We'd had a wonderful trip in Florida; but, alas, every great vacation must come to an end. We were able to sleep in because our flight wasn't leaving until 5pm so that was nice. I hate being rushed trying to get packed and to the airport. We went out to breakfast at IHOP and I indulged & ordered a belgin waffle with strawberries & whip cream. Not exactly on WW, but hey I was still technically on vacation!! Right!
We had such a perfect day of travel on the way to Florida, it only stood to reason that things wouldn't go as well with our departure. As was the case. Our flight was delayed an hour and then we ended up waiting inside the airplane for another hour because a tugger or something was stuck. So that made a 4 hour plane ride a 5 hour plane ride. Still, Katelyn did awesome! We didn't get into DIA until about 10, which felt like midnight to us cause we were still on Florida time. By the time we made it home, it was close to midnight here. Good thing we could sleep in the next day!!
Here are some more things I don't want to forget about our first family vacation:
-everywhere we went in Disney, everyone called Katelyn "princess". And I mean everyone from the gal who sold us our tickets to the guy who sold us ice cream. Is there anything better than that?
-we had the best time swimming in our hotel pool in the evenings after long hot exhausting days. Katelyn was very adament that she could swim without help and worked on holding her breath under water.
-We had 1 hotel room with 2 beds. But inevitably Katelyn would end up in bed with us, so I got my Katie-cuddles!! As you know we've been working on getting her to sleep in her own room at home, but here in the hotel she got to snuggle with us again.
-I loved seeing palm trees! One night we decided to grab Taco Bell for dinner and when we glanced over to a pond/treed area, we saw a monkey up in a palm tree. For real!! It was exciting!
-o.k. don't read this one: one night Mike surprised me by giving me 2 very sweet(if not a bit passionate) kisses. Too bad there was a snoozing 4-year-old in the next bed-who knows what might have happened! (It's o.k., I know you read that anyway!!!)
-on our way back from Cocoa Beach, we stopped to pay a toll, and there was an alligator just sunning himself on the bank of a small pond near the side of the road! Don't see that too often in Colorado!
-I usually do all the driving in Denver. But for some reason Mike decided to do all the driving in Florida. It was actually very nice being chauffered everywhere! When Katie & I would come down in the morning, he'd already have the car cooled off and pulled in front of the hotel for us! I could get used to that!
-when we were at the ocean, Katelyn was insisting that I let her go so she could swim on her own. I had to explain to her the difference between the ocean and a swimming pool, ie. currents & tides etc. To convince her, I told her that even mommy wasn't strong enough to swim in the ocean. Her eyes got so big like she just couldn't believe that! It's so great to still be a superhero in my child's eyes!!!
-Katie & I played "hangman" for the first time while we waited for our flight on the last day. She caught on right away & did super!
A special note to Katelyn:
Sweetheart, I hope you had a wonderful vacation! You were such a great little traveler-I'm very proud of you! It took your 'ole mom a while to be ready to travel with you, but I promise this was just the first of many family vacations. You see I really want you to have a fun childhood. (Is that a strange thing for a parent to say?) I realize I have all these responsiblities toward your education and preparing you for the real world. But I also want you to have FUN! Childhood should be fun, carefree, worry-free. Thank you for making my life so much fun!! I love you!
2 comments:
I loved this post, it touched my heart. There are so many little things that happen outside of the fun parks etc, that make a family vacation memorable. I like your idea of posting about those too. I think you do a great job of making Katie feel like the most special, beloved daughter ever. If ever there was a cherished little girl, it is her. I know it, you know it, everyone who meets your family knows it. I Know that Katelyn knows it too. I am so glad you guys had so much fun. It is so nice to leave housework, bills, responsiblities behind and just focus on bonding as a family.
Sounds like your family had a fabulous time--maybe it was just what you needed! I wish more moms were like you, Shelly. Yes, it is so important for children to have fun. It's good to have times that you put everything else aside and let the focus be bonding and having FUN as a family. You're the best!
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