Bonita Springs, Florida

It is hard to sum up or put into words the experience that Reece and I had the past five days.  While there were so many big moments to capture, it may be the little moments I hold onto.  Florida was absolutely incredible.  I should begin with expressing our gratitude to my Mom,  and Reece's Nana for taking us on the adventurous ride of experiencing southwestern Florida.  We had cocktails on the beach in Fort Myers, went out on a " Real Pirate ship ", but Reece wants everyone to be sure to know " the pirates we not real they were just dressed to look like real pirates" ( knowing Reece as many of you do his cautious personality should not surprise anyone that he needed to clarify this!), we played putt putt TWICE and Reece had three hole in ones!, we played a lot of football and frisbee on the beach, we had ice cream at Mr. Ray's ice cream parlor, we meet new friends while playing on the beach, Reece practiced finding the perfect wave with his scurf board in the sand so in a few more years he will be ready to move to the big water, we experienced Naples, and we saw some amazing sunsets.
While Gregg was not able to join us on this trip, it was an opportunity to spend quality time just Reece, my mom, and I.  Reece is such a Daddy's boy, so to be able to have so much one on one with him and I alone will be something I treasure forever.  I had an opportunity to sit back on afternoon on the beach and watch Reece play with his new buddies, Fisher, Evan and their Dads.  Boys play so differently with their Dads.  There is no question in my mind the importance that Gregg plays in Reece's life, and how wonderful Gregg is at that.  Yet to be able to capture five days of just Mom, I was able to relish in things like slipping into bed at night and have Reece curl right up next to me, to take a long walk on the beach and talk about things a five in half year old wonders about like "why the pelicans do belly flops head first into the ocean", to be constantly asked to play catch with the football and not have Daddy be requested instead, to be the other eyes spotting Great Blue Herons and Ibises, just to name a few.  The little moments of feeling like I wasn't just being Reece's mom who keeps the family schedule and structure, I was capable in the eyes of a five year old of being wanted as so much more.  I soaked in every moment.
Here are a few of our highlights -

 This sunset photo is my favorite of the trip and sums it all up in the thoughts I imagine are racing through Reece's head, as in mine!

I feel like the luckiest Mom and woman to have had this experience.  

And I'll tell you what I can throw a pretty good spiral, just ask Reece !!

We cannot wait to go back but it feels good to be home!

From the moment we stepped onto Florida soil Reece spoke about finding Gator gear, well he succeeded! 

 He definitely knows how to capture attention through Atlanta and Detroit airports!