Florida Vacation

I apologize in advance - this is a picture heavy post.  There were just too many to choose from!

We spent 9 days in Orlando, Florida with my family over New Years.  We had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the week of relaxation and warm weather.  I told Ben I think I could be a snow bird when I'm older!

All packed and ready to go to the airport the next day!

View out our back door before leaving for the airport.  Goodbye snow!

Tyler flew down and back with us and was such a big help on the plane.  Carson loves him and whether Tyler liked it or not, it was his lap he wanted to be on most of the time!  

Helllllo Florida :)

The girls went for manicures and pedicures on day one - perfect start to the week!

Pool time

We got these floats at Target on clearance at the end of summer last year.  One guy called them the cadillacs of floats :)  They were perfect and Carson and Harper loved them!

One of many snack breaks at the pool - swimming makes you hungry!

This is what happens when you take pictures like this on my camera... :)

More snacks

Out to dinner at the Japanese steakhouse

Carson loved watching the chef

While the rest of the family went to Universal Studios or Sea World, we went with my mom to Downtown Disney for the morning.  Carson had fun getting in on the action there - riding the train, the carousel, and playing in the fountain.

Hopefully this video works - Carson was watching for the water and got sprayed right in the face.  It was hilarious and he had quite the audience watching him!

Checking out the fish at Rainforest Cafe

One night we went out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant near our condo and were literally the only ones in the entire place.  It was WEIRD!  My mom was terrified we were going to get sick - but we looked up reviews and nothing bad came up so we stayed :)  We got good service that is for sure!

Reading books with uncle Ty before bed

We spent a day in Sarasota visiting my great aunt Pearl as well as the Griesers and Zooks.  Carson and Kinsley hit it off!

Sharing their first kiss.  This will be shown at their wedding someday!

Siesta Key

Carson hadn't been to the beach for almost a year and wasn't too sure about it at first.  He wouldn't let us put him down because he didn't want his feet to touch the sand.  It took him awhile to warm up to it, but soon he was loving it and couldn't get enough!  He had sand everywhere when we left - even his diaper was full of it.

Chasing the seagulls

Picture of the two preggos

Rochelle is due in March.  We're hoping for the same gender so they can be roommates at Hesston too!

It was cloudy and drizzling one morning so we found other things to keep us busy since it wasn't pool weather.  Carson loved the swings!

The guys spent a day golfing - this is a picture Ben took from the course.  

The crocodile that ate a few of Ben's golf balls for lunch!

Feeding the ducks

They came right up to us.  We bought some duck food but when we ran out, Cheez-its worked too :)

Grandpa's little buddy

He did NOT like these Mickey ears!

We spent nearly every night playing cards after the kids were in bed.  It usually got pretty rowdy - no surprise there.

We got free light sabers for going to a sales pitch at the condo.  They were pretty entertaining - Ben was guarding the ice cream at this particular moment :)

Carson getting in on the light saber action

These two were buddies during the week!

My boys :)

The last day everyone left for the airport in the morning but the Columbus crew didn't fly out until after dinner.  We decided to make the most of the day and drove to Cocoa Beach - only about a 40 minute drive from the airport.  It was beautiful weather and we had a great time walking up and down the beach, eating lunch at the Cocoa Beach Pier, and watching the surfers.

Not many waves but still fun to watch

It was a great way to end the trip!

Already looking forward to the next vacation!