Zac had a half-day on Friday. I spent most of that morning packing last-minute toiletries and loading up the van. Once he was home, we brought the dogs to their pup hotel, then drove to pick up Mom and make the four-hour drive to Florida. The kids, even Cole, were SO GOOD, until the last 30 minutes when Cole woke up screaming. But OMG those first 3.5 hours of silence was amazing. We made it to the hotel around 7pm, unloaded everything into the room, threw on our swim suits and went down to the pool. We got a good hour or two in before climbing out to get dressed and go eat dinner at Flounder's Chowder House. The last time we were there was 2013 and omg Jac and Leah were so itty bitty. The big kids and I ordered sushi, while Mom and Zac shared a seafood platter with Elias. Sushi was easy as I had to nurse Cole pretty much immediately after being seated. We got back to the hotel and called it a night. The room was nice, though. There were bunk beds, two queens, and a pull-out sofa bed. Jac slept on the top bunk, Leah and Elias shared the bottom, Mom had her own queen, and I made Zac sleep with me on the sofa bed. It was easier watching TV without disturbing anyone else, plus I like waking up by the window.
So, before going to sleep, Jac informed me he wanted to set an alarm so he could wake up early. I told him he should not do such because there was nothing for him to do and he would be bored. I went to bed around midnight after getting Cole settled down. Around 5:50am, I hear that GD alarm going off. Elias woke up and got fussy, telling Jac to turn it off. Then, Leah woke up telling him to turn it off. THEN, Mom woke up, got out of her bed and shined a flashlight in Jac's face to wake him up because he was the ONLY one who didn't hear the noise. Once he shut it off, they went back to bed and I had to get Cole settled again. Guess what? Not even half an hour later, that damn alarm went off AGAIN. Same thing all over. He couldn't hear it. I got up, took his phone and hid it in my bag. It was about 6:30am, I couldn't sleep. Cole passed out on his own, so I brushed my teeth and sat out on the balcony and watched the ocean for about two hours. It was fascinating. The ocean makes white noise so my mind couldn't wander much. It felt good to not be needed for a while. I watched the sun come up through overcast clouds, the pools were cleaned and prepped for the day, the beach opened up, and guests made their way to the water. Cole woke up, so Zac and I got dressed and went downstairs to pick up some Starbucks and a variety of pastries. It felt strange, yet nostalgic to carry a single baby around. We talked about how different life would've been had this newest addition been our first. Would we have moved to Mississippi? Wisconsin? Maybe Montana? Would we have been to Europe yet or taken a cruise? But the weight of six beverages and a bag full of pastries brought us back to the NOW and we rode the elevator back upstairs. The kids put on their swim suits and we went down to the beach. A yellow flag indicated choppy waves and to use caution, so the kids and Zac stayed near the shore. I sat under an umbrella to feed Cole but did get up a few times to take some pictures. The tide was coming in and some of the waves were unpredictably high, so of course, my pants got wet. Oh well. It started to rain, so Zac brought the kids to the indoor pool, I headed upstairs to leave Cole with Mom, put on my swim suit, and join the fam. I actually wore a two-piece. I haven't been seen in a swim suit that wasn't covered since 2000, but swallowed my vanity and pushed the "you've got a mom bod" voice out of my head, and jumped in. We swam for a few hours before Mom called to tell me Cole was hungry, so I went upstairs to shower and feed him. Zac brought the kids up to get dressed and we drove to Peg Leg Pete's for lunch. We have tried to make it here every time we go to the beach. It's totally worth the drive. I even ordered gumbo. When I was pregnant with Jac, I threw up gumbo and couldn't eat it again, but finally ordered it and it was amazing. We got back to the hotel and Mom decided she was going to take a nap, so Zac brought the three bigger kids to the pool for a swim and I brought Cole on a walk to the souvenir shops to find a shot glass for Emily and something with names on it for the kids. No luck on the names or the shot glass. I came back to the hotel, got a bottle of water and some pound cake, then rode the elevator upstairs to watch Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 while Mom was still asleep. Zac finally came up a bit later and picked up some hot dogs for dinner from Dog House Deli. The kids had their baths, I packed up most of our stuff and we went to bed.
This morning, I woke Zac up and we went downstairs to grab coffee and pastries. We ate and got dressed, I finished getting our stuff together and we checked out and drove to the Dog House Deli to grab breakfast and make one last stop to look at souvenirs before leaving. I found a shot glass for Emily and a plush manatee for Cole. We drove to the Cordova mall to walk around for a bit. I bought some Bath & Body Works semi-annual sale goodies and some macarons, and almost moved into a store called Earthbound. It reminded me of the Ra Shop and had so many psychedelic trinkets. After leaving, we picked up some snacks from the gas station and made the long drive home. I'm full of sugar and feel like sludge, but tomorrow I'm going to detox with a smoothie and lots of water. The kiddos are getting in their beds as I type, thanks to Zac. I've got our laundry washing, and Zac is picking the dogs up tomorrow after work. We really had a fun trip, even though the weather was gloomy. No sunburns, no barf. Win/win.
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