Spring Break 2012

Yes, Spring Break was at the end of March but at least it will be documented!

We toyed with the idea of finally taking our kids to Florida for the whole Disney experience but decided we didn't want to do that with all the spring break crowds.  Since Marc had already taken the week off when we made that decision, we decided to go to Florida anyway.  

We took a page from our parents' playbook and had everyone in the car by 6 am and were on the road shortly after.  It was great.  We took a little half hour detour in Lexington, KY and got a cinnamon roll for breakfast at the Great Harvest Bread Co.  I miss that place.

Because we left so early, we were at our hotel in Atlanta by 3 and had time to find a park to let the kids get some wiggles out.  

Marc had to take a picture of this.  The  picture does not accurately depict the excessive grade of this hill.   Rylee is no lightweight any more!

 There was a sand pit where Sarah and Mary passed most of the time.  Sarah thought it would be fun to bury her brand-new-mom-just-bought-them-for-this-trip flip flops in the sand and then forget where she hid them.  I spent about 10 minutes dragging my feet through the sand (and ruining my pedicure!) before I found them.

 Rylee enjoyed the swing.

 And Marc enjoyed trying to spin the kids off of this swing.  I figured when they fell and broke any limbs, he could take care of that.  They LOVED it.

 Our hotel was around the corner from the temple and after we went to church on Sunday morning, we stopped for a little photo shoot.

 Can't ever get a pic where someone isn't being silly!

 After the temple, we headed back to the hotel and loaded up the van.  Next stop, Tampa and a couple of days with my sister, Erin and her family.

We spent a day on the Gulf coast.  Our kids had only been to the beach on the ocean and were a little confused by the lack of waves, but we still had a great time playing in the sand.

 Sarah got buried.

 We made sand portraits.

 I love how Ella added a flower.

 Before we left, I bought three cans of Aveeno sunblock SPF 85 thinking the kids would be grumpy enough about driving.  I did not want to deal with sunburns.  I covered everyone before we went out on the beach and then again about half way through the day.  Everyone was as red as a lobster after that day.  Erin shared a great tip with me though.  She keeps her aloe in the refrigerator so it is cold when you put it on and feels so good.

We saw Erin and Alex's new house and spent some time helping them clean before we headed to our next destination, Tybee Island, GA.

Me, Erin and her cute-as-can-be-baby Miles.