Don't get ahead of yourself, it wasn't a relaxation vacation, but it WAS a distraction vacation. I got to see the kids experience new things & people and that's what my life is about these days. I also got to rest from the balance of working from home and taming two kids on my own. And the biggest thing for me I realized is getting my mind off the job hunt.
Mr Smith "enjoyed" scout camp & interviews while we were gone. But at least he did get a break from the whines & demands of tiny tyrants. He took care of the house while we were away as well. It was spotless coming home! & the todo list was accomplished. You'd think we were ready to move yesterday. Coming home just didn't feel like home. I've been grateful for this apartment (even if I didn't always say so), but 2+ years is enough. Mr Smith missed us terribly, but I think he forgot too about some of the things to-be missed, tears of laughter.
But lets start in the beginning... I never intended on going back to FL, I'm cheap but I also never wanted to visit with kids alone nor pay for my entire family to fly. My parents no longer live there so it just makes logistics more complicated. However, my grandmother invited us to come stay 4 nights with her & my cousin Tab's family at a beach condo; she was even willing to pay for Lexi's ticket. I decided then that this might be the last opportunity to say hello & goodbye to many as well as give her an experience to remember.
2-3 weeks prior, Dallin got that crazy bumpy hives rash that still lingers a bit. Never figured out what caused it. A few days prior, he comes down with a fever. The night before, we realize Lexi needs to go to the after hours clinic for an infection on her leg. It ended up being a random, bad luck staph infection (but no blister). Dallin woke up at 2:45 AM burning with fever. Mr Smith gave him a blessing to be healed and instantly it went away. We didn't have any issues the rest of the trip BUT GOOD GOSH, it's as if God was testing my "why me" reaction as all this goes down AS WE ARE leaving. Of course it goes down the first week we don't have health insurance too.
We left at 3AM to make it to our 5AM flight. Dallin went back to sleep soon after take off & Lexi played up until the last hour. We lucked out with an extra seat both flights! We managed a wheelchair at the Houston airport during our 3 hr layover & we just played. Dallin napped the 2nd flight too & we flew into Jacksonville right when Gammi drove into the parking lot. She came down brutal SC traffic to greet us. We made it! And I was pleasantly surprised by how calm I still was.
Saturday night was spent meeting up with Ashley & Caitlyn after our sushi dinner & hotel check-in. Sunday was a crazy day with rushed sacrament attendance, saying hello/goodbye to Sis Jones and others who have stuck around the Jax 2nd ward, saying bye to Caitlyn at brunch with Leah & Tiffany, heading to the lake at Camp Blanding for Liberty's birthday party & seeing most of mom's side of the family, and then driving back to Macclenny to stay the night at Zac's. We got a LATE start Monday morning due to the exhaustion (imagine Dallin having to adjust to all this), but we stopped by to see PawPaw on our way to Palm Coast.
The rest of the beach photos are on my phone, but I'm grateful I managed these nicer ones our last day. It was a GREAT trip although Dallin took some time to really relax and enjoy himself too. He was so incredibly moody & whiney the first bit, but it was a new environment and schedule was nonexistent. By Tuesday we were already burned! Our UT skin was not used to the FL sun and I'm horrible at reapplying, so we took it easy the other days & tried our best to limit sun exposure. We hopped from the beach to the pool as best we could while juggling nap time. Tiff, Leah & Ashley drove down on Wednesday & I actually managed 1.5 hours of talking kid-free! It was so nice just to catch up on our lives. We then decided to rescue Ross from all the children. It was great spending time with grandmas & Tab's family!
By Friday we checked out and headed back into Jax to meet up for lunch with Satha & Rachelle. It was SO good seeing them! We stopped to see Shannon's home and actually get a photo with her kids. And then made one last stop at Aunt Tami's condo before heading up to SC. Friday was busy! And Dallin was not a happy camper for half the 5.5 hr ride. Saturday was completely spent recuperating & spending time with PopPop!
On Sunday morning Teresa came to visit! That completes the main high school gang. Time only changes us a little bit. Then Amy drove down with her 3 kids that evening! Mom had to go back to work, but we let the chaos go on. Luckily Lexi & Brooklyn loved each other! But now Dallin & Grant are at that struggle age. It was so great to see them. The older kids stayed up late into the evening chit chatting. They fed the animals with Gammi, took golf cart rides & swam in the pool. Let's not forget the snow cones too that everyone begged for. We said goodbye Tuesday morning knowing we'll see them in August!
The rest of the SC week we spent with family nearby. I loved seeing Addy & Lexi play. Lexi would tell how Addy talked with her hands & she just wanted to play with her friend. Only 3 days apart and it's great to see how far Addy has come! She is truly another family miracle.
We had a family BBQ on Thursday night and it was awesome to see everyone even though we had to stick it out in the heat! Between PopPop or Gammi helping out with the kids, I was able to still get my work hours in too. PopPop became my go-to person for getting Dallin to sleep. I know we wore them out! It's difficult when you're used to your home being toy & crumb free. I think I got a little more sympathy for my daily grind. Dallin is just everywhere these days & the whininess quickly shadows the cute smiles. His gums were swollen from 3 teeth the entire trip! However, his sleep slowly adjusted and he got more comfortable while being there & I'm so grateful we got more of his happy, cute self. They LOVED the golf cart rides. I did NOT miss the bug bites! Lexi insisted on bandaids to cover them all.
We said our goodbyes on Sat & PopPop drove us to the Charlotte airport for our direct flight back. Seems like a simple 2 hour drive, but Dallin went through 2 outfits before entering the airport & then we had to move luggage items around since I was 7 lbs over the limit.
I thought since it was at bedtime the kids would quickly dose off. Nope! Dallin was all over the freaking place putting everything up and down (tray table, arm rest, window, repeat). I think the 9 year old boy next to us thought we were crazy. They only slept from what would have been 11-12AM EST. So that was awesome. They were woken from deep sleep & for the life of us we couldn't find Lexi's other flipflop. I wasn't able to get down & search since I had Dallin but another couple asked to assist. Alas, we walked off the plane with Lexi bawling because she lost her shoe...all.the.way.to.dad. Welcome home! We made it home around 12AM MST and BOY did Sunday AM come early!
I won't do it again, ahahaha, but the timing couldn't have been more perfect for me! Well, maybe winter would have been less humid ;) I actually can say the time spent worked out great.
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