in search of sun.

Lucky timing, I guess but last week's trip to Florida was the perfect vacation to escape the snow that had been falling for 2 weeks in WA and get some much needed vitamin D. Exactly a week ago we woke the kids up in the middle of the night and drove to the airport. Matt had to stay back and work so I rounded the troops and took the 3 best travelers alone for a 5.5 hour flight to visit my parents in sunny Florida. And they were fantastic! Going through airport security is never fun. Going through security by yourself, 3 kids, 4 carry ons and a giant car seat? Not great. But they were awesome. And the flight couldn't have gone any better. Give them all the snacks in the world, travel chess, books and iPads and I had 3 happy kids. Woohoo!

 The car seat backpack was enormous but so much easier to carry. And I only whacked Lucy in the head once. Oops.

 We wasted no time when we landed. Dropped our bags, grabbed our swimsuits and headed straight for the pool! This was pretty much our routine every single day for the week. Walks, beach, golf cart rides, pool...on repeat.

 It felt SO good to wear shorts, sandals and not freeze to death. I needed some sun!

 The kids each got to take turns driving the golf cart around the neighborhood. Every night after dinner I would go for a walk, they would drive and then Carter would hop out and finish the walk with me. It was the best time to talk with him one on one. Vacations are really great when you can slow down and reconnect.

 Monday morning the kids really wanted to go putt putt golfing. So, only in Fl do you go putt putt with alligators! Tons of them. We fed them a little snack and then golfed our 18 holes. Lucy got a hole in one, Simon played his own little version and Carter did great! Not as chaotic as last summer's putt putt adventure.

 We went back home and headed straight for the pool again. They just couldn't get enough! Luckily the other residents were kind enough to ignore the splashing and screaming and ball throwing all week long.

 My parents generously went grocery shopping for us before we arrived. It was a huge list of food and they didn't expect we'd eat it all. But then, they saw the kids devour this bag of apple sticks in less than 10 minutes. And they knew...we'd eat it all and then some! A great start to our sunny mid-winter break!