oh hey summer...you're right around the corner!

i know i know!!! its only march. but i feel like summer is juuuust around the corner. and this year, i wouldnt mind if it took a while to get here. yes i do love the weather, and ive always been more of a flip flop girl than anything closed toe. but this summer is going to be so different for us, that im not exactly looking forward to it!
i have been to pico so many times with my family. and since i have had cristiano we have gone every year. i love being able to go there and see all of our family and friends, and for luis' parents to see their grandkids. cristiano is 4 and we have been 4 times. but this year is different. this year we will not be traveling back to luis' hometown.
although there are a few reasons as to why we will not be making the trip this year...the main one is how expensive it can get! yes...we are lucky enough to pretty much be taken care of once we are there. but do you know how much it costs to get there?!? last year we paid almost $6,000. and that was with tiago sitting on my lap!! and by the time we go again he will be over 2 years old and be paying full price! its crazy how they can jack up the prices...because SATA is the only airline that flies into the Azores. so unless you want to row yourself over there in a boat...they are your only option!!
i know that this summer will be fun no matter what we do. we plan on maybe camping or taking the kids to sea world. but i will of course be missing my pico! a few weeks ago cristiano told me how much he missed me parents when they were in china. and i told him "oh ano they were only gone a week. when they go to pico this summer they will be gone a lot longer." and he replies "yes mommy they will but we just go with them right?!". after i explained to him that we were not going to be able to go this year he started to cry. and between sobs was telling me how his avo pico (luis' dad) hasnt seen him since hes been 4 and that he bets he misses him and needs to see him! it broke my heart!
i know for a fact that my in laws miss us all, especially my kids. but i also know that we will be able to go back there again. hopefully sooner than later! and as for this summer....we will make new memories, enjoy each other, and make the best of what we are still able to do!