Fresh picked mango

More Florida Fun in Pictures

Our feet (and the rest of us) have been enjoying Florida SO much! Does it get any better than sandy feet on the beach? I don't think so.

Bazzy started out slow in the water. Not TOO sure about all this at first.

It took Charlotte a bit to appreciate the sand.

Some of the cousins enjoyed hanging out in the shade.

Others played trucks in the water.

Katryna realized she LOVES the ocean and especially enjoys boogie boarding.

Bazzy started to enjoy the beach once he realized how fun it really is.

He LOVES the waves.

My Grandma bought all the great grandkids these fun little treasure boxes and my Aunt Judi wrote all their names on them. Katryna stacked them all and I loved seeing all the kids names together. So many cousins= so much fun!

This was the sky last night after our trip out for Chick Fil A. Made me think of the phrase "Every cloud has a silver lining."

Today we went to Mote Marine Aquarium. This is one of my favorite places out here.

So many interesting sea creatures to look at.

Sofia loved the Nemo's and Dory's.

Mia loved the octopus.

Everyone loved the touch tank!

Katryna loved holding the sea urchins and hermit crabs.

Mia loved the sting ray pool.

If they came close enough, you could pet them.

Mia loved how slippery they were.

We all enjoyed panning for sharks teeth. We found SO many!

Sofia has been collecting more and more silly bands this week. Think she has enough now? ;)

Can you see the tiny baby seahorses?

Bazzy has LOVED having so much fun with his BOY cousins. He loves having time to play with boys. He puts up with a lot of girls on a daily basis!

Here are all the cousins that went to the aquarium today. Aren't they adorable???

We have pictures of all of the kids by this statue. We have a picture of Katryna by it when she was just about 6 months old. Crazy.

I've loved manatees since I was a little kid. I still enjoy seeing them and watching the kids marvel at them now.

Sofia lost another tooth today. She pulled one out late last night and the second one this afternoon. The tooth fairy is going to have an expensive night tonight.

Bazzy at Mote Marine.
A very happy boy on his birthday.

Mia imagined all day what it would be like to be a marine biologist. I used to dream that same dream. Still do sometimes.

Here is Sofia talking to her Dad while waiting for the Dolphin feeding to begin. Again, do you think she has enough silly bands on? We're all wishing Dad was here with us this week.

Charlotte is definitely a lover of Florida now too. She's been smiling pretty much non-stop since the beginning of our trip. She only stops when she's too worn out to smile anymore and then she just goes to sleep. Doesn't get much better than that.

Birthday Ice Cream

With cousins

The Five Year Old

Happy Birthday Baz

Our family tradition is to decorate each kids door on their birthday.
We are staying at our wonderful aunts house for Baz's birthday this
year, so I decorated a table next to where he is sleeping tonight so
he will be surprised in the morning and the tradition will live
on. Who needs a door, right?

He's totally in love with Toy Story right now, so we went a little
crazy with that theme. I can't believe he's five tomorrow. Truly. I
can't believe it.

Happy Birthday Bazzy! Wow am I thankful God chose us to be your
family!!! :0)

Pancakes on the beach

So far....

We are having SO much in Florida. I've been taking most pictures on my iphone, but here are a few from my "real" camera.

The drive went great. We stopped at Ruby Falls in TN and visited a peach farm in Georgia and stopped at a National Park in Florida to see wild Alligators. The three days went quick and all five kids stayed relatively happy the entire drive. Score.

Girls playing on play structure outside of Ruby Falls.
Happy to be out of the car for a bit.

I love Florida birds. This one was at the National Park.

Its was SO hot at the park in Florida. I mean, walk out of the car and start dripping sweat HOT! Can you notice one or two of the kids that weren't appreciating the heat. ;)

We saw two big gators. Pretty amazing to see them out in the wild. Glad we were FAR away on an observation platform with high walls!

This guy was even bigger and off in the distance a bit. ScArY!!!

Today we went on a hike at a preserve close to my family's house. It was in a beautiful spot by the water ways next to the ocean.

This was farther out and the kids were too hot to walk all the way out this way...but it was so pretty. Can you see the Tampa bridge in the background?

There were tons of fish in the water there that were flinging themselves out of the water for quite a distance and then splashing down. The kids loved it and I have to admit, I did too. They were fast, so it was hard to get a picture. This is the best one I got.

These little rings were all over the water where the fish were landing.

We made it out to the observation tower. The kids thought it was super fun and loved climbing all the way to the top.

Hiking back to the car. So pretty.

We saw these little sand crabs along the water on our walk back. They were itty bitty. I used my macro lens to take this. The girls wanted SO badly to catch them and take them home. ;)

I wish we had birds like this in Nebraska. I guess the sandhill cranes are a bit like this, but they only come once a year. And they aren't pink.

Anyways....I have TONS more pictures but I need to get to bed and prepare for another funfilled day in Florida. Love seeing all the cousins and family! Doesn't get much better than this!