It seemed to be enough of a risk just flying to America so we decided that once we were there, we wouldn't travel around. Pete's parents told us early on that they would be willing to come down to Florida to see us. They scrapped their original plans to fly and spent 4 days driving 1,500 miles to be with us. We were very grateful! We wanted some alone time with them so they rented a house in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. We spent 5 days together, enjoying each other's company at the rental house, the playgrounds, and the beach.
We got the joyous reunion we had been waiting for when we pulled up to the rental house. Oma and Opa hadn't seen the kids in 14 months! The pool was gloriously heated and thankfully we spent most of the 1st day in it because the heat pump, unfortunately, broke after that.
Oma and Opa had also been reading bedtime stories to Jude over facetime for the past 6 months and it was so nice for them to get to do it in person. They read The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe recently and then got to watch the movie together.
We were tickled that we were in the States to get to enjoy the Sweetback Sisters Christmas Sing-a-long virtually through Zara's streamed Christmas spectacular. Oh how we've missed seeing them perform since we've lived in Europe! A very fun night watching it all unfold from the comfort of our living room.
We found a playground all to ourselves to play and have a picnic. Except we were not alone. A giant iguana lived in every palm tree and it was really fun watching them walk, run, and fight in the trees!
The kids received Christmas money from their great-grandparents. This is Maeve's ecstatic face! (not pictured the 20 dollar bill that fell to the floor). Pete and I had made a Target run the week before, and we decided this time we'd bring the kids so they could pick out toys for themselves. Imagine the sheer joy upon their faces entering Target for the first time in their lives and seeing the endless toy section. Oh American excess. So great. So terrible.
For some reason, it was a challenge getting these kids to leave the house to go to the beach. So the Target run got us out of the house and then we headed to the beach. It was still pretty cloudy so we decided to visit the playground first. The kids busted out their new toys (Pokemon cards and some dragon card game). They made fast friends with a group of kids who we later learned were podded together while distance learning. The kids and the moms were welcoming of us and super intrigued about our life abroad. I felt so socially awkward. It felt like forever since I'd talked in-person to a peer, let alone a stranger.
Oma and Opa joined us and we made our way to the beach where the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining! Pete and Opa procured to-go mojitos and icecream for the kids and it was a really nice day. The hours quickly passed and it was almost time for the sunset. I'd been dying to sit on the beach for a sunset so we asked Oma and Opa if they would take the kids home so Pete and I could stay a bit longer. Our first date in 2 months :)
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| Someone is going to have to give me some advice on getting kids to cooperate for photos! |
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| Bliss |
We had not one, but two taco take-away dinners from a local restaurant. And so many cookies! A really nice trip relaxing by the beach!
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