After our not-so-amazing beach trip we headed back to the hotel to finish up lunch. Zach and Kye raced to the dock to check on Mr. Richard’s fishing endeavors and that’s when they caught the puffer fish. Here they come back to tell me about it 🙂
Brittlynn was MUCH happier to be back (and I got the poop out of the swimsuit and bouncer seat, I’m a MASTER). She enjoyed sitting outside with her Sophie!
Yes, I brought lunch with us from home, why spend the money on junk?!?!
While Kye was eating I took Brittlynn on a little tour. I try SO hard to treat her like a “first born” and I am constantly thinking “what would I have done with Kye right now?!” I showed her all the plants and flowers and she LOVED it. She is at that age where she wants to reach out and touch EVERYTHING. She’s also mega strong so it was a fun game to see how many leaves and flowers she could destroy 😉
still eating 😉
Once the kids were down we went back outside to eat our lunch. I got an extra bagel that morning and Zach got a sandwich from Bagel World. I LOVED that the picnic area was right outside our hotel door so we could eat out there and have the monitor still reach. Afterwards we enjoyed watching some of Season 6 of The Office.
Britt woke up before Kye (with no nap the day prior and ALL our adventures that morning he was OUT) so I enjoyed bringing her to our bed, nursing her, and cuddling with her. Zach was playing games on his IPad (which I don’t get the appeal of?!?! What’s the point of playing games? But I guess people could say the same thing about blogging huh?) so I just had solo Brittlynn time. And I LOVED it!!!
She LOVES those fingers!
Once Kye got up we went ahead and did bath time. We were meeting up with some of my family for dinner at Longdogger’s and knew we’d be rushing back and didn’t want to skip baths. Kye had skipped the night before and Brittlynn seriously can’t skip. Her hair gets mega greasy looking if it’s not washed daily (an issue I’ve NEVER had! I can go 2 days no problem!)
We were ready a little early so we wanted to show Brittlynn the dock and water
And the parrot 😉
It was strange to be in the Melbourne area yet not seeing Mom, it was our first time back there since she moved up to Valdosta! For some reason this trip, more than any other I can think of, made me really miss Nana. Maybe it’s because we were staying beach side??? She lived in Satellite Beach and we would always make an effort to spend quality time with her whenever we were in town. It’s hard to believe she’s been gone almost three years. Longdoggers was our favorite place to go with Nana. It was a regular spot (so many of my pictures with her are from there!) and I just really missed her. Zach said he felt differently on this trip down there too. I’m so glad we can go back to visit and that it’s not too far away. It’s so important to keep those memories alive!!!
We went to Longdoggers at 5ish and Zach was a pro-dad and somehow got Brittlynn to sleep. While we were eating outside at a super casual, loud type place. He’s awesome! My Auntie Becky, Uncle Jeff (Mom’s sister and brother), Auntie Lauri (Jeff’s wife) and Sabrina (their daughter) all came to eat with us. It was WONDERFUL getting to visit and catch up. I haven’t seen Uncle Jeff’s clan since they visited last summer and I haven’t seen Auntie Becky since Thanksgiving. So none of them have met Brittlynn. It was not only super awesome food but some dang good company 😉
This would be a great “write your own caption” picture huh?
I am SO proud of how well Kye behaved. We got there at 5 and didn’t even order until almost 6 then didn’t leave until almost 7! He did awesome. It’s mildly difficult to have adult conversation with a preschooler. HE wants to have the floor and I feel bad constantly telling him to sit quietly ya know? I think it’s important for him to have a voice and get to tell his stories (no matter how off topic they may be). He loves to part of the action and I try my best to include him, but it does take away from our enjoyment a bit too since we aren’t able to REALLY talk the way we want to with people!
Brittlynn woke up and was ready for some lovin!
Popsicle for dessert
Uncle Jeff, Auntie Lauri, and Brittlynn
Auntie Becky and Kye!
