Every summer, we make the trip back to FL during Tristan's 2 week break between summer and fall football. This was our first time flying with two kids, and I'd be lying if I didn't say we were a little worried about how it would go.
Don't let this absolutely adorable face fool you...this boy is BUSY and doesn't like being "worn" for long periods of time. Nor does he like sleeping anywhere but his crib.
This guy, on the other hand, is SO easy, so we knew he would be an angel on the flights. And, he absolutely was! This was actually a fun trip for Mason - even though he's been on a LOT of planes in his short 3 years, this was the first trip he really understood what was happening. He was not only so excited to ride the planes, but to see all of our family in FL.
Do you SEE that mischievous look on Madden???
Mason was such a big boy with his own suitcase to carry on the plane. It was stocked full of cars, coloring books, stickers, a few movies, and snacks.
Unfortunately, we were delayed in Atlanta due to weather, and ended up getting to FL 3 hours later than expected. This is unfortunate, because Madden was dressed and ready for the BIG event happening that night, which we ended up missing...
Auntie Brittany's engagement!
But we survived the trip, and I'm happy to report it wasn't as bad as we thought it would be. Guess that's what happens when you expect the worst!
Luckily, even though we missed the actual proposal, we didn't miss the post-engagement celebration! My mom had planned a surprise party at our beach condo, so once we got a very tired Madden to sleep, we were able to celebrate!
WAHOO!
We stayed at the Ritz Carlton residences on Singer Island in West Palm Beach for the week. This was, A. totally NOT how I vacationed growing up, B. totally NOT how we will vacation as a family of 4 as the boys grow up, but C. totally awesome. So, thanks mom, for turning into a hotel/vacation snob over the past 10 years!
We had such a fun week - not only was the facility amazing, but this was the first real vacation Tristan & I have taken since our honeymoon. It was a little different with two small children, but was also a perfect vacation to take them on.
We spent the majority of our time in the hotel's two amazing pools. The upper deck had cabanas and water fountains.
And the lower deck had an infinity pool overlooking the ocean.
Madden absolutely loved the pool - as soon as we'd get down there he'd start kicking, squealing and launching himself out of our arms.
And this guy is a swimming fool!!!
Every day, after a few hours of swimming, we'd pull Mason out of the pool for a snack. Well, he apparently adapted to the Ritz mindset real quick, and insisted on being covered like THIS for all of his snacks.
So then, of course his little brother wanted in on that action.
These two, I sure do love them.
More poolside fun in the cabana with Gigi.
Mason scoping out the pretty ladies. Ha!
Madden helping Pop get some work done.
Of course, we also ventured down to the beach a few times as well. Although, to be honest, we preferred the pools. But the water was gorgeous and Mason had a great time riding the (small) waves with daddy & Pop.
When we weren't down at the pools/beach, we were having our own fun up in the condo.
And, as you probably already know if you've read ANY of my other posts that involve my mom, this trip wouldn't have been complete without serving Mason copious amounts of sugar, in the form of ice cream...
Leftover engagement cake...
And more ice cream. Don't worry...no babies were actually served ice cream with the making of this photo.
And of course...we had plenty of adult beverages as well. Don't worry, no babies were actually served wine with the making of this photo.
We also took a few small excursions, including to a local nature park to see the fish, turtles, and other local wildlife.
And also to a local outside mall that had a merry go round & train.
The Ritz also has a private movie room (of course they do) that my parents reserved for one evening so that they could watch a movie with Mason.
They had the whole place to themselves, and Mason was in heaven, with a movie & popcorn. They watched A Bug's Life, b/c that's the only movie we had!
Some post-movie fun.
Tristan & I were also able to take advantage of the free babysitters to get away two nights. The first night, to celebrate our 5 year anniversary. I had planned for us to go on a sunset cruise and out to dinner, but sadly, 2 hours before we left, the company called to tell us they hadn't booked enough people for that evening's cruise, so it was cancelled.
We were bummed, but had a fantastic dinner at a restaurant recommended by my sister and friend Kelly.
We also got to spend some time with some of my favorite women and sorority sisters. We all went out for dinner one night without kids, but I forgot to take a picture. Then, our last day in town, Kelly & Dustin hosted a BBQ for all of our families.
All three of these women had babies within a month of each other last summer, and I've been dying to meet all these adorable babies. They all just turned 1, and it was so fun to see some of my greatest friends as moms for the first time.
We were all having so much fun catching up, that I only took 2 pictures! So bummed, but we had an amazing time catching up and meeting our babies.
After our great week in S. FL, we headed up to Gainesville to spend a long weekend with my family. We got to see Uncle Brandon.
And Auntie Erin.
And Grandma Sandy
And Grandma Bev, who we somehow forgot to take pictures with. Oops!!
We did plenty of hanging out while we were in town.
And of course got MORE pool time in (what else would we do in Florida in July???)
We also had a BBQ one afternoon for all of our extended family, as well as a few of my high school friends who live there. This is my Aunt Cheryl with her grandbaby, Zeke, who is 6 weeks older than Madden.
And Uncle Charlie
And one of Zeke's older sisters, Lauren.
Apparently Zeke wasn't supposed to touch Madden. Ha!
This is Ava & Michael, who you may recognize from our trip last year. It's become such a fun tradition to see these little ones every year, and so fun to see our kids interacting. These three had a blast together, and the greatest part is that Michael's mommy and Ava's daddy, were some of my best friends in high school.
This year Parker joined the mix too, he just moved back to Gainesville with his mommy, who was also one of my besties in HS.
Kristin, Kim & I all danced together in high school. We were inseparable those years, and then Kim & I were also lucky enough to be sorority sisters at UF. This was the first time all 3 of us have been together since high school, and now all of us have TWO boys.
Madden also got to meet a really adorable puppy. This has nothing to do with the trip, but this picture was too cute to not include :)
After a long 10 days, we made the LONG trek back to Cali. It was a really long day, and much tougher than the trip there for Madden, but we made it in one piece. When we finally got into the car to head home from the airport, I caught this moment in the back seat.
Next year's Florida trip is going to be a little different, and a little sooner, because we'll be going back for Brittany's wedding in May. The wedding will be in West Palm Beach, so hopefully we get to spend some extra time in S. FL again!!
