Florida, Day 2 - Beach Day!

We were very excited to have our cousins Lauren and Logan (and their wonderful parents and Grandma) joining us on the second day of our beach vacation.  They rented a place just down the street from us and right on the beach, so we hauled our gear down there to join them for a day in the sun.  

We Michigan folks hadn't seen the sun in awhile.  It made *some of us* a bit crazy.

Lunch with the cousins!  (Megan and Lauren)

Time to hit the beach!

Megan, Lauren, and their trusty turtle (totally sea-worthy, I'm sure)

Beach bum

Other beach bum

Cousins on the beach

Pool break

After a full day on the beach, we got cleaned up and headed back to our cousins place for a pizza party!

,,,and kites at sunset, a tradition we started the year before.

Cousins' kites

Florida, Day 1 - Anna Maria Island-Bound

The day has come!  It's time for our annual visit to see Grandma Dee and Grandpa Don in Florida.  The ladies and I sooooo look forward to this trip each year (and we think Grandma gets pretty excited about it too).  Bye-bye Michigan winter!  Hello Florida sunshine!

Despite that look on her face, Hannah cleared airport security.

Little airplane angels

We made it!  Here is Hollywood waiting for the trolley.

Hanging out with Grandma means skipping dinner in favor of a trolley ride for ice cream

Tea Party with Haley & Mikayla

After spending the first part of our day at the Broad Art Museum, we drove up to St Johns to enjoy a tea party with our favorite gals mid-state gals.  The St Johns High School Dance Team puts on a reportedly amazing princess-themed event each year, and we were lucky enough to get to attend this year.  It was a majorly impressive tea party!

Posing with their Keys to the Kingdom

Cinderella and Prince Charming

Rapunzel

Sleeping Beauty

Tinkerbell

Pocahontas

Anna and Elsa

Tiana and Naveen

Snow White

Sofia the First

Mulan

Aladdin and Jasmine

Ariel

Beauty and the Beast

Merida

We used our Keys to the Kingdom to open the royal gates

Posing with Aunt Alyce before sitting down to tea

Momma's girls

Adorable centerpieces

Adorable tea drinkers, part one

Adorable tea drinkers, part two

There was ballroom dancing, too!

These ladies love the stage

Eli Broad Art Museum with Haley & Mikayla

Haley and Mikayla invited us to go check out the Eli Broad Art Museum on MSU's campus with their Girl Scout Troop.  We never say no to playdates with those two sweeties!  We were in!

Getting ready to get some culture

Hannah stuck close to Scout Haley

Artin' it up

Hannah got a little bored...

They had a ton of fun at the DIY Art Project stations though!

The littlest artist at work

More projects

Thanks for the invite, ladies!

Trip to Florida - a dress rehearsal

We leave for Florida in one week.  Always prudent to ensure beach gear can be located and fits properly in advance of the trip.  These ladies are on their game.

Soldiering On

We remain sad.  Quite sad.  But, it's important not to wallow in it.  Mom planned a last-minute fun family night out.  Hitting the town on a Monday night is not something we would normally do with a pup at home waiting for us.  We'd take the pup back if we had the choice, but we are trying to at least explore the benefits of no pooch responsibilities at home.

Steak n' Shake for dinner.  Snoopy LOVES Steak n' Shake!

Look, Mom!  No hands!

Milkshake happy face

Family hot-tubbing at Oasis, where it is steamy and impossible to take good pictures, incidentally

Glow sticks and snow.  What a fun hot-tubbing experience.

ONE YEAR GLUTEN FREE!!

In the midst of all the sad stuff, we do have cause to celebrate:  Miss Hannah has been officially gluten-free for ONE YEAR today!!  And she has nine extra pounds, eight extra inches, and absolutely awesome health to show for it.  WOOT!  WOOT!

Throughout this journey, there has been exactly one person, and only one, who has not uttered a word of complaint about our gluten free circumstances.  That person in Hannah Marie herself.  That little one just pulled up her big kid pants (literally, going from a 3T to a size 6 in just 12 months) and did the work.

Way to go, Hannah Marie!  Mom & Dad (and Megan, and your Grandmas and Grandpas) couldn't be more proud!  Keep up the good work!

Megan and Mom whipped up a whole batch of gluten-free mixes for the Easy Bake Oven for Hannah as a gluten-free anniversary gift.  She hasn't used the Easy Bake since being diagnosed.

One happy (HEALTHY) gluten-free gal!