Ringing In 2016 in Florida

Hey y'all - 

So...we had your Christmas concerts, then Christmas, then Amy's visit, then Hagen's birthday party, and two days after that, we got on a plane and flew to Orlando. Your grandparents Peg Peg and Tex moved to Florida earlier this year because they're over 60 and that's the law. 

I wasn't opposed to the Florida trip, because at the time, Montana looked like this:

Peg Peg had planned a week-long Disney vacation for us, even though I told her you two are completely overjoyed when we stay in a hotel with a pool, so we could have just booked a Holiday Inn Express room in Cleveland and saved ourselves the trouble, but she wouldn't hear of it. Sure enough, Laney immediately fell in love with their neighborhood pool. 

For New Year's Eve, I'd bought your dad tickets to see the new Star Wars movie in IMAX, because for a few hours each week, I'm the best wife there ever was. They have bars in the movie theatres in Orlando, which is probably what led me to whisper-ask your dad questions throughout the movie, like "Why does the Empire keep building huge floating structures with bridges with no handrails and walkways where you can plummet to your death just by taking a step to the left? Hasn't anybody taken Space Architecture 101?" For a few hours a week, I'm the worst wife there ever was. 

On New Year's Day, we drove over to Cocoa Beach. Hagen managed to avoid getting wet all day, and Laney brushed up on her snorkeling skills by... well, I'm not really sure why she kept smooshing her face in the sand. 

We learned some key things on this trip:

1) Peg Peg and Tex are such fans of Hagen's "Cheese" face that they've decided to take all of their pictures like that from now on. Well played. 

2. The Tooth Fairy does go to Florida, but sometimes has to borrow a couple of ones from her parents. 

3) Your dad is an incredible parent. Before when we've travelled, you guys have been so young that a lot of the parenting responsibility fell to me by default. Years and years of "Mom do it!" But somehow when we hit the tarmac in Orlando, you guys hit this sweet spot where you fell in love with your dad and wanted to do things with him. Your dad probably did 80% of the heavy lifting and 70% of the potty breaks on this trip, so I got to feel like I was on an actual vacation. Wonderful, wonderful. 

(More on this trip tomorrow. I have lots of pictures).

Love,

Mom