Fort Myers, Florida Firsts

On January 3, Brad, myself and the kids loaded up in the car at 6:45a.m. to make the drive to Noblesville so we could pick up Brad's dad and he could take us to the airport. We were headed to Florida! Before we left, I knew we were going to have some firsts, I just had no idea HOW MANY!
We got to the airport just fine. This was our FIRST time in the new Indianapolis Airport which I must say is very nice. Brad had checked us in online before we left the house so getting our bags checked was a breeze, thanks to Brad. We flew right through security check-in. They have a special line for families and this made our experience much more pleasant! We had a direct flight so it was nice knowing we'd only have to take off and land once that day. The flight went great, the kids slept most of the time (thanks to a little Benadryl, yes I drug my kids when we fly). This helped them to be rested up as we didn't leave Indy until 12:50 and since we had to get them up at 6:30, it was high time for a nap. They were rested and ready to go by the time we landed in Fort Myers.

Once we landed, we got our luggage and all was great. We made it to the rental car counter, got our keys and made the trek to our car. Once we arrived, we realized that we had lost Carson's stuffed dinosaur "Diney" and he was pretty upset. We retraced our steps but with no success. We also called lost and found all week but nothing ever showed up. Thankfully, Carson adjusted which was an answer to prayer because I really didn't know how he was going to handle it. The bad part was that Brad actually had won this dinosaur in a crane game awhile back so it's not like we could run to the nearest Wal-Mart and find its clone!

I must say, when we were getting off the plane, the warm, tropical air did NOT hit me. For the FIRST time in my life, it was cold in Florida! We're talking 50 degrees cold! I had been warned about this and packed accordingly for the kids but lived in denial by thinking that 50's and 60's in Florida would certainly feel warmer than that to me. I mean, come on, we just left the teens! But, it didn't! So we got in our car and headed to the house. Have I mentioned this was my FIRST time in Ft. Myers. All my life, I've either gone to St. Pete or Orlando so it was a nice change of scenery. Mom had rented a beautiful 7,000 sq. ft. house with family friends of ours. We had our own pool (that we never even uncovered) and hot tub and a view of the water as we were on a chanel! The house was amazing. Plenty of room for everyone to go which made it nice for Carson when he got overwhelmed.

When we arrived at the house, Doug was there to greet us and had the heat turned on! Another FIRST! No a/c needed this trip! We waited on the rest of the group which included, Mom, Jen and Brian, Nancy and Heidi Thwaits. Once we were all there, we took off for dinner (which turned out to be terrible) and to get groceries! This was the FIRST time I've ever gone grocery shopping with ten people. It was chaotic to say the least but fun!

So, to shorten the rest of the story, a list of some more "Florida Firsts"

1. Took the kids to see the ocean. This was a cold but a blast!
2. Saw dolphins playing in the Gulf.
3. Never, once got to lay in the sun! Too cold.
4. Saw my breath when I exhaled outside. Yes, it was that cold! It dipped into the 20's one night.
5. Went shelling with the kids.

I'm sure there are many more but those come to mind right now. Overall, it was a great time and a wonderfully relaxing trip! While I wished the weather would have been nicer, I am grateful for the chance to have just gotten away for a little while and put my toes in the cold sand for a few hours.

Thank you, mom and dad for giving us the opportunity! It was great. Dad, missed you greatly. Wish you would have come! MAYBE next time!