The last week in July we decided to go visit our Smith cousins in Florida. They moved there about the same time we moved here. Since Andy has been so busy, and our favorite neighbors were on vacation, we thought we would venture on down to see the Sunshine State! It is about a 10 hour drive for us. We went most the way on the first day and then spent the night and finished the next day.
This is the entrance to the ranch where they live.
The ranch's welcoming committee.
The "Root Beer Float" house!
They have a nice ranch style home with a good sized yard. It was great for letting the kids run and play.
The neighbor's dog often comes looking for someone to play ball. The kids were only too happy to oblige.
Scott & Janna's new dog!
(This is the best kind to have. It eats and sleeps down the street and only comes once in a while to play!)
This dog had a LOT of energy!
Eliza enjoyed the fresh air and swinging with Aunt Janna.
That night we karaoked until we dropped!
Daniel and Uncle Scott rockin' to "Carrie."
We really need to get together for another karaoke night Scott!
THE SWIMMING HOLE!
This is a very fun place to be on a hot day. There is a fence around the entire pool to keep out unwanted green guests. I guess they found an alligator in there once because someone left the gate open. It was only about 3 feet long so the kids wrestled it pretty well until someone came and removed it from the pool.
(FYI: We didn't see a single alligator while we were there!)
Aunt Janna and Abby at the top of the big water slide.
Aunt Janna and Abby about to take the plunge!
I tried the rest of the day to get another shot like this with no luck.
Bradley and Daniel inspecting the small water slide.
Daniel testing the small slide.
Bradley making a splash.
This rope may pole was pretty fun. If you had two adults to help keep the kids going they could swing for a while.
Eliza supervised from the pavilion.
With only one adult to keep things swinging it worked best to do two at a time on opposite sides.
Andrew and Bradley taking a ride.
I loved this little board walk. It separated the shallow end of the pool from the deeper end.
Daniel safely enjoying the pool.
This is the high dive platform. Andrew was the first to try it.
Taylor following right behind.
Andrew waiting on the floating platform for another adrenaline rush.
The rope swing platform!
This was the lowest of three platforms. Taylor was going to go first. However, they did need a little encouragement and so Aunt Janna ended up going first.
Andrew trying the swing
Taylor swinging like a wild man!
By this time Daniel was hungry and just wanted a sandwich.
Here he is waiting for the rope swing rides to end.
Andrew has a wild side!
Aunt Janna showing us all how it is done!
Bradley was too little to go off the platform, so we pulled the middle rope over as far as possible and let him and Caden ride on it.
Eliza loved all the attention she got from Aunt Janna.
Eliza and Abby in their matching swim suites.
Janna and I bought these suits at different times without consulting each other.
Great minds really do thing a like. :)
Uncle Scott after a rough day of playing golf.
On Sunday Janna made this delicious cake with mixed berry topping!!
Amazing!!!!!
There are several little frogs hopping around all the time. This one was on the back porch.
TO THE BEACH
Monday night we went to SAM'S for pizza and then to the beach.
The waves were pretty good and the kids had a lot of fun.
Daniel enjoyed the sand, but wouldn't get into the water. Last time we were at the beach he got knocked down by the waves and it scared him, so he wouldn't go near the water. He dug in the sand and chased little birds along the beach.
Bradley got knocked down and ate a little sand. He had it in his eyes and saltwater up his nose. It didn't slow him down for long.
Andrew and Caden fighting the waves to get to their Mom.
Abby and Uncle Scott looking for shells.
Bradley would go to the beach every day if I would let him.
A couple of the mornings there were frogs on the kitchen window.
I love how this picture shows their little belly and feet prints on the window.
I am not sure if they were just soaking up the extra moisture or looking for little bugs, but they were cute.
As I was loading the car to leave I noticed this little frog and the side of the house and...
this snake above the window!
Lucky little frog!
THE LIGHTHOUSE
The day we left to come home Janna and the kids drove with us to to St. Augustine to see the lighthouse.
St. Augustine is the oldest town in the U.S. or something like that. It is a super cute little town with lots of fun things to see.
Andrew, Taylor, Bradley, Daniel & Abby
Silly kids!
St. Augustine, Florida Lighthouse.
Our visit lasted about a week and we enjoyed every minute of it. Janna cut and permed my hair and we made necklaces, earrings and bracelets, and just enjoyed each others company. We can't wait to see you all again!
July 28-Aug. 5, 2010
