Siesta Key 2012

By Casey - November 25, 2012

For as long as I can remember I have spent Thanksgiving on the beach with my family. So naturally continuing the tradition with our daughter was only expected. Whitney experienced it last year but she was obviously too young to remember it, and to be honest it wasn't one of my favorite trips. We all had a rough time down there and it just wasn't as easy as I had hoped it to be, so going down this year was a little scary for me!

My parents offered for Whit and I to spend two weeks down there with them since I am off work this year. They were driving down and were taking our luggage and even picking Whit and I up at the airport, so it seemed like a no brainer...even though I was super scared to try it all again. Ryan dropped Whitney and I off at the airport and the two of us flew down to Tampa where my Mom and Bret were waiting for us.

She was a perfect angel on the flight. It wasn't as bad as I thought but let me tell you, sitting in a cramped seat by the window while trying to entertain a squirmy two year old that has to stay on your lap, is not high on my list of things to do again. Luckily we had a nice grandma and grandpa sitting next to us that have ten grandchildren of their own.

After the flight I just had one more worry and that was sleeping. Last year Whitney slept less than five hours a night and barely napped while we were down there so I was expecting the worse this time around too. I did have a little hope that it would be different seeing as how she is so much older now and understands what is going on. As soon as we got to the condo she said, "I wanna nap in my special bed!!" She ended up sleeping for an hour and then slept through the night without a problem!!! You better believe I let out a huge sigh of relief and was able to enjoy the vacation with no worries!

Her first encounter with the sand this year was not pretty. She put her toes down and froze!! She wouldn't move hahaha! Within a few hours though she was running down the beach acting like she was a cheerleader without a care in the world. Her favorite things were looking for shells and building castles with papaw. She also played "where is Whitney" about a million times....thanks to Mom, Bret and Kelley for putting up with that!!

The first week was wonderful but she was missing her daddy. We kept her busy but at night she would ask for him and got upset about him not being able to hold her. It nearly broke our hearts! When he got there the second week, she was beside herself with excitement and would not leave his side!

All in all it was a wonderful time and Whitney already misses it. She keeps asking to go back to the condo to play and sleep!