Trip to Florida part II

And now for the exciting conclusion to our Florida trip.

On Saturday my aunt, uncle and cousin came to visit for a night. We spent most of our time catching up and eating, (you don't have to act surprised.)
Natalie had lots of fun with Uncle Richard.
And Cousin Hannah. (how do you like that trick she learned from Richard?!)
She checked out some boats with Aunt Sue.
And she enjoyed drawing on the table at dinner.
The next day we went for a walk to visit the owls again, and then took a group photo before everyone headed out.
Rich, Sue, and Hannah had to head back, (some people gotta work you know!?) And we were on our way to visit Eileen's sister and brother-in-law near Ft. Lauderdale. Natalie slept much of the way and was ready for action when we got there. Rosanne and Gary have a very kid friendly house since they have a grand daughter who visits. Natalie loved feeding the koi in Gary's very cool pond.
Here she is being somewhat coy herself after taking off her shoes when she shouldn't have.
The next day we went to the beach. This time on the ocean, not the gulf. It hadn't been so cold on this side, so there were no dead fish around, and lots of different shells to discover.


Later that day checking out the neighborhood. We played at the park, but this fountain was just as fun.
We went home that night, and spent another day and a half with Eileen at her place. One more day at the beach before we left, and then the morning we headed out we enjoyed one last seafood lunch at the Tarpon Lodge.


And on the way back, icecream! Natalie requested mint.
They had a cute little shop, and a horsie out front.
A perfect ending to a very nice trip. I can't wait to visit with everyone again! I wish it could be sooner, but who knows when it will be! We'll be visiting Texas for Easter, so stay tuned for that trip. Until then we're back to our day-to-day grind and thankful for it. I must admit that vacationing with a toddler is anything but!

Trip to Florida part I

Natalie and I got back last night from a very nice week-long trip to Florida. We went with my mom to visit her cousin Eileen who has a house down therein Cape Coral. It was great to get away, though it wasn't quite as warm as we'd have liked it.

The flight down was really good. There was an empty seat in our row, so Natalie got her own. And Dora was on the included Direct TV, so that was great. Though the headphones didn't quite stay in Natalie's ears... but being handy, and always equipped with knitting gear, we made it work.

We got to Eileen's had some dinner, and put the kiddo to bed. In the morning she discovered the little doggie greeter at the front door.
That day we went to the Edison-Ford house. We got to see the very impressive largest Banyan tree in North America, (not counting Hawaii). Very cool.
We went on a tour of the grounds, which was perfect for us since Natalie got to run around and get lots of fresh air. Though I didn't hear all that much of the info, the gardens were beautiful.


We got a really close up look at this lizard. The plant we were smelling when we spotted him is a vanilla orchid vine climbing up this weird spiky tree!

The giant green bamboo is the reason Edison bought the property in the first place.
And here is Edison's lab.
Later that day we went for a walk around Eileen's house to visit her local owls. These guys live on a protected piece of land in the development.
We went out to dinner that night to enjoy more of the local seafood. Natalie loves shrimp.
The next day, though it still wasn't that nice out, we promised we'd take Natalie to the beach. Boy was she ready.
There was a great little playground there - thank goodness since the water was so cold.
We walked down the pier there and talked to some fishermen. Everyone was so nice. Natalie got to see some live shrimp bait, though we'd just missed them catch some sting rays and a small shark, all of which they threw back.
It warmed up and we had some lunch.
And then we got a close up look at a sting ray trying to warm up in the shallows.
Natalie made some friends and had fun throwing shells back into the water with them.
By then she was about ready for a nap.
That evening we went out for dinner at a new Italian place - we could have eaten there every day it was so good. We got some raw oysters and some fried.

And Natalie got a pizza. She was so good, and ate a ton that night. Then ran around on the grounds for a while while we finished up.
And totally wore herself out.
I'll post the other half of the trip soon! We had a great time, but are glad to be back. It's going to be a bit of work getting settled back into our routine. But DH is done with freelance work for a while, and I don't have any more Christmas projects to work on, so we should be able to have a nice relaxing couple of months before our next trip at the end of March!

2010 on the right foot

We have been having a great new year so far. And we have lots of plans for the Spring that will ensure 2010 keeps getting better. Natalie and I and my mom are going on a trip this week to Florida to visit with more of my family, and I will definitely post pictures of that later this month. But for now, I'll bring you at least up to the new year.

Check out this cute gelato ice cream cone just Natalie's size! She ate the whole thing.

And here she is at playgroup hanging with her friends.

We went to Zoo Lights at the Denver Zoo for the first time. It was soooo cold.
Natalie got to touch a snake.
And see the new baby giraffe up-close.
And enjoy an oh-so healthy dinner.
By the time we got out of there it was past her bed time.
She didn't make it back to the car.
More pictures to come before we head out on Wednesday. I promise.