Actually, I'd been so very disappointed that I had needed to RSVP that we'd be missing my good friend's wedding back in Tampa. It was just too close to Scarlett's arrival for me to commit. However, she was born healthy and I was doing well myself. Bryon had work to do at MacDill, so it all worked out at the very last minute. A handful of plane tickets later and we were back to the heat & humidity of the SUNSHINE state!
We tested ourselves by taking a late night flight (9pm-12am) and boy did we luck out. Scarlett slept from the moment we arrived at Boston Logan until we checked into our hotel in Tampa (thank goodness for direct flights!). Deklan got sleepy less than an hour into the plane flight, placed his head on Bryon's lap and slept until we landed. Maks somehow managed to stay awake the entire flight and car ride to our hotel. For a kid with a 7pm bedtime, staying awake until 1am is pretty impressive. Everybody was asleep within minutes of checking in. Talk about a success!
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| Kroger party of 5. |
I had my hands FULL with a 3 week old, 3 year old and 5 year old in a hotel room while Bryon was a work for a few days. Luckily, we didn't spend much time at the actual hotel. Scarlett is young enough that she was happy to nap in a baby carrier while we were out and about. I knew the area, so it felt like home to visit our favorite parks & splash pads, explore the beach, meet up with old friends and check out some local attractions.
While we lived in Tampa, we took a weekly walk to Dough every weekend to get donuts for breakfast. It was the first place we went on our first morning at our old stomping grounds. I didn't know it was possible to get drunk off of donuts, but I'm pretty sure that's what happened to Deklan!
We spent the majority of the day at Ballast Point Park. It was hot outside, and the splash pad made for the perfect way to cool off after running wild on the adjoining playground equipment. The boys loved watching the horses across the street in one direction and walking the pier out into the bay in the other direction.
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| Napping the day away. |
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| Pure joy. |
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| Scarlett and I hung out together in the shade wherever we could find it! Check out all of those little foot prints from running back and forth to come and tell me how much they love this place! |
Scarlett actually fell asleep in the car and there wasn't enough time for a trip back to the hotel before needing to pick Bryon up from his meeting, so we made a pit stop at Red Box and I let the boys watch a movie in the car before we met up with Bryon and took some time to play at another park on base. With the sleep deprivation from the late night before, it was a good idea to give them some quiet time to relax.
Next stop was meeting up with an old co-worker and the boys' babysitter at our favorite ice cream/shave ice/gelato joint - Mr. Penguin. To cap off the night, we grabbed some of our favorite Thai food and headed over to Corona Park for visiting & playtime with Air Force friends who are lucky enough to call Tampa/St. Petersburg their forever home. Who'd have thought that I'd still be meeting up with the very first military spouse I met at an Air Force event - a spouses meeting back at OTS graduation. Over the course of 8 years we've met up in Alabama, Texas, Hawaii and Florida; not too shabby!
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| I can remember when Maks was barely big enough to play in this car! |
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| These spinning seats scare me; Maksim thinks they're great. Seriously, how many kids have you seen spin around and fall (fly) off? ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ONE. |
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| HYDRATE. |
Day 2 called for something out of the ordinary: Dinosaur World. I'd never been before, but Bryon had taken Maksim once. Maks remembered every little detail of his prior adventure and was more than enthusiastic to show Deklan every single thing there was to see. I dropped and shattered my phone while juggling all 3 kids at Dinosaur World, so that put a damper on some of our plans while my phone got repaired. We made a quick stop at West Florida Orthopedic Rehab to see my friend & physical therapist (the BEST!), Nita before spending the late afternoon/early evening swimming at the hotel pool with Daddy.
Friday morning we relaxed at the hotel while Bryon ran into the office to wrap his work week up. He picked up my phone on his way back and before we knew it, it was time to drive to the wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony, awesome reception and all around great time. I'm not sure I've ever seen my kids have so much fun in their entire lives. Deklan hit the dance floor the minute the ceremony ended and didn't stop dancing (and taking people's photos) until the very last song was played. Maksim found a friend to run around outside with and I'm pretty sure he clocked up enough mileage for a marathon.
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| The boys were big fans of these disposable cameras! |
Sam takes time to teach Deklan the Cupid Shuffle:
But any sort of dancing is acceptable at the Keyes wedding!
I'm incredibly thankful that were were able to attend, but I'm even more thrilled to have met 2 people as great as Jamie and Sam. Sometimes your path just crosses with the right people and the exact right time - and that's what happened with Sam and I while we worked at the South Tampa Y. I adore this couple, as do my kids and husband (and Kira!). Honestly, I don't know how anybody couldn't love them. Thanks for letting us be a part of your lives; we are happier because of y'all!
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| The coolest couple. (This blurry photo does them no justice!) |
I'm pretty sure Sam would have held Scarlett in the wedding pictures had Jamie allowed it!
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| Scarlett meets Sam for the very first time. |
Some morning after thoughts from Deklan:
Deklan threw an unexpected fit the next day as we were boarding our flight and finding our seats - crying and screaming that he didn't want to leave. Oh man, I feel ya, buddy! It was a quick trip, but worth every single second. We may even be back again in November! As for now, we're home in Boston soaking up the final days of Fall.
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