A day in the life...: Florida

Dateline - Savage, MN. Today is March 23. The high temperature was 33 degrees. When I look out my window, I see 4-6 inches of wet snow blanketing my yard. How did we arrive here? Why did we decide to come home.

Yesterday, we returned from Florida, everyone in tact. Lucy and Madeline were very good little travelers. In fact, many people commented how well behaved our children were. This feedback is very comforting since traveling with two young kids, 4 carry on bags full of toys, and two tired parents, melcholony parents can make for a long day. Lucy slept most of the trip while Madeline played on her new iTouch and watched Mickey on the DVD.

As for Florida, it was, as usual, a beautiful time. The temperature was warm, the skies were blue, and the grass was green. It's been a long time since we've seen that where we live.

Nana and Papa took very good care of us. Madeline had her own room equipped with a princess bed. While she loved her bed and room, some things never change. Once daddy arrived, or as Madeline calls him "John" to get his attention, Madeline wanted him to sleep by her on the floor. Lucy had a lovely crib set up with very cozy pillows. I need to somehow steal this crib because Lucy hasn't slept that good since birth. It must be the Florida air.

Our days were filled with sunshine, swimming pools, walks, beaches and lots of different activities. For the most part though, water was part of every day. Ironically, our little Madeline wanted nothing to do with swimming. She was comfortable putting her feet in the water and wading in the swallow end, but the mention of swimming with mommy and daddy seemed to frighten her. It's ironic because when I was in Florida a year ago, I couldn't keep her out of the water. As for Lucy, she might very well be a swimmer. We could've put her in her her floating star and left for the day and she would've been just fine. She absolutely loved the water.

Of course some things never change, for example, Mickey Mouse seemed to be playing continuously no matter what we were doing. Madeline and Mickey are pretty tight these days. When Madeline wakes up, she says, "Mommy, watch Mickey." Everything seems to be "I wanna watch Mickey." It's good thing considering the next trip to Florida in May 2012 we'll be to Disney World. For today though, next May seems so far away considering the weather.

Make sure to check out our pictures below. We took some of the same poses with Lucy that we did with Madeline when she was a baby. Click the links below to compare and let us know what you think.