Over so soon?

My trip to Florida. Being the bad parent that I am (I dont try to pretend that I'm not anymore) I took off with my hubby to a Podiatry Conference (yay...) in sunny Florida (YAY!) and left the kids with my folks (YAY again!!!) over my daughter's second birthday..(oh.).
Let me just say...I am sooo glad I did. We had so much fun. The hospital was paying for most of it, so we went all out on some things. And I dont feel guilty at all. Chuck is chief resident this year which means that he gets to put up with a lot of crap, spend all evening making phone calls, and pay extra for his phone bills - and he gets paid no more than the other 3rd year resident. So, he (we) deserves it!
We stayed at the Sanibel Island Resort and Spa. I took advantage of the spa the second day I was there and got a wonderful massage and a haircut (just a trim really, nothing drastic) and I got to spend time in the sauna and steam room. Ahh...I can still smell the cedar. Unfortunately Chuck had to spend his day in a lecture. While Chuck was at his lectures though, it was bliss for me...relaxing by the pool with my drink of choice...a Sanibel Sunburn (fruity rum drink) reading Nicholas Sparks' "The Lucky One." Lucky me. When Chuck was done all he wanted to do was find a way to drive the rental car - a convertible Volvo. We spent one afternoon on Sanibel Island at a bird refuge (who's idea was that?) and another day kayaking in the gulf through a little swamp. Yay. And we watched the sun set at the beach every night. And the dinners...they were great - steaks, sushi, fish - yum! So much fun.
On Saturday we went to Fort Myers beach and saw a sand sculpting contest. Among the entries was a man from St. Louis. I dont know who won, but they were all amazing. On Sunday we returned to the Island to buy some souvenirs for the kids before making it back for our flight.
It was heavenly. I did miss my kids, but it was sooo nice to get away. I only felt guilty about twice a day, but they were short-lived bouts. Cant wait to do it again!
See more pics on flickr and facebook.
And yes, there will be a post shortly about Gracie's b-day - I'm not all bad.