Florida: The Sunshine State

Well we arrived in arrived in Florida yesterday for our beach vacation.  The airplane ride wasn't that bad.  We used our ipad to entertain Jax for the first time and it helped.  I downloaded some Fisher Price Laugh and Learn apps on the recommendation of a friend and they were great.  The characters on the screen talk and sing based on your child touching different items on the screen.  Since we don't let Jax watch any tv at home, I thought this might really keep his attention.  Honestly, it only bought us maybe 10-15 min at a time.  When he got upset during the flight though, that 10 min break was fantastic! 

The other thing that really helped were the sweet ladies that were sitting behind us.  Jax could be upset in my lap but loved standing on my lap to look over the seat and playing with them.  He clapped, smiled and laughed like he was having the best time with them.  What can I say, my kid loves an audience.  

The landing was a little rough on this flight.  We knew it might be because apparently Tropical Storm Debby had decided to join our vacation.  We arrived midday on Sunday.  To get a picture of what the weather has been like since we got here, here is a picture taken on the Siesta Key beach yesterday as well. 

 

The caption read:  "This HDR photo was taken on Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota on Sunday during Tropical Storm Debby. Lifeguard shacks are usually 100 feet or more from the water but today the surf was 100 feet past them."

So needless to say we have not made it to the beach yet.  Luckily we are staying at a rental house so there is lots of room for Jax to walk around and play.  Having an adult to child ratio of 4:1 isn't bad either!  

Today we did manage to get out for awhile as there was a break in the weather.  Jax decided to take not take any chances and he was ready for whatever Tropical Storm Debby brought his way!    

 This is what we had to travel through to go out for lunch.  This is the road right next to the beach and it was completely flooded.  I was shocked to see several people walking though this water to go to the beach during this break in the rain.  I think we will wait until the storm has passed before we head over. 

You can kind of see from this picture the wind we were dealing with.  Check out the palm tree branches!

We did manage to go to our favorite restaurant down here:  The Broken Egg.  Jax ate so much food at lunch that I think he went into a food coma.  

He rallied though when it was time to head back out. 

My parents were sweet and offered to stay home with Jax for the afternoon so we could go out during the light rain and catch a movie.  It is always good for Jasper and I to be able to get out by ourselves for a couple of hours.   Also it is always fun to come home to this:

We are hopeful that the weather is better tomorrow.  When I turned on the weather channel this is what we got:

You know it has been bad weather when you see this screen and think "that looks like a chance of sun on Thursday!  So come on sunshine state, bring on the sun!