Labor Day on Longboat Key, Florida

In early August, we made plans to head to Longboat Key off the coast of Sarasota to see all our Florida family over Labor Day. Everyone stayed at the Diplomat Resort, which was absolutely perfect for our family-oriented long weekend. You could literally be in the ocean within about two minutes of walking out of your room, which was great. There is also a nice pool area, and they supply a variety of pool floats and sand toys to use while you're there. The rooms have full kitchens and lots of shady tikki huts to escape the ridiculous heat. Every room overlooks the water, and they have a back door that opens right to the pool/ocean area. It was great for when you inevitably forgot something, potty breaks and nap time.

Longboat Key is about a 90 minute drive from the Tampa airport, or it's about a 20 minute drive from the Sarasota airport. It's the perfect, quiet little beach town.

We booked a 6 a.m. flight out of Albuquerque in order to arrive in Florida at 1:30 p.m. Even though American confiscated our stroller in Albuquerque (long complaint letter has already been written) and our two hour layover turned into almost four hours, we were excited to arrive and spend time with my family. We made the most of it on the way and were so thankful we have such good kids!

In total, we had 14 adults and 7 kids ranging in age from 3 months old to 9 years old. It took a while for Madeline to settle into all the excitement, but by the end of the weekend she was joining in with her second cousin Emma on lots of pool fun.

Friday night I watched in delight as Madeline was "put to bed" by my cousin Megan's son Wyatt and my cousin CJ's daughter Emma. I wish I had photos and/or video of this, but I really didn't want to disturb them. They had Madeline wrapped in a blanket on a boogie board with a small pillow under her head, and Wyatt was feeding her french fries like a little baby bird. It might have been the sweetest thing I've ever seen. They also built a little tent at some point as evidenced by the pic below. I never even saw this happen (although I think they did it when Brian and I slipped out Saturday night for a quick dinner).

I wish I had more pics of the grownups, but I think we were all just too busy relaxing to really stop down and take them. (It may also be that the ridiculous humidity and its effect on your hair kept the ladies from suggesting we take any).

What beach trip is complete without sandcastles? What I love about these pics is that they are all just so content with whatever they are doing.

For the record, Charlotte didn't sleep like this all night. I had just fed her and put her in the bed for a bit.

Fun time makes for much-needed sleepy time, too

Caitlyn and Charlotte

This was pretty much Charlotte's pose the whole weekend

My new, fabulous vacation hat

Ever want to get a kid to wear a hat that they wouldn't wear before? Tell them it's for their sister.

She preferred noodles on the land versus in the pool.

Like the noodle, she had much more fun with the floatie on the pool deck.

Time for a popsicle break. Love the rosy cheeks (from the heat - not because we didn't use sunscreen)

I love this bathing suit and its ruffles.

Our final sunset at the beach - not a cloud in the sky

I had to squeeze in a few 3 month shots 

"What's she doing in my 3-month shoot? I'm out of here."

Want to play your own Longboat Key getaway? Check out the link below:

Longboat Key on Dwellable