Sabrina got a turn too 😉
It was a GREAT time and I hated leaving. I love my family so, so much and wish we could all get together more often. I’m so blessed to be close to my extended family. Zach and I are BOTH close to our extended families and it’s nice because we both understand that bond and want that for our children. We LOVE that Colt, Payton and Kye are so close and hope Casey and Jordan will get on it with the baby makin’ so Britt will have a cousin bff too 😉
We got back to the hotel and I nursed Britt then put the kids to bed. We watched some more of The Office and packed up everything to be ready to go the next morning. We originally planned to go to Bagel World again but I really wanted to get home for Kye’s nap on time so we needed to hit the road as soon as we could. We opted instead to go to Dunkin’ Donuts. Kye has rarely eaten donuts yet he talks about them CONSTANTLY. So I knew it’d be a fun treat and a great way to end the trip!
The drive home was a little more torturous than the ride down. We REALLY had forgotten how horrible a decently long drive is with an infant. I remember Kye being the same way (although he was better as a car rider, overall, than she is) and me having to sit in the back quite often with him. We stopped again for me to nurse her but this time we got a little further than St Augustine so we stopped at a McDonald’s and I nursed her in the car while the guys ran in to get Kye lunch. On the way down I had gotten MEGA car sick (like I had to go out and buy medicine when we got to the hotel because I felt so horrible) so I really, really didn’t want to get in the back on the way home. We tried to just ignore Britt’s crying. At one point Kye had to go potty so we had to pull off the highway. Well when Zach opened his door he dropped Kye’s leftover lunch. Kye was BEYOND upset. So we went from having one crying child to having two crying children. I literally started laughing out loud. It was EXACTLY how you are picturing it and it’s how you tend to picture it when people say they are going on a road trip with small children. It was so bad it was funny!!!
Since WE had two solo-trips planned for May we decided not to take the kids anywhere. They would be getting enough “travel” experience staying with other people while we are gone. Ya know? We may or may not go somewhere in June because we are going for a week in July to St Augustine then going to see my dad close to August. So our “long” car trip with Brittlynn probably won’t be until we go see Dad. Will she still be too young to stick on a movie?!?! Any tips for making car travel easier with her? 🙂
While the drive was a beast and the beach was a disappointment, I’m still SO glad we went. It was a wonderful recovery trip after the wedding and I loved making memories with my sweet family. I also like that we found a go-to place we can stay on future visits down there! The Dolphin Inn hasn’t seen the last of us haha.
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I think it's great that you try to treat Brittlynn like she's your firstborn. It's so good for me to hear so I can try to do that too! I once read an article called "Putting your second child first" and it was all about that issue. I also love how strict you are with your kids schedules. I tend to let people plow over me and push my kids beyond what they are capable of handling…like for instance today after the zoo instead of coming straight home we went out to eat because my brother wanted to and it wasn't that bad, but it would have been so much better if we had just had a quiet meal at home and then naps. I was wondering what Brittlynn is sitting in for her bath? It looks quite handy for traveling!
Meg It is SO tough to try to treat her like a first borne….i googled that article and couldn't find it! i need to buy the birth order book. I would love to know more about how i can properly parent to each child ya know? The little thing she's sitting on is actually a sponge! and they work GREAT for travel: here's a link! http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Comfy-Cushion-Green/dp/B0018ZVT4M/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1337374551&sr=8-4
I love those first photos of Zach and Kye. . . so adorable!I totally know what you mean about tough car rides. We went to visit my parents (who live in another state about 3 hours away by car) last weekend for Mother's Day, and the car ride was an adventure. We normally drive during nap time because Brianna sleeps great in the car, but maybe she getting too old for that because she REFUSED to sleep this time. Brenson is a pretty terrible car rider, so he was screaming and she was cranky and started screaming, and what could I do? I did the same thing you did . . . I just laughed :-). Crazy, wonderful memories!