Florida 2024

The yearly spring break trip to Florida is definitely one that we look forward to ALL year long. After loooooong, cold, dreary winters, it is so nice to get to spend a week in the warmth and sunshine of Florida. This year's trip came at the tail end of a super busy and exhausting week, so I think we all appreciated it even more. We almost had a delay in our travel because Caleb was battling a BAD case of the flu (bad enough to land him in the ER three nights before we left). Thankfully, he was just barely good enough to make the long trip down and by about 48 hours into the trip, he was much better!

Our first day was lovely and then we had two days that were a bit cooler with some clouds and rain. We made the most of it, though, and spent one afternoon visiting downtown Pensacola, which was really cool. We also went to a national seashore that had some cool hiking paths. We spent plenty of time just hanging out and playing games as well. Bad weather doesn't stop us from having a good time!

The last days of our trip were gorgeous and we spent lots of time outside. The beach was great. It did get a little crowded, which was annoying. Apparently, there is a tradition over Easter weekend for swarms of teens from Louisiana to come to the Pensacola Beach area. They rent houses, party all weekend, and turn an otherwise peaceful area into a big party scene. It wasn't the most enjoyable experience, but created plenty of teachable moments for our kids!

We absolutely loved our backyard and pool! It was a perfect place to hang all day and we definitely think this was our favorite house so far in Pensacola Beach. When we weren't at the beach or enjoying the backyard, we spent plenty of time hanging out in the big family room and kitchen. We watched lots of movies and LOTS of March Madness basketball. Our Illini were so fun to watch, but their final game was definitely a low point of our vacation!

All in all, it was another wonderful year! It's hard to believe that this tradition has been going since Caleb was 2 and Leah was a newborn. They've definitely grown up having a love for this trip and I hope we can continue the tradition for many more years to come.