florida vacay part 2 of 2
friday, february 8
friday morning we got ready and took azalea to a park nearby with my dad. it was a hit :) then we took a little trip to the jetty, which is a strip of land with rocks that juts out into the channel. it was windy, but still no evidence of red tide, so that was nice!
this picture cracks me up. this is how azalea's hair looked most of the trip! haha
my parents' friends (and former neighbors) dan and julie came over for lunch with their girls shannon (4) and maggie (2). we grilled burgers and then everyone went to the pool for a while. i love seeing them each year. they used to live across the street from my parents, but moved about a year and a half ago.
the gang enjoying the pool
after they left, azalea went down for a nap and i relaxed on the lanai with a book. for dinner, we went to a restaurant nearby for pizza called allegro bistro. yum! we finished the night relaxing at the condo and went to bed early. perfection!
saturday, february 9
saturday we headed to st. petersburg (a little under an hour north) to go to the saturday morning market downtown. lots of food, produce, and craft vendors. it was packed! we walked around for a bit, but azalea wasn't into staying close by, so it was sort of hard.
at the market...i missed the tongue memo
after that, we took her to a playground nearby. it was the most picturesque playground i've ever been to....right on the ocean! she had a ball.
our vacations are basically one big tour of play grounds these days. ha!
we were all hungry, so we decided to go out for lunch. let's just say this wasn't the wisest decision. it was close to azalea's nap time, but i thought she would be ok. i was wrong. we barely ordered drinks before she was having a complete meltdown at the restaurant...wouldn't sit in the high chair and wouldn't even let thatcher walk around with her. we asked for the bill for the drinks and decided to head home. it's funny looking back now, but at the time, i was upset about it. this is one area (among others) that i need to work on as a mother. i get upset when things don't go as planned, and that is just not an option when you have a toddler. they are unpredictable! i was also upset with myself for even thinking it would be a good idea to take her to a restaurant at that time. live and learn, i guess! she napped on the drive back and then of course refused to nap when we got home. so we took her to the pool instead to burn off some energy, thinking she would go down for a nap later. that didn't happen either (i'm not ready for these days-ha!). for dinner, we went to my parents' friends (also former neighbors) fred and jen's. they have 2 kids, max (10) and kat (6). fred's mom and 2 of her friends were also there, so it was basically a party. :) it was such a fun night! they made margaritas, salad, kebabs, and dessert. we hung out on the back porch/patio and i had to keep reminding myself it was a february night. so crazy!
max was working on building a rocket, so thatcher wore goggles...safety first! :)
sunday, february 10
sunday we headed to siesta key beach in the morning. it is the most gorgeous beach ever. it's actually been rated the best beach in the u.s. a bunch of times. the sand feels like baby powder. you have to get there early, because the lot is usually filled up by 11am. i was excited to take azalea, but knew she would probably have opinions of her own. ha. just like the other day, she refused to walk on the sand. :) but she did like sitting on a towel and playing with sand toys. success! we took her down by the water and she clung to us for dear life. haha. my silly scared girl.
i was impressed she actually kept her hat on!
thatcher buried her legs...i think she liked it :)
we stayed about an hour and a half before deciding it would be wise to head home for lunch and her nap. i spent more quality time with the pool chair and after azalea's nap, we took a bike ride to nokomis groves (yep, again!). we were swarmed by bees, which was not fun, but the ice cream was worth it! :) on our ride back, we stopped to visit some goats.
they were so friendly and funny!
we grilled up some dinner and ended the night watching the grammy awards.
monday, february 11
monday we hung out at the condo in the morning and then my friend katie's brother stopped by with his girl friend, manisha. they moved to st. petersberg from minnesota a couple years ago, so i contacted him to see if he wanted to meet up. the two of them and thatcher and i went to the one ocean side restaurant in town for lunch. azalea stayed home with my parents. :) we had to wait an hour for a table, but it's not so bad when you have a warm breeze, sunshine, and beautiful scenery. we had a great time chatting with them!
a group shot before they headed out
in the afternoon, my dad had two of his old firefighter co-workers stop by who happened to be in town. one he hadn't seen in a decade or more, so that was fun. we pretty much just hung out at the condo on our last night! the week always flies by! we played with bubbles with azalea out in the drive way, and savored the warm weather.
she was obsessed with bubbles...i'm excited for summer!
tuesday, february 12
our final day was all travel. we left the condo at 8:30 and our flight left at 11:30. azalea did much better on the flight home. she slept for the first hour and a half, which was amazing! then she "read" the in-flight magazines for another half hour. the rest of the flight she watched some videos on the ipad and ate lots of crackers. she was just much happier in general. i think we'll be flying at nap time more often! it's always a rude awakening to return to real winter after being in florida, but we survived. i'm so glad we we were able to escape reality for a while and spend some quality time with my parents. if anyone is wondering, my dad is doing great. especially when he is in florida! he does lots of walking, biking, eating, and just enjoying life. i hope he has many many more days like that to come! now if only i had unlimited vacation time and money to go down again! i guess there's always next year!
my parents' friends (and former neighbors) dan and julie came over for lunch with their girls shannon (4) and maggie (2). we grilled burgers and then everyone went to the pool for a while. i love seeing them each year. they used to live across the street from my parents, but moved about a year and a half ago.
after they left, azalea went down for a nap and i relaxed on the lanai with a book. for dinner, we went to a restaurant nearby for pizza called allegro bistro. yum! we finished the night relaxing at the condo and went to bed early. perfection!
saturday, february 9
saturday we headed to st. petersburg (a little under an hour north) to go to the saturday morning market downtown. lots of food, produce, and craft vendors. it was packed! we walked around for a bit, but azalea wasn't into staying close by, so it was sort of hard.
after that, we took her to a playground nearby. it was the most picturesque playground i've ever been to....right on the ocean! she had a ball.
we were all hungry, so we decided to go out for lunch. let's just say this wasn't the wisest decision. it was close to azalea's nap time, but i thought she would be ok. i was wrong. we barely ordered drinks before she was having a complete meltdown at the restaurant...wouldn't sit in the high chair and wouldn't even let thatcher walk around with her. we asked for the bill for the drinks and decided to head home. it's funny looking back now, but at the time, i was upset about it. this is one area (among others) that i need to work on as a mother. i get upset when things don't go as planned, and that is just not an option when you have a toddler. they are unpredictable! i was also upset with myself for even thinking it would be a good idea to take her to a restaurant at that time. live and learn, i guess! she napped on the drive back and then of course refused to nap when we got home. so we took her to the pool instead to burn off some energy, thinking she would go down for a nap later. that didn't happen either (i'm not ready for these days-ha!). for dinner, we went to my parents' friends (also former neighbors) fred and jen's. they have 2 kids, max (10) and kat (6). fred's mom and 2 of her friends were also there, so it was basically a party. :) it was such a fun night! they made margaritas, salad, kebabs, and dessert. we hung out on the back porch/patio and i had to keep reminding myself it was a february night. so crazy!
sunday, february 10
sunday we headed to siesta key beach in the morning. it is the most gorgeous beach ever. it's actually been rated the best beach in the u.s. a bunch of times. the sand feels like baby powder. you have to get there early, because the lot is usually filled up by 11am. i was excited to take azalea, but knew she would probably have opinions of her own. ha. just like the other day, she refused to walk on the sand. :) but she did like sitting on a towel and playing with sand toys. success! we took her down by the water and she clung to us for dear life. haha. my silly scared girl.
we stayed about an hour and a half before deciding it would be wise to head home for lunch and her nap. i spent more quality time with the pool chair and after azalea's nap, we took a bike ride to nokomis groves (yep, again!). we were swarmed by bees, which was not fun, but the ice cream was worth it! :) on our ride back, we stopped to visit some goats.
we grilled up some dinner and ended the night watching the grammy awards.
monday, february 11
monday we hung out at the condo in the morning and then my friend katie's brother stopped by with his girl friend, manisha. they moved to st. petersberg from minnesota a couple years ago, so i contacted him to see if he wanted to meet up. the two of them and thatcher and i went to the one ocean side restaurant in town for lunch. azalea stayed home with my parents. :) we had to wait an hour for a table, but it's not so bad when you have a warm breeze, sunshine, and beautiful scenery. we had a great time chatting with them!
in the afternoon, my dad had two of his old firefighter co-workers stop by who happened to be in town. one he hadn't seen in a decade or more, so that was fun. we pretty much just hung out at the condo on our last night! the week always flies by! we played with bubbles with azalea out in the drive way, and savored the warm weather.
tuesday, february 12
our final day was all travel. we left the condo at 8:30 and our flight left at 11:30. azalea did much better on the flight home. she slept for the first hour and a half, which was amazing! then she "read" the in-flight magazines for another half hour. the rest of the flight she watched some videos on the ipad and ate lots of crackers. she was just much happier in general. i think we'll be flying at nap time more often! it's always a rude awakening to return to real winter after being in florida, but we survived. i'm so glad we we were able to escape reality for a while and spend some quality time with my parents. if anyone is wondering, my dad is doing great. especially when he is in florida! he does lots of walking, biking, eating, and just enjoying life. i hope he has many many more days like that to come! now if only i had unlimited vacation time and money to go down again! i guess there's always next year!
Comments
Looks like such a fun trip...next time..BRING ME WITH YOU!
glad you dad is feeling good, it's clear that his heart too is in FL! ;)
Glad you had a great time!
And your story about Azalea at lunch made me think of my cousin's blog post today. She is more private and very unlike most bloggers (in our circle at least) but I LOVE LOVE LOVE her writing. She is so creative. Anywho, her daughter (referred to as Peanut) is 2 and you might get a kick out of her post today (or at least know that you're not alone ;-))
http://shannonmakesstuffup.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/a-glimmer-of-perspective/