Ft. Lauderdale with the Fondeurs!

When Jack said that he had to go to Florida for work, I was not anything less than jealous. And when he said that it was the week before the kids and I were heading to Mississippi for our summer stay, well, I was not anything less than a little steamed! But he made it all better by telling me that the family could go, too! We would have to pay our own way, but at least we could go too! We could not have wished for a better time--a little more sunshine toward the end, but not a better time.

You see, after the marathon drive to Mississippi, two nights in Meridian, one early morning drive to Jackson, one pretty long flight to Ft. Lauderdale with a stop in Orlando, we arrived at the best beach hotel ever. We stayed at the Lago Mar--and I'm on a mission to get to go back again! It was beautiful and the people were Chic-Fil-A nice! The hotel had a private beach, so even with a full hotel, there were so few people around. The pool was amazing and the place so comfortable.

Add to that the fact that we got to spend two full days with our precious friends from Georgia who moved to Oswego across the street from us but who moved to Boca Raton this spring...I'm tired to just write it...and we could not have been happier. Victoria and Oscar came and swam with us, rode the waves with us and just made the trip completely for us. Ellen Claire and I cried when we put them in the car the last day. We can't wait for them to sell their house up here so that we can see them again, but then on the other hand that means that they've sold the house and won't be coming back up here again!

Did I say that we just had the best time ever?!? And of course with a trip that good there has to be an evening of the travel score, right? The original plan was for all of us to head to the airport then for Jack to head back to Chicago while the kids and I headed back to Jackson, MS. Our plane was delayed getting into Ft. Lauderdale which put us missing our Orlando connection. After 30+minutes with the ticket agent, he rerouted us through Tampa. No big deal--we even said we'd wave at Gramma (Reese) on the way over. So we walked off to security. Long story short, the flight went to Tampa alright--AND THEN TO CHICAGO!!! When I went back to ask the man about it, he said, "I didn't tell you that? Oh, sorry." And when I expressed some frustration considering I live in Chicago, his response was, "Then why are you going to Mississippi?" BECAUSE MY CAR AND MY FAMILY ARE THERE AND I WANT TO!!!! So, we flew to Chicago with Jack, then back to Jackson and then drove over to Meridian, getting home somewhere close to midnight--and exhausted. But man was the trip worth it! Just listen to the squeals of delight below!