Sarasota

With everyone finally fully vaccinated, my sisters schemed to get together. We settled on Sarasota, Florida because no one had been there before and because a warm beach was much needed after a brutal winter. Every time I drive to O'Hare I pass the radar tower and this song goes through my head:

Because of this scene from Rat Race:

I love the hall of flags!

When I arrived in Tampa, I found Lisa and we got to hang out for a while. It's been years since I've been able to really catch up with her in person. After a little rental car snafu, we grabbed something to eat and then hung out at the Tampa Riverwalk. Honestly I think it was my favorite part of the trip because in those few hours we laughed, cried and just talk, talk, talked. Eventually we met up with Reagan and headed to the AirBnB where Katrina was waiting for us.

Reagan was greeted by a beautiful bouquet from Doug...

...and mini bouquets for each of us! It was the sweetest thing and between the snacks provided by Katrina and the lovely scent of roses, this vacation was off to a fantastic start.

Doug's kind gesture became a running joke. Anytime something good happened, we'd ask Reagan if Doug had rigged it to be that way. Walking to the beach a guy yelled out his window, "You ladies are all BEAUTIFUL" and we asked if Doug had paid him to say that. When we got a table at a restaurant we asked if Doug had called ahead and worked it out for us. So funny.

Whitney and Mom arrived on Saturday mid-morning so Reagan and I decided to take a walk and explore the neighborhood. Katrina vaguely gestured that the beach was just "that way" so we headed in that direction. Turns out it was at least a mile and a half away and Reagan and I had to laugh that it was such a Katrina thing to do.  We found a great Instagramable wall and snapped some photos. 

There wasn't really any beach to go on to- just a small strip that wasn't private or owned by a hotel. I picked up a random coconut to gift Katrina for her excellent directions. She and Lisa were gracious enough to pick us up and we had breakfast before fetching Whitney and Mom from the airport.

By then a lot of us were raring to go to Siesta Beach. Even the car ride was memorable for reasons I can't explain: 

Everyone else stayed on land but Katrina was willing to go into the water with me. She said to avoid accidentally stepping on a stingray I needed to shuffle and that unnerved me a bit. The water was lovely though and extremely salty so it was easy to float in. Katrina struck up a conversation with some strangers (also a very Katrina thing to do) and told them we were polygamist wives. Aye de mi! We headed back to land to catch up with everyone else.

The conversation was centered on Mom. We all have concerns as she and Dad age and it was nice to talk freely. Mom seemed so happy. I love this photo of her:

When Whitney and I went to San Diego, she suggested finding some seashells for the girls and man were those a hit! I decided to hunt for some on this trip as well. 

Whitney was taking a pretty beach photo of Reagan and I couldn't help myself- I threw a bunch of sand at her. From then on sprinkling sand on someone while getting a picture became a thing too. 

Let's talk about that amazing sand for a minute. It was like baby powder! I spent the rest of my time at the beach just like this- playing in the sand like a little girl.

It's the softest, silkiest sand which explains why this is considered one of the best beaches in the US.

Eventually, I did get that beach photo.

Now that I have four daughters, my sisters have become even more important to me. I really hope my girls can grow to love and support each other because when you have a sister in your corner, you have everything.

Love these ladies!

I'm especially glad Whitney got some surf and sand. She needed it.

Back at the AirBnB we played several games but Spot It took was the hands down favorite. Something about the way everyone was yelling out the matching object on their cards was just hilarious and when it came down to Reagan and Lisa, they both started yelling gibberish. I just about fell out of my seat I was laughing so hard.

The next day we had brunch and then spa treatments which were conveniently located just across the street. Whitney managed to crack open that coconut I found and for the first time in my life, I drank fresh coconut water.

We ended the evening with another great dinner.

I love traveling with my sisters. At every meal someone would just pay for the group and we would divide it up afterwards. Everyone was ready with their order the very first time our waiter came to take drink orders. It is a Nielsen hallmark to never send a waiter away to have more time to peruse the menu. When asked where we wanted to go or what we wanted to do, everyone had an answer rather than, "Oh whatever everyone else wants..." Indecisive people make decisions harder for everyone. 

I shared a room with Katrina and introduced her to my Calm app. I love the sleep stories- they really do help me let go of the stress of the day and just sink into sleep in the happiest way. One of the sleep stories was the first chapter of Anne of Green Gables and so I listened to it with Katrina. As we drifted off, I could tell she was enjoying it too, and that made me happy.

After a Sunday morning brunch, we packed and cleaned. On this trip there were some hilarious discussions, some heavy discussions, and some heartbreaking discussions and the ride to the airport was no exception. We parted ways but I got to fly back to Chicago with Whitney and Mom. Whitney had mentioned Liesel has "good feet" when I sent her a video of her lyrical dance and having never taken dance, I didn't know what that meant. She broke down the video for me- sometimes going frame by frame and showed me exactly what she was talking about. 

It's not hard to feel underappreciated as a mother. When I'm away from the girls for a while, I feel sooo cherished when I return. My absence and the lack of all those little things I do that makes up my entire day come into focus and I have to say, I don't think that's a bad thing. I was happy for a break and happy to be home as well. Sarasota was a wonderful little vacation!