Operation Grandmother Roadtrip: Pompano Beach Leg (7/13-7/16)

After leaving Deland, we traveled for about 4 hours and arrived in Pompano Beach. We were so excited to get there and settle in for a few days with my mom's mom ("Grandma T") and my mom's sister and her husband (Aunt Phyllis and Uncle Mike). As soon as we got out of the car, Griffin spied the hose and started chanting, "pool!, pool!, pool!" I immediately unpacked his pool, blew it up, filled it with water, and stripped him down. I am not exaggerating when I say that he proceeded to splash and jump in that little pool for 2 hours before we even stepped foot into the house. He had such a ball.


Meanwhile, my grandmother introduced Miles and Noah to her electric organ. It was instant love. They turned the volume on high, pushed a few buttons to get the back-beat playing, and then played that organ like crazy.


Miles was so in-love with the instant music, that each day we were there he invited everyone to a "dance party." He made signs/posters for the party, personally invited everyone, and then lead the music and dancing. It was hilarious. I've already been lobbying to Mike that our family Christmas gift to ourselves should be some sort of electric organ/keyboard/piano to foster this musical excitement. He's not convinced yet, but I'll keep working on him...he married me because he loved my persistence, right? :)





We went to the beach one day (no camera in tow). The second day we let Dana & Lindsey have some adult beach time, and the boys and I checked out an awesome science museum. They had a robot/ invention exhibit (which was perfect with Miles' upcoming invention camp) and the boys loved building with these magnets. I loved that Miles sat down and immediately rebuilt the Arch. He must have been thinking about building this.




If it was anything in FL, it was HOT. Never fear, Aunt Phyllis and Grandma T stocked up with all of our favorite foods -- including yummy popsicles. The boys feasted on them.



I love this picture of my Aunt Phyllis and Dana. She had just given Dana a little wedding advice/congratulations and I'm sure they were both a little teary. I have a terrible memory -- yet I remember vividly how much it meant to have my Aunt Phyllis around for my wedding festivities. She was an enormous help with my bridesmaid luncheon, she tirelessly tied bows on our wedding programs, she did so many things. The most important thing to me, though, is simply that she was there. My aunt Phyllis is so loving and giving of herself. She's one of those people that you just want to be around. All the time. Her laugh makes you want to laugh and if you are touched by something and tearing up, you can be certain that she's tearing up too. I love that about her. Her husband, Mike, is amazing, too. I can't believe I didn't get one picture of that handsome fella.


And Grandma T...another amazing woman in my life that I love, love, love. Grandma T has this laugh that I adore. Sometimes she gets so tickled that she has to stop in her tracks and just laugh. I love it and every time she does it, I have to laugh with her (whether I know what she's laughing about or not). When I think of Grandma T as I was growing up, I think of amazing family vacations at my grandparents' house near the Jersey shore. There was always lots of extended family around....aunts, uncles, cousins....lots of time playing at beach, hanging out at the boardwalk (loved all the skeeball and the awesome flip-flops that could only be found there), watching cable tv and playing atari (only basic channels at our house!), playing game after game at the kitchen table (hands-up jenkins, dutch blitz, skippo, so many more), hanging out on the screened-in porch reading a book (I read Little Women there), eating watermelon and running around the backyard, exploring their amazing game closet, searching for candy hidden all around the house, and so much more. Being at my grandparents' house in the summertime, as a kid, has such an imprint on my memory and my heart and it is really important to me that my boys also build childhood memories of Grandma T, too. I'm happy to say: mission accomplished.