Florida Love

We had a wonderful trip to Florida, as always. Russell loved it even more than we thought he would. He did great on the plane and was very excited to be at the airport and see all the big planes.                                                                              

As soon as we got to my parent's house and he saw the pool something clicked and he never wanted to get out of water the rest of our trip. Every morning he would wake up and ask to play in the water. Poor kid was a little disappointed to come home where pools aren't as accessible.

The first full day of our trip Ricardo attended a dental conference near my parent's house. We went with him to the evening events and during the day we met up with some old friends for lunch-it's so fun that the lunch size has grown since high school. Russell was excited to play with "the baby" until she tried to eat his cars.

That night we went to a happy hour where Russell enjoyed meeting people and eating the cheeze-its they provided. Dinner was Caribbean themed and there wasn't much seating so a lot of people  sat on the steps to the stage to feed their kids. Then the dancers and band walked in and we all had first row seats. Russell looks serious in the photos but he loved it and was enthralled the whole time.

Looking at the koi fish and baby alligators inside the hotel was also a hit.

The next day my parents took us to their local park and splash pad because Russell loved it so much last year. He didn't want to leave.

 

That night my parents threw a BBQ for some neighbors and friends and we had a great time. Russell loved being the center of attention. On Sunday we headed down to Ricardo's house for church and for time with the cousins on the farm. Some baby goats were born which was fun.

Also they now have an emu because they found it on their property and no one in the area knew whose it was. Russell was brave enough to stick out his hand with bread and feed it (once and then never wanted to do it again) but he loved seeing his dad feed it so he would always say "Emu come" whenever we saw it wandering around outside.

Ah, Florida life.

Monday was our beach day! We took the three oldest cousins with us and spent the morning at the beach. It was a lot of fun. They were especially excited about stopping for pizza on the way home. It's the little things in life.

 

The rest of our time spent over there was mostly spent in their new giant pool. We played a lot of water games with the kids and Russell was content on a big shallow step splashing and playing.

Sometimes he would let me take him out in the deep end. 

Our last night we went shopping and then to dinner where our good friend Jen works. It was delicious and fun to see her!

Playing with Grandma on our last night of vacation. Look how tan he got in a week. In case anyone was wondering if he got Ricardo's genes.

We had such a fun time seeing our friends and family and enjoying the perks of life in Florida during the summer. Looking forward to next time!