Fort Myers Trip – April 2022

Vacations with kids is exhausting and a lot of work trying to keep them entertained. It was so amazing though to spend time with my parents after 2 years of trying to take this trip but having to reschedule because of the pandemic.  It was so fun to hang out with my parents, spend time outside, and countless hours in the pool.  I loved seeing my kids bond with my parents.  I loved watching Hailey grow more confident in the pool as the days went by.  It was so great to spend so many hours outside.  While we had LOTS of screen time for Hailey while we were there, I think it balanced out.  

Saturday

We headed out at 8am-ish to head to the airport.  Joel’s parents stopped by to say hello to the kids and then  his dad helped pack up his car to take us.  It was a tight fit so I ended up not riding with them.  I had to take a second car anyways down to Tucker and Cassie’s in order to drop Dakota off for the week.  We got to the airport and had Tucker and Joel’s dad help us – turns out we packed a lot of stuff!  We checked a bag and one of the car seats.

We decided to take a car seat on for Hailey so she would be constrained.  I will say, the flight was not easy.  Miles is so busy and didn’t really want to nap.  Hailey was supposed to nap also – she definitely didn’t.  The whole right side of the plane’s entertainment system was down so we weren’t able to watch anything to pass the time.  Miles finally fell asleep for about an hour on me.  Hailey watched her tablet and spilled snacks all over the plane.  Miles had to be passed back and forth because he was soooooo busy.  My favorite part of the flight was when we hit turbulence.  Hailey got a big smile on her face and said “do it again!”

My parents picked us up from the airport in two cars and we headed to their house to unpack.  We went to the restaurant in their community and then hopped in the community pool for a little bit.  Hailey was a little hesitant with swimming.  We went back to the house to try to get the kiddos down to bed.  The adults watched an episode of The Drop out on Hulu before bed.  It’s about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos.. I have read Bad Blood so it’s fascinating to see it acted out.

The kids went down okay but Hailey woke up a couple hours later and did not want to go back to bed.  We all were in the same room area, so the kids kept waking each other up.  I put Hailey in bed with us, but that didn’t work out.  Eventually I just took her to the living room and let her talk and talk and talk.  She FINALLY went to sleep around 11pm.  Miles was up a few times, it’s fought having him in our room because we hear every little grunt he makes and keep giving him the bottle so he doesn’t wake up Hailey… so that will be a fun habit to break.

Sunday

Sunday morning was Easter.  We woke up close to 7 (with the time change and all the times being up at night… it definitely didn’t feel that late).  I snuck in a 4 mile run – the humidity was OOFT.  Mom, Hailey and I went to the grocery store to get stuff for the week.  Once we got back, we speed dressed the kids to head to Easter Brunch at the Golf Course Club House with my parent’s neighbors/friends.  Hailey ate about 8 breakfast sausages!  Miles also ate SOOOO much meat.  Joel walked back with Hailey and we got the kids down for a nap.  We got to rest a little bit too! Joel closed his eyes by the pool while I read a little bit.  After nap time, we all headed over to the Town Center to swim.  We put Miles in a floating thing and he was so content!  Hailey made a little bit older friend and she showed Hailey how to jump in.  She went from hesitant to fearless and was jumping in like crazy! 

Joel and Dad played pickleball while the rest of us came back to the house to rest and make dinner.  I made grilled ham and cheese on homemade bread with soup and salad for dinner.  

We got the kiddos to bed and the adults watched another episode of The Dropout.  We had a much better night with sleeping, although Miles was up quite a bit and we probably gave him 12 ounces of formula just to keep him quiet. 

Monday

Joel and Dad headed about 45 minutes away to play pickleball early Monday morning.  I had made egg bake and banana bread the night before, so Joel was able to grab some breakfast.  The kids ended up eating cereal, because… kids. Miles went down for a nap and I put Hailey in the stroller and we ran to the grocery store to get a few things we missed the day before.  I got back and made some meatballs and meatloaf for the boys when they got back.  I also started some pizza dough for dinner.

