We just returned from a wonderful 12-day trip to Florida! We had such a great time. We started out in The Villages, where we enjoyed all sorts of activities with Grandma and Grandpa. We went swimming, looked for animals and wildlife, rode (and "drove!") Grandpa's golf cart, celebrated Cassidy's 7th birthday, and spent a great day at Disney's Magic Kingdom. Here are some photo highlights from those first few days...
Spending Time at the Villages
Cassidy Turns 7!
Our Day at Disney (while Tyler had a day with Grandma and Grandpa!)
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| Gavin was great in his role as "Chip!" |
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| Cassidy was a fantastic feather-duster! |
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| (That's Erik in the role of the knight!) |
Such great fun so far! Next up was Pompano Beach, just 4 hours south. We arrived, got settled in, and spent the next week enjoying beach life. Our favorite memories include...
- waking up to ocean sunrises
- finding all sorts of aquatic wildlife (and making them our pets for a few hours until we sent them back home)
- watching a mama turtle lay her nest in the sand, late at night under the moonlight (we woke the kids for that one!)
- spending a day at Gumbo Limbo, the local turtle rescue center/nature center
- watching 4th of July fireworks light up the beach
- spending hours each day swimming and jumping in the pool
- riding ocean waves with Daddy and Grandpa, and paddling to the reef on rafts to see beautiful fish
- going to the local pier to watch fisherman and see the pelicans
- enjoying dinners at Mulligan's (a new spot that totally caters to kids), Cap's Place (the boatride there is always a hit and their crabs cakes are the best anywhere), Aruba's (where things went south quickly, including Tyler throwing plates, kids spilling full drinks and birds swarming our table once they realized the kids would gladly feed them...we took that meal to go!), and lastly Blue Moon Fish Co., where Erik and I had a lovely night out!
- spotting lizards in the palm trees and seeing salamanders scurry around the grounds
-spending any downtime together in the condo watching the World Cup! We had so much fun rooting for the U.S. Men's National Team. They had a great run. USA!
Here are our photo highlights from our time at the beach. Until next time!
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| Good Morning Sunshine! |
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| Playtime in the pool with Grandpa |
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| Enjoying the ocean with Grandma |
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| We found a conch! He was our pet for a bit. |
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| Cassie and Gavin took turns holding him and freshening his water |
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| 4th of July - a beautiful sunset |
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| Waiting for the beachfront fireworks! |
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| Sandcastles with Grandpa (Tyler mostly knocks them down!) |
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| The pier on the north end of Pompano Beach |
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| We got pretty close to this guy! |
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| Another pretty sunrise, with calm waters |
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| Our next pet - a little crab that we found in the pool |
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| We eventually sent him back to his home in the ocean. |
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| Mulligan's had a balloon twister - what a great Ariel! |
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| A great Spiderman, too! |
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| Checking out the vet rooms at Gumbo Limbo |
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| Official Turtle Patrol Crew |
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| Cassie, our resident hula-hooper at a 4th of July Festival |
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| They helped paint a mural at the festival, too. |
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| The boat ride to Cap's Place for dinner |
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| We had a stormy night over the water one evening - makes for an amazing light show. |
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| Ocean buddies |
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| Bedtime books after a long day in the sun |
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| We built a lot of fun sandcastles! |
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| 1-2-3 jump! |
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| Sporting our tye-dye shirts, made on the beach one afternoon. |
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| Attempting some beach photos |
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| We like this one! |
