Our Trip In A Nutshell

Seeing as I have been home for two whole weeks now and have not posted about our trip, I figured it was about time.

For starters, I am very much a visual person which is why I think I love photography so much. But when it comes to matters of the heart, I love to write. So, honestly, I've been putting off blogging about the trip, simply...because I'm lazy. We had a great time and that's pretty much the gest of it. But, I want to keep to my word so here is a little recap.

My mom, my sister Cheryl, Merci and I all arrived into Tampa on Thursday. As mentioned in my previous post we arrived to beautiful weather and the trip itself was great. The following day was pretty much spent just settling in and catching up with one another. Friday we all were kept busy planning for the rehearsal and dinner. The rehearsal was fairly early so we had to leave town by 3:00. The rehearsal was hot and sticky but beautiful because it was all outside by the water. We then proceeded to go to this lovely little Italian place were dinner was served. Let me tell you that was probably the best chicken parmigiana I have ever had. I also had the best glass of white zinfandel. I had the chance to chat some with my niece Danni which was the best part of the night for me. I have missed her greatly and longed for some alone time with her. Of course the following day was spent preping for the wedding. My dad drove me in the morning to get my hair down, which I hate to say it, but was a waste. The girl who did my hair never asked what kind of curl I wanted or what size barrel to use and she used a curling iron that was too big. The curls went flat the minute I walked out of the salon. I wasn't happy at all. I met my dad at this store just down for the salon called Bells. It was kind of like Value City, I guess. Any way, my dad proceeded to spoil my kids by purchasing all these clothes and toys from them which I argued back and for with him about doing. You can not stop my father once he has is mind made up. Which by the way, is what drove me up a wall the whole time I was down there. My father in his older age, has a very "black is black, white is white" kind of an attitude. There is no room for gray in his book. But unfortunately, in my opinion, there are somethings in life where there is a lot of gray. I had to hear about his opinion a lot and most times it was about my niece and brother-in-law and how they treat my sister. Well, I am not one to get into the middle of things, but when it comes to my sister Deb my dad has always put himself in the middle to protect her. Something about being the first of his children I guess. All I know is as much as I love my father, I was ready to ring his neck by the time my hubby came in on Sunday. Mike and Camden's arrival was like a breath of fresh air. We spent the day that they came in at my nephew Matt and his new wife Cait's house. It was fun just hanging out, playing games, and looking at their pictures that I took. Monday we spent the day at the beach and had dinner at Sharkey's right on Venice's island. It was so beautiful, even though we did not get a real Florida sunset, the sky turned all shades of pink and orange. It was lovely. Our last day was spent relaxing with Danni at a home that she is house sitting. It is an older couple but they have a nice home with an indoor pool that we swam in. It was also another opportunity for us to talk and catch up on some much needed time together. Our last evening we had dinner with some of my sister and brother-in-law's friends. Great people. They know some really kind, caring, people. Then Wednesday we spent flying home, all separate. Because Mike and Camden's tickets were booked separate from the rest of ours their flight times were different. The told him to fly stand by to Atlanta because there was plenty of room and then once he got to Atlanta to try the same from there to come back with us. Well, we all got to Atlanta alright but Mike and Camden were unable to get on standby with us on our flight. The flight was completely booked and there were a total of 11 people already waiting standby. So he had to wait another 3 1/2 hours (after having already waited 2 1/2 with us) to get home. I guess he said that it wasn't that bad. He and Camden napped in the terminal and played some games and walked the airport. I have to give him props. They both really handled the layover well. But the best part was when he went to get his tickets issued they explained to him that for whatever reason they put he and Camden in the exit row which they can not sit in because the exit row seats are for people who can assist in case of an emergency (duh, he has a kid with him!). So they reassigned the two of them which Mike said he didn't think anything of until it came time to board. Once he went to match up their seats he saw that they were seated in 2A and 2B. The seats were in the front of the plane, nice big seats, leather seats. Then a flight attendant comes and asks if he would like a rum and Coke. It then dawns on him that they bumped he and Camden up to first class. AHHHHH!!! I could not believe it. He and Camden flew back from Atlanta in first class. Must be nice. I flew back in between to really nice people, one of which Merci peed on because the lady was ever so nice to offer to hold her. Nonetheless, I was sandwiched...with a baby. And he got to fly back in first class? Really, I sound bitter but I'm not. OK, maybe just a smidgen. HAHA!!! Seriously though, I am happy that for this being their first trip to ever fly that they both got to have a great experience.

I am glad to be home and back to my normal routine. We do plan to go again, probably in March before Mike with start working six days again. We are looking forward to it. I could bore you with other stories, like how my sister was trying to hide the fact that she was drinking every night and I found the bottles in the bathroom hidden in her bag. Or how my dad was egging me on to go kick my niece's ***. Yeah, but I won't bore you with those stories. I will end on that note.