The End

Way back at the beginning of our travels, I mentioned to my mom that Wendy had said that if they (my parents) wanted to come visit in Florida that it would be totally okay. Wendy was going to be heading back to get ready for school, but I was not going to be ready to leave when she was because Mike was still going to be out of town, and I wanted to stay away while he was gone. (I don't like being at home by myself.) (The kids don't count at night.) Mom was very interested, and over the next few weeks we looked into plane ticket costs, and dates, and in the end it worked out! She was going to be off work the exact dates that were going to be my final week in Florida. I found a good deal on a flight for them, and it even worked out that our flights home would be leaving about a half an hour apart from one another! (And in the evening, too...no crazy early flights for us!!)

They flew in on a Wednesday, and after some comedy-of-errors moments, we finally caught up with one another at the airport. I thought it would be fun to surprise them by meeting them inside, rather than just picking them up in the drive outside of the airport. I was waiting where I thought they were going to come out. And waiting. And waiting. And no one who looked like my parents ever came through the gates opposite security. We finally figured out that there had been a communication problem, but we worked it out and we found one another (Well, I guess I found them...I told them to stay put!), and then we went to Steak and Shake! After (a very late) dinner, we drove back over to the beach; it was 11:30pm or something crazy like that by the time we arrived.

But after that? We just hung out and relaxed. And it was so wonderful. Mom and I went to the store on one big trip and I wish I had a picture of the beverages we bought. It was really just juice and some fun soda, but one thing was sure...we were not going to be thirsty! 

Life at the beach agreed with them...it wasn't so hot that it was miserable! They got a kick out of watching the kids in the pool, and just enjoyed the view from the condo, whether inside or out.

So much fun! 

The crazy thing is I didn't get pictures of them with the kids really...don't ask! I don't even know what to think of myself! Maybe just that I was enjoying the time, just being there and soaking it up.

It was a fantastic way to end our summer, and I'm so grateful that all of the pieces fell into place so that it worked out. 

And that is the end of the story of our summer!