When I started working with my hubby in the beginning of the year, I quickly realized that with both of us working for an AC company in Florida, our kids' summer could easily be overwhelmed by our work schedules, leaving them stuck staring at a TV screen with no real family time. (Yes I DO think about that stuff in January...I'm a weirdo like that.) Well, I decided then and there that I would NOT let that happen. So I told Aaron that I didn't care how we did it, but we were going to pick a weekend, forget about work, and go away to the beach as a family. Like a good hubby, he didn't tell me I was insane for thinking of this stuff in the middle of winter, he just gave me an "OK," which is as close as Aaron ever gets to "Yes dear."
The months passed and I remembered a resort in Cocoa Beach I had visited with a friend a few years back that was super fun and kid-friendly. We decided to book a room there for weekend of Aaron's birthday, and invited our friends Kim and Perry, Jen and Bill, and Kaitlyn and Joel, along with their respective little people to join us. We had such an amazing weekend!
Aaron had an almost full day of work planned for that Friday, so I packed everything we needed for the weekend in the car, packed a backpack with swim suits and a change of clothes for myself and the boys, and hitched a ride with our awesome friends so we could start the party a little earlier! The people at the resort were great, they got us checked in much earlier than we anticipated, and the boys were super psyched to see our room where they had their own little area, complete with their own TV and bunk beds! We ate a quick lunch and it everyone was off to the water play area! This ended up being everyone's favorite place to hang out, with shallow enough water that we didn't worry about the kids as they ran around and climbed the pirate ships and slid down the little slides. We got to lay in the sun (or sit at the table in the shade) and just let the kids go nuts. It was great! They played their little hearts out!
Aaron finished his work and got to the hotel just as were were about done with the pool. We all got changed for dinner and met Kaitlyn down at the beach where she was doing some family photos. She generously offered to do some for us too, and the results were BEAUTIFUL! Poor Nate was so overtired from all the fun in the sun, he wanted NOTHING to do with pictures of any kind! But Kaitlyn managed to find a way to capture the moment so beautifully! Please check out more of her work by clicking here.
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| Beautiful moment, even if Nate is a bit grumpy =) |
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| This may be my new favorite family pic! |
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| The elusive Nathan smile! |
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| My Silly Dilly |
After the photo shoot, we went to a local BBQ place for dinner. I'm sure they cringed at the sight of our party of 15, which of course included our gaggle of six overtired but over excited kids! But they wisely put us in a back area of the restaurant where we couldn't do too much damage! =) We enjoyed our meal, poked around Ron Jon Surf Shop for a little bit, and headed back to the hotel to rest.
Somewhere around 5am, Aaron and I woke up to Dillon in our bed, saying he had a headache. That is usually a sign of a fever in my big man, and sure enough he felt pretty warm. With a sinking heart, I realized this was probably the end of our mini vacation. But since it was too early to get Nate up and pack, we gave Dill Bug some ibuprofen and some water and tucked him back in to rest a while. Amazingly, a few hours later when we all woke up again, Dilly was fine! Bright eyed, happy, excited, and ready to hit the beach! Aaron went out and bought a thermometer, and sure enough, there was not even an inkling of a fever! Woohoo!
After a couple hours, the kids were itching to get back to the pirate ship pool, so we packed it up. I brought Nate back to the room for a much needed nap, and Dill went with his buds to the pool. We all met up again for dinner at the resort restaurant overlooking the beach. By the end of dinner, I saw that glazed, "I don't feel good" look on Dills face again. I brought him back to the room and took his temp, and he had a low fever again! I gave him some more meds, and let him lay down and watch TV and rest. Frustrated and confused, I turned to my old pal the internet for answers. Turns out my man had a bit of heat exhaustion from running around so much in the heat and not having enough to drink! I never knew that heat exhaustion could manifest in a fever, but as I thought back over the last two days of crazy fun in the sun, it all made sense. After sitting in the AC for a little bit and drinking a couple bottles of water, Dill was raring to go again, fever long gone!
While I was in our room with sicky Dilly, Aaron and Nate got to spend some real quality time on the beach as the sun went down. They played in the sand, ran in and out of the surf, got completely soaked, and made some really great memories. Nate later told me playing on the beach with Daddy was his favorite part of the whole trip, and Aaron quietly confessed it was one of his most favorite memories too. He tried to get pictures of Nate, but the little bug was having too much fun to be bothered to stop for a photo op!
After Dill felt better and Nate and Aaron were dry, we met our friends down by the fire pits and made s'mores and talked. The kids ate and ran around like lunatics, and the adults marveled at their never ending energy! It was a beautiful, clear night with a nice breeze, and I felt so blessed to have been able to make my dream of a mini family getaway a reality.
The next morning, since it was Aaron's birthday, we went out in search of an IHOP for breakfast as he requested. We found one...with a wait of over an hour for a table...so the birthday boy decided on Waffle House instead! =)
We enjoyed our incredibly large and delicious breakfast, and headed back to the pool for a little bit more fun. By this point all of the adults hid under the umbrellas, avoiding the sun like a bunch of vampires and doing our best not to doze off. Who knew relaxing could be so exhausting?
A little while later we decided to say our goodbyes and head home from our little beach getaway. As we drove, I was so grateful for the opportunity to get some real time together as a family. I know the rest of the summer may pass by in a blur, heck it has already started to! In the next month we have two weeks of VBS (one of which I'm volunteering in), two birthday parties to plan and a bunch more to attend! All the while we are working through our busiest season! But I am so blessed to have been able to take that little weekend and disconnect from all of that and be together, because isn't that really all that matters?
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| Little snoozer |
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| Big snoozer |
