We spent Saturday busy, busy, busy. After DH got some work done, we headed out to
yet another Children's Museum (Alex's pick, of course). It was a good hour away, but gave us a good break between stops. They had this awesome playland that was built with decks - everywhere! You could either stroll up ramps or take alternate routes that involved steps to get from level to level to level to level... The pics just don't do the park justice.
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| Holy lumber! |
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| Imagine the time it took to design and build this thing! |
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| And this is only one small section. |
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| There are towers for the kids to go into. |
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At the back end of this maze are swings, a tire swing,
and another play ground for the little ones. |
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| DH and Alex are on top of the castle. |
Afterward, we went to the greatest mall ever...
Sawgrass Mills. It was a mall just outside Fort Lauderdale that had somewhere around 170+ stores, many of which were designer and outlets. I scored a pair of Joe's Jeans and an Elie Tahari dress for $129
after tax. I also picked up a pair of Gucci sunglasses for 1/3 of their original price. DH bought some sunglasses too. It's the first time we went shopping and I got something and not the kids. DH gave me a high-five for thinking of myself instead of them for once. I must admit, it was pretty nice. :)
A dear friend of mine is always talking about the New Orleans Beignets at
Grand Lux Cafe. We've talked about going to the one in Chicago, but haven't made it there yet. It turned out there was one here so we decided to hit it up. The food was delicious and she was right, the beignets were fabulous. We had so much left over (we only ordered two meals and two desserts for the three of us and took home a ton of everything). The beignets were delicious this morning with our coffee and tea.
Next we hit the road for Miami. The city itself was beautiful and the nightlife there was on. I couldn't help but wish we had visited here when we were in our early/mid twenties. We would have had a blast. I hope we can come back one night later this year and leave the kids with a sitter. I also couldn't help but think that my cousin JCY would enjoy it... so J or K, if you're reading and haven't done Miami yet, I think you guys should... I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy it. :)
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| Check out the building with the hole in it. I thought that was pretty interesting. |
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| DH and I hope to come back solo for a night out soon. |
Sunday morning was spent at a local street fair, eating ice cream and drinking lattes. We strolled along the markets adjacent to the ocean and chit chatted with the people in the streets. In the late afternoon, the kids were so exhausted from the long Saturday and the hot, active morning (95+ degrees, no breeze, and mostly sunny!) that they slept for a few hours, leaving us with time just to have dinner. DH had work to do and Alex played computer games. It was like a Sunday evening at home in IL.
Now I'm preparing to take the boys on their first plane ride... and I'll be doing this solo. I wish DH were able to come, but he's not back in until Friday night. Meanwhile, wish me luck. If my gut feeling is right, I think they'll do fine. Keep your fingers crossed!
