VaCaTiOn 2010

I really hate that feeling you get after vacation....the "it's over" feeling. If you are anything like me you look forward to something for such a long time and plan and imagine just what it will be like then all of a sudden that time you have been looking forward to arrives and in the blink of an eye...."it's over" a distant memory...so sad! With that said, we did have a wonderful time on vacation and I took a lot of pictures so we can hold these moments close to use forever! Now I need to start planning a new adventure to look forward to doing in the coming months!

We started our trip on Saturday the 26th, we flew from Columbus to Tampa and I booked an afternoon flight knowing that with two kids and a dog we needed some extra time. I would have been a complete disaster flying out first thing in the morning. Everything went super smooth on the way down and Ava did pretty well in the plane. I was afraid her ears would be hurting her from the pressure but that wasn't an issue at all! We arrived and took a little "detour" getting to my aunts as the GPS we were using from the cell phone was a little delayed...not a good thing. We stayed with my Aunt Karen and my Mom and Dad also flew down earlier that day and they stayed with my Aunt Shirl (they live on the same street) Once we finally made it and we got changed and headed out to dinner with everyone to celebrate my parents 40th wedding anniversary! It was really hot Saturday and started storming later that evening, that seemed to be the norm for each day down there, very humid. We went to my Aunts after dinner for cake and I had a DVD made for my parents with pictures of their 40 years together. (Thanks Amy for taking the time and creating such a beautiful gift!) Here are our photos from Saturday:

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Sunday was a beautiful day, we woke up and headed down to Sarasota and took a boat out into the ocean. We anchored at a sandbar in the middle of the water and swam around and relaxed, it was great! We also docked at a little tiki bar for lunch. Aiden and Ava both did great on the boat! We couldn't have asked for a better day! By that night we were all exhausted. My aunt made a fantastic dinner at her place so we ate there.

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Monday we headed down to Siesta Key Beach...this was Ava's first official beach day! She loved it!!! It was a BEAUTIFUL beach with sand that was like powered sugar. Aiden enjoyed playing in the water but we didn't stay too long as it was hard chasing Ava everywhere and keeping an eye on Aiden as well. It was hot and Aiden wanted to swim in the pool so we headed back to the community pool so he would swim.

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Tuesday was our Disney day!!!! Chris, Aiden and I left early in the morning and headed on the hour long drive to Orlando. Ava stayed with my Mom and Aunts. We couldn't have asked for a better day. This was the first time Chris had ever been to Disney as well so I enjoyed seeing the looks on both their faces as we walked down Main Street towards the castle. It had also been a while since I had been there once before but it had been years so it was nice to see everything again and experience it with Aiden and Chris. It was a hot day but wasn't all that bad since we were in lines most of the day and they kept those areas shaded for the most part some had a/c as well. We were able to go from one ride to another and the most we waited for any ride was about 45 minutes. Aiden LOVED everything!!!! It was just the cutest thing seeing his reaction to everything! I got the cutest clip of him watching the parade at the end of the night!!! Just takes my breath away! I can't wait to go back especially when Ava is old enough and can enjoy all the fun princess stuff!

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Wednesday we headed down to Anna Marie Island for a little more beach time and lunch on the water. I think the fatigue from the first few days hit us this day! We went back to my aunts pretty early and all took much needed afternoon naps! We headed to dinner that night at a nice place but it was raining so we had to sit inside.

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Thursday, Chris and I headed up to Clearwater for the day/night. It was a nice little get away for us and gave us a little time to lay on the beach and relax! The weather was a little overcast but we still got a few hours in at the beach. We rented a jet ski and had a blast riding out in the ocean that afternoon. We also took a little time to hit up the hotel tiki bar and pool which was really nice! That evening we went to dinner at Frenchy's Cafe which was one of our favorite places we went last time we were in Clearwater. They have the best she crab soup EVER! It started to pour down rain so we headed back the hotel and got some much needed rest! Friday morning we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel and went to the spa for hour long massages. We then drove to north Tampa to meet the family and kids at my cousins house and spent the afternoon hanging out there and enjoying her jacuzzi and pool! We had pizza for dinner and headed back to my aunts to pack up for our departure on Saturday morning.

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Saturdays flight back was also good. Ava slept about half way home. We got home in the afternoon and Chris headed to urgent care since he wasn't feeling well and I went to the grocery store to get a few things to cookout for Sunday which was the 4th of July. Luckily we didn't have too much laundry since we were able to get a few loads done throughout the week at my aunts! That was nice! Overall just a fantastic vacation! I couldn't have asked for more! We got to spend quality time with family and the kids and also got a little time to ourselves!