florida vacay part 1 of 2

tuesday, february 5
we had to get up at 4:00am(!) to catch our 6:30am flight. my brother drove us to the airport. it was snowing hard and the roads were pretty bad at that hour. the flight went okay. azalea is not easy to fly with, but luckily it's never been bad enough where we say "never again." pretty much from the time we got on the plane, we had to fight to get her to sit down, not meltdown, etc. it is also challenging to keep her entertained for more than two minutes at a time. she didn't sleep a wink during the three hour flight. luckily the flight wasn't very full, so we had an empty seat in our row. i don't think her antics bothered anyone around us, but it was stressful enough that thatcher and i breathed a big sigh of relief when we landed. :)

coloring with dad...mostly on her hand!

the best news came when the pilot announced the current weather conditions were 70 and sunny. yes, please! my parents picked us up and we made the hour drive from fort myers to venice. we had lunch on the lanai (screened in porch below) and then azalea went down for a nap and i headed to the pool with a book. i had been fantasizing about that for weeks :) we pretty much hung out at the condo the rest of the day. spent lots of time outside, made dinner, and played with azalea.

reading with grandpa wayne

wednesday, feb 6
 in the morning, my dad and thatcher wanted to go biking, so my mom and azalea and i headed to downtown venice to hang out. we took azalea to the fountains in the park and she loved them. luckily she didn't get too wet :)

walking with grandma jan

too busy looking at the fountains to look at the camera :) 

after that, we looked at some shops and then headed back to the condo to have lunch with my dad and thatcher. during azalea's afternoon nap, i headed back to my happy spot (aka the pool) to read and get some sun. it was heavenly! my parents joined me, and my dad and i hung out in the pool for a bit. when azalea woke up, we all headed to nokomis groves, our favorite ice cream place. it's an orange grove where they make their own soft serve: orange, lime, pineapple, chocolate, etc. so yummy! it's definitely on the list of things we dream about all year. this was azalea's second time going to nokomis groves. she was a fan. :)

 waiting in line

sharing with grandpa wayne 

after nokomis groves, we made a pit stop at a park near my parents' so azalea could play. we made dinner at the condo, and after azalea went to sleep, thatcher and i took a romantic walk to the grocery store. it was so nice to walk at night in shorts, a sweatshirt and flip flops. it's the little things!

thursday, feb 7
my parents took azalea at 6:30am when she woke up, so thatcher and i could sleep in (til 7:45, which yes...that's sleeping in these days). haha. we made a big breakfast and then thatcher and i decided to take azalea out in the bike trailer we rented.

don't worry we fixed the strap before departing

she loved it! we biked all around town and eventually ended up at the beach. we were a little worried about the red tide, but it didn't seem to be affecting the beach we were at, so that was good. we took azalea over by the water. she wasn't sure what to think! she wasn't a fan of walking in the sand, but she liked sitting and playing with it. the waves (which were tiny) were a little scary to her, but i think she enjoyed the experience.

 the girl will not pose for family pictures....little diva! ;)

her view

 for lunch, my mom picked up the most delicious fish tacos i've ever had. yum! azalea went down for her nap, and i headed to...wait for it....the pool :) when she got up, we decided to take her swimming for the first time this trip. she was pretty hesitant about going in the water, at first, but she warmed up to it.

fun in the pool!

 in the evening, my parents offered to watch azalea so thatcher and i could go out for dinner. score! we went to a thai place in town that we've been to before. it was delicious and nice to get out. since my parents are renting a car while we are here, neither of us are allowed to drive it, so my mom dropped us off and we walked back. totally like a high school date, huh? haha! when we got back, we played some uno with my parents and then called it a night.

stay tuned for part 2...