The warmer weather has brightened everyone's glum winter mood and brought us on some fun travels this Spring. My days of travel are numbered with only 9 weeks left before Baby Doyle Numero Trés keeps me grounded for a while. Our latest travels have been around Florida (standard operating procedure around these parts.) First up was to Bay Hill, a visit to Poppa's farm, capped off with a stay at the Four Seasons Orlando.
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| Toddler travel is much easier in 2016 |
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| Always first on the docket is to get out on the greens |
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| These two are quite the pair these days. Although Tripp doesn't have P's passion for golf. Yet. |
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| We snuck in on a buddy's golf lesson while at Bay Hill |
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| Setting up for that perfect shot |
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| Watching a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds swing the club is pretty adorable! |
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| Tripp is happy to "Jump Dada" all day long. |
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| Becoming well acquainted with the clubhouse life |
We always rent a house while staying at Bay Hill and pretend like we've never left. We have dinners with friends each night thanks to old babysitters being on hand and soak up every minute we can. This trip we even got to be a part of Palmer's buddy from birth 4th birthday party. Nothing like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle party to really make your vacation complete!
This trip to Orlando we tacked on some extra time to play at the new Four Seasons. I've stayed at the property with girlfriends and couldn't wait to bring Pete and the boys here one day. They do everything right here. Case in point:
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| The set up they left for the boys on their pull out bed |
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| They settled right in |
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| Tripp rocks an umbilical hernia and a speedo like no other toddler :) |
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| The area for little kids is magical |
The entire property is perfection. There is a game house for bigger kids, lawn games, outdoor play areas galore, jackpot lazy river, movies at the pool, and endless places to swim and relax. Palmer refers to it as the Four Seasonings and was watching me upload pictures this morning and asked if we could go back today. I'm always ready, buddy!
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| Tripp requested just a few snacks |
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| Settling right into vacation life |
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| Ice Cream is a daily staple on vacations, right? |
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| Relaxation is unavoidable on that property |
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| Snack breaks for busy swimmers |
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| Lot's of enthusiasm from this kid |
They offer a Disney Character Breakfast at the resort which is all these two little guys require. Disney will happen one day. Likely when our littlest is around 4/5. Disney is such a huge adventure and even huge-er expensive. Neither of them have the wherewithal to enjoy a full day there. And frankly, nor do I have the energy to tote the two of them around that massive property. We always hit up Sea World while in Orlando which is basically a sea-life zoo with a stellar dolphin show and super entertaining dog show. We are there max an hour and a half, get fully entertained and no one has to lose a temper or have a melt down.
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| This is the best one of the morning and I call it a success as everyone is smiling! |
We had a family disaster while traveling back to Georgia. Long story short, Gigi, Palmer's giraffe best friend was missing. We noticed while unloading curbside at the airport and devastation set in. After A TON of effort (and crying) on our part and thanks to a stellar manager at the Four Seasons, Gigi was located and returned safely to Georgia. They even included a traveling buddy and an envelope of pictures of Gigi on his "extended vacation" around the property. We had Gigi on a golf cart, Gigi with the chef, Gigi lounging at the pool, even Gigi with some cute girls! It was such a thoughtful touch and only strengthened our love for the Four Seasons.
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| Gigi's arrival back home!! |
This week we headed back down to Florida while Pete had a musky fishing trip to Tennessee. Gra Gra and I loved the opportunity to escape to the beach with the boys. This was Tripp's first beach trip and I would consider it a massive success. I only snapped like 3 pictures which is sad to me, but also a great sign of the non-stop action these two had between the beach and pool. We are ready to take Pete back and show him just how much fun we can have at the beach!
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| First thing every morning, right out to the beach |
While the area we stayed on Amelia Island was totally quiet and we enjoyed the beach to ourselves, it was the annual Shrimp Festival in the historic downtown which brings in thousands of people. We went there for a post nap ice cream and dinner (in that order) and that was about all the action we could handle down there.
I think the appropriate way to end this overload of family pictures is to showcase Pete's 48" musky. He might have missed a sunny beach trip, but he definitely made up for it with this guy!
