A Bittersweet Trip

***Wow, I've had this post almost ready to go for over a month now.  Sorry.  :(  Please enjoy this uber old post with lots of fun things!!!***

Alessandra all prepped and ready to go.  She's an old hat at flying now!

Am I really back already, sitting in front of my computer for nearly a week now?  How is it that time seems to (motorboat, motorboat) go so FAST when you're on vacation?

Besides being total family reunion time (why didn't I get a picture of all of us together?!?), we had our fair share of drama alongside the excitement about getting to see each other.  Relaxation has evaded me yet again.

The first night that we were there my brother discovered poor grandma on the ground having suffered from a nasty fall that claimed her poor, frail ankle as a victim.  By the time I got out to see it, it was bent in a not-so-natural looking way turning a not-so-natural color which could only be explained by the 3 places it was broken as we would later find out.  Since Grams is pretty old (90 and a half) and hadn't been doing the greatest before all of these goings on, it was pretty touch and go for awhile.  The one thing we knew was that she would have to get emergency surgery to reset the bones, but then there was the issue of sedation during and recovery after.  How much more can her little old body handle?  As it turns out, quite a lot.  She came out of surgery swimmingly (or limpingly) and will be laid up for around 6-8 weeks now.  She was moved from the hospital to a round the clock care facility that is supposed to be excellent.  She'll come home in a week or two providing there aren't any further setbacks.  Last I talked to my mom she had fractured her other good foot since she was putting all the weight on that one during physical therapy, and she did something to one of her wrists for the same reason.  Sigh.

So, through no fault of anyone's, we didn't get to spend as much time with mom and grandma as we would have liked, but we did get some good photos during one of our visits to the hospital.  I'll leave this topic with a final lesson put best by my brother:  Grandmas just aren't meant to be ninjas.

Grandma Filipiak (Germa Filly) and my brother Mac

Three generations:  Each one a little gimpier than the next...I'm doomed!

Cardo, Germa and I

Still in good spirits despite the hospital food.

Sweet kisses from Germa

We somehow managed to get out and squeeze in a little bit of fun too.  There were too many opportunities that could have gone wasted otherwise.  For one, this is the first time that my brother, mother and I have all been together under the same roof at the same time in quite a few years.  For two, we were on the ocean with two toddlers!  Let the shenanigans commence.

I miss my bruddah!

Aaaannnddd thhheeeyyy'rrreeee RACING!

The cousins missed each other so much they begged to sleep together.

Grandma Jo misses her boy.

For some reason Marley reminds me of a beach bird here.  Who knows where I get my ideas from.

The only method of transportation when you're 2 and 3 is running.

...And running.

My two fave guys running a very important errand.  7-11 for Slurpees, lunch, and ice for drinky poos.

Oh. Em. Gee.  Need I say more????!?

Buddies even on the beach.

Another framer.

The classic beach-from-the-pier shot.  I swear we have one pic that looks like this for every year dating back to the 70's.

I just loved the contrast...Little dark body against the white sand.

Scaring the gulls away.

Ali found a new "Cotton Eye Joe" dancing buddy!

Inseparable

Ali loves when her Grandma Jo reads to her.

While we were there, my mother's friends and colleagues threw a retirement party for her!!  Evidently my mom is very popular...There were, like, 200 people there!  She is really lucky to have such good friends.  :)

Heading to mom's retirement party in style!

What we walked into...An ENTIRE BAR full of people just for "Joanie" as she is affectionately called.

This is about the only time I had Ali.  She was being passed around like a hot potato!  Dare I say that she may have been equally as big of a hit as the guest of honor?!?

Speech!  Speech!  Speech!

After we got back from Florida, we headed for an Easter family vacay in Brainerd to an indoor water park!  Ali had a blast.

Daddy and Ali at the Paul Bunyan Waterpark

They didn't have any "daddylicious" drinks at the concession stand, so he went for something slightly less...ahem...manly.  Here he is mocking himself, even.

The Easter Bunny managed to find us even in our hotel room!  Here Ali is searching for her all-important basket.

After that vacation, Ricardo and I headed to Puerto Rico, he for vacation, I for work, but we still managed to squeeze in some fun.  I will post pictures of that later!  

Lots to tell you about in the coming months, we have tons going on!  

Until next time,

dt