20th ANNIVERSARY TRIP - DAY ONE

We had the opportunity last October to take an extended vacation.

Darren and I had decided to take a cruise for our 20th Anniversary and had originally planned to go to Bermuda.  We were really close to booking the trip when I happened to stumble across a cruise that was over UEA.  We found that for the cost of a 7 day trip to Bermuda for two, we could take an 11 day trip for five to the Caribbean.  We took the plunge and booked the trip.  A few weeks later, my parents decided to go with us and booked the cabin next door.

E1 had to be a grown-up and stay home to work and go to school. She was mad at us before we left and I thought us being home for two months would have helped the situation but nope... she is still furious.

Her anger is the only bad thing about our trip.  I love to travel and this was a trip I really enjoyed and really loved.  Part of the reason I love to travel is that it gives me something to look forward too. I'm not trying to sound like a big whiner, but a lot of people, even those the closest to me, have no idea how hard it is to be a working mom in a stressful, often thankless job.  I almost always have a trip booked in the future as it selfishly gives me something to look forward to. I'm not saying I'm not worldly or shallow... I'm just saying I know what keeps me motivated.

This trip was nice because we booked it a full year in advance so I had a lot of time to get ready and to dream and plan... which for me is a lot of the fun.

So anyway, after months of waiting the day was finally here.

We left Richfield Friday night after work and drove to Las Vegas. After literally hours of searching I had found a nice, clean Hilton Inn that allowed us to park our cars for sixteen days for free AND provide a shuttle to the airport.  I was feeling like the total power traveler.

Saturday morning we got up earlier than we would have liked and headed to Burger King next door for breakfast. The kids were KEYED UP. They had never flown before and could NOT wait.  It made it a lot easier to get them up and moving and out the door.

E2, N, E3, Darren in Burger King

 We checked into the Las Vegas airport and boarded our direct flight on Southwest to Fort Lauderdale.  We were able to get family boarding, so I sat by E3 and N, with Darren and E2 behind us.  The kids were like jumping beans in their seats.

It took FOREVER to get on our way as there was some type of problem with the boarding computers.  The cabin crew counted 121 people on board but there should have only been 120 people.  They counted again... and again.... checked everyone's names.... looked confused... counted again... all as we sat there for over an hour.  I am embarrassed about how people act.  It makes me crazy.  But we finally got on our way.

E3 was really nervous.  The picture below ended up being out of focus, but it is still one of my favorite pictures of the day as she totally GRABBED onto N's hand and would not let go which was totally ADORABLE. 

 Below is a short video I took of our take-off from Las Vegas.

Our flight was about five hours.  We took turns gazing out the window and wondering what part of the United States we were flying over.  The kids played my kindle and worked on homework while E2 talked Darren's ear off about ideas for a book she wants to write.

  I started sewing these cute little Halloween stuffed dolls I'm going to use as ornaments on a Halloween tree.

 The kids thought the snack service was AWESOME.  They had darling graham crackers shaped liked planes.

We finally reached Fort Lauderdale. The air was so warm and humid!  We took the shuttle to the train station and caught the last evening train north to West Palm Beach. The kids were troopers as we had a million suitcases and bags.

Mom, Dad, E3, N, Sonja, N at the Ft Lauderdale Tri-Rail station

 We rode the second story of the train.  We were totally starving as we had to rush to get to the train due to the delay of our flight from Las Vegas and didn't have time to stop and eat.  But if you know me you know I totally packed SNACKS :).

N and E3 on the Tri-Rail. We love Public Transportation and use it whenever possible. We get to meet so many interesting people!

Finally, we reached West Palm Beach.
My brother-in-law Frankie was there with his dad Frank Sr and his brother Jaz.  I love that whenever we see them we get big hugs and kisses on our cheeks.  They made us feel so welcome. They loaded all of our luggage into several vehicles and took us to Kellee and Frank's home. 

It was 8 o'clock there which meant it was only six at home but were were WIPED OUT.  Dad and Kellee went and got pizza and we enjoyed eating it by their darling pool under the warm skies.  Roman and N played so cute together. He remembered N from August when we went to Yellowstone with them. Roman calls N "Ethan". It is pretty funny.

Anyway, leg one of our trip was DONE.