All The Family Time + Fun In The Sun

Hello friends. I hope you enjoyed the long weekend and that it’s been a great week for you. We made it back from Florida on Tuesday and I jumped right back into the regular routine. I basically went straight from the airport to the yoga studio to teach – and then trained a client after that. I always have a lot of feelings when we leave Florida but there were a little extra this time. Having a “transition activity” for lack of a better word tends to help click me back into gear and get resettled in Charlotte. Finn usually goes straight to his dad when we get home – and it can be a hard to go from all of the togetherness with Finn and my family to things being so quiet.

About our time in Florida…it was bittersweet. I really hated that my grandmother wasn’t feeling well the one time that we had all of our family together (hasn’t happened since last MDW) but I also really enjoyed spending time with my cousins and Finn had a blast playing with his second cousins.

And about that digital detox…it was 100%. Will be implementing in small doses much more regularly – especially the deleting of Instagram for days at a time!

Okay…some photos to share. <3

FUN IN THE SUN

(Pokemon bathing suit)

The weather was I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E for our trip. Seriously, the best. High 70s/low 80s, minimal humidity, abundant sunshine, breezy. I just couldn’t get over it as it’s typically SO crazy humid his time of year.

There were many moments that the kiddos were actually cold! The pools were very cold but the gulf wasn’t too bad. I ventured in to my waist and wasn’t miserable at all.

While they might have been cold at times, it certainly did NOT stop them from playing in the water. I have shared this before but Finn is one of three boy cousins that were born within nine months of each other. One of them said, “we’re going to play hard” and play hard they did!

I mean, stop it. How cute are they? We rented a kayak for an hour one day and all the kids went out with the adults. (I know the life jackets were ill-fitting but they were never out deeper than the adults could stand.)

Water guns were a HUGE hit. They kept the boys entertained for hours and hours.

And can I just say how amazing it was to have multiple sets of adult eyes on the kids so that I could relax and visit with everyone? I got to actually sit in a beach chair for an extended period of time – which NEVER happens when it’s just me and Finn on the beach.

FINN’S FIRST TIME CRABBING

Have you guys ever been crabbing? Crabbing night was always a highlight of our family beach vacations when I was growing up. You head out with flashlights, nets and buckets and try to catch crabs. Finn had his first crabbing experience on this trip and I kind of felt like I was reliving my childhood through him.

It was a ton of fun to walk on the beach at night and we got to catch a pretty sweet fireworks show. We caught about 6-7 crabs (Finn got one which made his night!) and his cousins let him be the one to release them all at the end since it was his first time. Finn stayed up WAY past his bedtime (10p central time which was 11p eastern) and I think he fell asleep within 15 seconds of me finishing his book and turning out the light.

THE ICE CREAM MAN

Finn had heard and seen the ice cream truck come by several times during our trip but it was never the right time to grab one. Well, on our last day I had just finished a run when the ice cream man was making his rounds. I went up to my parents condo to get Finn and we grabbed $20 out of my dad’s wallet and made a MAD dash. The ice cream truck was pulling away as we got downstairs so I told Finn to wait while I jumped a fence and went sprinting after it. I turned around to find Finn climbing over the fence and running after me and smiled so big. Mission accomplished – he got a $5 ice cream sandwich. Could we have bought a whole box for that price? Yes. Was it worth it? Totally. We returned the change to my dad at dinner that night and everyone was cracking up.

I didn’t workout a lot on our trip but got two solid five mile runs in. Both were fast (for me) and hard in the best way ever. Felt like a new person after. (Having a moment with Align shorts right now.)

FAMILY TIME

It was the sweetest thing ever to see all of these cousins together. My grandmother now has eight great grandchildren!

From the moment our cousins arrived until the moment we departed for Charlotte, all Finn wanted to do was see them and play with them.

These two having lunch on the balcony after Finn invited Mack over for lunch. (He totally orchestrated this whole thing and what they would both eat, haha.)

I love living in Charlotte but I do really, really wish that we had family close by. This side of my family lives in Georgia and all within miles of each other. I am sometimes very envious of that. It brings up a lot of grief around wishing my brother was still here. We all grew up spending a lot of time together at my grandmother’s house in Georgia but since we don’t have that as a “home base,” it’s been harder to bring everyone together.  We have all made a commitment to do better planning time together more than once a year.

When we were traveling home on Tuesday, I asked Finn twice (at different times) what his favorite part of the trip was. Both times he responded, “seeing Mema.” Cue all the tears. His bond with her will forever be one of the best things that has ever happened in my life.

Right before we walked out of the door to head to the airport. So, so, so many special memories that I will treasure forever have happened right in this little condo.

TRAVEL HOME

Flying with Finn is a breeze these days. We’ve crossed the threshold from travel being stressful to exciting and enjoyable. He’s got the drill down and it’s so easy to get him through the airport.

And he actually sits in his seat, eats snacks and plays on his tablet for the duration of the flight. If you are in the “human jungle gym” stage of flying with toddlers, I’m here to tell you there is hope on the other side.

Our amazing nanny picked us up at the airport and dropped me at home and Finn at his dad’s.

And that’s a wrap on our MDW 2023!