Back From Sunny Florida

Oh my. I haven't written a blog post in so long that I almost forget how. Only four posts in the month of February. What a slacker! ;)

 

So we skipped town for ten days and hit up the sunny state of Florida for a little family adventure. Rather than doing a lazy resort vacation this year, we decided to do some visiting and adventuring instead. (My in-laws, grandfather, and parents were all in Florida at the same time.) It took me about a month to pack because I was a little bit freaked out about traveling with a baby. However, Cooper was a super duper trooper and we made it all the way there and back and only almost lost our passports once (totally Alex's fault)(keep reading for the full story)(I'm totally going to get in trouble for this).

I brought my camera in hopes of getting some amazing photos but alas I found out pretty quickly that it's difficult to haul out a big honkin' camera with a busy 10-month old (and all of his gear) in tow. So, Instagram pictures will have to do for today!

 

Counter clockwise from top left:

 

- Coops proved himself to be quite the little traveller. Four plane rides and only 15 minutes of fussy on / off crying on the way home. Phew. Mama was a little bit stressed trying to keep him occupied. Thank goodness for the good-natured folks that sat behind us on each flight that willingly played peek-a-boo. Over and over and over and over! 

 

- We made the hour drive to Siesta Key beach in Sarasota only to freeze our butts off. It was soooooo windy! We set up camp, ate some corn dogs and fries, took a few pictures, dipped our toes in the ocean and were on our way back home within a half hour. I'd love to go back someday though. It was such a pretty place.

 

- Cooper playing with his brand new beach bucket and shovel. Thanks Grandma!

 

- Alex and I celebrating that we made it in one piece after the passport mishap.

 

- We hit up a street of antique shops in a small town near where we were staying. Found some neat things but only had room in my suitcase for a few little trinkets. Why do suitcases have to be so darned small anyway?

 

- Finally a hot enough day to hit the pool and get a little sun. Sorry Florida, but your weather was a bit disappointing. Note to self: bring more than one hoodie because you might have to wear it every single day of vacation.

 

- Lunch in an old-fashioned diner consisted of fried chicken, fried corn-on-the-cob, and chocolate peanut butter pie. Obviously I was in heaven. And obviously I'm on a diet now (MyFitnessPal and I have been reunited).

 

- Cooper's very first plane ride!

 

 

Counter clockwise from the top left:

- A day of shopping and coconut-shrimp-eating in the Punta Gorda harbour.

 

- The concession stand guy warned us not to bring our fries onto the beach. We didn't listen and learned our lesson. We almost got eaten by a flock of hungry, angry seagulls.
 

- Baby toes and beach sand. Enough said.

 

- We spent a day at SeaWorld Orlando and had a blast. Cooper was fascinated with the roller coasters flying above our heads and the tropical fish in the aquariums. The sea lion & walrus show was our favourite. Soooo funny!

 

- Beach butt. Thanks other grandma for the cute bathing suit!

 

- After our crazy Ontario winter, the blue skies and palm trees were so refreshing. 

 

- Cooper's first ball cap. So cute, right?

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So, are you ready for the passport story. Of course you are.

 

Alex is always in charge of the passports. I'm way too absentminded to keep track of anything important. (Well, except the baby. I've been pretty good at not losing him so far. Knock on wood.) Several times during our travels I asked Alex if he had the passports. He kept saying yes and was starting to get annoyed by my constant questioning. Fast forward a little bit. Since we had a three-hour layover between flights, we decided to have a nice lunch at one of the airport restaurants. Toward the end of the meal Coops started getting cranky and tired so I brought him out into the airport hallway in case he had a meltdown. Before leaving, I asked Alex to settle the bill and bring all the bags. Ahem. Fast forward a little bit more. It was five minutes before pre-boarding for the long flight from Toronto to Tampa. Since the baby was still sleeping in my arms I asked Alex to start getting our things ready. He started looking around frantically and asked where the backpack with the passports was. Before I could answer, he literally jumped out of his seat and RACED out of the gate leaving me with the baby, all of our stuff, and the lady calling all families with small children to start boarding the plane. I think I know what a panic attack feels like now. It turns out that Alex found his bag. However, the waiter that served our table put the bag in the airport hallway unattended for us to retrieve. Don't tell anyone but the bag was also carrying all of our birth certificates, all of our boarding passes, Alex's playbook, and $400 in cash. Ummmmmm, yes. Crisis averted.

 

Please don't ask how many times I asked Alex if he had the passports on the way home. Needless to say he's a little bit sensitive about the whole topic. Bahahahahaha!

 

I'll be back soon with some pictures of our antique shop finds. :)

 

P.S. It's so nice to be home.