For my Spring Break with work, I decided to fly down to my parents and spend a good week down there for a break from K-town, good food, old friends and some sun. We thought Jesse couldn't come due to being in Haiti for his job with One Vision, but that trip ended up cancelling and deployment training started, allowing time for him to come down with us for 2 days. Jesse hasn't been to FL with me in almost 2 years so having him with me, even for a short time, was great. We flew down Friday morning and got there in time to drop Jesse off in Lakeland for the last few innings of a Detroit Tigers spring training game that my dad went to. Mom and I went on home and got Ellie down for a good long nap after all the travelling we did. We went out to dinner at a local restaurant called Mike's that our family has gone to for years - YUMMY! We ended the night with a stop at Dairy Queen for a sweet treat.
The next morning, we planned to meet up with some friends - Mark & Becky Wright (kids are Grace and Hope) and Jenny Doyen (who's hubby comes home from deployment any day now) and her daughter Macy - at Funtasia, an indoor playground for young kids. Ellie had a blast! She immediately started playing with Macy and loved going down the slide. Then, we took them over to a ball pit and Ellie loved it. She eventually learned how to climb up to get to the slide and then would crawl down face first. It was so neat to have our kids play together while we were able to visit.
Jesse and I did a little shopping and then returned to my parent's for a birthday steak dinner and Publix Cake! 
Papa and Ellie grilling steaks outside by the RV
Just look at that cake....YUMMY!!!!
I took Jesse to the airport Sunday morning while my parents babysat so we could go on a Waffle House breakfast date and have some quality time together before he left (he had training at Ft. Jackson, SC all week). That afternoon, Mom and I went to Bealls (FL dept store) and also took Ellie outside to let her explore the yard. We ended the day with Pizza from ABC's and more Publix Cake. 
Monday, Mom and I took Ellie to my Uncle Whit and Aunt Cathy's beach house at Anna Maria to visit and let Ellie swim in their heated pool. Definitely was a good day! We even were able to fit in a little outlet shopping on the way home and finished the day with Checker's for dinner.
Tuesday, I was supposed to go to lunch with my friend Hayley but she came down with the flu, so I stayed home and layed out in the sun while the weather was awesome. Mom made one of my favorite casseroles for dinner and of course we had Publix cake for dessert!
(above) Ellie playing on a toy that mom had for me as a kid
(below) Ellie LOVED playing with the oranges in the backyard
(below) Ellie LOVED playing with the oranges in the backyard
Wednesday, I took Ellie to see my dad and his co-workers and then met up with my friend Shari for a kid-free lunch at the Stanford Inn (the house in the movie "My Girl"). I had caviar for the first time ever (in Bartow - even more shocking) but the lunch was awesome. Our mom's were watching the kids and we met up with them afterwards for a visit. Mom and I went to Kohl's for a little more shopping and then we came home and had a pork chop dinner. 
Thursday, I treated myself to a pedicure and ran a few errands, but pretty much spent some time at the house due to the rain. We ended up getting Red Lobster take-out for dinner that was awesome. Mom and I flew back to Knoxville on Friday, but we had an hour delay before boarding our plane. That was quite interesting for a toddler! As soon as we got back, we had lunch at the country store down the road for some catfish and then we put Ellie down for a nap. Jesse got home shortly after and Mom and I headed out to the Jack & Jules consignment event to look for toys. Our week ended with a good dinner at Jason's Deli (mom had never eated there). I had a great week off and it was full of good food, help with Ellie, visits with friends and family and of course shopping! I was so pleased with how Ellie did in all the travel and how quickly she adapted to the crib my parents had. It made me more prone to visit there longer this summer, knowing how well she did.
Thursday, I treated myself to a pedicure and ran a few errands, but pretty much spent some time at the house due to the rain. We ended up getting Red Lobster take-out for dinner that was awesome. Mom and I flew back to Knoxville on Friday, but we had an hour delay before boarding our plane. That was quite interesting for a toddler! As soon as we got back, we had lunch at the country store down the road for some catfish and then we put Ellie down for a nap. Jesse got home shortly after and Mom and I headed out to the Jack & Jules consignment event to look for toys. Our week ended with a good dinner at Jason's Deli (mom had never eated there). I had a great week off and it was full of good food, help with Ellie, visits with friends and family and of course shopping! I was so pleased with how Ellie did in all the travel and how quickly she adapted to the crib my parents had. It made me more prone to visit there longer this summer, knowing how well she did. 
1 comment:
I love Jason's Deli! I hope we can end up in Bartow at the same time eventually-- I would love for our kiddos to get to play together :)
Post a Comment