Grannie Camp!

As I briefly mentioned back in October, we've had lots and lots going on in November- the month went by so quickly! The first weekend in November I participated in a craft show, then we went to my grandparents' house in Florida for five days, and it was birthday, Thanksgiving, birthday, family in town, parties, and a snow day from there! So we're working backwards now trying to play "catch up" since I make our family albums from this blog!

My brother and I grew up thinking our Grannie Annie (my mom's mom) was magic. She had green lipstick that turned red as soon as she put it on... a jar of river rocks on her windowsill turned out to be candy... she knew every funny song there was and had a knack for picking out the perfect toys to bring us out of her magic bag. Anything and everything we wanted to do or try somehow became possible in the summers we spent at Grannie and Pop Pop's house in Clearwater, Florida at "Grannie Camp."

Ever since (probably even before) we were married, Matt has heard these stories but has not been able to take a trip to Grannie Camp. And other than a brief trip at 3 months old (which was not a "fun" trip!), neither had Kenna! The summers and Christmases I spent in Clearwater with my big brother and my two cousins are some of the best childhood memories, and I couldn't wait for Matt to come experience them. We had a long "to do" list, starting with taking our days-away-from-turning 2 year old on the plane!

Kenna actually did really well and loved flying. Despite a really early flight on the way down, she mostly sat still between the two of us and waited for the stewardesses to bring her a snack. Luckily, the Lord blessed us with an almost-empty flight which meant her little squeals and wiggles went almost completely unnoticed, and my "lap baby" had her own seat! We flew Southwest Airlines, which we love for their friendly staff and generosity- the stewardesses gave Kenna about six little bags of pretzels!
Watching the rest of the passengers board the plane.
Eating an airplane snack like a big girl!

Grannie was waiting expectantly for us the minute we stepped off the plane (as always!) and drove us the hour back to Clearwater from Tampa, which gave us lots of time to chat and catch up! When we got to the house (with Pop Pop waiting), despite having the beach within walking distance and the weather nice enough to go walk on it, we mostly visited all afternoon. For dinner, we ate at the first spot on our list of Grannie camp memories- a Greek pizza place called Post Corner Pizza that my grandparents have been eating at since it opened on the beach over 30 years ago! The owners are a fun Greek family who always send over free dessert when they're there. And the pizza is delicious! I've never had anything else off the menu- Pop Pop has ordered the same pizza and Greek salad for the table since before I can remember.

After dinner, we headed right across the street to the pier where there is a craft show/street festival on the weekends. It is also the home of a really big, really fun playground that Kenna loved. In fact, I'm not sure who liked it more, Matt or Kenna, since Matt asked almost each night if we could take Kenna back to let her play! See what I mean?

I liked this blurry "real life" photo of my girl trying out some pretty big slides:

We loved enjoying time with him without him having to be at work in the evenings! We love this Daddy:

Then it was time for jammies and books and rocking Kenna in some of the same chairs I was rocked in as a wee one. The whole week was like a hug from extended family- for example, when we set up Kenna's pack and play, Grannie pulled an afghan off the rocking chair to put in the bed, telling us it was one my great-grandmother (who taught me to crochet!) made. Matt and I slept under a quilt my Mom had made for Grannie's birthday, and there were pictures of her everywhere, which was familiar and comforting.

Telling Momma secrets:

Kenna didn't sleep much during this trip, and barely napped at all- there was too much fun going on that she thought she might miss out on! But when she conked out for the night she was pretty well out!