Recently, we took a week-long vacation to visit our family in Florida. We haven’t taken a family vacation in over five years so it was great to get away. We’ve added two family members since our last vacation. We drove down to Florida on a Friday. It took us fourteen and a half hours to get there. We were so happy to arrive that night! We got to stay with my brother Micah, his wife Kayla, and their son Canon. They live in a nice little cottage with a pool on the grounds.
My mom and dad were also there staying with us all. They had been there for a week already and planned to stay for the next three weeks. My dad works from home so he just takes his work with him when they are there visiting. Unfortunately, his work computer crashed while he was there. He ended up having to travel back with us when we left. My mom stayed in Florida and he went back a week later to spend more time and drive my mom back after their visit is over.
What Does A Farm Family Do On Vacation?
We spent a lot of time at the pool where Kayla and Micah live. It was so nice and refreshing to relax in the cool water. I forgot how hot the Florida sun is. I had a pretty good (farmers) tan from home and I’m outside in the sun a lot but I started burning a bit after just one hour in the Florida sun. The three oldest farm kids were doing great with their swimming by the time we left. Lydia borrowed Canon’s old baby float and loved floating around the pool with us. She was especially fond of swimming with her daddy. The two little boys wore puddle jumpers while we were at the pool. We had a really good time swimming and playing in the pool all week.
Farmer Derek and Lydia
We spent time at the beach on two days. The first day we went to St Joe Beach. That was our old beach spot from when we lived there. It was just us and my dad that day. My mom had a hair appointment to go to, Micah had to work, and Kayla stayed home with Canon. Farmer Derek and Jack did a little fishing while the rest of us played in the sand. It was Lydia’s first time at the beach. She was so excited and loved digging in the sand. The second beach trip, we went to the state park at Cape San Blas. It is so beautiful out there. This time we had a whole crew. It was us, my parents, Kayla, Canon, and Kayla’s sister Karla. Farmer Derek and the kids fished a bit that day too. Emma caught a flounder and Jack caught a catfish and a ladyfish. It was a very nice day for everyone.
Farm family at the beach
Two cool dudes- Canon and Jeremiah
One evening while we were there Kayla’s uncle, Mark, called and said he had caught a big gator (yes, as in a real alligator) and wanted to bring it by for us to see. He is the county “Nuisance Alligator Trapper”. It was cool to see the gator even though it was *only* eight feet long. It seemed big to me. Back when we lived there Farmer Derek got to help Mark trap a really big one. This gator was eleven feet eight inches long and that was with it missing the end of its tale. I guess another gator thought it was a good snack. That was a HUGE gator. Honestly, I’m quite intimidated by gators. True story.
See you later alligator
We celebrated three birthdays while we were there. Kayla’s dad James and I share the same birthday, and Canon had his second birthday. We went to the park and had a big party for him. It was really nice and the kids all had a great time on the playground.
We also got to do another type of celebrating in Florida. We had dinner one evening with Kayla’s parents and while we were eating, Micah and Kayla announced that they are expecting again! Canon is going to be a big brother and the farm kids are going to have another cousin! We are beyond excited about this new little life that God has placed in our family. We are beyond blessed.
The best part of the trip was hands down spending time with family. We had a great time talking, eating, and just being together. The farm kids had so much fun playing with their cousin Canon and he had so much fun with them. I really missed them and was so happy to be with them. It had been a year since we last saw them. We really enjoyed our time in Florida and getting to spend time with our family and can’t wait to get to see them again. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.
Everyone loves their Goon Goon
I’m also glad to be back on the homestead in the mountains. All of the critters behaved while we were gone and no one escaped. All in all it was a great week!
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