September 19

Florida Day 8
Read about our trip from the beginning here.

Today, oh blessed day, is the day we go home. We had all been ready for this day for at least four days now. Our flight left West Palm Beach at 2:25, so we had to be on the road by 10:30. Just enough time to clean up the condo, load up the SUV, pay some visits, and say our goodbyes.

I'm sure you've all been wondering. This is what Aunt Gladys looks like.

She doesn't look 95, does she?

Sadly, despite the smiles in the picture, Aunt Gladys never seemed to change her mind about us or our kids. We'll keep praying about it, though.

Then, onto our new family: Sonny and Carol. 

Though the pictures don't show it, we spent quite a bit of time at their house during our vacation. We were just too busy having fun (watching football, playing with toy cars, eating M&Ms, joking, laughing, arguing...) to take pictures!

Daisy's favorite part was Sonny and Carol's two pet cockatiels. They were funny, and she was in love.

 Bi

"BIRD. Bird. BIRD!!!!!"

Caleb was mildly interested, but Sonny's collection of HotWheels and M&MS was more appealing to him.

Carol, Sonny, and the kiddos. I wish the children looked happier in this picture, because they were truly in love with Sonny and Carol. What a blessing they were to us on this trip!

And then we hopped in the car. 

Got some cash.

Drove an hour.

Returned the crib.

Returned the SUV.

Arrived at the airport.

Checked the luggage.

Ate some lunch.

Waited.

The waiting area at our gate was pretty crowded, and we were directly across from a nice-looking young man wearing a fanny pack. At one point, Caleb looked up at him and said, "That is a CREEPY man!" And then I died. I tried to get Caleb to apologize, but he would not. I tried to get Caleb to see that the man wasn't creepy, but he could not. All I could do was apologize and laugh. Luckily, the man laughed it off and was quite forgiving.

Then we got on the plane. Caleb rocked the return flight - again with a no-plane-change layover - even sleeping during our first descent, layover, and second takeoff. Daisy, however, was another story. Poor girl had been sleep-deprived for a week, and she just wasn't into the whole flight thing. When I ordered a Jack and Coke on our second flight, our flight attendant told me it was on the house. I had earned it. It was that kind of a flight.

And then we landed, and Chris' Dad met us at baggage claim, and we were so, so relived to be home. Vacations with kids? Not the same as vacations without kids.