NCAA in Tampa

~ROUND 1~

Justin in Tampa, Florida:

Getting there was a breeze, a 4.5 hr. non-stop chartered flight.  Leaving Brandon with my Mom was the hardest thing I've EVER had to do.  After day two I was able to mention Brandon's name without shedding a tear!  Every time I talked to him on the phone he was happy....THANK YOU MOM!!!!!!

Justin enjoyed EVERY minute of the trip, including:

-telling Knock Knock jokes to EVERYONE!

-eating gator

-eating calamari

-playing Cassi's Nintendo DSI
-Flying and flashing his Passport with his 2 year old picture AND drinking soda
-Every single bus ride - no seat belts!

-The Hotel, which had M&M and Peanut M&M dispensers at the front desk
-Racing Mom & Dad to the room then slipping the key under the door for us

-Being the life of the party - telling jokes, knock knock jokes, and just being himself - he never stopped smiling or laughing the whole trip!
and much, much more.....

~ROUND 2~

Flying over Tampa Bay

Not only was this particular bridge jaw-dropping, but it reminded me of my sister, Kelli, in the Marshall Islands.  This is basically what the landing strip there looks like, except it's not connected to a large piece of land.....it's LITERALLY in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with nothing but water around it.  This bridge is 4 lanes and SUPER long.  Apparently there are a couple of these across Tampa Bay!

~ROUND 3~

Well really, it's Round 1 of the NCAA 2011 Basketball Championship!

This was fun to experience, despite the really bad loss.  The UCSB Gauchos played the Florida Gators in Round 1.  This was definitely a trip that will go into our memory banks - both good and bad :-)
The flight home was a nightmare, but Justin enjoyed it because he was able to play the DSI, eat pizza courtesy of his Lactaid, and sit on the hot plane in Houston in his underwear :-)