Sunshine-y Days

This year we were so happy to have the opportunity (thanks mom & dad) to fly to Florida to spend the holidays with the entire family.  It's so rare for all of us....both sets of parents and all 4 brothers....to be in the same place at the same time.  My parents rented a beach house in St. Augustine and everyone traveled in so that we could be together. 

We arrived at the airport and were very quickly reminded why we normally don't travel over the holidays.  We got there at 7:30 for our 9:15 flight.  Upon arrival we were told that our flight would be delayed.  As (bad) luck would have it, it was unusually foggy that morning which didn't help.  Initially we were told that it was running a couple of hours behind.  They soon after delayed us until 3pm after which they eventually cancelled the flight and rebooked us on a 4:45.  We decided to make the best of it.  We parked it in a TGIF, set up the DVD player with a movie, and let the kids order whatever they wanted off of the menu.  Chocolate cake and cheesecake it was!

Kevin got up to use the bathroom around 12:15 and decided to walk by a TV to check the flight status.  When he did he saw that our initial flight was back on and scheduled for a 12:30 departure.  He ran back, grabbed his phone and laptop, and said he was going to the gate to check....mind you the gate was at the other end of the airport.  I decided to pay the bill and sit tight to wait for his call.  It came 5 minutes later...the flight was, indeed, back on.  He ran back to me to help round up bags and kids and we all booked it through the airport.  We made it just in time and although they had booted us off of that flight (who knows why!) they were able to find us new seats.  Once in ATL we had a couple more hours in the airport before finally making it to Jacksonville 6 hours after we were scheduled to arrive. 

All of the craziness was so well worth it.  We were greeted by warm hugs from family and the next morning woke up to a breathtaking view.  Talan thoroughly enjoyed his breakfast by the beach.

 

It didn't take long before we were out on the beach soaking up the sun, kicking up sand, and running through the waves. 

The weather was perfect and being on the beach was so good for our souls. 

 

 

Waking up to this for four days?  Yea, that didn't suck one single bit. 

One day it was warm enough for a swimsuit and a book, beach side. 

The kids were so excited to spend time with all four of their uncles. 

One of the highlights for me was playing games all together.  Granddad was a stellar Family Feud announcer. 

Time are tough but we all have so much to be thankful for.  It was fabulous to count all of our blessings together as a family.