A Weekend in Sarasota

We had been talking about going to Sarasota for months and we finally did it! We had planned to go back in June but at that point I was feeling much like a beluga whale and didn't want to be prancing around the beach in that state. I'm not saying I look much better at this point but it's definitely an improvement!

We were a little hesitant about taking Noelle in the car for that long because she hasn't really enjoyed short car trips and tends to scream if she is awake. But, we sucked it up and decided we should do it for a number of reasons. First, we can't let Noelle's hatred of the car dictate our life ;) Second, I've been stuck at home for two straight months and needed a change of scenery. Most of all, we love to travel and Noah does really well on vacations.

We had a wonderful time and Noelle actually slept almost the entire way there and back!! We spent two nights at the Hyatt in downtown Sarasota. We went back and forth on where to stay (beach vs. downtown) but in the end we let Hotwire make our decision and it worked out perfectly! The hotel was really nice and, since we spent most of our time there, that was a bonus. I had never been to Sarasota and was impressed with how easy it was to park and access the beach. I guess I'm used to the ocean and it always seems like such a chore to get from your car to the beach. We only went to the beach one evening and a few hours one day but it felt like plenty of time and Noah had a blast. The rest of the time we spent hanging out at the hotel and relaxing.

I need to remember to upload pictures in the order in which I want them posted. Note to self. However, it's late and I rarely find the time to post pictures so everyone will have to live with pictures that are in no particular order! Enjoy :)

Pretty self explanatory...a sand dollar...but at the risk of sounding like a moron, are these things natural or man-made? I need to look that up because it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen if it's a natural thing. How could you not believe in God if that's not man-made?!


Noah and Rob playing with the infamous rocket that Uncle Kyle picked out for Noah's birthday. Kudos to Daddy for thinking to bring that...Noah really enjoyed playing with it on the beach. Unfortunately, the only picture I shot was one where Noah was freaking out about the sand in his eyes!


Noah enjoying some time in the hotel pool. He wasn't a huge fan of swimming this time around and it's probably because we haven't been swimming in several weeks. He did warm up to it after a while and showed off the skills he learned at swimming lessons earlier this summer.


Not the best picture but it has a story behind it and since I'm using this blog to capture memories it's getting airtime. There was some greenery at the hotel that had speakers in it and Noah and Rob started calling it the "musical bushes" whenever they walked by. You had to be there I suppose but it made us laugh pretty hard!


I'm not sure what Rob was thinking when he bought himself a pack of Bubba Tape (sp?) but it quickly became Noah's and ever quicker became a big mess. If you look closely, you can see that Noah managed to pull it all out and put it in his lap. You can also see how he stole Noelle's toy off her car seat :)


I just think he's so darn cute in this picture so it's getting posted :)


Noah and Daddy enjoying some time in the Gulf...


Noelle sleeping on the beach...not sure why the picture flipped itself around...and I'm not technical enough to fix it!


Noelle and Mommy posing by the water...


This is one of my favorite pictures of my boys and baby girl :)


All in all, it was a really nice little getaway and we'll definitely do it again! In fact, we're even contemplating a quick trip up to Boston next month since the kids traveled so well! We'll see...