JP plus 3: JP and Mom's Big Adventure

First of all I have to say how lucky we are that Grandmom and Pop flew out from Massachusetts for a week to help Joe watch the trio. Without all their help the Big Adventure would not have been possible.

On Tuesday the 5th, JP and I headed off to South Carolina to see my parents. What a difference it makes flying with only one kid! I let JP get some snacks for the trip and he picked out a box of Good & Plentys which he had never had before. Joe laughed with me that he would be eating the candy by 8am. Well our flight took off at 6:55am and I looked at my watch. The first candy was consumed at 7:15am. That's what vacations are for! We had no delays and arrived in Augusta, SC on time.

After the 45 minute drive to McCormick, SC JP went out to explore. He checked out the woods, the golf course across the street and of course all toys that were anywhere in sight. I took a nap. :)

We spent the next 2 days checking out McCormick. We went to Nana & Pa's new church that Pa had helped organize the building of. It was beautiful and JP loved having his picture taken with all the statues around. Nana took JP and I for ice cream at the old soda fountain and then we walked around town. I think the highlight for JP was going on Pa's boat. He literally could have spent all day in the water if we would have let him. Because he was wearing a life vest, he had no fears and loved jumping on their little raft tube and playing with the noodles. He and Pa also were able to get in some fishing and biking while we were there.

On Friday morning we headed out on a 12-hour road trip to West Palm Beach, FL to visit JP's cousins and Aunt Erin & Uncle Steve. This was JP's first ever road trip and he did great. Between the movies and the games we played he did great. We stopped for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as gas along the way. We also made a quick stop at the Florida Welcome Center when we crossed over from Georgia to get a free glass of orange or grapefruit juice. We only had one point along the way when JP got upset with me. Poor guy, he wanted a souvenir in the worst way. But everywhere we stopped just had a bunch of junk. I kept telling him when we got to Florida there would be some better stuff, but there wasn't. I just couldn't bring myself to buy him something that would just end up in a pile somewhere. He had to wait a few more days, but he ended up getting a couple fun things.

Once we arrived at Erin's house, it was instant fun for JP. Brendan (8) and Reilly (almost 6) kept him entertained nonstop. He had such a great time. They have a pool and again I think JP would have been happy just to swim for 3 days. For a boy that used to be afraid to put his head under the water he did great. In no time he was trying to dive down and reach things on the bottom.

On Saturday, after some more pool time, we headed off to watch Reilly & Brendan perform in their dance recital. They did a great job and JP was such a trooper sitting through over 2 hours of dancing. We ended the night with a trip to Buca de Beppo and a great meal. On Sunday we went to church, stopped at Dunkin Donuts and then off to Fort Lauderdale to Wannado City. This was such a fun place that was geared just towards kids allowing them to try all types of different 'jobs'. We spent all afternoon there and JP, Brendan and Reilly had a great time. JP finally got his souvenirs. He picked out a stuffed snake and a Wannado City t-shirt.

On the last day of our vacation we went to the actual beach in West Palm. It was a beautiful day and I'm glad that JP and I were able to see the ocean before we left. We had so much fun with Nana, Pa, Aunt Erin, Uncle Steve, Brendan & Reilly. Everyone treated us so well and gave us great memories to last a lifetime! I made JP a photo book to remember our vacation and to always remind him of all the fun we had.

The old soda fountain in McCormick, SC