another florida trip is in the books. as with every year we've gone down there, i am always thankful that the kids and i are able to spend a week with my mom and brother each february. we miss thatcher when we are gone, but he prefers to save his vacation time for summer. when i share these recaps, i always want to give the full picture that there were plenty of hard moments mixed in: sibling bickering, strong opinions/emotions about our activities, and azalea's allergies. thankfully she was prescribed a steroid to help combat the facial swelling she experiences. the steroid did a pretty good job, and she only suffered minor discomfort, so that was a relief.
we had an early morning at the airport last monday. thatcher dropped us off. normally the week of mid-winter break, the seattle airport is super crowded and stressful with long lines. imagine my surprise when we completed our bag check and got through security in under 20 minutes total! partly in thanks to our spot saver reservation. we had two whole hours to kill before our flight. oh well, better than waiting in lines, worrying that you are running out of time. the flight felt long as usual (5 hours), but it was easy, and more than worth it for a week of fun in the sun.
we arrived in tampa at 5pm (we lose an entire day when we fly there). my brother's flight arrived less than an hour before ours, so it was great timing. my mom picked us all up. we decided to do an easy dinner at culver's on the way back to my mom's house. it was on our list for the week anyway :) it was after 8pm by the time we got to my mom's, and we were all tired, so we just relaxed for a while and then headed to bed.
tuesday morning it was 48 degrees when we woke up. eep! we hung out at home while it warmed up a bit. the kids played on the driveway and i sat in the sunshine.
at lunch time we picked up publix subs and drove to 'maxine barrett park' for a picnic. it was very windy and a little chilly, but the scenery was beautiful.
we spent some time on the beach and the fishing pier.
then we headed back to brave the pool in 65-degree weather. thankfully they keep the pool super warm in the winter and it actually felt plenty warm. we enjoyed hanging out with some of her neighbors as well.
we ended the night with pasta for dinner, followed by scrabble, ice cream, and watching 'trolls'.
wednesday morning we hung out at my mom's and then drove up to sarasota to do mini golf and have lunch at evie's.
when we got back, it was pool time again!
in the evening, we tried to go to the drum circle at nokomis beach, but it was soooooo windy and chilly (i can't believe i'm saying that). we only lasted 30 minutes despite wearing long sleeves and pants.
we stopped home to grab more layers and then headed to 'snook haven' for dinner and some live music.
thursday morning we planned to all go to siesta key beach, but azalea's allergies arrived right on schedule, and she wasn't feeling well enough to go, so my mom stayed back with her. brandon, ashford, and i went together and had a fun time frolicking on the beach and in the chilly water ;)
a couple hours after her first dose of the steroid, azalea was feeling better, so we picked her up and headed to 'dairy queen' for a late lunch and blizzards. a tradition with unkie :) in the evening, we attended my mom's neighborhood potluck at the pool.
friday morning my mom made us french toast and sausage. i always look forward to that! then it was time for unkie brandon to head to the airport to fly back to minneapolis. my mom took him and the kids and i stayed home. when she got back, we had lunch and then headed to downtown venice to walk around.
ashford's eyes were really bothering him too (itchy), but by the time we got back, both kids said they were feeling much better. we relaxed at home the rest of the afternoon. in the evening, we headed to 'fox lea farm' to watch the horse jumping competition. you pay $10 and there is an appetizer buffet and drinks for purchase. the show lasts about 90 minutes and it's really fun to watch.
saturday morning we decided to take another trip to siesta key beach because azalea missed the first one. we spent a beautiful couple of hours playing in the sand and water. it was windy and the waves were a lot bigger than the first day we went.
we went back to my mom's for lunch and hung out there for the afternoon. at dinner time we attempted to go to a restaurant called 'dockside grille' but we arrived there just before 5pm and there was a 2 hour wait (!). so we went to an old favorite, 'allegro bistro' instead. the kids both got pasta and my mom and i got pizza and it was delish! after dinner, my mom's neighbor jan came over and we all played 'skip bo'.
sunday was our last full day. we decided to go back to the restaurant with the super long wait right when it opened for lunch, and that was definitely the way to go. we got right in. it was a really nice open-air spot next to a marina and had great food. i even got a beachy cocktail at 11:00 am because i hadn't had one all week. ha! my mom and i split blackened shrimp tacos.
in the afternoon, we set out for a park/cafe in sarasota that had live music. the band was called 'passerine' and my mom has seen them a few times. they were so good! they played for 2 hours (with a short break). we sat at a table at the cafe, but there was also a playground nearby and green space to throw our frisbee. the kids were not thrilled about going, but they did pretty well.
in the evening, we had our leftovers from dinner the night before and played one more game of scrabble.
monday morning was mostly spent packing and getting organized. i also took each kid on their own special walk with me. since the drive to tampa can be unpredictable with traffic, we decided to start the drive many hours before we needed to. we stopped in st. petersburg and went on the pier, which is a really pretty spot.
we got to the tampa airport 2 hours before our flight and that was plenty of time. we got burgers before our looooong flight and then it was back to seattle. the flight back was 6 hours long. we were really tired when we landed at 9:30pm because it felt like 12:30am. thatcher picked us up, we were happy to be re-united. whew!
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