I've always been a Florida girl at heart. My mom has family there and so we vacationed there a lot growing up.
We love to build sand castles while we are there!
If I could move to Florida I would. When Marshall was applying for jobs after he graduated,he applied to a couple of places in Florida. Although none of the jobs went through maybe we could retire there :)
Marshall had a convention in Orlando over the weekend. My Aunt Donna and Uncle John live 2 hours away, in Venice. Instead of trying to go back and forth to Orlando and Venice in a short amount of time, James and I spent the weekend with my Aunt and Uncle in Venice. We didn't see Marshall which is quite funny since we were both in Florida. He was busy working at the convention the whole time. It was actually his idea that we stay with my Aunt and Uncle so we would have something fun to do while he worked.
James and I flew in Thursday afternoon. I was so nervous to fly with James without Marshall's help. It was awesome to see how many people offered to help me out. They would all say, "I have kids so I totally understand!" James was great on the plane. My Aunt picked us up from the airport. Since our trip was short we had planned out every minute.
That night we got ice cream from Nokomis Grove. It's an orchard that has a store selling fresh fruit and ice cream made from fresh fruit. It's the best! That was before dinner of course because a lot of stores in Florida close early so we had to get there before closing time. Then my Uncle John had a yummy dinner for us when we got home.
Friday my Aunt took James for a walk with her dog Ozzy (who James absolutely adored!), so I could go running. Thanks Aunt Donna!
Ozzy and James. 
Then we went to the beach by my Uncle Joe's condo. It's a private beach so it's not as crowded. I had to keep an eye on James because he would play in the sand and then try to eat it. He enjoyed getting his feet wet in the water too.
For lunch we ate hot dogs on the South Jetty. It's a popular place for fishing. The weather was beautiful, warm 80 degrees.
That afternoon we went swimming in the pool at my Aunt Donna's condo. When we got back James was really fussy and not acting like himself. Later we realized he had cut his first tooth!
We took it easy during the evenings so James could go to sleep. My Aunt had a pack n' play for James to sleep in. He had no problem falling asleep after a day full of activities.
Saturday morning my Aunt and Uncle took us to the pancake breakfast at their church. James even got to have some pancakes.
Saturday afternoon we spent with my friend Megan who lives in Port Charlotte, Florida. We met when we were juniors in high school while I was vacationing there with my family. My Grandmother asked her to hang out with Ali and I. Little did we know our friendship would continue.
We drove to Siesta Key which is my most favorite beach in Florida. The sand is so white and soft. James sunburns so easily so I was trying to decide if I should put his hat on or put suncreen in his hair. I opted for sunscreen in his hair which gave him a killer hair do. He loved sitting in the shallow water as the waves washed up on him. We had to keep a close watch so he wouldn't crawl into the water.
After the beach we got ice cream at a family favorite called Big Olaf to celebrate Megan's birthday.
Sunday James and I went to church with my Aunt and Uncle. Then my Aunt made a delicious lunch before we had to leave to the airport. We were sad to leave but so happy that it was a great weekend! Thanks Aunt Donna and Uncle John for being Jameson's substitute grandparents!
