Surprise! A 3rd post in one day!!!
Warning...lots of pictures in this post, but I want to "scrapbook" a lot about our trip, so bear with me. Back in April we got a phone call from one of Michael's BFFs, Micah and his wife, Chancey asking us to join them for a week at his grandparent's condo in New Smyrna Beach...um YES!!! We all felt like we needed a week away, just us without our kids (they have a 4 year old boy). We had not been away from Nicholas other than a night here or there since he was born and even then, maybe 5 or 6 nights at most, and only about 20 hours at the very most then! I was nervous about leaving him, but none of us shed any tears when he rode off with Pawpaw and Gigi on Saturday morning. Yay for the nervous Mommy! Ha! Anyway, back to the trip...
We left around noon on Saturday and about 4 hours into our trip right outside of Valdosta, GA, Michael and Micah got what can only be described as matching tickets to paradise... :-)
We quickly got back on our way and got to our condo around 9:00 that night. Paradise is really the only way to describe this place! The condo was huge, right on the beach, and this was the view from OUR PATIO!!!
We spent the day Sunday just lying by the pool drinking various adult beverages and just enjoying the fun in the sun! It was an amazing afternoon of laziness! Ha!
That night we got dressed and went to a fabulous restaurant, JB's Fish Camp, recommended to me by my friend, Lauren. We ate our weight in oysters and I had the stuffed mahi. TO DIE FOR!
Monday was our "beach day". With our condo literally being two steps from the pool, we spent 90% of our days there, but Monday we agreed to spend some time watching the boys build an enormous sand castle and boogie boarding.
Monday night Michael busted out his boiler pot set up that traveled with us and boiled a low country boil. SO TASTY!
Monday night we just had a lazy, relaxing day by the pool and patio. It was great to just have a few days of nothing to do or any worries. I love this picture of Michael.
Micah and Chancey. We are blessed with wonderful friends and I prayed for years that one of Michael's close friends would marry a girl I would love and become friends with. God answered that prayer when these two got married and I am so thankful for my friendship with Chancey.
The view from our pool area. This is from the chair my big butt sat in for most of our vacation. :-)
Tuesday brought another full day at the pool, but we decided to just have a good, fun night out that night. We bar/restaurant hopped for a few hours and had so much fun.
However, the best fun was hands down our trip back...in the taxi! Ha! You haven't really had a fun night out until it ends up with a 30 minute taxi ride with an awesome cabbie!
Wednesday was a cloudy, rainy day, but we stayed by the patio and just read, talked, and enjoyed our last day at the beach.
Wednesday night Chef Michael whipped up yet another amazing meal. He grilled swordfish for the boys and mahi mahi for Chancey and I. He definitely outdid himself on this one!
I just thought this picture was funny and completely summed up our trip in five words: Sunscreen, Margaritas, and Chocolate Vodka Shots!
This was the best thing I saw all day yesterday until we were home...our exit! I couldn't wait to get home to my sweet boy!
And...just in case you were starting to worry that poor little Nicholas that got left behind was sad or missing his parents. Stop now...
Worry no longer! Nicholas had the time of his life and played with his new water table, t-ball set, and tricycle while we were gone. He loved the undivided attention he was given and actually woke up this morning asking for his Gigi! Ha!
As soon as we got back home with him, Michael and Nicholas spent some time swinging, sliding, and just enjoying our time back together as a family. I missed my sweet boy more than anything and I told Michael several times over the 5 days we were away that I will don't plan to leave him again anytime soon! As a matter of fact between the four of us, I'm pretty sure we won't be leaving our boys again next year. Someone needs to buy a Suburban ASAP for that trip! (HINT HINT Michael) I have never, ever missed anyone that much!
