Florida (again), Vaca with the Girls & Ethan's first time on a plane

July, 2013, we had an opportunity to stay at a friend's condo in Florida in some town I never heard of on the Gulf Coast. Besides the lure of the ocean, I always wondered why Ohioans bother taking vacations to Florida in the middle of summer when Ohio weather is actually really nice in summer. Obviously, the ocean is likely the biggest draw. The appeal of this particular trip was that my sister Gina and her two daughters, Jackie and Allie were joining us.

Jackie and Allie are my honey bunnies. They are my two favorite kids ever. Jackie was born two months before Jamie and I got married, and Allie arrived a little over two years later. Jamie and I adore them. They are the daughters we'll never have, and by summer 2013 we could not ignore the fact that they were not kids anymore. Jackie graduated from high school in 2012 and had just finished her first year at college, and Allie was getting ready to start her senior year. Jackie really didn't even want to go on this trip, but my sister laid down the law, and Jackie had a change of heart. :) When the girls were little, I was the cool Aunt. I was the one who took them shopping for birthdays, played dress up and dolls with them, did cartwheels in the yard, roller skated, and told them crazy stories which they still remind me of to this day. The girls looked up to me in that way which was different than how your own kids do. And while I will never have the closeness with them that they have with my sister, I still love them as if they were my own. Now that Jamie and I had Ethan, Jackie and Allie got to be the cool older cousins. Ethan loves them, too. They were his regular babysitters and regular visitors at our house. Well, at least until they got too old and school, friends and jobs took more and more time.

This trip was really one of the last times they were going to be our "kids". We had a fun week at the beach, celebrated my sister's birthday, hung out in the condo, went shopping and ate an awesome Greek meal in Tarpon Springs.

I can still remember each of the girls when they were born, and when I think back on their personalities growing up, I am not at all shocked about the awesome women they have become. I am so grateful we all had this week together.