Our trip...

to Florida! **Warning, picture heavy

Love landing in Tampa and seeing palm trees lining the interstate:


1st stop, SONIC!! And we were there for happy hour, RT. 44 Strawberry Limeade baby:

and cheddar peppers with ranch and a chili cheese coney to split with my mom!

Shopping at SuperWalMart was a treat, especially since they have Monkey Bread! Alex kept saying he hadn't had it since he lived in OK and it was Yummy:

(we don't have Super WalMart in MN:( . )

The next day was my Grandma's memorial service. It was a beautiful service, their old Reverend flew in from Texas just to perform the memorial (he grew up with my aunt and has always been special to my Grandma - bless his heart he gave her her first computer and taught her how to use it). This was the table at the entry:

I love that picture of my Grandma, it was her Senior picture. The picture in the back is my Grandma, her sister, four brothers and their mom (Grandma is in the center).

Me with my Uncle Rick (my mom's baby brother who I haven't seen since I was 20!) and his son, Matt, who is 15, looks just like my uncle when he was that age:

After the memorial and a nice gathering at a family friend's house, mom and I dug in my grandma's closet, trying on hats! (I LOVE hats, so momma wanted to see which ones I would like, of course I told "all of them"!)

This was mom's when she was a teen:

This was my great-grandmother's (Josie Main):

I teased Momma that we HAD to wear hats the next day because it was Derby Day - she didn't know if I was kidding or not, NOT!!

That evening my Uncle Rick's other son, Ryan, came over and Alex jumped right in the back of his truck - he's so not shy!! We headed to the pool so Alex could show off his swimming to my mom. She said that he didn't have lungs, he had gills because she has never seen anyone hold their breath for that long or stay in the pool for that long!


On Friday we headed to the beach! We had lunch in the sand (grouper sandwich melted in my mouth!!!).

Alex colored a beautiful rainbow fish that Grandma Patti hung up on her refrigerator as soon as we got home:


We played in the water for a while, it was SO nice! Alex had a great time playing in the waves and karate chopping them:

Saturday morning we went to see my Aunt Phyl (she's my dad's aunt who has always been like my third grandmother):


Aunt Phyl lives in a beautiful retirement community and she gave Alex some pennies to throw into the fountain to make a wish:

Alex wished for a puppy and didn't want to leave because there was going to be a puppy come out of that fountain, "puppies love water mom!". He's such a nugget!

That evening we went for a bike ride down to the water. Alex and I rode on my grandma's three-wheel bike, he had so much fun standing behind me like it was his chariot:

Sunday after church we went to a cute local steakhouse, they serve your beer to you in a paper bag, so cute:

and yummy!

Alex's wish for a puppy came true that afternoon when Grandma Patti bought herself a Chihuahua puppy:

She is so adorable and just perfect for my mom, who needed to have a companion since she's spent the last year taking care of my grandma. Just the distraction that she needed so she wouldn't be too alone after we left.

Next we went to my cousin Jessica's ranch. They have lots of sweet horses, but Alex and I didn't get to ride that day, maybe next visit.

Alex had the puppy (her name is still being debated on!) in the backseat with him on the way to the airport. He kissed and petted her the entire way:

On our way to the airport over the Skyway Bridge:

Man, what a sight, LOVE me some saltwater!!!

It was a great trip and I'm so glad that we would be able to go, to be there for my mom and to see lots of family.