The Breakers!!!

Holy Cow! We just returned from our trip from Florida and it was quite amazing. We stayed at a hotel in Palm Beach called "The Breakers." I guess if you live on the East Coast, this is THE PLACE to vacation. I had never heard of it. I will say, it is a beautiful place! I reminded me a lot of Hawaii. It's great when Josh has conventions he has to attend at places like this, otherwise, I can promise you, we would not visit them on our own!

We arrived on Tuesday night after a long plane ride. The kids actually did really well. I was so proud of them! We were pretty tired so after a yummy pizza dinner we headed to our room and crashed. We all slept together in the same room which worked out a lot better than I thought!

Wednesday morning, we woke up and went exploring. The hotel and it's grounds are huge! It has several pools, a private beach and a whole area dedicated just to kids. We decided to go swimming. Our kids have become little fish in the last several months (thank you Swim Kids!) and we spent the whole morning in the pool! This was the end of our time with Josh. He was in meetings for most of the time, poor guy. That night, we ate at a restaurant on the property called "The Italian Restaurant." I think every city in the nation should have a restaurant like this. It was totally kid friendly, the waiters were amazing, and they have a playroom where your kids can go play while the adults eat their food! It was so great! The kids had a great time and so did I!

On Thursday, we had some special visitors! My sister Amy who lives in Maryland came down to stay with us for the weekend! I don't get to see her very often, so I thought, if she could make the trip (it is a pretty short flight) it would be a great opportunity to spend some time with her and her little girl, Lily. I miss her so much! She is also having a baby in April and her husband is a Neurosurgery Resident so she really needed a break. We picked them up from the airport and it was like we had never been apart! Our kids hit it off almost immediately. We spent the afternoon at the beach! That night, we ate at the Italian Restaurant again!

Friday I sent Luke and Ellie to a little camp at the hotel. They played games, went hunting for shells on the beach, explored around the hotel and had a yummy lunch! While they were at camp, I entertained Parker and Lily while Amy had some much needed R & R! We played at the playground, watched a little movie, looked at the aquarium and took a walk by the swimming pools! That afternoon, the kids relaxed and that night we went to dinner at a fun restaurant in the city. I cant remember the name because we were so tired and hungry, we just picked the first place we could find that could take a party of seven! It turned out to be really good!

Saturday morning, Josh went golfing and Amy, the kids and I ventured out to Loxahatchee, Florida to Lion Country Safari. This place was "Luke Heaven!" You drive your own car through 1 1/2 miles of wildlife. We saw lions, zebras, rhinos, antelope, giraffes, chimpanzees, and ostriches. If you want a good storty, ask Amy or me about the ostriches. :) After the drive, we went to the amusement park. We went on and elephant ride like the Dumbo ride at Disneyland, a ferris wheel and a merry-go-round.

Then, we got to feed the giraffes! We got to feed "Cupid." He was born on Valentine's Day and one of his spots actually is a perfect heart shape! So cute! The kids would stick a cracker through the fence, and out would come a big blue tongue and swoop it up! It was great fun! That night we went to dinner at a yummy place called the Kona Grille. Luke had his first sushi experience here and loved it!

Sunday morning brought the trip to a close. It was so hard to say goodbye to Amy and Lily. We had such a great time together. I probably wont see her in person again for several months. The next time I see her she will have a new baby! I am so proud of her and the strong, independent woman she is. She is such a great example to me. I was so thankful we were able to share this weekend together!