Beachin' It!

We had a blast on the Morrow family vacation!  And Cooper got to check another state off his visited list: Florida!

Sleeping after lunch

Blue Button Jellyfish

Cooper was unsure of the sand... but that didn't last long!

He LOVED his sunglasses and wore them constantly.  Exhibit A.

Relaxing while Coop naps

View from hammock

The water made a little hill you had to get down.  It was mostly fun and a little scary to slide down it.

Riding someone's alligator

Shade break

Fire truck float was a hit!

On my run Tuesday morning

Backyard Beach

Sunset

Sunset

Watermelon!

Sunrise

Feeding the birds with Papa

Snack time

Date night in Pensacola

After nap, I found him like this. He said, "Where Cooper go?"

Last sunset

Saturday morning

Drove through Hattiesburg on the way to Marion and Steven's

Discovered there is one in Memphis.  Once IKEA and Trader Joe's come, I see more trips in my future.

Cooper LOVE LOVE LOVED the beach.  He would stay outside all day if we let him.  He loved eating shrimp and crab claws.  He loved being able to watch more TV than usual.  And he LOVED seeing Nana, Papa, Aunt Me, Unc Stevie, Unc Davy, and Daddy everyday.  He helped Davy catch crabs and touched a sand dollar and jellyfish.  We saw dolphins and fish (we caught several from the pier) and cooked crab that they caught.  I am not sure Cooper could have loved it more.

Michigan, Indiana, & The Road Home

While we really wanted some Chicago pizza, it just wasn't in the cards.  Thursday was rainy and yucky, and none of the pizza places opened until 11.  Plus cooking time for the pizza.  So we opted to head to New Buffalo, MI for lunch!

The Stray Dog

Beach

Family selfie

After lunch and a quick tour of the beach, we headed to our hotel in Mishawaka.  Cooper had (thankfully) fallen asleep in the car, so we sat in the parking lot for a while until he woke up.  After a checking in and unloading all the stuff from our car (which was a lot!), we headed to Richard & Katie's house.  Most of the guys were already there.  We hadn't seen most of them since Coop was born.  Having a kid changes so much, but we still had a good time!  Of course, I was chasing a toddler the whole time, so I think John had more fun. ha!  After putting Coop in bed, J went back for glow in the dark wiffle ball.

The next morning, the guys were going to play golf, so Coop & I went blueberry picking!

HE LOVED IT!

"Carry buck[et] self."

I had a good time watching him.  He enjoyed picking the berries, and I let him do it by himself.  I picked a few, but it was so cute to watch him.  He told me when he was done, and he carried the bucket all the way back to the barn himself.  After blueberry picking, we swam for a bit, then headed to the mall and played on the playground inside.  It was muggy, so I didn't really want to go to the park outside.  Nap, then rehearsal and dinner... then back to bed.  Saturday morning we just spent at the hotel laying around and packing up a few things before heading to the church.  We hung around for a bit, then left J while we went back to the hotel for a nap.  Then it was wedding time!!  Coop wanted to be with daddy, so he wasn't being very still or quiet, but we still survived the ceremony.  We had a couple of hours before the reception started, so we went to South Bend.

Touchdown Jesus!

Coop and a squirrel having a stare down 

Then to the reception we went!  We had pasta for supper, then it was dancing time!  This was Cooper's favorite part!!

Dancing with Daddy and "Unc Richard"

Coop found a dancing buddy

After the wedding, we went to bed dreading the 9 hour drive home.  Coop actually did really well.  We didn't even need to break out the DVD player!  We had Culver's for lunch, since J just cannot get enough of it. :)  We also made a pit stop in Bowling Green.

We made it home and were happy to be back in our own beds.  It was a great trip though. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Chicago

We had a great time in Chicago!  The weather was PERFECT!  And such a nice break from the heat at home.  Having never been to Chicago, I really liked it (for a big city), but never in a million years would want to live there.  No. Thank. You.  The drive was actually pretty good, except I-57 has so much construction.  I would get up to speed after a construction zone and BAM!  Another one.  But we made it and didn't even have to break out the DVD player!  We had Freddy's for lunch, which we think is Culver's and Steak N Shake combined.  It was good!

Navy Pier

Hoo!  Excited to finally be here!

On the Ferris Wheel

On the Ferris Wheel

From the Ferris Wheel

On the Ferris Wheel

From the Ferris Wheel

In the Hotel Lobby

We mapped out our trip so we could go to Chick Fil A for Cow Appreciation Day, but the one on our way to Chicago was a bust.  So we went that night just a few blocks from our hotel.  It was the nicest Chick Fil A I've ever seen!  And since it was supper, it wasn't too crowded.

We woke up Wednesday morning worried we didn't have enough clothes because it was in the 60s.  It was actually a great day though, and we really couldn't have had better weather for our day in the city.

"I see a crane!" (Cranes are his new thing.)

Family Selfie

Bean!

Cooper LOVED the Bean.  He ran around and touched it and looked all around.  It wasn't too crowded early in the morning, so we just let him run around a little.

Sqaure Ready! haha

Me and Coop!

Walking through Millennium Park to a playground

Boat swings at the playground (Cooper was not really a fan.)

Walking through the woods

Y'all.  This. Park. Amazing!

He didn't have ANY fun. :)

Fountain

We decided to go up the Willis Tower.  It was a clear day, and we didn't want to chance it that it would cloud up in the afternoon.  Whew! The lines! The lines!  The line to get through security.  The line to buy a ticket (and we decided we would pay an extra $3 to buy online and not stand in the line).  The line to watch a movie (which we skipped... oops!).  The line for the elevator to go up.... and the line to go down. :0  It was really pretty up there, and the water was pretty, too.  Now we don't have to do it ever again. :)

It's a bear on a ledge!

Trying to climb out

Morrows on a ledge!

I waited in line to go down while J&C played.  Coop flipped himself all the way around the rail and laughed about it.

Food truck hot dogs for lunch!  SO Good!

Had to wake him up from nap!

Back to the park!

Sliding with mommy (this was from the morning trip.)

Adios, Chicago.  Indiana and Michigan, here we come.

Our last day was rainy and yuck, so we decided to skip out on the pizza, and head to Michigan for lunch.  Another post coming soon (we hope!)