Venice 2009

Nope, I was not out of my mind... But we've only made it half way. We still have to return to AZ! The girls were angels on the flight. They made friends with just about everyone they came in contact with and even charmed not one but two flight attendants into helping us. We were fortunate enough to catch a crew on their last day of a four day trip. Normally I would expect exhaustion and abruptness, but they were all in high spirits. That was very good for me!! So the biggest challenge is getting on and off the plane. 2 kids, 2 car seats and a large diaper bag... It is more than I can wrestle on and off in one trip. Grace walked down the aisle like a big girl and made a new buddy with a 7 or 8 year old girl across the aisle from us (Shelby Grace) and was occupied while I tried to remove wheels from the car seats and strap 2 car seats in...

We got to Venice, well Tampa on time, in one piece and with the girls having slept most of the trip. The DVD player conked out after about 45 minutes... so annoying!!! The battery was supposed to last 2 hours! But Grace was tired, out flight departed AZ at nap time (10am) and she soon fell asleep. Only waking about 40 minutes prior to landing. Lily, Lily slept on and off, in and out of my lap. Having her car seat in the window proved a challenge, but we managed. Everyone on their way to the lavatories wanted to touch her and it was all I could do to keep myself from snapping "Don't touch the baby!!!" But I smiled and tried to at least keep her head away from the aisle so people were touching her sleeper covered feet.

The car ride from Tampa to Venice seemed like it could be a long one with Lily crying the first 15 minutes, but she feel asleep after than and the hour and a half flew by. Grace, ramped up from being strapped down most of the day and still on Mountain Time showed Grammie and Grampa Hurley all of her tricks well into the late evening. Somersaults, Jumping Jacks, Hanging from the counter tops, Her ABC's, Counting to 16 as loudly and proudly as she could... She was a ball of fire and Grammie and Grampa loved every minute!

Grace and Grammie walked just about everyday, making the rounds to the neighbors and saying hello. And little Miss Spoiled Rotten was taken for a stroll down Venice Ave on Tuesday where Grammie and Grampa bought her a Doll, Penguin and Vera Bradley bag! I think that was Tuesday... It might have been Wednesday, Tuesday we might had just laid low... On Thursday Grammie and Grampa took us to the Sarasota Aquarium at Mote Marine. Grace loved the Jelly Fish, Dolphins, Sea Turtles, and Sharks. I think her favorite was the Octopus. When taken over to the tank to stare at the statue like Octopus she did not seem all the interested, but when one tentacle shifted, she exclaimed "Ohhhhhhhh..... Its real !!" We all got a kick out of that. She intently watched the turtles swimming, but when standing in front of a tank with Manatee she watched in wonder until on floated in front of her face, to which she shouted "GO AWAY! GO AWAY! GO AWAY!" If you have ever seen a Manatee, or know anything about them... they do not do anything quickly... Grammie had the quick thinking to remove Grace from the tank before she resumed her chanting Go Away! And blissfully unaware the Manatee continued it's slow float across the front of the viewing window. They would have been feeding the dolphin when we arrived at their tank, but there was an electrical storm, so none of the trainers wanted to be standing in water, and I cannot blame them, but Grace got a kick out of watching them play with their hoops and balls floating around their tank anyway.

Friday was something special... Friday my father (Grampa Mark) came to pick us up. He and Grampa Hurley went golfing in the morning and Grammie took Grace to the nail salon and they had manicures. Grace picked out purple polish and then had little hearts painted on her thumbs. I am told that she sat still like a big girl and was a perfectly polite young lady. This was something special for just Grammie and Grace so Lily and I stayed home to finish packing. Then Gampa Mark loaded his girls in the car at about 3:30pm and we started off on our 6 hour drive to Tallahassee... Yup, 6 hours in the car. But again, my girls rule! Grace watched a few DVDs, ate a few Chicken Nuggets and slept the last 2 hours or so, Lily slept the first 4 hours and was up on a off for the last 2 hours. and at 9:30pm when we pulled into Grampa and Memaws house, the whole gang was here... Uncle Rory, Uncle Sean, Aunt Kensley and Memaw... and loving family that they are the were waiting Margarita in hand for me!