A Mid Winter Escape!

We got to escape to the sunny beaches of South Florida for almost a week in February. It was heaven! My mom and dad have started spending several weeks on Sanibel Island each winter and we decided to join them for part of the time! They had a 3 bedroom condo so there was plenty of room for us!

I obviously wasn't thinking clearly when I made our flight arrangements as they were during Jackson's naptime. He did take a quick 30 min catnap on the way to the airport. He was clearly tired on the plan but not tired enough to cuddle up and sleep. We stayed busy with books, toys, looking out the window, snacking, etc. Of course his beloved Curious George flew with us. Luckily the flight is only about 2 hours so we were there before we knew it.

The drive onto the island was a little ways and someone was getting cranky but was too excited to sleep! Once we got there we changed into shorts and headed to the beach. Jackson has been to the beach several times but obviously not since last fall. He loved running in the sand and pointed at all the birds saying "burr!" over and over again. So cute! His Papa took him to dip his toes into the ocean. After 30 or 45 min we headed back in to eat some dinner. He was way overtired having not slept almost all day and had some trouble going to bed but once he was asleep slept great all night.

Yes, George had to come to the beach with us too :)

We headed to the beach the next morning and pretty much everyday after that. One morning we decided to drive to Captiva and walk around and have lunch at The Bubble Room. That place is so fun! There are old photographs covering the walls and old toys everywhere. Trains that go around almost the entire restaurant and a room decorated for Christmas all year long. It's a unique experience! Jackson loved walking from room to room seeing all the different things to see and loved it every time the train would come around yelling "choo choo!"

A big treat at Starbucks! Apple Juice!

Feeding Nana goldfish

Jackson wore himself out most days and took pretty good naps. Jimmy and I also got to take advantage of having my mom and dad there so we could spend some time on the beach reading while they stayed inside while Jackson napped. Then back to the beach for a few hours before dinner. We went out a few nights and decided to stay in a couple nights too. Jimmy and I even got our own date night out :) Jackson had fun playing in the sand and finding seashells on the beach. Sanibel is covered with shells! We took walks to find pretty shells and put them in our buckets. Jackson's favorite part was to send one of us to fill up the buckets with water and then he would dump it out then hand you the bucket again and take your hand dragging you back to fill up the bucket again!

One morning we went to the farmers market and afterwards went to brunch. Outside the restaurant they have all these exotic birds. Jackson loved looking at them all.

 Ready to buckle up for the flight home. For the actual flight he was in our lap though.

We had such a great time at the beach and had perfect weather. My mom said the day after we left it was cloudy and rainy. We had beautiful sunny weather with temps in the low 80s.