Two weeks on the beach

They said it couldn't be done. They said I was crazy. When I told people I was going to drive three little ones, one of them a six-month-old, from St. Louis to St. Pete Beach, Florida, some looked at me like I had grown a second head. Some just pitied me. My favorite reaction: "It can't be done. It cannot be done."

They were wrong.

Not only did we do it, but we had a pretty good time along the way. Many many thanks to Jen, the girls' babysitter, for helping me these two weeks. I definitely couldn't have done it without her. The girls were great travelers. They looked for things to complete their car bingo. They watched movies in the back. Clara fed Cecilia when she got hungry and played with her when she got cranky. We stopped at rest stops and ice cream parlors. When they got tired, they slept. Late the first night, after I pulled into a gas station, Clara woke up bright eyed, looked around and grinned: "We're back where we started!" I guess the gas stations all look alike to her. We would have driven all the way through on the first night, but Cecilia woke up crying with some painful constipation, so we got motel rooms and completed the journey the next morning. Megan flew in and spent the second week with us, just as the rain was ending and the perfect weather was beginning.

Our time in Florida was a daily combination of eating, sleeping, playing on the beach, and playing at the pool. That was about it. Kate got a nasty black eye after falling from a chair on one of the first days. Cecilia liked to stick her toes in the sand or slap the water in the pool. And Clara seemed to grow up before our eyes, as some of these pictures will show (especially the one above, which will soon be framed in our house.) Nobody wanted to head home after our time was up.

Lots of pics to follow:

Cecilia is ready for the pool!


Kate is either ready for the beach or for her Vogue photo shoot


Clara is in her happy place


Even while playing with sand, Kate looks stylish


Some think, "Oh, sweet baby!" Uncle Jim thinks, "Ham hocks."


Sisters


The apple doesn't fall far from the tree


Jen and Kate at The Hurricane


Cecilia telling a joke


The girls


The Bittles


Silly Cilly


They were this happy the entire time


One of many sunset pictures we took


Another. I hope you enjoyed the pictures.