When Joel and Dad got back and ate, we hopped in their pool.  Miles loved the floating thing again and Hailey started to really enjoy the pool once we put water wings on her.  We swam for quite a while and then came back in for some quiet time.  

Once the kids were settled, Joel and I took a car and went over to Starbucks for some cold brew.  We sat in the shade and just enjoyed the quiet and each other’s company.  We headed back to the house and Mom and I woke Hailey up and headed to Lowe’s to pick out a new kitchen faucet for their house.  We got our toenails done – Hailey did so well! She was so fascinated by the lady doing her toes and sat perfectly still.  She started to lose her attention span with about 15 minutes left, but she really did well.  

We got home from getting our nails done and made homemade pizza.  It turned out really well!  We got the kids to bed and I put the new faucet in for my parents.  I was so sweaty from doing that so hopped in the pool to cool off.  It was perfect weather!  We watched some more of the Dropout and then headed to bed.  I could not fall asleep… ugh.  Miles was up a bunch but Hailey was only up once.

Tuesday

Miles woke up for a bottle a little after 5 so Joel and I woke up and had some coffee after he went back to sleep. Joel and Dad headed to play pickleball again about a half hour away.  Mom, Hailey, Miles and I went to Wawa to get donuts and coffee.  We sat outside for a bit and then packed up and headed down the street to the park.  Hailey loved playing on the swing and climbing.  Miles had fun on the swing too, but he definitely was starting to get tired and needed to head home for a nap.

I decided to take a rest day from running since I was going to play pickleball later that afternoon.  Hailey and I played on her scooter and then we took the golf cart around the block a few times while Miles napped. Miles took an over 3 hour nap! Hailey and Joel went and played in the pool a bit before he woke up.

I went to play pickleball (it was hot, I progressively got worse!) and had so much fun! Dad and I had a drink with one of the ladies and Joel came over with Hailey to swim.  I hopped on the golf cart and went to get Miles and Mom to come back to swim for a little bit. We headed back to the house, everyone got baths and showers and we went to Cafe Lupita for some Mexican food for dinner.  It was one of those dinners with the kids that make you never want to eat out again – Miles was so antsy and trying to climb everywhere, Hailey spilled her large cup of milk EVERYWHERE and wouldn’t calm down so we had to put cartoons on the phone for her. She does not do well without a nap, especially with all the over stimulation.  

We got the kids home and in bed and we watched another episode of The Dropout. The kids slept not great again….

Wednesday

I got up at 5 am to beat the heat to get a speed workout in.  I started some cinnamon rolls and was out the door for some mile repeats.  The workout actually went pretty well but it was great to get back to the house.  Miles and Joel met me with the stroller and we walked a few minutes for me to cool down.  We ate some cinnamon rolls and then Joel and Dad headed to play pickleball.  My mom and I went to Lowe’s to return some of the supplies I didn’t use for fixing the faucet.  We impromptu decided to head to a children’s museum.  Hailey loved looking at the fish and playing in the water and sand exhibits.  It was adorable watching some of the older kids that were there share the toys with her.  We headed over to Chuck E Cheese for lunch and games.  Hailey loved the little rides and was terrified of the game that dropped balls on her.  The drive home was a rush to get back before Miles fell asleep.  I kept lightly pushing on his head to annoy him to keep him awake.  Miles fell asleep right away and Hailey, of course, decided she was too tired for a nap.

Joel and my mom took the kids into the pool in their backyard while I went to play pickleball.  I had a quick beer with the ladies afterwards and got suggestions for places for dinner for date night with Joel.  I got back to the house, showered quickly, fed the kids and got them into jammies and left them to terrorize my parents.  We tried to get into a steak house, but they were full so we ended up at Christof’s on McGregor – a delicious little restaurant that used to be an old house.  Joel had their scallops and thought they were delicious.  We stopped at Love Boat to get some ice cream – the line was pretty long but it was worth the wait.  We headed back to the house and I went straight to bed.  Miles was up multiple times again….

