marriott beach place ft lauderdale

facts about our Florida vacation, in no particular order.

• roundtrip non-stop flights from Vegas to Ft. Lauderdale were less than $40 per person.  (spirit air).  We paid a total of $237 for all seven of us to fly.
• we each brought one carry on.  and we paid for one piece of luggage.  we are light packers.  Simon ended up with only ONE shirt.  ooops. (luckily, we had a washer and dryer in our villa, which was awesome!)
• Aaron's parents had a week available of their timeshare that was about to expire.  They were so kind and generous to offer it to us, but nothing was available in Ft. Lauderdale until 2 days before we flew out.  It.could.not.have.been.more.perfect.
• we paid $200 and some change for our hotel/villa stay.  it was ginormous.
• the boys had their own room/microwave/mini-fridge/bathroom/shower/couch and toaster.
• Zack made toast in his toaster everyday, just because he could.
• we bought all our groceries before checking into the hotel.  under $100 for food.
• once we parked our van at the hotel on the first day of arrival (after the alligator farm) we did NOT get in the van again until we flew to the airport.  no reason to drive anywhere means you've arrived at the perfect location.
• we paid $186 to rent a minivan that stayed parked in the same spot the entire week.  next time we'll get a taxi to and from the airport.
• we ate EVERY meal inside this hotel room, sitting at the table as a family.  we did not do any fast food or restaurants, with the exception of 2 visits to Sonic for drinks after the beach.
• The hotel delivered a port a crib with clean sheets, blankets and a stuffed animal for our baby.  It was so thoughtful. 
• Simon and Ro napped everyday, for hours at a time.
• We had scriptures in the living area each night and family prayer around the coffee table.  While being silly one night (my birthday) Roma knocked her mouth on the coffee table and broke her front tooth.  
• All of our kids were in bed and asleep each night by 9 PM.
• we had the most comfortable beds.  we had two pull out couches that we never used.
• the master bedroom had an amazing jet tub.  I bathed in it everyday.  the kids bathed in it everyday, together.  Aaron and I had a romantic night in it once.
• On the last day EVERYONE got in the tub together, including Daddy.  It was not planned, it just happened and it was hilarious.  I begged to take a photo and use it for our Christmas card, but Aaron wouldn't let me.  and my hands were wet anyway. 
• the lighting in the room made the water in the tub look florescent yellow.  the kids had many pee jokes, none of them were funny.
• We had two balconies which were not ocean view, but our view was still beautiful, especially at night.
• it rained everyday, some days it poured
• we had a pool, hot tub and kids splash pad at the hotel, but only used it the day we checked out, just to say we did.  
• we hot tubbed one night while it was raining.
• we only saw two other children at the hotel.  One was a darling newborn named Victoria with a full head of black hair.  The other was a 7 year old girl, Samantha.  She was an only child who was very lonely and kept asking to play with us.  We saw her everyday and tried to include her, but she was a brat and kept complaining to her parents that our boys were teasing her (she wished.)
• everyone commented on the number of children we had.  We stuck out like we never have before... they totally pointed. and more times than we could count people said, "God bless you and your family." 
• Aaron was an amazing help with the kids.  If I had the baby, he was in control of the boys and vice versa.  He was changing diapers, warming bottles, having pillow fights, making dinner, washing dishes, you name it.  I kept thinking the whole week, "God has already blessed me so much."  This man is my dream guy! and I know now more than ever that we can handle more children.  we are a mighty duo!
• I absolutely loved visiting with the other residents, who's average age was probably was 68.  I didn't take a poll, just a guess.  Because it was a timeshare, they were all there for the week and we saw many of the same faces each day.  
• Because it was a timeshare, they tried to get us to go to a presentation (for $100 credit for room service.)  We would not do it.  #1 we didn't want to waste an hour (or 5 hours) of our precious vacation time.  #2 we probably would have purchased had we listened to their sales pitch.  we were in LOVE the minute we walked in.  It's location (steps from the ocean) could not be beat, and the accommodations were top notch.  The "fun deck" with activities for the kids every hour needs it's own blog post.    
• Every.single.day we saw the same lizard peeking out of a pillar on the sidewalk on our way to and from the beach.  We tried to catch it, but never succeeded.  We have a few videos and they are hysterical.  We loved that lizard and we feel bad we poured water in his house in an attempt to catch him.  He hated us.
• The elevator game was a big hit (stand in front of the one you think will open first.)  Whatever elevator Zack stood in front of, opened.  It was a magical.  He was beyond excited about picking the winning elevator.
• A worker at Sonic gave the boys gold necklaces ? and they wore them often.  They are still innocent and can look cool sporting jewelry.
• We played games every single night.  Rook and Bananagrams are always a hit, but Catch Phrase became the ultimate favorite.  Out of all the memories we made, laughing over Catch Phrase is at the top of my list.  We bought the game as soon as we got home.  
• Ben made Ramen the night we flew out.  It didn't have enough water and became a sticky noodle mess.  But everyone ate it anyway.  we served it with a side of stuffing.  ?  go figure.
• aside from Sunday morning cartoons while Aaron and I made a big breakfast, zero television was watched.  Two of the three tvs were not even turned on.  
• We bought a gallon of milk at the market in the hotel along with ice cream for my birthday.  The only other food we purchased was chips and salsa out by the pool.  While eating and drying off, Simon crossed his legs and said, "I like hanging out with you guys."  
• Our boys did not fight a single time we were there.  there were little annoyances here and there, but nothing we had to intervene as parents..  Aaron and I talked about it each night in amazement and gratitude.  it was heavenly and in every sense of the word, this was a real vacation.  
• I washed all our clothes before we boarded the flight home.  Nothing like flying home rested, rejuvenated, sun-kissed and with zero dirty laundry.
• no one wanted to leave.  we all plan on "saving all our monies" so we can go back again someday... because heaven knows we won't be able to do it again for that (unbelievable) price.  

Pictures, in no particular order...

"I love hanging out with you guys"

hotel website : http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/fllbp-marriotts-beachplace-towers/