We braved the skies again to visit our family in Miami this year...this time with 2 kids instead of 1, and therefore recruited reinforcements! We had a short, eventful, but fun trip to go to my cousin Paul's wedding for the weekend!
Grandpa, Nana & Uncle Kevin drove up to our house Friday evening and we were up bright & early Saturday at 4AM to pack up & fly to Miami! (We were just a little tired) Drew was pumped - I think he loved everything about the entire airport experience - from the moving sidewalks, to hiding under the tables at security, to being in a completely new & exciting environment. The boys were super excited to have so many people to be passed around to, and Drew was just beside himself with joy at flying in an airplane, up in the clouds! He had a blast! That of course was even more so due to the fact that we plopped him down with Uncle Kevin, where he happily stayed for almost the entire flight! (Just like I planned! HAHAHA! No sleep for Uncle Kevin!) In fact, at one point he ended up with both boys, to which he said, "Wait, how did this happen?!" We had an uneventful flight & both boys did great really, especially considering Noah only sleep for about 40 minutes or so through the 3 hour flight!
We were greeted by Aunt Gloria & cousin Carlos, and swept off to Grandpa & Grandma's house to see their recent renovations - amazing job! What a difference. Then onto Hialeah to the Martinez house, which we called home for the next 3 days. Drew & Tyler immediately went to playing in Ty's room - Drew loved all the new toys, and they had fun playing side by side each other, unless they both wanted the same toy of course! But a little intervention here & there, and they had a blast together!
We were able to get the boys down for a MUCH NEEDED nap, Matthew was able to relax some, and I got some good 1 on 1 time with Candi, running around getting some last minute wedding errands run. Then back to the house to pick up the boys and head over to Ruth's house for a family dinner, with a combination of Glienke and Wessling guests. Delicious food as always and great company. Drew & Tyler just kept going at it, playing and running around the back yard, hardly stopping to eat. It was wonderful to see the whole family and meet some of the Wessling crew. We were especially excited to meet Jess, Luke's fiance - an absolute genuine woman, super fun, and became friends within minutes! We were able to take some Glienke family group pictures that night...the first time we were all together in so long we can't even remember, truly years! What a treat!
Sunday morning came with a bit of birthday fun for Candi, complete with a Cool Whip 'cake'! Then time for church, back home for a quick trip to a nearby park to let the boys get out some running, and then home for a quick nap before the wedding that afternoon. So, back to the church, just barely making it in time! :)
The ceremony was sweet, and the bride and groom were beautiful of course. Lots of yummy treats and more family pictures at the church and onto the reception at "The Rusty Pelican" - a BEAUTIFUL setting! With the skyline of Miami and waterfront location, it might be the most beautiful reception I've been to!
The weather was gorgeous for the outdoor space, and then time for dinner & dancing inside! Grandpa & Nana took charge of Noah, with the help of the other 'grown' Glienkes, and surprise guests Aunt Sally & Uncle John - a blast to see them too! Sally was truly on a mission to get in good with Drew, hoping it will carry over to this summer for our visit. But Noah loved dancing with her too!
We had a wonderful time at the reception, but cut out early - the boys had their fill! Drew loved it, and wanted to stay, but got to the point where only Mommy could hold him, and didn't want to dance - which in my mind, was the main thing I wanted to do! (Man I do love to dance...) And poor Noah, it was just too much for him. He was fine until people started hooting & hollering when the wedding party entered, and then he started screaming. It quieted down for dinner, and so did Noah, but once the music started again, it was all just too overwhelming for him. So, with the obvious realization that of the 4 of us, I was the only one up for any more partying (Matthew's not a big dancer or into big crowds/parties), we left for home.
Now, here's a funny story about the drive home...Noah crashed almost immediately, whereas Drew was all of a sudden completely fine. They gave out glow necklaces at the reception & Drew was playing with his. We had warned him to not swing it near Noah, but that inevitably was too hard to resist, and that of course woke up Noah. So Noah started crying, justifiably; and we got onto Drew for hurting Noah and not listening to what we asked, which made Drew start to cry. So then the boys seemingly got into a crying war to see who could cry louder. One would quiet down, then the other, then Noah would cry again, and Drew would start crying louder. I'm hysterical at the point, and since there was nothing else we could do about it, Matthew & I just laughed the rest of the way home! We finally got them both in bed and rested. And before we knew it, it was Monday morning and time to get back on the plane to go home.
We drove to Grandma's to get Mom & Dad, and then to Ruth's to say good bye to Sally & John, and just BARELY made it on time. The security line was CRAZY long, but because we had the kids, they let us through the special needs line. Unfortunately, I still had to go over the normal desk because our tickets didn't have that we were carrying an infant (which was supposed to be fixed at DFW). They wouldn't let Kevin & Matthew through without me, so it was a whole mess, but we all hooked up again in the shorter line & made it to our flight! Whew!
They boys did well again on the flight, though Noah was a bit harder to keep content...didn't sleep much, didn't want to eat much, just wasn't super happy to be there again, but there were only a few minutes of crazy uncontrolled crying, so not bad. The rows behind us were almost all girls from a college swim team and they all, as if on cue, said "AWWWW!" when Grandpa lifted him up one time to try to entertain him - it was pretty funny! The flight did seem incredibly longer on the way back for some reason, but we got back on time & safely, so should complain. Wouldn't do it without the reinforcements though, that's for sure! But we'd do it again - it was wonderful to see the family!
The boys were SO tired though...Noah was asleep before we even paid for parking, and Drew fell asleep about 1/2 way home. They both were so exhausted, they skipped lunch and slept for 4 hours straight! Which was great - we got unpacked and cleaned up & rested just ever so slightly too!
A fun, eventful weekend! Hope next time it's a longer visit!
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