Florida

We returned two hours ago from our first visit to my brother's new home in Florida.  The drive down there felt a little long because Seth wasn't with me - he had flown one-way to Atlanta to pick up Ryan's car and drive it down for him.  So Evie and I left at about noon on Friday and got in around 9:30 pm.  We got the tour of the house minus the Addie and Will's room since they were already asleep, and we set Evie up in the 3rd floor "apartment" to sleep.  Evie did pretty well on the drive except she had trouble napping because her new car seat doesn't recline very much and her poor little head kept bobbing forward, and because just as she drifted off to sleep after dinner, she threw up unexpectedly.  She told me she was just trying to cough and up came part of her lunch.  I had let her have a long-sought-after Lunchable (she's been asking for them because so many of her classmates eat them) and I thought we could do that as a way for me to not have to go to the grocery store just before our trip.  Unfortunately, my statement about lunchables not being real food was proven as Evie got sick.  She had said she thought she was going to throw up, which I brushed off as a ploy for attention, but 30 minutes later she made good on her threat.  We pulled over on the tiny two-lane highway and got cleaned up as best we could, changed clothes, and aired out the car for a while.  Adventures in traveling with a small child!

Saturday morning, the kids got up bright and early and, as usual, they melted my heart when they were reunited.  They played for a while and then ate some breakfast.  Then they played in the little swimming pool in Ryan and Aimee's backyard until we were ready to walk to the beach.  Yes, walk.  It's about a 5 minute walk.  Delightful.  It was too windy and chilly to go in the water, and there was a rip tide warning anyway, so we played in the sand for a bit, then got lunch and went shopping for flip flops for Will and Evie.  Then back to the house where the kids played and the ladies napped and the gentlemen went out to buy fresh fish for dinner.  We enjoyed dinner together and then Evie slept in Will and Addie's room.

Sunday morning it was reported that Evie had been tossing and turning and talking in her sleep and disrupted Addie a bit that night, so we knew Sunday night sleepover in one room would be a no-go.  The kids played while Ryan and I went to church and then we all went to lunch and the beach again.  This time the weather was more cooperative and we were able to get in the water to a certain extent, though the rip tide warning was still in effect so there was no real swimming.  We hung out for a few hours then went to the community pool which is adjacent to Ryan and Aimee's backyard, and then back to the house for more playing before bedtime.

Monday morning, Evie and I went with Ryan to drop the kids off at school and then went to the marina to check on Ryan's boat that had been delivered the week before.  Then he gave us a little tour of the town and then we went back to pack up and head out.  We stopped in Birmingham for Chuy's, because a visit to see Ryan without Chuy's would feel completely foreign.  Our drive home was uneventful and Evie was ready for bed when we walked in the door tonight.  We had a great time.

Swimming with Will in Ryan and Aimee's backyard pool

Chasing birds.  This reminded me so much of her first trip to the beach when she was two and how she immediately went after the seagulls, back when she called them "tweet tweets".

Girl cousins on the beach

I had been requested by Granna to provide her with a picture of the grandchildren in A-W-E order (Addie, Will, Evie)

Buidling sandcastles

Frisbee

Thursday night before we left for our trip, we ate dinner with Kathy, Rickie, and Grandma Jeanne.  Kathy told Evie to have a good time on her trip and Evie said, "Don't miss me."  Kathy said, "I'll try."  Evie said, "Feel me inside your heart when I'm gone."

Similarly, when talking to Grannadaddy about Sunday, she must have been worried about what he would do when she wasn't there for children's time during the service, because she always runs up to him and holds his hand.  She advised him, "You can put your hand down," and she put her hand to her side like he would do if she were there.  I guess she thought he would be able to pretend she was still there.

On our way out, Evie and I ate at a little Mexican restaurant in the middle of nowhere in Alabama.  Evie really liked the flag banner they had and some of the other decorations.  She asked me if, "Are you gonna buy this place?"  I told her I had no interest in owning a restaurant because it is a lot of work.  She said, "Well, me and Desmond can do the cooking and you and Daddy can bring the food to the people."  I just needed my Grandaddy (Mouse) there to finish his similar scheme with his punchline, "And I'll come by two times a day to take the money to the bank."

On the way down, Evie also confided to me that sometimes she doesn't understand what Seth is talking about.  She said, "He teases me and sometimes I don't understand.  And I don't say it, but I'm like 'what, what?'"  Her delivery was priceless - I wish I had it on video.

I can't get over this funny, sentimental, smart, beautiful girl.