean and on the beach. She said she envied me so much being able to walk in the sand while the watch washed up on my feet. We had a terrific meal and the next day I took the girls swimming and we headed back to the airport.
I am so lucky to be able to travel with my kids and both my parents. When I was pregnant with Ben, Dad and I drove all the way to Ft. Myers and stayed for 2 weeks. Dad came with us on almost all of our camping trips this summer and I am so thankful to witness the relationships form between my parents and my children, especially since I have next to no memories of grandparents from either side. It just takes me back to my childhood to see Dad telling stories, playing games and watching airplanes. I have so many memories of him doing the same things with me. My kids have the same awe and wonder as I did for my whole childhood. I love to see mom hug and hold Lauren for long periods of time because that is what my memory is full of. Mom would sit on her big rocker and just hold me. I also see her spoiling my kids to death just like she did with Jackie (just kidding Jax). Emily asked me why I always hold Grandma's hand, whether it be at church or walking around, like a little kid and I told her I am never too old to hold hands with my mom and dad because some day those hands will not be there to hold, except in my heart. I made her promise to never get too old to hold my hand and with the sass of a 6 year old she replied," I'll think about it."
I will post pics from the trip as soon as I can find the computer cord for my camera.