JP plus 3: Our Beach Trip

Last week we headed to Amelia Island, Florida to spend the week with my family in honor of my parent's 40th anniversary. We lucked out with beautiful weather, a wonderful big house that fit the 15 of us nicely & the white sand beach right out our window. I'd love to say that it was a relaxing beach vacation, but with 4 kids (3 of them toddlers), it was just as much work as it was fun.

The flights there were pretty uneventful, thank goodness. We flew this trip with my brother & his wife and 1-yr old George. It always helps to increase the adult to child ratio! Madison did throw up all over me on our first landing into Atlanta. The girls motion sickness is getting to be a regular occurrence these days. After a change of outfits for both Maddi & Mom, we were able to get some lunch in Atlanta and then take a quick plane down to Jacksonville, where both my brother in law Steve and Dad came to pick us all up.

The house was great and a perfect layout for 4 families. Everyone had their own bathroom attached to their rooms and the bigger kids had a loft to sleep in. Joe & I got the master bedroom, but we did have to share it with the trio. My family was able to round up 4 pack & plays and 3 feeding chairs, so it made it a lot easier on us.

JP had fun playing with his cousins Reilly and Brendan. He also had fun during the week surf fishing, biking, going to the park, shopping with Mom, and of course the ocean. He would stay in for so long he looked like a prune when he got out. He loved the boogie board. He took a lot of wave crashes, but it didn't stop him. This was so nice to see for a kid that still doesn't like to get water in his eyes.

The babies loved the beach as well. They all looked so cute in their little bathing suits. The girls & George got to enjoy the beach much more than Ryan. By Wednesday, he was starting to get pretty sick. He & I had to sit the last few beach days out. Poor guy he was so miserable. On Friday, my sister, a pediatrician, prescribed him an antibiotic after looking in his ears.

The trip home was not so easy. Madison again threw up on the first flight. Air Tran had changed our reservations giving us a 3 hour layover in Atlanta. That along with a delayed flight meant over 4 hours to kill. Ryan, who did pretty well on the short flight had some major crying fits during the break in flights. The good thing was that once we were on he plane he immediately fell asleep. The girls were up the entire 3 hours and each had their fair share of breakdowns. But the real fun began when Ryan woke up. It was pretty much non-stop screaming for the final hour & 1/2. Yep, we were one of "those" families on the plane. I held Ryan at the back of the plane during much of that time. It was funny because since everyone kept coming back to use the bathroom and talking with us, toward the end of the flight people would come back and say "Oh, is he the baby with the ear infection?" Word travels fast around a plane I guess!

We were so happy to be home. Of course, Denver had a cold snap when we landed we were hit with a 70 degree temp drop. Brrr.

All in all, we are glad we were able to go and see everyone. We even had corned beef & cabbage on the final night to celebrate our O'Reilly reunion. As with any family vacation, it had its ups and downs, but we all have new memories to last us until we can get together again. - Which we're thinking may have to be a mountain getaway. The babies have now been on a total of 6 planes. Joe and I are thinking that total may remain the same for the next couple of years. We remember flying with JP during the 2's & 3's and we're thinking our sanity may not hold up with that multiplied by 3!

Happy guy Ryan before getting sick: