Florida--Day 2

Today was a day of errands. We spent the night at the hotel with Aunt Cherryl and Heidi and her family. After a short night of some sleep between children waking up and a baby wanting to eat, we woke up to a beautiful Florida day.

The girls were yelling "We are Superstars!" and Lance was just being silly.

We checked out of the hotel and went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Amy had come into town the night before, along with Evan and Christy (cousins). Mom, Glenn, Jason, and Stephen arrived around 1:30 p.m. as did Aunt Linda, Kailey, and Bethany. It was so fun to have everyone together in the same house we visited so often as kids. I remember when we were young and visiting Florida, all 19 grandkids with our parents stayed in the 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom house on Spruce Street. Oh, the memories!

Jason, Bethany, Ashley, Lance, and Kailey

Amy and Evan

Aunt Cherryl, Glenn, and Stephen

Jude was really tired and slept through most of the action.

Laura

Bethany, Heidi, and Christy

Me and Lance

The Brewer Sisters--Aunt Cherryl, Dori (Mom), and Aunt Linda

I've been telling Lance about Grandma's dirt collection and he really wanted to see it. He thought it was really neat that she had dirt collected from every place she has visited in the world!

After everyone got there and hugs were passed around, we went to Burger King for a late lunch before we checked into the condos. They had a play-place and Jason, Kailey, Bethany, Amy, and I all played with Lance, crawling up and down the grimy plastic tubes and slides. It was actually a lot of fun!

We checked into our condos at 3, figured out sleeping arrangements, and then went to Super WalMart in Port Orange to stock up on all the things we need for the week. Lance had a list of two things he wanted: two buckets ("one for water and one for sand") and goggles. I'm glad to say we walked back to the car with three buckets and a cool face mask for Lance to wear in the water.

We came back to the condos around 7:30 to have dinner with all the extended family in town. All the Brewers were there except Valerie, Grandma and Grandpa came, and we even got to meet Charlie, Maria's fiancée. It was really neat to catch up with family we haven't seen in a couple years.

Bethany, Jason, Jacob, Aunt Dawn, Laura, and Evan enjoying pizza and Stavro's greek salad.

Grandma Brewer, Jude, and me

Laura, Jacob, Bethany, and Jason

Charlie and Grandpa Brewer

Maria and Caleb

Bethany, Ashley, and Lance

After dinner, we went for a walk on the beach. I had been promising Lance all day that we would go to the beach and during dinner, Lance came to me and sadly announced that it was too late to go because it was dark. Several family members were walking to Flaglar--about two miles away--by the light of the almost full moon, so we decided to join them. A promise is a promise.

It was a great experience. We stayed with the group for a little bit, but when Lance got tired we turned around and walked back. It was a beautiful, breezy night and the moon was almost full. It was so special to be with Lance, just the two of us, holding hands and talking as we walked. It's funny how in the day to day struggle to get from A to B, you forget to really enjoy your children. This was a breath of fresh air and a much needed break for both of us. Yes, it was late and I was tired, and yes, I eventually ended up piggy-backing Lance because he was tired, too, but I wouldn't have changed a thing. We even got to see a baby turtle trying it's hardest to make it to the ocean. Lance wanted to know where it's parents were to help it get there and we had a talk about instincts and the life-cycle of the turtles. We made it inside by 11:15, Lance took a warm bath and then crashed immediately in bed. I'm getting there myself, but wanted to stay on top of my record of our vacation. Good night!