Sunshine, Turkey, and Goodbye

On our last full day that wasn't a holiday we decided we all needed some sunshine, so we headed to the beach. We always go to Madeira Beach because it's one I was at a lot when I was a little girl but it's also where Matt and I honeymooned way back when so we just always visit there. 

We had lunch with my parents, went in search of an ornament for our tree (tradition), and then headed to the beach. 

I know technically the water is significantly warmer there then it is at home, but I put my foot in there and it was FREEZING. I'm really glad I didn't bother with a swimsuit! I sat on the beach in my dress and watched everyone else out in the water with Matt. 

For a little while Lucy hung out near me to play in the sand, but she mostly went into the water. I forgot her ear plugs and honestly, her tubes already fell out awhile ago so I thought it was fine. 

Fast forward a few days and she had swimmer's ear and I've never had it but it looked horrible. Lesson learned: never forget her ear plugs!

Olivia and Jackson had a great time swimming and hanging out away from the little girls. I think they were glad for the break. 

Fearless Penelope was all about it. She forgets that she is only five and in fact, not a teenager. She doesn't like being held back but man.... she's ONLY FIVE. 

Lucy and I were buddies for awhile. She got a little scared once a wave crashed into her and I'm pretty sure where the water in her ear came from. 

I promise you these two are playing nice and having fun... though by Lucy's expression one can't be so sure!

I look at this photo and I think damn.... we are looking so old, it feels like we're aging at lightening speed sometimes. 

We weren't at the beach for too long, we had to be home for dinner, of course. 

The next day was Thanksgiving and, as usual, we have a pretty low-key dinner. We saw some family but not many, we ate some really damn good turkey, and we went to bed incredibly early. Our flight home was VERY early in the morning and the airport is about an hour from my parents' home so we had to get up around 3 a.m. to get on the road on time. 

Hot tip for you: go to bed in the clothes you plan to wear! We literally woke up, brushed our teeth, and left. Our bags were already packed, we were dressed, it was so much easier than trying to get organized on our way out the door. 

The kids were sad to leave but we'll be back soon. The cutest thing was seeing my grandma, in her pajamas, telling us to be safe and that she loves us at her fence. I love my grandparents so much but my grandma is just special. I think that's just what grandma's are, special. 

Our day traveling home was so long. We had a five hour layover at an airport that was only two hours away from our house. Honestly I don't know what I was thinking when I booked that flight, why didn't I just get us on a shuttle so we could be home three hours sooner? 

I have no idea. 

What I did learn is that you can use the app GRAB, and they will deliver food to your terminal. You order/pay on your phone, they deliver. It was so great because all of the decent food things were a million terminals away from us and I wasn't about to haul four cranky (and tired) kids around looking for food. I highly suggest looking into this app if you are traveling by plane anytime soon.

Overall? It was a good trip. I am glad we went, I was nervous the entire time, but I didn't realize how badly we all needed to go. We are hoping we can go again in the summer, or maybe when school is getting out, assuming Covid is under more control than now. I will say, people were very respectful of space and masks, and we didn't run into any rude people so that was really nice. It made the trip a lot easier for us.