Thursday

Both kids were up around 5, so I took them out to the living room.  Joel went and got us all coffee to start off my birthday caffeinated.  We rush decided to head to the beach to beat the traffic and find parking.  We threw stuff in the cars and hit the road.  Once we got to the beach, we ate some breakfast at one of the restaurants right on the beach.  It was pretty good! Hailey was definitely cranky from getting up so early.

We packed up from the beach and headed back to the house to try for naps and lunch.  When we got back, I headed out for a run in the peak heat while Joel fed the kids and tried to get then to sleep.  Miles passed right out but in true Hailey fashion, she skipped the sleeping part.  There’s just way too much going on here to sleep!  We headed over to the Town Center pool and swam a bit.  Hailey had an absolute melt down when it was time to go because the towel wasn’t wrapped around her correctly?  We got back to the house and changed and headed over for hibachi for dinner.  Miles was a wild man and trying to climb everywhere, but once we got him some food, he calmed down a bit.  Hailey was so fascinated by the hibachi part and them making the food in front of her.  She ate a ton of steak and fried rice!  Miles was also fascinated but he got scared of the big fire when they made that on the grill. 

I swung by the store next door to try to find some diaper inserts since we ran out of sposie pads for Miles. They didn’t have any so I bought some overnight maxi pads instead (they worked great!).  We got home and Joel got Miles to bed while I walked a bit with Hailey.  She went to bed and we busted out my birthday cake!  My chantilly cake from Whole Foods – every year since 2014 for my birthday!

We watched the Drop Out again and then headed to bed for another awful night of Miles sleep…

Look, I’m in a picture!

Owies from my fall

Friday

The kids were up early again.  This time was pretty cute though.  Miles pack n play is at the foot of my mom’s bed and Hailey’s is in the bathroom that is connected to my parents room (without a door.. part of the issue with sleeping).  Mile woke up around 5ish or so… and he stood up on the edge of his pack n play, squawking happily at us and watching us in the bed and jumping up and down getting our attention.  Joel took Miles out to the living room to hang out with Grandpa for a bit and Hailey woke up and laid in the bed with me for a little more quiet time.  

Dad and Joel ate a quick breakfast and then headed to Naples to play some open play where the US Open Pickleball tournament is being played this weekend.  I threw a roast in the slow cooker and then played with the kids in the house a bit and got Miles down for an early nap since he was up so early.  My  mom and I took the kids to the Orange Juice place and Hailey ate some ice cream with her grandma.  She played on the playground a bit before we headed back to try to get her some quiet time. Shocker.. it didn’t work. Joel and Dad got back from pickleball – unfortunately they didn’t get to play a ton because there were so many people trying to play before the tournament.

I walked over with my dad to play pickleball and Hailey went with Joel on the golf cart to the pool.  They headed back to the house and swam with Miles when he woke up from his nap.  I played pickleball for an hour an a half and then went to the little bar with the ladies and had some beer.  My dad and I walked back over to the house and I jumped in the pool.  Miles was exhausted from 90+ minutes of swimming and went to bed before 6.  Joel and I took Hailey on a golf cart ride before putting her to bed.  The adults watched a couple more episodes of The Dropout, obviously we are loving it 🙂

Joel and I went to bed and around 1am, Miles started cooing in his pack n play.  All of sudden, I felt something grab my toe! Miles had stood up and grabbed my feet.  He was sticking his head up and trying to get our attention.  Thankfully he fell back asleep. 

Early bedtime for this little guy after hours of swimming

Hailey wearing fleece Santa jammies and goggles for a golf cart ride

Grandma having ice cream with Hailey!

Saturday 

Hailey woke up at 5, which woke Mile up. So  we were all up at 5… We brought the kiddos to the living room to hang with my parents and I snuck out for an easy run. I cut it super short because my body was hurting.. from the fall, from pickleball on the hard courts, from going nonstop… I have a long run Sunday morning, so took it super easy and walked back to the house.  Joel went over to the Town Center to swim some laps and Miles went down for a nap.  I helped fix my parents garbage disposal (the hose broke).  

We are heading to the airport shortly, hoping for an easy flight home after a long, exhausting, amazing week.  I am hoping with all my hopes that the kids sleep well in their own beds tonight!