Fall Break: Ponte Vedra Beach

After about a 2 and half hour drive, we made it to the beach!  The girls wasted no time going to check out our beautiful back yard for the next two days....clothes and all!

We stayed at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, the same place Jon and Bailee were married.  We couldn't help but reminisce and check out the special spots on the property where we had celebrated nearly 5 years ago.

The next morning we woke up to a gorgeous Florida day and headed over to see Uncle Jon and Aunt Bailee's new house.  And with that new house came the cutest two year old ever!  We got a tour and then took a golf cart ride over to their neighborhood pool.  The weather was perfect and the company was superb.

I tried my best to get Brecken to take a picture with my kiddos, but like I said, he's two.  We did get some giggles out of the experience though.

We let the little guy get his nap in while we headed back to our place on the beach.  And since we couldn't take the family with us, we took their dogs instead.  I was having some serious golden withdrawals, and Ruckus and Poppy helped to fill the void.

I honestly don't know who had more fun, the Cibula Kids or the pups.  I'm so sorry Shelton, your turn is coming.

Come evening, also known as post toddler nap time, we all met back up for more beach play and dinner at the Inn.  The restaurant was a short walk down the beach so we made plenty of stops to collect shells, splash in the waves, and admire the beautiful sunset.

And once again, this is about how well I did of getting a picture of Brecken and his cousins.

After a lovely evening with family, we all retired back to our own beds...dogs and all.  The next morning was departure day, but we couldn't leave without making a trip down to Mickler Beach.  The night before, Uncle Jon and Aunt Bailee gave us the scoop on an amazing shark tooth hunting spot.  You better believe we were on it.

It was pretty unbelievable to see the shell beds on this beach.  They went on forever and I can't even begin to imagine how many shells were actually there.  It was a pretty awesome sight.

And although we only found one shark tooth, apparently we need Bailee's expertise-she is known as the expert, the experience was completely worth it.

So we did it..even with two schools and two different schedules, we managed to squeeze in a mini vacation.  The kids had a blast and I loved having them all together {minus the occasional arguments😉).
Now back to reality and waiting on Fall.

Fall Break: Universal Studios

It's Fall Break ya'll and I am so glad I can say the world "break" and not be referring to a bone!

With two schools among three children this years timing was a little skewed.  But, we managed to squeeze in a long weekend to central Florida.  The kids got a visit to Universal Studios and I got a little beach time with family.  Win-win for all!

We arrived in Orlando late afternoon.  We allowed the kids to do a little swimming after we got checked into the hotel. We stayed at Cabana Bay Resort, not my favorite, but when you plan the trip a month out, you get what you get.  

The kids love the pool and the waterslide there and Clay and I loved relaxing pool side.

In hopes of turning in early, we traveled over to City Springs for a quick dinner and dessert.  Tomorrow was the big park day!

We checked out a few shops, ate at Jack's favorite restaurant, Bubba Gump, and had the tastiest donuts for dessert from Voodoo Doughnuts.

The next morning we were up and at 'em pretty early.

After grabbing a quick Starbucks we ran into this guy on the way to Harry Potter's Wizarding World. I was shocked I could still get my kiddos to take a picture with a costumed character.

We spent the majority of the day and into the evening bouncing between Hogwarts and Diagon Alley, which even after a second visit, still fascinate me.

Jack is still a huge Harry Potter fan so when he got "chosen" in Ollivander's Wand Shop it pretty much made the trip for him!  It was a super cool experience.

We checked out a few other areas of the park, ate dinner at Hard Rock Cafe {Maggie's Favorite} and then the girls and I headed back to the hotel for some well needed R & R.

The boys on the other hand made a full night of it!  They spent the evening at the park enjoying the spooky Halloween party.  It was legit spooky too...recommended for ages 12 plus.  We heard all about the haunted houses, monsters roaming the streets, and decorated rides the next day.  Ummm...no thank you!

A full day at an amusement park can wear you out, but Jack was ready to go the next morning.  I don't know how he pulled it off.  He did mention his throbbing feet a few times.  Nothing a water park can't cure, right?

So the kids have been begging to visit a water park, and as you may imagine, they generally just aren't my thing.  But since we were here and the weather was nothing short of amazing, I figured we could go for it.

We put on our suits and made the easy walk from our hotel to Volcano Bay.

I was pleasantly surprised by our half day visit.  I even rode a few slides with the littles!  Most of the time I was propped in my lawn chair watching the three of them splash around in the wave pool.  Volcano Bay has a great system where the kids scan their watches at the slides and then it notifies them when its time to ride...no waiting in line! It made for easy management of three kids.

After our wet fun, we packed up our room and hit the road.  We were on our way to my happy place...the beach!  And to make it even better, Uncle Jon, Aunt Bailee, and Brecken would be there to greet us!

JoJo

What do you do when baby girl gets her sling off a week early?...go to the JoJo Siwa concert and dance your tail off, that's what!

Okay, so we aren't totally in the clear quite yet.  But after Lucy's ortho appointment she was given permission to live sling free but with the strict condition of modified activity and still no gymnastics.  It was a small victory...75% healed and reason to celebrate.

So on a Thursday night, a couple of mamas loaded these sassy first graders up and went to see our favorite bow head in concert!  Before the show we enjoyed a festive dinner with some very glittery and excited girls.  {insert a glass of wine here}

As soon as we arrived to the show we stocked up on JoJo goodies...a new tee, a glowing baton, and of course a new bow!

The show was nothing short of energetic and very colorful.

These girls all promised to wear their new tees and bows to school the next day, but only after a late check in.  {Lucy still likes her solid 12 hours of sleep a night.}

Such a fun night!  I feel like a kid in a candy store!

The Baby Has A Break

If I had to guess which of my babies would induct our family into the rite of passage known as a broken bone, I would have hands down guessed my little Lu.  And I would have guessed correctly.

I got a call from Lucy's gymnastics coach during practice this week and I can't lie and say I rushed right over there.  As a matter of fact I pretty much dismissed the whole thing as an over tired 1st grader getting used to her new gymnastics team 2 hour practice. 

When I arrived Lucy was tiny bit teary eyed and told me all about her fall off the balance beam.  Nothing a little Chick-fil-a for dinner wouldn't help...or so I thought.  {insert Bad Mommy moment here}

As I pulled up to the restaurant I spotted an urgent care office in the shopping center.  In a moment of,  'well, just maybe she really is hurt', we popped in.  Sure enough they took kiddos, sure enough they did x-rays, and sure enough there was no line.  I like to think of it as God saying, "come on Paula, this is real, take care of your little one'. 

And so we did.  A few x-rays later the amazing doc decided this girl might actually have a break.  He gave Lucy a generic sling until he could get her x-rays over to a pediatric orthopedist.

There was nothing left to do, except wait and go have that Chick-fil-a for dinner.

The next morning I got a call from the Pediatric Ortho.  I took Lucy in, with a little moral support from her bestie, and after more x-rays, it was confirmed Lucy did indeed break her arm way up by the shoulder.  Which meant they couldn't cast it, but she would be given this lovely immobilizer sling for 6 weeks!  Then 3 weeks of rehab and then she could possibly return to gymnastics.

Baby girl was devastated!

And if I'm being honest, so is mama.  Lucy is loving the attention, but completely struggling with losing her independence.  We are talking about the toddler we nicknamed Lucy "me do it" Cibula.

Wish us luck and quick healing time as I keep my most active child restrained for 9 weeks!