A little over a week ago we head off to Florida to enjoy my parents and of course for my parents to see the girls again. They were up here for their births and stayed for a couple weeks after as well to help out and enjoy all of us kids (and grandkids) this way. We had such a wonderful time! It was great.
The girls were beyond good on the flight. Jeff and I were both nervous about how they would be but they did amazing. They caught a couple small naps but I think were too excited and around new things to do much sleeping. They visited and smiled at all of the passengers around us...grabbing fingers (by Kendall) and laughing and giggling by Seren. With the exception of one minor crank out there wasn't an audible whining peep out of them. It helped too that passengers around us were understanding. We arrived in Panama City and the girls were worn out but still very happy and sociable with my parents. By the time we reached Grandma and Grandpa's though they were ready to crash. I think they went to bed at 6:30 that night and slept around 13 hours (wow!)
We did lots of fun things during our visit. We went to the beach a couple of times. The first time they hated it (I think it was more the tired and hungry than it was the water) and the second time they humored us and put up with it with some minor enjoyment on Seren's behalf and some very minor whining on Kendall's (although she was a trooper and didn't even cry when mom was caught off guard by a wave and she was splashed in the face). We had a picnic with a bunch of our extended family in Florida and enjoyed the sun. We went to Gulf World (an aquarium with dolphins, sea lions, sharks, sting rays, turtles and tropical birds) and to Wakulla Springs (a spring with alligators and other wildlife; you can go on a boat ride and swim in the spring). We enjoyed delicious sea food TWICE and other favorite eateries in the area. Fresh seafood is the only way to go! Jeff and I went fishing for an afternoon with my dad while the girls stayed home with my mom (what a good grandma to take on such a handful). Jeff caught a 3 foot shark and we both caught a 5 inch fish. We tried to use them as live bait but only Jeff got lucky with his. We also saw a 6 foot hammerhead out in the bay and a pod of dolphins that were fairly close to our boat. We enjoyed a day in (giving the girls a chance to rest) and game nights and movies after their bedtime. It was a perfect time.
The flight back was not so agreeable. We arrived to a delayed flight which was still scheduled to leave. 3 hours later we were still in the airport and being told there was a 50/50 chance of us getting to Atlanta tonight but no connecting flight back home until early the next morning. Jeff and I opted to take our chances in Panama City one more night and hoped and prayed that my parents hadn't left the airport. Lucky for us they had stuck around (watching our plane taxi back and forth as they tried to fix the mechanical issue) and my mom came around the corner when she heard the girls crying. We had to stick around another half-hour to an hour to get our luggage and car seats in order to get the girls back home. Seren had calmed down but when my dad pulled up with his diesel truck she began screaming and crying again (like she knew the sound and what it meant). We loaded back up and headed back to my parents for the night and the next day and afternoon. It was good to get another night/day in with them but the circumstances weren't too favorable. Needless to say the airline that starts with a "D" and ends with an "elta" is no longer on my favorite flying list.
The final flight home was more agreeable. It was a large plane with 6 seats across and due to Hurrican Irene (and people missing their connections) the plane was mostly empty with the exception of about 12 other passengers. The girls had empty seats to lay in and slept the second half of the flight. We arrived in Utah and began making our journey home. Home was unfortunately a scorcher (91*). We had turned off the air in order to save on power and neglected to ask my sister to turn it back on before our return. We tried to settle the girls in upstairs and then downstairs and they were not having it. So we loaded them back up in the car and drove around in order to cool them (and ourselves) off and so that they could get some sleep. We grabbed a bite to eat and parked somewhere. Then we drove a little more before heading home around 1 am. The house was still around 82* and so we stayed parked in the driveway with the air conditioning on and tried to sleep ourselves (quite the feat in a car with two car seats and no way to recline). Around 1:30 am or so we woke up with kinks in our necks and the temperature was down to 78* so we decided to come inside. We settled the girls in and then went to bed ourselves. Such a long day but such a good visit with family.
*hoping to post some pictures soon*
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