A Little Getaway

Elsa and I spent the last several days visiting Grandma B. and Grandpa P. in Florida. We had a great time in the beautiful weather. It was so nice to escape freezing cold Wisconsin.

Elsa was perfect on the flight to Fort Myers. We were delayed by more than an hour, but we had a direct flight, so we didn't have to worry about rushing to make a connection. I got Elsa her own seat—technically, she didn't need her own ticket, but realistically, I knew it would make the two of us (not to mention everybody sitting around us) a lot happier. She spent the flight looking at her books, watching Wonder Pets on my laptop, eating Midwest's chocolate chip cookies, and frequently saying "hi" to the people across the aisle.

The weather in Fort Myers was a little cool at night, but in the 70s and sunny during the day, so we got outside quite a bit. Elsa and I went for lots of long walks, watched Grandma play tennis, went in the pool twice, and we spent one afternoon at the beach. In between outdoor activities, Elsa was the main source of entertainment for the grown-ups.

On Sunday morning we went to the breakfast buffet at the clubhouse in Mom and Don's complex. Elsa walked around the lobby saying "hi" to the other diners ("hi" is definitely the word of the moment). In the rare case when someone didn't respond, she would keep saying it, continuously and more insistently, until they finally noticed her. ("Hi." "HI." "HI!")

Here we are checking out the pool. Unfortunately, people who don't have "full control of bodily functions" aren't allowed in this pool, and I guess that would include Elsa. So we had to go to one of the many smaller pools in the complex for Elsa to swim.

Elsa hangs out at the tennis courts. Note the Brewers hat—her sun hat from last summer is now too small, and of course sun hats aren't exactly readily available in Wisconsin in January. But then I remembered her Brewers hat, which was a gift from Tom and Tanya the day after she was born. And we were in luck, because it now fits perfectly. (Click here to see how she looked in it the day she got it.)

Grandpa and Elsa consider taking a dip in the pool. The cast on his injured thumb is waterproof, but we still couldn't talk him into getting in with us.

Here's Elsa "jumping" in.

Checking out the beach. Elsa loved the waves washing over her feet. But the water was pretty cold, so we didn't venture in any further.

I think she would have been happy to just sit and dig in the sand for hours.

It took her a few minutes to figure out how to walk on the soft sand, but once she did, look out seagulls. She had a blast chasing them all over the beach.

Elsa and I discuss sand castle strategy.

Elsa gets a kiss from Grandma.

Checking out a pelican on the pier. We got to see lots of animals on our trip—mostly dogs of course, but also lots of interesting birds, and even one giant alligator, right in the pond at Mom and Don's complex.

Hanging out at a beach bar with Grandma. The beach was definitely a huge hit—I'm going to have to make an effort to get her there as often as possible this summer.

Thanks so much to Mom and Don for having us down for this visit—we had a great time and Elsa really misses you guys. She wants me to tell you ... you guessed it ... "Hi!"