Here's the recap from where I left off:
Tuesday, we hung around at home in the morning and then we went to the red caboose park. Lauren had a great time exploring with Grandaddy, and at one point she saw the pavilion and she said "Let's go ride on the carousel" and when she discovered it wasn't what she thought, she spotted the stage and she went up and was dancing and singing for us! It was hysterical! Tuesday night, GeGe and Judy came over for a yummy dinner!! Lauren gave GeGe a big hug before she left!
Wednesday, we went to the Puffy Muffin for breakfast with Grandmother, which was very yummy! Then, we played at the park in Pegram for a while. It's a really nice park with a merry go round, so Lauren enjoyed that. And Alison actually napped in the carseat for awhile and Lauren and Granddaddy played. We went home and had lunch and then went back to the park while Alison napped. There was another little girl there who was about 6, and Lauren made friends with her instantly...she pushed Lauren on the merry go round and then they rode the swings together. We had dinner at church and it was great to see some old friends! They have a little children's program after dinner and Lauren just walked right into the room with all the other kids...she didn't even look for me to tell me where she was going! (And on the way to church, she realized she didn't have her blanket and she had such a panicked look on her face, but she was ok once we got there.)
Thursday, we finished packing up and then headed to the airport. The girls were great on the flight again. I am SO thankful for the guy sitting next to us (the flight was totally full!) because he let Lauren use his laptop to watch Hannah Montana after I discovered that the DVD player was completely dead. Nana and Papa picked us up, and all the kids and Aunt Sarah came out to the car to greet us and they were all so happy to see us and Gabe, Ben and Annabelle and Aunt Pat were so happy to finally meet Alison. We had some pizza for dinner and the girls immediately went to Annabelle's "room" to play. They played dress up and I think Lauren had on at least six different outfits in the span of 30 minutes! It was so great to see them playing together so well!!! Bedtime was rough because Lauren fell asleep in the car on the way back from the airport and was still awake when Alison woke up for the first time. The first night is always the roughest!!!
Friday, Sarah and I and the four big kids went to Chick-Fil-A just to get out of the house. We had lunch and then the kids went to play. I told Lauren she needed to keep her socks on, but instead she climbed up to the top of the slide and threw them over the top where we couldn't get to them, so she screamed for her socks almost the whole way home! In the afternoon, we went in the pool and Lauren had a great time!!! Pat got the baby pool out for Alison, but she didn't en up going in the pool, but all the kids were so excited for her to go in there! Brad arrived late on Friday night and I was SO happy to see him!!!
Saturday was a beautiful day!! In the morning, we took Lauren and Gabe, Ben and Annabelle to the Lakewood Ranch easter egg hunt. It was quite an event! They had face painting and pictures with the Easter Bunny and all sorts of things to do before the egg hunt. Lauren had a great time and got quite a few eggs. We got back and had some lunch and then everyone got in the pool, including Alison and she loved it! Pat had a great float for her and she was just floating around in the pool, chewing on a plastic ring and kicking around like crazy.
Sunday was very overcast and not very warm, but Ian really wanted to go to the beach, so all of the Carlsons as well as Brad and Lauren went to the beach in the morning. (It was SO quiet at the house!) Lauren was not such a fan of the beach, especially after she got wet, so I think she and Brad spent about 20 minutes in the van. It rained pretty much the rest of the day. Brad, Sarah and I went to the outlet mall so Brad could get some khaki pants and it was POURING while we were there! I think Lauren and Aunt Pat bonded while we were gone.
Monday was sunny but VERY windy! We went to have lunch with David's cousin Rozlyn who lives in Sarasota. She lives in a condo place that has a dining room, and the kids got their own table. They were actually very well-behaved for most of the meal, but after about 45 minutes, they get restless! They were all drinking out of these big goblets with no lids and at one point, Lauren and Gabe were toasting each other and I was just picturing Lauren pouring the entire glass of milk all over herself and then stripping her dress off, but thank goodness they were able to toast with no spilling!! We were all standing outside under an awning saying good-bye to Roz and all the kids were holding the balloons they had received at lunch, and all of a sudden, Lauren's balloon got taken off by the wind, so she starts screaming for her balloon, and then Annabelle and Ben's balloons got all tangled up, so they are screaming and Gabe's balloon starts to deflate.....Sarah said Roz looked completely shell-shocked from all the chaos. Ian, Helen, Alison & I just took off because Alison needed to get home to take a nap! Monday late afternoon, we headed down to the beach to get some family pictures taken. It was SOOOOOOOO windy and not at all warm, so it was a challenge, but they did get some good shots. Gabe, Ben and Annabelle were having a great time playing in the ocean, but Lauren was too cold to get in unfortunately!
Tuesday, we all got back in the pool...it was another pretty warm day, but a little windy. Brad left for the airport around 2:30, and Lauren was definitely sad when he left, and so was I!! Lauren and I headed down to the beach with the Carlsons, and it was still pretty windy, so Lauren wasn't too excited about going in the water, but she did play in the sand a little bit.
Wednesday, it was sunny and even warmer, but still pretty windy. The girls went shopping in St Armands while the guys went back to the beach. St Armands is a really cute area, but it was tough to shop with two little girlies, especially since Lauren didn't want anyone but me to even push her in the stroller!! Sarah and Annabelle went to the beach with the guys and the other girls headed back to the house. I went back to the outlet mall for a little bit, and Lauren & Alison stayed home with Nana. When I got back, everyone was in the pool, so then Alison and I joined them, and Lauren was having a great time jumping into the pool to Nana and Papa. We went to Five Guys for dinner and then out for ice cream. When we were leaving the ice cream place, I told Lauren to hold someone's hand, so she took Gabe's hand and then when she was saying good night to Gabe, she said "I had a great time holding your hand tonight Gabe." SO sweet!!!
Thursday, we all headed down to Siesta Key and it was the PERFECT beach day!! It was not too hot and there was just enough breeze. Alison had a great time playing in the sand, and so did Lauren. Someone had made a big castle with a moat around right by the water, and she was using the wet sand to "make syrups." She was having such a great time, I was so bummed that we had to leave because Alison was SO tired. She almost fell asleep on the beach, but there was too much going on. Once everyone else got back from the beach, the kids and the guys got in the pool for one last swim. Lauren and Annabelle were playing house in the pool and pretending to go to bed and then get up. We had our last dinner at the pizza place, and Alison and Lauren made a HUGE mess of Cheerios and spaghetti, but it was a yummy dinner!! Lauren also took her first shower with me before bed, and she loved it! She said she only wants to take showers from now on, but she took a bath with Alison tonight.
Today we got up pretty early and headed to the airport. The girls were once again great on the plane. Lauren got a new Leapster from Nana & Papa and Aunt Pat, so she played that, then watched some of Hannah Montana and then listened to the iPod. I could not have asked for better travelers at all for all three flights we took! Daddy met us right outside of security and Lauren and Alison were SOOOOO excited to see their Daddy!!! I am so happy to be home, but I wish I could just snap my fingers and everything would go back where it belongs.
I will post pictures some time later this weekend...I just don't have the energy to go through all my photos right now!
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