The Carolinas

They were all so excited.  Quinton and Lucas were running through the airport and jumping on every escalator they came across. 

We got all our crap to fit!  Just barely.

Seeing Dietra was the highlight of the whole trip.  She was amazing!  She told us about how she went to school with Michael Jordan.  She road the elevator with him once.  She also took one of his napkins.  He asked her out and she denied him!  We were all impressed. And jealous.  She also told us how all the girls in her family ran track and were track stars.  She has the same bubbly personality as Jessa.  And they definitely look alike!

WE went to the arcade, the park, to dinner, and to a museum with her.  It was so amazing!

This is where Jelisa works.

And this is where she got married.  She came out those doors.

Jessa's Aunt.

We headed off the Murtle Beach afterwards.  We had two balcony rooms on the ocean.  It was amazing!  The kids would go swim in the coldish water and then come back and get in the hottub.  They collected a bunch of shells that we had to bring back.

 

I went running on the beach.  My calves were so sore the next day.  I guess that sand makes a difference.

Funnies

 April 2025 Quotes from our trip.

We took a 8 hour drive from North Carolina down to Florida.  We had to shove all 4 boys int he back seat together because it was so much cheaper than renting a suburban.  Quinton, "Lucas, you can't move your head.  I make the rules."

Lucas, "stop I hate that smell.  Put your shoes back on Quinton."

(Lucas getting off the teacups at Universal Studios) "It's a good thing my head didn't pop off."

Quinton when we arrived to Coco cay. "I'm excited to shake my thingies outside."  We hope he was referring to his Maracas.

Kellan: "I'm going to try to beat my record in ice cream cones from the last cruise."

Jayla: "I'm definitely taking my kids on a cruise."

Jessa:  "Who wants to be my snack buddy?"  Lucas, "MEEE!"

Quinton:  "I can't decide between you Momma and the Kid's club.

(Mikey at Universal Studios) "MOM! My phone isn't in my pocket anymore."

Lucas had to always order exactly what Quinton got each night at dinner and lunch and then Quinton would cry and cry.

During the plane ride over we hit some crazy turbulence that dropped the plane a few times.  Women were screaming and a few kids were crying, then I look over at Jayla, Jessa and they are laughing.  Then I look over at Quinton and Lucas and they are laughing.  Lucas says, "wheeeee."  One lady thanked me for bringing the cute kids that just laughed during the scary turbulence.  They even managed to charm the flight attendants into some extra snacks.

Seashore Beach and Ocala National Forest

 After getting off the cruise ship we hung out at the port and saw a couple other cruisers from our ship around too.  We actually got to see some manatees!  There were a lot.  We saw mommas with their babies and juvenile babies.  It was so cool!  We saw lots of crazy birds fishing and diving for fish, then carrying them off.

We mad ethe kids goon this hike, they were so so excited!  There wasn't any complaining or whining about how mom was making them go on a hike during vacation. ;) They were all so happy with me.  Can't you tell by those amazing real smiles?!

We were driving and saw this turtle on the side of the road.  We just some get flattened so we had to pull over to rescue him, but the idiot kept trying to get back up to the road!  He started scratching Jayla, but she was the only one brave enough to hold him!

Next, we went to Sea Shore beach.  There were shells EVERYWHERE!  The kids wanted to take home buckets, but I somehow convinced them to take 5....I had to take into account all of the extra shells that they were going to sneak into the car...and sure enough!  Mikey had a whole backpack full!

The waves were amazing here!  They were huge.  Some guys were surfing and we wished we had boogie boards.  Next time for sure!