FSMS Conference 2015

Lots and lots of catching up to do...can't believe its been a month since I blogged!  The last week in July, we traveled to Naples to attend the 2015 FSMS conference.  This year, Justin's work picked up the hotel expense and allowed him to count his attendance as time worked instead of using leave, which was a huge blessing to us!

 

Since we were in Naples this year, we left Monday afternoon to spend a full day on Tuesday with Pa and Gaga before the conference started on Wednesday.  Pa fell the week before we were visiting and broke his pelvis (again) so he was actually in the same facility where Gaga now lives.  I hated to hear he had fallen, but it worked out great to be able to visit them both multiple times throughout the week!

 I can't get them in the car quickly when we try to go anywhere around town - but let us go out of town to a hotel and they are in the car 30 minutes before we need to leave.  Thank goodness for iPads and headphones.  They are such great travelers (now).

The view from our room.

 

 We arrived in Naples around 6 that night.  We ate dinner and then headed to the hotel, the Naples Grande.  I wish I had a huge mirror like this in my house:

 Kate's picture of mommy and daddy:

Within minutes of arriving in our room, I was horrified to discover that Mason could fit through the railing on our balcony.  It only took seconds for him to turn sideways and step one foot on the wrong side of the railing.  As he put his second foot through, I grabbed his arm and pulled him back through.  My heart dropped to my stomach and it took me a few minutes to recover from that scare.  The bellman witnessed the event and was on the phone with maintenance before we could get back inside the room.  The hotel quickly baby proofed the balcony for us but needless to say, Mason didn't go back out there the rest of the trip. 

On Tuesday morning, we stopped by a shop called "Peace, Love and Little Donuts" for breakfast.  I had read about it in an article about the best donut shops in Florida so we had to try it.  They were delicious and Kate loved the "baby donuts".

After breakfast, we headed up to the "nursery" home to visit Pa and Gaga. I had packed the kids backpacks full of snacks, toys, games and stuffed animals to keep them entertained.  We didn't plan on staying all day, but they were perfect angels so we visited until late that afternoon.

 I was so proud of how friendly the kids were.  They spoke to every resident they saw and politely stood there until we were done talking.  As the kids were walking down the hall and waving, one lady told me "now they will make you believe in God".  It almost made me tear up and is one of the highest compliments I had ever received.

 Visiting with Gaga.

We stayed with Gaga until lunchtime, and then we made our way over to the rehab side of the facility to visit with Pa.  We briefly saw Aunt Mollie and Uncle Bill and talked with Pa for the rest of the afternoon. 

 Playing so sweetly with her toys.

 Visiting with Pa.

 Mason was wiped out when we finally left at 5 that day.  Poor guy pushed through without a nap and was asleep before we could pull out of the parking lot. To reward their fantastic behavior, we drove up to Bonita Springs (about 20 min away) to Build-a-Bear.  We tried to wake Mason up but he was content to keep sleeping.  Kate decided on a white bear she named Hearts and even got a swimsuit, flip flops and a cute outfit for her.

That evening we met Mimi and Papa for a quick dinner in Bonita before we headed back to the hotel for an early bedtime.

 

On Wednesday, the kids and I headed to the pool early that morning while daddy worked. 

We had a lot of fun swimming all morning before we headed up to the room to grab lunch and wait for Gigi and Granddaddy to arrive!  That evening, we all headed back up to Bonita Springs.  Mason was upset that he had slept through Build-a-Bear, so Kate asked if we could go back and let Mason pick out a treat. He looks so big to me in these pictures...

 Helping stuff his puppy dog.

 Giving his puppy a bath.

 Mason's puppy, Ruff Ruff.

 Kate got an additional treat for her bear, a carrier. After Build-a-Bear, we walked around the mall, ate dinner and got dessert at the ice cream shop.  We even got to see baby turtles in one of the little ponds.

On Thursday, we spent all morning at the pool.  The slide was open so Granddaddy and I took the kids down again and again and again until we (the adults) gave out. 

 If we weren't sliding, they were jumping.  They are slowly getting better at swimming.

At lunchtime, we got dressed and headed to the mall to eat at the food court and let the kids play in the huge play area (twice as big as ours).

 Where did he learn this pose from?!

 Love Kate's annoyed expression.

 Before we left, we let the kids ride the carousel...so neat!  Later that afternoon, Gaga called me and invited Kate and I to play bingo with her.  I LOVE Bingo so we ran up there just as the game started. We played one card Bingo with Gaga on Tuesday and Kate won a game but on Thursday it was two card Bingo!  I told Gaga I have terrible luck and once again, I didn't win.  But, Gaga and Kate won several games so that made it all worth it. Every time you win, they give you a smiley face and once all the games are over, they buy your smiley faces for 25 cents a piece.  Kate chose to donate her winnings both times to the bird seed fund at the facility.  They have bird feeders all around the grounds and residents and visitors can donate money to keep the feeders full.  So precious.

 Meanwhile at the hotel...mom sent me these pictures of the guys sleeping.

 We had a great time playing Bingo and enjoyed visiting with Gaga and Pa for a little bit afterwards.

 Bingo with Gaga!

 

That evening, Justin and I met up with friends that he hadn't seen in years. I wish we had taken a picture of all of us but I failed to remember to do that.  It was nice to have a "date" night and catch up!  Friday, we headed up to Estero to shop at the outlet mall.  My goal was to look for back to school clothes for Kate.  We tried on a bunch of clothes and ended up purchases several cute things for this fall and next spring.  Now I'm hoping she doesn't have a huge growth spurt.

 Throwing coins in the fountain.  Thankfully these fountains and a big outdoor kids play area helped Granddaddy keep the kiddos occupied while Gigi and I shopped.

 Silly kids.

 Once we got back to the hotel, daddy joined us for some pool time before dinner.

 That evening, we met Aunt Linda at a local Cuban restaurant for dinner.  We had the best dinner and once again, the kids were perfect!  I can't remember when Justin and I have been able to spend time with just Aunt Linda.  We had a great time and hopefully it's not too long before we can get back down to Naples and see her again.

Saturday was our last full day before heading home.  We decided to try the beach that morning but we didn't stay long.

 

The beach has severely eroded and there wasn't much room between the mangroves and the shoreline.  The weather was overcast and threatening and the kids weren't too happy with all the shells everywhere they stepped.  We stayed about an hour and then decided to head back up to the pool...where the rest of the hotel guests were hanging out too. 

Shells everywhere.  So painful! :(  

At lunchtime, Kate and Justin attended a kids cooking class at the hotel that Mimi had signed Kate up for.  I wasn't sure what to expect but she had a blast learning to make pizzas and even got her own apron and chefs hat.

 Ready for pizza class to start!

 My little chef.

 

 After the class, I joined them for lunch to eat the pizzas Kate made - so delicious!  That afternoon, we all stopped by to visit with Gaga and Pa one more time before leaving town.  That evening, I attended the banquet with Justin and then headed up to the room early to finish packing.  We had to leave the next morning at 6am to make it back for a friend's wedding that afternoon.

  We had a fantastic trip and a super fun week.  Once again, I'm so thankful Gigi and Granddaddy were able to join us!  Can't wait until next year!