Florida Day 3

Wednesday January 22nd, 2020

Brandon and I woke up and started getting ready early.  The plan was to talk at 9:00 about the plan for when to leave for Sea World.  We were driving ourselves so we didn't have to rely on someone else's timing.

T: I did NOT want to take a matching cuddle dud photo with mom!

T: I did manage a fake smile for one pic. 

When it was time to wake up the kids it was obvious that M was burning up.  He felt miserable.  I gave him Tylenol right away.  Even after an hour he was still so very hot.  I went and talked with my parents and Bret in their condo (Did I mention that we were right across the hall from each other?).  It was perfect to have our own space and to be close to them.  We decided that since we had some flex days built in and M was feeling so sick and it was so cold (actual temps in the 30's much of the day) we would wait and go to Sea World on Thursday.  I am so glad we decided to wait, because it would have been hard for M.

Thankfully with the addition of the cold meds and then the first dose of Advil M was feeling much better by about 11:00.  We took things very slow in the morning.  The kids were totally fascinated with the in room phones and calling from room to room.  It was such a thrill for them.  They spend a long time calling and running back and forth.  At one point they accidentally called the front desk and T thought it was Brandon pranking them haha.  Cousin A said, "Maybe it's Siri."

T:  Hi, this is T.  Can I talk to A?

The resort hosted a Gatorland program at 12:00.  We all walked to the location which was felt far and long for some of the crew.  On the way to the event we spotted some Sandhill Cranes that of course the kids needed to get a closer look at.

First we spotted them out our window. 

M and T:  We wanted to see if we could touch them. 

T: We got really close before they started moving away.

The (free!) program was a WIN!  We all learned a lot.  The presenter was clearly educated and loved what he did.  T answered many questions correctly and impressed all in attendance.  M and T got to hold a lizard and a snake and an alligator.  Brandon also held the alligator.  I decided to pass on that.  M was feeling much better with the meds working.

M: Check out this little guy.  (I can tell from his eyes that he is clearly sick)

T raised her hand all the time!  It was super sweet. 

T: Finally I got a turn to touch the little guy.

The presenter asked for volunteers and told them not to turn around and he would put something in their hands. I really love this series of photos, esp T's expressions.  I decided to share several because they are quite priceless.

T: I wasn't worried about what it would be. 

T: Oh boy!  M:  What?!?

T: Here I go!

T: This is awesome!

T: I could have watched this guy all day!

T: I got to hold a real alligator!

M: You can't do this every day!

Adults could hold it too and Brandon was the first adult in line!

The kids were not the only ones interested in getting close to the birds. 

We went to Chick-fil-A for lunch.  My kids love it and always eat well there.  I decided to eat a few waffle fries and felt them for days haha.

After lunch the girls played and M napped.  Eventually we all headed back to Buccaneer Bay (the adventure park) for more jumping and climbing and zipping.  Mom and I did some walking and checked out other pool areas.  The resort has 5 pool areas and we scouted out which ones to try if was ever warm enough to swim.

After Buccaneer Bay the guys and I went mini golfing.  Mom took the girls back to the condo to watch some TV and make dinner.  We all had a fun time golfing though it was getting dark and cold by the time we got home.

All eyes on Grandpa Daryl 

M: We had a fun time, but I was starting to feel yucky at the end. 

We had spaghetti for dinner and then had an early night.  Both of the kids were sleeping before 8:00 (which means before 7:00 CST!).

Once the kids were sleeping Brandon went to Walmart to get Dayquil for M.  We also got super soft tissues since the condo ones were destroying his nose, Aquaphor to help heal the nose destruction, and a thermometer to make sure his fever wasn't getting too high.

One might think that the day was over at this point... but not on this crazy trip... sometime in the night T came into the room I was sharing with M and told me, "Daddy is puking."  She wanted me to do something about it, but I told her that he could handle it and thanks for telling me.  Poor Brandon spent much of the night sick and had several episodes of throwing up.  Spaghetti is a HORRIBLE thing to throw up and it won't be on the menu at our house anytime soon haha.  I was up much of the night praying that Brandon would some how feel better in the morning.