Ft. Lauderdale Family Fun

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Now, on to the fun! (Pssst:Don’t miss my first post on the Florida trip here!)

Family Fun at the South Florida Fair

My days in Ft. Lauderdale weren’t exactly “vacation” but they were spent exactly as I’d like — hanging out with my sisters, family and of most importantly, my niece and nephews! I actually had a blast the day we spent at the South Florida Fair.

My uncle Henry runs a very successful Kettle Korn business and he was set up there for the week. We’ve had our share of Kettle Korn in this family but somehow, it never gets old. My cousin Carlos was working the booth with Henry and it was so much fun to see them both.

My cousin Carlos working hard making Kettle Korn

After we filled up on Kettle Korn, we spent a few hours walking around, seeing the animals, and eating fried green tomatoes, hush puppies, cinnamon/sugar pretzels and ice cream. Okay, I did not eat all of those things but I had my share of yummy fair food and it was totally worth it!

I actually love the colorful sites you see at the fair, despite how tacky they can be. There’s something so festive and fun about the decor!

Skates, Cuties & Sisters

If you have sisters, you probably know that there is a special bond there you can’t find anywhere else. Now that we are living in three different states, it’s extra special for the three of us to get together.

Shelby is doing an amazing job raising her 3-year-old and 2-month-old alone while her husband is in Afghanistan (he works as a contractor). She is such a great mom and I’m really proud of her!

Lindsey has her hands full with a very rambunctious and spirited 19-month-old (let’s just say flying with him wasn’t exactly a picnic!) so it was great to be there and be the Aunt I don’t get to be in person most of the time.

After spending a few days there, I actually found out my flight was cancelled due to weather in DC. So…I got to spend another day hanging out, which was awesome. I seriously cherished the time I had with Giovanna and Gunner yesterday morning (Lindsey and Marshall had already gone home.)

I carried Gunner around and played with Giovanna…thinking about much bigger they will both be next time I see them. I was trying to cement these times in my head to remember to tell them later. Giovanna is just now getting to the point where she will actually have memories and I love that. I want her to remember the pink sparkly skates I got her this year — and how we put make up on together and I curled her hair. I never want to forget the big, toothless smiles from Gunner in the morning, his dark blue eyes the best things ever.

My job as Aunt is something I love — these kids feel like my own in a way. This weekend only made me eager to someday get the title of Mom. We are working on it, though we’ve got some struggles to get there…but I know God has something in mind, just the right circumstance, just the right child whoever they might be. For now, I am crazy in love with Giovanna, Gunner and Marshall.

Any aunts or uncles out there that are crazy about their nieces & nephews? What do you love being an aunt or uncle?