There and Back Again

After the rocky start I'm happy to report that the rest of the trip was loads of fun. Molly and Aidan settled into the new routine at the hotel which included napping and sleeping at night. There were still pleas of "I want to get out" from Aidan when I put in the pack-n-play but he eventually accepted the situation and slept. Molly and Aidan also got used to the many new faces at the lake house and had fun playing with the other kids. Throw in some new toys from Aunt Sue and Uncle Grant and what's not to like?

We woke up to rain on the 4th and after a trip to Wal*Mart we spent the morning coloring and doing stickers. I had brought along some business envelopes (a new fav) and Molly and Aidan made "letters" for Uncle Grant and Aunt Sue. We headed to the lake house for a brief visit and then returned back to the hotel for lunch. Following lunch Molly and Aidan took a 3 hours nap. Woohoo! Then it was back to the lake house for a fabulous meal which included whole lobsters, steak, chicken, corn on the cob, boiled potatoes and much, much more. Unfortunately, it was still raining so there was no camp fire or fireworks but we had a terrific time anyway. I was particularly happy to see my nieces Danielle and Nicole. Nicole just completed her freshman year at UCF and Danielle flew to the lake house from New Zealand where she spent the last year studying. She will return to Stetson University in the fall. We got back to the hotel at 9pm and Molly and Aidan went to sleep after only some minor protesting. I told them that we would be going home the next day and Molly said "Hooray I can see my Daddy. Molly's so happy".

We arrived at the lake house around 10am on Thursday. Molly got her wish and went for a ride on the boat. The girl had literally been asking anyone and everyone all week if she could go out on the boat. My niece Nicole held Aidan and Molly sat with me. Molly did not stop smiling, singing and squealing the entire time. She kept saying "I love boats." The girl was in heaven. When asked, Aidan said he had fun but having seen his face on the boat I find that hard to believe. This was a first for both. After the boat ride we hung out until 3pm and then hit the road. Molly took a brief nap in the car but Aidan never shut his little brown eyes. We stopped once for a picnic dinner and arrived home around 8:30pm. Both kids were so excited to see their daddy. He received many hugs and kisses. We were treated to a clean house thanks to daddy. The carpet in the toy room had received a much needed shampoo. Not all of Molly and Aidan's toys had been returned to their designated spots which caused Aidan some concern and prompted him to ask daddy to "please bring all of my toys back". After visiting with Daddy, Molly and Aidan went to bed without a peep. You've never seen two kids so happy to see their beds.