At the end of June, Christian's sister chose to get married on Anna Maria Island in Florida (about an hour south of Tampa. On Tuesday, June 30th,when Christian got off work, we drove to Kansas City so we could stay at his parents in preparation for our flight to Florida the next morning. We decided ahead of time to book the same flight so they would be there to help us when we needed it. In preparation for the trip, I had given the boys full bottles of formula for a couple of mornings in order to collect enough breast milk for the flight. I think this was the best thing I did because it was virtuously painless to get the breast milk through security and even easier to fill bottles for each feeding. I can't imagine having to carry enough water and powder formula and then mixing it while in flight.
Wednesday morning was absolutely crazy. We woke up early to feed the boys. I was stressed, hoping that they would sleep well so we could give them their next feeding AFTER we got through security. It worked wonderfully; they even had about 1/4 of their bottles left to drink while we were taking off. One bad note is that I was told it was a direct flight; the flight first flew to Chicago where we just stayed on the plane for 20 minutes while people got off and on. I guess it wasn't too bad since the boys slept the whole way and then after eating once we took off from Chicago they slept all the way to Tampa. However, because of a thunderstorm, the plane had to circle the airport for 45 min until it was safe to land. I know they needed to be fed but we kept hoping that we would land. Finally as they were getting restless, we started feeding them. Withing 5 minutes of feeding them, we landed. We stayed on the plane to finish feeding them while the rest of his family got our luggage and rental car.
The hardest part for me was that I couldn't sit next to Christian on the plane. Usually I'm ok but while we were traveling, I really wish I would have had him next to me. Thankfully, we were advised much earlier that we could only have 1 infant per row because there was only one extra oxygen mask per row. I guess that made sense. I just hated seeing him and his mom laughing about something in the row over and not being able to join in because I couldn't hear what they were talking about. On the flight home, I asked if he could sit on an aisle seat so we could at least talk to and help one another. That worked out a lot better.
His parents had rented a house with the groom's family. It had 5 rooms, 4 1/2 baths and also an elevator. We bought a bunch of food which we used for breakfast and lunch and then went out for dinner each night. The beach was only a block away. I loved how we could just walk to the beach, kick off our shoes and enjoy the warm water. Over the next few days, we explored the island and rode the free trolley that took us all over the island. Usually the boys got a good nap in the morning but the rest of the time, they usually fell asleep in the Baby Bjorn's or in our arms. Needless to say, sometimes they were pretty grumpy because of the short naps. One day while the rest of the family went out to explore, we ordered pizza and stayed in the house. The pizza was delicious and the boys each got a longer nap which they needed.
One of the funnest things that we did was to swim in the ocean. We put swim diapers (which were a little big) and swim suits on the boys and took them down to the beach. They loved the water as it was the same temperature as their bath water. :) It was short lived because as we sat in the surf, we would never know how big the waves were. It was only a matter of time before one would get them on their face. Side Note: I'd forgotten how nasty salt water is to swim in. It's not pleasant when you get it in your nose as it burns going down your throat.
We took them into the beach and both fell asleep very quickly. With each of them asleep in Grandma's or aunt's arms, Christian and I set off to enjoy the large waves with a little time to ourselves. After an hour or so, we came back and went home again and showered all the sand that had managed to get all over us. In order to get the sand off the boys, Christian stepped in the shower with one boy at a time and then would hand them to me to dry, diaper and clothe. Then we handed them to family so we could get the sand off us. Quite the task!
The wedding was absolutely beautiful. I loved seeing the ocean in the background as the wedding vows were said. And the pictures were incredible. His sister Brooke made a very beautiful bride!
All in all, it was a fun vacation. The flight home had much more crying than we had hoped for but it was ok. On the way home we made a quick stop at Costco to get diapers and formula and then his parents house to grab Maddie who was boarded at the vet while we were gone.
Some pictures:
Ready for a walk on the beach!
Brooke and Jimmy (Isn't it gorgeous? If you look closely, her bridal bouquet is made out of seashells).
