Happy New Year!

Things got a little crazy here for New Year's Eve.... not! We had a lovely feast... and it's 9:00 and I'm the last one up!

Sun n' Fun Water Park

So, Aja's one last wish for our trip was to play mini golf, and Sedona's last place to visit was Sun n' Fun Water Park. It was a fantastic water park run by Parks and rec. we had it all to ourselves for the first hour (it's too cold for the locals in the 70's, but just fine for us Canadians)! Sedona went off the high diving board- we didn't even know she was going to do it. One minute she was going off the low board over and over, and the next thing I knew she was on the high board not even giving it a second thought! She just ran and gave 'er! The girls were too short for the waterslides and Chris and I even found they took our breaths away (the one that was in complete darkness in particular)! We were there for a few hours and had to drag Aja away. The first thing she asked when we got in the car was "can we go swimming when we get back to grandma Lou's?" Tomorrow is our last day and we're hoping to do one last beach day. It has been an absolutely fabulous trip!!!!!!!

Watergirl!!!!

Aja has been really excited about swimming in the last few months. She swims like crazy in the shallow end, and I said to Chris, "I bet by the end of our trip, she'll be swimming in the deep end as well." Well, it only took  a day. We have started off every single morning with an hour swim in the pool. Aja is swimming up a storm and wants to stay in forever. She just LOVES it! We always go for another swim before dinner as well. My mom has a small pool right here, but the heater isn't working right now, so Aja is the only one brave enough to go in, so we walk 2 minutes down the road to the other bigger pool. It's so neat as a parent to watch your kids grow in confidence and learn a new skill like this!

Lakes Park

We are finding there is so much for kids to do here, and there are some amazing parks! Right beside the mini golf course, there was a park with 3 different huge playgrounds, a couple of water parks, a train ride and bicycle/pedal boat rentals. We rented a bike that Chris and I pedalled together all around the park (about 45 minutes) while the girls took in the views from the back. We stopped and got about 10 feet away from this alligator sunning himself beside the lake. It's not unusual to see alligators close to my Mom's house, but this one was particularly close. On our run yesterday, Chris and I saw some alligator babies poking their heads out and swimming around as well. After our ride, the girls cooled off in the water!

Mini Golf

When I asked the girls what they wanted to do most in our last few days here, Aja said "mini golf." So, today we went to the Castle mini golf course and it was  a great course! Aja was a natural and just LOVED it. Sedona.... well, she took a little longer to warm up to it. Chris and I decided before we even started that we were really seriously competing. Hmm, Hmm.... you think I'd go easy on him just because it's his birthday??? No way.... I'm too competetive for that. Our scores: me, 47 and Chris, 56. The sad part was this: the par for the course was 42!

Happy Birthday Chris!!!

Yesterday was Chris' birthday. It started off with homemade Eggs Benadict, a swim in the pool, a trip to the park, a run together, shopping, pedicures for the girls and then out for dinner. Then tonight we made a yummy Mexican feast (Chris' favourite type of food) followed by a frozen lemon torte (his favourite type of desert). It sure was nice being somewhere warm for his birthday for a change! Happy Birthday Chris- you make all our days happier every day by being in our lives!

Sanibel Island

Today we drove over the bridge to Sanibel Island for a day at the beach. They have soooo many shells there. It was a perfect day! I think the last picture there is a "stingray" exoskeleton??

Wood Stork

This guy is perched just around the corner from my Mom's place (across the street from one of the local alligators.... will post that guy later when I get a better shot).

Naples Zoo

We went to the Naples Zoo today and then for a quick visit to the beach in Naples. Sedona and I also went for a camel ride at the zoo- a little different from when Chris rode one in Egypt!

Christmas Morning

Getting Ready for Christmas

Grandma Lou bought an artificial tree and decorations for the girls to decorate while down here. We didn't cut down our tree like usual, knowing we were coming down this year, so it was a treat for them!

Corkscrew Bird Sanctuary

We went to the Bird Sanctuary on Christmas morning and went for a nice hike. We saw some great birds- including Painted Buntings, Yellow Night Herons, Anhingas,  Sandhill Cranes and the Great Egret. Unfortunately, the zoom lense on the camera we used was broken, so none of our close-ups turned out!