Man, did we just get back from a great vacation - a whole week in sunny Florida! There is lots to talk about and tons of pics, so this is going to be a multi-parter I suspect. Sorry in advance for all of the typing!
To start, let's talk about the airplane(s). Oliver did great! We booked as late of a flight as possible both ways in hopes that he would sleep for most of the time, and our theory sort of worked on the way down and worked great on the way back. We had a layover in Atlanta both ways, and on the way there, Oliver was awake for the whole first leg. We brought out the new DVD player and he was definitely interested in watching Elmo - the only problem was that the DVD player was somehow not charged and the batteries died about 20 minutes in. Oops! The rest of the 1.5 hour flight was spent with lots of imaginative entertaining on Mama and Dada's part. Luckily, he got tired and fell asleep soon after the 2nd leg started and all was well until we landed in Ft. Myers. We didn't get in until 11:30 on Friday night, and boy, once we got to Grammy & Grandpa's house, Oliver was wired! He ran around checking everything out and playing with all of the cool toys that G&G had borrowed from other grandparents on their street, and he didn't end up going to bed until 1:30 a.m.!!!! As Matt & I were leaving to drive up to Orlando the next day, I let the late bedtime slide. After all, I wasn't going to be around much for the grumpiness that was sure to come the next day! ;)
(I'm going to sprinkle some trip pictures here & there so I don't totally lose you.)
Saturday, Matt and I left the boy in the company of his much-elated grandparents and headed to Orlando for Matt's veterinary conference. It was massive!!!! 3 huge hotels (all convention centers in their own right) were used to hold everyone. Utter chaos! I felt more than a bit guilty at Matt having to jet off on Sunday and Monday all day long, but I did have a nice time on my own doing things like getting coffee, going to the gym, getting a pedi, and driving around the Disney area remembering my internship I did there in college. I have definitely been brain-washed as a Disney lover and absolutely cannot wait to take Oliver there in a couple of years. My personal opinion from experience is that age 4 is the minimum a child should be to experience Disney World at maximum enjoyment level (just my 2 cents).
Anyways, Matt & I ate some great food in Orlando (not to toot my own horn, but I am a really good restaurant picker-outer), and had some nice, quiet, kid-free time together, but we both missed Oliver terribly by the end of the 2nd solo day, so on Tuesday morning, we were more than ready to head back down to Ft. Myers. I would like to tell you that Oliver also missed us terribly, but that would be a big, fat lie! He was having so much fun with Grammy & Grandpa, eating out on the lanai for every meal, feeding the ducks at the pond behind the condo, meeting all of G&G's many (many) friends, and enjoying the Florida sunshine. He barely noticed our absence and return.
Wednesday came and we decided to take advantage of the absolutely gorgeous day and take Oliver to the beach for the first time. I'm not sure if we have told you before how much Oliver loves water in any form. Well, he loves the "wattee" ALOT, whether he's drinking it, washing his hands, swimming in the pool or taking a bath, and this trip will always hold a special memory of his introduction to the ocean. At first, he wasn't at all sure about the sand, and didn't want to put his feet down, but after a couple of minutes, he decided the sand wasn't so bad, and was rearing to go into the water. The ocean was COLD, but Oliver didn't notice at all. He wanted Dada to dip him in the water over and over and over! Here is a video of O taking a dip. Sorry for the shaky camera work. That water really was COLD!
Okay, so with that lovely beach video, I leave you wanting more, more, more of our fun in the sun. Stay tuned for more beach pics and a video of Oliver getting his groove on to some island tunes. :)
