Florida

Brandon attended a conference in Orlando - and Levi and I got to tag along! We left the other kids back in Wichita with Grandma. We left on my birthday, and had an uneventful trip down. Levi did GREAT on all the flights!

Brandon was busy with the conference most of the day Friday, and the first part of the day Saturday. Levi and I busied ourselves with naps in the hotel room and sitting by the pool. It was rough ;)

It was a little too cool to swim, but it was still nice to enjoy the sun and warm air. I got in some reading, a little extra sleep, and a lot of relaxing.

I would say Levi enjoyed the one-on-one time with Mom and Dad - he didn't have to compete for our attention :)

Brandon's business partner, Nick, and his wife, Michaela, also came along for the conference. On Saturday, we got to connect with one of Brandon's former classmates from residency, Michael Heiland, and his wife, Lauren, who live in Florida now. The six of us (plus Levi and the Heilands' two kids) went to Disney Springs for dinner. It was crazy-busy, but we were able to find a place to eat without a 3-hour wait, at Paddlefish. It was a lovely dinner, with great company and good food.

Lauren, Graciana, Michaela, Nick, Gabriel, Michael, Brandon, Becca, Levi

We had to get up super early Sunday morning to get to the airport (aided slightly by the "extra hour" from Daylight Savings Time....but 4:00 still feels early). The Orlando airport has a K9 bomb-sniffing unit as part of the security screening. I don't fly often, and this is the first time I've encountered dogs at the airport. There were about 10-15 lines to have our boarding passes and ID's checked, then we were funneled into one line and made to walk single-file in a long loop around the dog and his handler, who were pacing back and forth along a twenty foot stretch of floor.  The great part about it was that we got to skip the part where you usually take off your shoes and take everything out of your bags. We made it through the TSA checkpoint in a matter of minutes!

When we got home, we were treated to a very excited welcome from the kids, who had a great - and very busy! - weekend with Grandma. On Thursday, she and Jonah went to the Exploration Place, including a show in the Dome Theater, while the girls were at First Friends. On Friday, they all went to Jumpy Jump Land in the morning and a park after naps. Then they spent Saturday morning at the Derby Library, followed by some time at Madison Avenue Park. After naps, they went for a walk at Chisholm Creek Trails. And on Sunday, they spent the morning at the zoo. Grandma also helped me transition the kids' schedules for Daylights Savings time, and we have been reaping the benefits -- no early mornings for us this year!! I even had to wake up Levi and Esther for co/op this morning.