Either way moving on.....any kind of trip with kids is just plain EXHAUSTING....I know this first hand! (Yes....I'm super late posting this....don't judge, I'm a working mom of three! I'm lucky I shower regularly!) A few weeks ago, I decided it was time for me to get away from the daily grind a bit....and my daddy decided it was time for his annual motorcycle trip (think Wild Hogs) which meant the perfect opportunity for some good quality girl time/grandma Dogan time!! Unfortunately Stephen had to work so he got left out (before you start feeling to bad for him..,. While we were gone he got free chick-f-la dinner, free Jags tickets, a guys night watching FSU and no responsibilities for bed time routine for FIVE days! He was just fine!) I packed up the kiddos on Tuesday and headed down to Clearwater for 5 days of adventures.... Mom had been saying forever that she has all these fun things she wants to do with the kids but we never seem to have time to do them when we are only there for the weekend....this seemed like the perfect opportunity to mark some things off the list!!
We marked off more than just a few....I'm not sure we sat down, except to drive to our next adventure!! And talk about perfect timing! My sister just happen to graduate from phase one of her ninja training (I can't tell you more or I'd have to kill you) and ended up in Clearwater for most of the week too so she got to join in on some of the fun!!
Here's a rundown of our crazy five days:
Tuesday - I loaded up our pilot, complete with snacks for the three kids (and secret snacks for me - mostly chocolate and other goodies that I'm not crazy enough to feed my four year olds), two DVD players, iPad loaded with kid approved games and a full tank of gas and headed out!! After naps for all the wee ones in the car, a potty stop, some frozen soundtrack singing and lots of aforementioned snacks we arrived safe and sound! The kids were ROCKSTARS!! And their DVD player even broke mid trip!! We got to grandmas in time for a taco dinner (their favorite), some quality play time on the pool table (a tradition started when the twins were little) and more bed time stories than I can count!
Thursday - apparently we didn't learn on Wednesday that outside activities are not so fabulous in the middle of summer in Florida....day two involved a heated game of putt putt golf. The best way to describe putt putt golf with four year olds....more like hockey - where you don't really have "strokes" but more efficiently push the ball into the hole with one very long "shot." I think the average stroke per hole was probably seriously around nine (on a par threes) but the kids had a blast!! Mason did seriously get a hole in one - a legit one! But the impressiveness of this was lost on him - he was just kind of bummed he didn't get to hit his ball again that hole! Easton got in on the action too - adorable!! Nothing cuter than a little one with little braces on his feet standing with grandma giggling as he hits a ball (his most favorite thing in the whole world). He was so proud of himself!! We also got to feed some alligators while golfing! Very cool!
We left putt putt - 5 pounds lighter due to the Florida sweat diet and headed to visit our good friend Winter the Dolphin. Winter is the star of the movie Dolphin Tale but just happens to live moments away from grandmas house! We have been to visit before but the kids love stopping by to say hello!! We headed home and after some swimming, it was time for an evening of great food and entertainment at a high end establishment - chuck e cheese of course! We talked Grammy, aunt heather and uncle Alex into joining us - I'm not sure who had more fun with the games....and I'm pretty confident that us "big kids" had WAY to much fun trying to find the games that gave us the best ticket return for our money! I got another laugh watching Heather and Alex trying to talk the twins out if some of their tickets for various pieces of candy. And if that wasn't enough we ended the night with some frozen yogurt....the boys naturally picking blue yogurt and topping it some delicious choices including a giant gummy shark (I seriously can't make this stuff up!)
Friday - we finally learned our lesson and enjoyed a day indoors! We spent the morning at Great Explorations which is a super cool hands-on children's museum down in St. Petersburg. The boys got to do all kinds of stuff - shop at a miniature Publix, play at a vets office, build with giant foam blocks, make pretend pizzas, play at a mini fire station and help put on the evening news! So fun!! We enjoyed chick-f-la for lunch, tons of time in the pool, some quality chalk coloring and an early bed time!!
Saturday - back to two old classics - and requests from the boys - a trip to the "flag park" and the mall. Yep, "flag park" is going to need some explanation....there is a park within walking distance from my parents house. At the crosswalk of the main road there are flags that you pick up and carry across the road with you making yourself your own crossing guard...the boys think this is the BEST THING EVER! I mean seriously, what could be better than getting to carry flags across the road!!??!! Off to the mall for a ride on the train, more rides on the silly merry-go-rounds than one can count and a promise of French fries later! They always finish their mall trips with a trip to chick-f-la but since that had been on the menu yesterday, a healthier lunch was on the menu today...to be off set plenty with Steak 'n Shake later that night! During nap time, heather and I got to sneak away for a bit - we enjoyed some quality sister time and I helped her spend some of that ninja training money :) I'm good at that!! We spent more time in the pool and then enjoyed a healthy dinner complete with French fries, greasy burgers and ice cream - yummo!
Sunday - our time was quickly coming to an end....two requested adventures left - breakfast at Cracker Barrel and a trip to the "beautiful park" - can't really explain that one...not sure where that name came from but that is what they have called it since they could talk! It actually took Stephen and I a really long time to figure out what they were talking about when they would talk about the "beautiful park." The boys spent some more time in the pool while mommy was reminded of how much I appreciate Stephen when he is with us - I did not enjoy the job of packing the car all by myself...
We ended the adventure with the boys sitting on the living room floor with grandma putting together a picture book full of picture memories of all of our adventures. One of the boys current prized possessions!! Everyone who walks in our house is required to look at them!
Off we went - ROCKSTARS again on the way home....and now, mommy needs an actual vacation!!
Mom/grandma Dogan, thanks for a great week! You spoiled us all rotten and we had so much fun! Hope you got to take a nap!! You earned it!! I'm not sure I have ever been that tired before - and things didn't slow down when we got home....more to come on that later :)
Lots more updates but for now....it's bed time!!
Love and Hugs!