We have had a fun and full first week in South Florida visiting with lots of family and friends. On our way down from Disney, we stopped to see my good friend Nadine and her family. We have been friends since my freshman year in college, 18 years ago, and here we are now :).
The kids all had fun playing together, and we all enjoyed getting caught up. Thankful for good friends!
We took several trips to the the beach this week. The boys really like going in the water, playing in the waves, and digging.
The boys had fun making whirlpools in the ocean and swimming around.
One day this week we took an airboat ride in the Everglades, and it was lots of fun. The Everglades are 60 mile wide tropical wetlands in the southern part of Florida, that begins near Orlando and flows all the way to the southern tip of the state.
We saw the Florida panther, jaguar, lemur, tortoises, snakes, and of course lots of alligators.
Airboat ride time.
And here they are!
They swam right up to our airboat, it was pretty cool!
My brother caught this picture from the other side of the airboat.
We all took turns holding a baby alligator.
We all had a good time that day!
The next day we had a get together with my extended family and a belated birthday for Caleb. My aunt has been so kind to open her home to our family, and really appreciate having a comfortable home to stay for a few weeks.
My cousin Anita meeting Benjamin for the first time and getting some good after nap cuddles.
My dad's two lovely sisters, Gail and Eileen.
The boy received some nice gifts from family. We did things in opposite order :).
After pizza, we had cake and ice cream. Caleb enjoyed being sung the birthday song the second time around :)
Make a wish...
Benjamin with cousins Alexis and Ashley.
Us with my cousin Perry.
Caleb had fun with his cousins.
Both boys loved hanging out with Sunnie.
Siblings :)
Mom and kids.
Sunnie headed back to California that afternoon, we all really enjoyed meeting her!
The next morning we took some family pictures at the beach. I'm excited to see how they turned out. Here's a cute one my brother took.
Another evening we went with my aunts to Monkey Joe's bounce house and arcade. The boys (of all ages) had fun and worked hard for some loot.
Another day we went to the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science with my mom. There were great exhibits about the Florida wetlands, the ocean, the body, and planes. We used to come to this museum as kids, and it was fun to take the boys here to play.
Later that evening, we went to visit my best friend Marissa, sweet Henry Pickles, and her parents. Marissa recently moved back to Florida, so it was nice to visit with her entire family. I spent many, many nights there when I was younger, always fun to go back to my second home.
Escape artists?
We all had pizza and ice cream. It was a fun evening :).
Henry sure loves his mommy!
Another evening we went to the Marlins vs. Nationals baseball game. This was the first time I went to the new Marlins stadium, it was the most modern baseball stadium I've seen!
The boys had a really good time at the game and watched several innings. Benjamin really got the hang of strikes and hits, and he would put his hands in the air and shout hooray every time there was a hit.
Early in the game, we met up with my cousin, who works with the Marlins. He is always so generous to give us tickets over the years. It was great to get caught up, and we will see them more next week.
Popcorn anyone?
We are having a good time and thankful for this time with family and loved ones.
