Vacation ended three weeks ago, why do I feel like I have jet lag? And there wasn't even a time change...I have a lot of catching up to do - so I'm going to do several posts, and tons of pictures - to catch up. Since returning I have had one night where I crashed and slept almost 8 full hours - but pretty much every other night since getting home I've slept 4-5 hours, or less. I got a call from the internist I saw last month - he wanted me to do a more in depth sleep study. I can't seem to convince him the problem isn't physical...it is external - just the sheer amount of time required to get things done. Anyway - on to the story of our vacation!
Here Mom and Gordon were joined by a neighbor's chocolate lab - McGee - a very exuberant dog!
A close examination of a seashell.
Nap time! All that salt air makes a boy sleep well...like 3 hours. Look at those still so squishably cute thighs (he'll hate me later for that but I can't help myself!)
Sunday morning spent exploring the porch - Grandma had a collection of sea glass which was just desperate for some sorting...thank goodness Gordon was there to help:
The men, young and old Gordon, having a talk on the side porch.
My pirate riding a tortoise that he found in Grandpa and Grandma's front yard.
Sunday we went to Aunt Debbie's beautiful house and Gordon loved meeting Chip, her cocker spaniel, and picking kumquats in the back yard. 
She sure does an amazing job on the yard - very "disney-esque"
And across the road behind the houses is a huge lake.
I love what she's done to the inside too - very colorful - she is still in progress as you can see by the paint samples on the wall by the picture, but I think it already looks great Deb!
And the back yard looks great too - Gordon love picking and eating the kumquats
We had a great time in Florida. We flew out on Friday evening and Gordon was thrilled with the whole trip. We survived the shakedown at airport security - I don't know how a parent of more than one makes it through. I had all I could do to keep one eye on Gordon and one eye on our stuff, and the shoe search, bag search...oy. Gordon thought it was great fun. While waiting for our flight we engaged in some people watching. Gordon spotted a fairly thin and small framed man with a fedora sitting about 8 feet away - he announced with quite a bit of excitement that "it's Barney!" As in Barney Fife, he's seen the Andy Griffith show a few times, and he likes Barney. He was loud enough for several people around us to hear. I quickly distracted him. But then he spotted a man in a black cowboy hat and boots and yelled "it's a cowboy!" We don't get out much. I told Gordon to use his inside voice and not to point. A nice man struck up a conversation with Gordon about the toy airplane I gave him in hopes of distracting him from his commentary on the people around us. Gordon was quite talkative with this young man. Then he noticed the man was bald. He whipped around to me, standing two feet away from the man and shouted "Look mommy! He has NO HAIR!" He repeated it two more times before I was able to divert him. I felt badly for the man. I don't know if it upset him or not, some men are sensative about that. I wanted to give Gordon a stern word or two about being rude - but how do you really get that concept through the mind of a 3 year old? I did say something, but I doubt he understood what I meant. Thankfully we were able to board the plane soon after and with Gordon in the window seat he was too preoccupied with looking out at the lights of the cities below to make any more comments about people. He associated the view of tiny twinkling lights below with "papa's mountain" - where the valley twinkles below like stars. But I think he understood that we were flying. As we came in for a landing and the plane decelerated noticeably - Gordon heard and felt the change in the plane and sounded a bit worried when he said "Mommy? I think the plane is getting tired." Then he looked at me with surprise and said "that hurt" while putting his hand on one ear. I showed him how to swallow to pop his ears, and also had him drink from his sippy which fixed the problem. The clunking from the lowering of the wheels and the roar of the wind as the flaps were raised as we touched down totally shocked him - he let out a very loud and excited "WOW!!!!" which made everyone around us chuckle. He was most excited however when he spotted his Papa and Grandma waiting for us.
We spent Saturday just relaxing at Mom and Dad's place. It is a very pretty place and a true Florida getaway on the Indian River. 
Here Mom and Gordon were joined by a neighbor's chocolate lab - McGee - a very exuberant dog!A close examination of a seashell. Nap time! All that salt air makes a boy sleep well...like 3 hours. Look at those still so squishably cute thighs (he'll hate me later for that but I can't help myself!)We drove to New Smyrna and Gordon saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. He was impressed. It was very cold and windy so we didn't stay long before we headed to BJ's Fish Camp for some fresh seafood. It was close to sunset, and being on the east coast the clouds over the ocean and the white caps on the waves lightly reflected the pinkish sunset behind us.
I was suffering from a cold that was hitting hard and fast so I took some Zycam and Mucinex in order to hopefully make the misery short lived. Gordon seemed to have a touch of it too, but only a slightly runny nose. Thankfully nothing severe enough to keep us from the fun. 
I was suffering from a cold that was hitting hard and fast so I took some Zycam and Mucinex in order to hopefully make the misery short lived. Gordon seemed to have a touch of it too, but only a slightly runny nose. Thankfully nothing severe enough to keep us from the fun. Sunday morning spent exploring the porch - Grandma had a collection of sea glass which was just desperate for some sorting...thank goodness Gordon was there to help:The men, young and old Gordon, having a talk on the side porch.My pirate riding a tortoise that he found in Grandpa and Grandma's front yard. Sunday we went to Aunt Debbie's beautiful house and Gordon loved meeting Chip, her cocker spaniel, and picking kumquats in the back yard. She sure does an amazing job on the yard - very "disney-esque" And across the road behind the houses is a huge lake.
I love what she's done to the inside too - very colorful - she is still in progress as you can see by the paint samples on the wall by the picture, but I think it already looks great Deb!
And the back yard looks great too - Gordon love picking and eating the kumquats
More to come...from Disney to Thanksgiving!
