Vacation!

Day 1: Marc and I took the red eye out Tuesday night. I was looking forward to sleeping the whole way there as that is how I tend to spend most of my time on planes and figured it couldn't be any easier leaving at 10:45 PM. We were also quite pleased to find that no one had taken the seat on the end of our aisle and we could spread out a bit more. The plane seemed roomier than the last few times I've flown and I see the some planes have handy dandy headrests that you can form to your head or move up and down (not an issue for me since I'm short, but nice nonetheless). Things were lookin' up! ...perhaps too up. I couldn't sleep!! I got 5 or 10 minutes here and there, but mostly tossed and turned and readjusted, switched seats with Marc, readjusted some more, and finally gave up trying. It was hot and the air conditioning was not that strong. I was just uncomfortable. Perhaps it was the last minute stress that was getting to me and I was overly tired? I don't know, but we made it to Florida in one piece and that was the important part. :)

Marc sleeping for a bit on the plane.

Day 2: We arrived at 7:15 AM (4:15 AM west coast time!) and Marc's mom picked us up from the airport in Orlando. It was my very first time meeting her and she was very nice and gave me a big hug. :) We got into Titusville and met a yummy breakfast and Marc's two little sisters, Faith and Brianna, and grandparents, Poppy and Grandma). It's always fun meeting Marc's family and seeing all of the shared family traits and "isms." Poppy and Grandma are very hospitable and have a beautiful home. For the first time ever, I understood retirement in Florida. They live on a golf course, have a nice pool and hot tub (which is the same temperature as the pool :) and flows into the pool), a library room (this is essential to my dream house), and just a really nice cozy, beautiful home. I couldn't pick a better place to relax and everyone reads...I love it! I don't mean that everyone CAN read, but rather, everyone enjoys reading. Much of the day you would find people off in a cozy nook or in the sun reading. I'm not sure why I love this so much, but I do, and there isn't much more I can say about it. I started Tom Curran's book on the Mass and Marc is reading CS Lewis's Four Loves.

Marc reading.

Marc and I decided it was best to try to stay up and get to bed early to get on a normal schedule. We both took sporadic naps in the sun or by the pool, which is covered and blocks 50% of the sun...handy! We tend to try to spend time on the outside of the pool area as we only have limited time to catch our rays, but it's a good break to get in the pool and play! My favorite pool break was spent playing volleyball with Marc's sisters. Always fun!

Our set-up outside. :)

Day 3: I woke up early and swam laps in the pool. Glorious!! Most of the day for me was spent out in the sun again, but Marc took a bit of a break as he was a little burnt after the first day out. If you read my blog yesterday, you'll know that the sun had it's way with me a little bit on this day too. I finished the Mass book and passed it off to Marc's mom. It's great and really breaks open the Mass in an incredible way. I recommend it to anyone. Marc and I had a ton of fun in the pool in the afternoon. We played lots of games - see if I can push Marc into the pool with out him pulling me in (so far I haven't lost! and really, we play this. It is not a surprise attack!), we threw rings, sticks, and rockets into the pool to see who could gather the most, dove off of each other's shoulders, had hand stand competitions, etc. After this, Marc disappeared inside and I just rested and had quiet time outside. I "met back up" with the group at dinner time and had a nice margarita (Poppy likes to play bartender) and a home-cooked meal. The previous night was the same. I guess I'm used to being on vacation with my family, rather than visiting family, and so that leads to a lot of dinner outs, which is fun, but it's also nice to go away and still sit down for family dinners at home. Marc, Brianna, and I finished off the night with some board games and tried to call it an early night, but got sucked into the internet looking for things to do during vacation. Oops! In the end, we were too tired to even pick anything to do. Oh silly kids staying up late!

Marc's pet dragonfly. There are also lots of lizzards that walk on the outside of the screen!

After pool play time!

Day 4 begins: Marc joined me for laps this morning and I must say, he has quite the breaststroke. (Don't tell Marc I told you...it's hilarious! I'm no swim coach, but it's improving after a lot of laughter and a few tips.) We decided to have an inside day and take a little rest from the sun. I was also feeling a little icky this morning, but seem to be doing better now. Whew! No icky on vacation! And oh man, Marc's grandma made us a huge breakfast!! We just finished it off with some help for lunch. :) Pancakes with peaches....sooo good! Make some now!

Not sure what the rest of the day holds. Maybe some games, bowling, Band of Brothers? Just good 'ol relaxation!

Stay tuned for more fun though. Tomorrow Marc and I will be going to a space shuttle launch VIP at Kennedy Space Center!!!