The boys loved the annual jaunt to Florida – sand to dig, waves to surf, shells to be found. The boys hit the beach the moment we arrived with enthusiasm despite the slightly chilly air and rough waves. Griffin watched the waves for a minute and then ran as fast as his little legs could carry him straight into the surf. He was promptly knocked over by a wave and came up sputtering salt water. He spent the next few days trying to dodge the water encroaching upon his beach territory, but soon enough he was running right back into the surf, eager to skip in the waves with his brothers.
Our first few days on vacation we had the company of my cousins Liam and Nicole. My cousins love to be with my boys and spent hours digging, running and amusing them. They also introduced Chris and I to our new addiction: Guitar Hero. After the boys were in bed, we spent hours in rock star showdowns. I finally had to admit defeat to Chris as he moved on to the intermediate level, while I stayed behind as a beginner guitar rocker. (Of course, my cousins wowed us all with their expert level maneuvers. Oh to be thirteen again!)
On day two of vacation, the sun and warmth returned with the Gulf of Mexico as clear and glassy as a aqua blue lake. The waves were barely ripples across the surface of the water. We spent the morning hunting sand dollars. Liam bested us all with the seven he uncovered on the ocean floor. I was proud of my one discovery! Aidan and Brennan found pieces of coral and clams – all saved to bring home to show their friends at school.
We spent every day digging a giant ditch close to the waves where the boys would play and build. The ditch would become a man made tidal pool as the incoming waves filled it up with water. Griffin would plant himself into this pool for hours, content to splash and run his fingers through the sand. Aidan and Brennan amused themselves by surfing the softer waves. They ran to and from the water trying to jump over the edge of the tide. Brennan even came up with quite a spectacular routine for the water’s edge involving spins and jumps and sideways somersaults all capped off with a dramatic kick and punch at the water. His routine was appropriately named the: Mr. Incredible Routine. I asked him to perform his dance for us again and again. It only got funnier each time he did it. (Trust me: you have to see it to believe it.)
We enjoyed quality time with my grandparents and my mother (Grandma JoJo), who joined us for a few days. Aidan and my grandfather may be made for each other. Aidan can ask any question and my grandfather will always come up with a thoughtful and factual answer. I had tears in my eyes to see Griffin cuddled up with both of my grandparents so readily and easily. My grandmother spoiled us all with her homemade sauce and meatballs. (We begged to eat leftovers for two nights straight.) And the boys loved the chance to torture Grandma JoJo with some quality time amongst the waves.
The only thing we didn’t get to enjoy all that much? Sleep. The five of us shared one room, rotating Aidan and Brennan from an air mattress on the floor to the middle of the bed with Chris and me. Aidan is a kicker, a snorer and a teeth grinder. On the nights he was in bed with us, I barely slept a wink. Brennan, on the other hand, is great – once he manages to sleep. He kept the other two boys awake each night with his singing and playing and story telling. That boy does. not. sleep. Griffin did his part to encourage the sleep boycott by waking us all up at 5 a.m. every morning. I never knew that a vacation with children meant I would need a vacation to recover from the vacation.
The travels home were long. We remembered to keep a sense of humor when Griffin got a little car sick in the back seat and threw up on the way to the airport. We laughed when Brennan spent twenty minutes yelling his stomach hurt and he had to go poopie in the car, only to let out the most giant man-sized burp. (Brennan’s response after the burp? “Huh, now I feel better. Momma, I guess I don’t have to go poopie at all.”) We managed to keep good cheer as we ran from the end of one terminal to the end of another terminal trying to make our tight connection. (Okay, okay, I may have threatened the boys to pick up their pace or else we were going to have to sleep at the airport.) But my personal favorite of the trip home was turning to Aidan during the safety demonstration on the airplane and seeing him reading the airline safety card. At my inquisitive look, he said, “What? They told us to review it. I’m reviewing it. Would you like to review it with me?” (My second favorite moment of the trip home was Brennan watching Scooby Doo with headphones on and singing along to the theme song, not realizing that the whole plane could hear him.)
But now, it is back to reality. Chris and I worked today, the boys were back at school and there are buckets of dirty, sandy clothes strewn around the house. At least, I have the pictures of vacation to comfort me.
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