The Cour Family

Every year (or almost every year since I can remember....going back to when I was in diapers), my family has gone to Florida in the Spring for a family vacation. Ryan and I took Ethan two years ago and decided this year that we needed to keep the tradition going. SO, we packed up our minivan (and I mean it was PACKED) and headed for Cape Coral, Florida where my parents had rented a house for 2 weeks. We knew it was going to be a long drive, but I dont think we were truly prepared for just how LONG it was going to be!

I worked until 3 pm on Monday, the day we left, while the boys went to daycare and Ryan (after taking the dogs to Shelbyville where they would be staying at Casa Koester for 2 weeks) stayed home to pack the van. I met Ryan at home around 3:00 pm to finish packing and we picked the boys up at daycare at 4:00 pm and hit the road. We stopped for dinner in Mt. Vernon, which turned into an almost 2 hour stop by the time we ate dinner, changed the boys, got gas, went to the bathroom, and made a couple of stops to find a converter so that I could work my laptop in the car. Needless to say I knew at that point that our 18 hour trip was going to be more like 22 hours. After a few stops during the night to get coffee (and splash cold water on my face while slapping myself in the face in the bathroom in an attempt to wake up without Ryan knowing I was tired) we stopped for breakfast at Cracker Barrel around 7:00 am. The boys had slept through the night and we had reached sunlight without incident. When we got back in the car we knew the rest of our trip was going to be long...Brady was TIRED of being in his rear facing carseat(who can blame him?) and Ethan was seriously doubting that we were ever going to see Mimi and Papa or this pool we kept telling him about. Near the end of the trip when we would tell him, for the 20th + time, all about where we were going (Florida, Mimi & Papa, a pool, the beach, etc.) his excited response turned into "whatever Mom."

We finally reached my parents and the beautiful house they rented at 3:00 pm Florida time, exactly 22 hours after we left Springfield. My estimate was SPOT ON:-)

Here are a few pictures of the house where we stayed (and a few comments as I reminisce on our wonderful time there).

This table was the sight of some very heated games of Dominos and Skip-Bo....all I am going to say:-)

The Pool....where do I begin! This was the best thing about this house for sure. When you have two little ones who require a car full of "stuff" just to go swimming, it is incredibly nice and convenient to have the pool right outside your back door. Ethan swam like a fish for hours a day, and even Brady swam until his little fingers wrinkled:-) A few funny stories:
1) We had an ongoing game of "volleyball" that included a dance party in the shallow end of the pool (Papa has got some great moves, even in the water!)
2) Our "volleyball" game got so intense that Mimi had to buy some special shoes to wear in the pool to help improve her game:-)
3) Papa and Ryan had to learn very quickly how to "shock" a pool after Mommy gave Ethan a little too much Miralax (hey, a long trip is very constipating to a 3 year old!).
4) Ethan and Mommy were hanging out in the hottub (don't worry, it wasn't on) when Ryan, in an attempt to turn the pool heater on, turned on the jets, causing Ethan to literally jump out of the hottub and start bawling. He was afraid of the jets, and from that point on would not go near the hottub.
5) Speaking of Ethan's fears, near the end of our trip Ethan became afraid of the splashes on the side of the pool, and at one point decided that he would rather take a nap than swim in the pool (me, thinking that he would never choose a nap over the pool at 10:00 am, and trying to help him get over his sudden fear, gave him the option of staying in the pool or taking a nap). He eventually got over it!
6) Mimi put it in Ethan's head that she was going to push me in the swimming pool if I didn't swim with Ethan after dinner (I had promised to swim with him earlier and then Brady woke up an I couldn't)....so later that night (on the coldest night we were there might I point out), I put on a brave face, and a swimsuit, and was thrown in the pool by my 3 year old son. And it was so much fun (haha) that I let him do it again, and again, and again....

These pictures were taken about 15 minutes after we arrived...Ethan wanted to jump in with his clothes in he was so excited, but we convinced him to change.

Ethan and Uncle Kasey