Just Can't Get Enough of that Good Ole Sunshine State

Whew! The extremely busy month of June is finally over. Ahhh... I can finally prop my feet up, sit back, and.... look at all the work I have ahead of me now that I'm home. The house needs cleaning. The yard needs mowing. The bills need paying. ETC. ETC. ETC. But, truth be told, it sure is nice to be back. And don't forget, I've got a party to plan for Ava this Saturday (it's a week after the day she actually turned two, but I won't tell her if you don't!)

So, what did we get ourselves into while we were in Florida this trip you ask. What a great question, and I'd be more than happy to tell you.

If you remember from my last post, I told you that my family (well, most of my family) came with us to Florida this year. My mom, dad, two of my brothers, and one of my sisters got to share in the wonders and adventures Merritt Island and Orlando have to offer. I'm pretty sure they'll be planning an annual event after the trip they had this year.

During the beginning of our trip, we were blessed with a visit from my husband's brother and his family, Jonathan, Lauren, and Brody. We hadn't seen them since November of last year, so it was definitely a treat to catch up with all of them. I'd say the one who had the best time catching up with them, particularly with little Brody, was Ava. They played together as if they were long lost best buddies. This, my friends, is a life-long friendship in the making. (P.S. - I'm just going to go ahead and apologize in advance for the massive amount of pics to follow as well as the length of this post.... but, wouldn't you agree that's it's simply near impossible to cover a whole week of our adventures in Florida and not have a lengthy post?!)

Grandma decided to get a little lovin' from the children as well.

Brody, Ava, and their daddy's also had fun in the pool together.

And even Aunt Lauren got to spend a little time with Ava.

 .... and with her other little niece, Audrey.

During their visit, Jon and Jeremiah were able to take the sail boat out in the river for a little ride. They later noted that it wasn't the greatest ride because the wind was about as strong as a mouse's breath, but it was still nice to be outside on the boat together.

So, that's a lot of pics to show you already... and that's only from the first part of our trip. I have so much more to tell you about, so don't lose focus just yet!

During the time my family was visiting Florida, they were able to see and do many exciting and adventurous things. They went to Universal Studios Theme Park and Harry Potter World two days during their stay. They went fishing right out the back door in the Indian River. They went water skiing, wake boarding, and water tubing. They went on many boat rides, swam in the pool on multiple occasions, and even went to the beach. Now being a mother of two very little children, I wasn't able to capture photos of every event, so I'll just show you the highlights of the trip from my eyes. (I don't have any photos from the theme parks since I wasn't able to go, but trust me when I say, each of them thought they were awesome!) (Also keep in mind that most of these action shots, on the boat and at the beach for example, were taken with our little point-in-shoot, hence the lower quality).

A day at the beach is a definite recipe for fun.

I'd say these wake boarders look like quite the professionals, wouldn't you?!

Check out my hubby on his windsurfer. This looks like the next cover for a top sports magazine!

The boys went sailing several times. And, my hubby even taught my brother, Brandon, how to sail.

(This is a far off shot of my brother sailing with my dad, while my hubby teaches my other brother, Brian, how to wind surf, and the shot just below that is Brandon sailing while Jeremiah windsurfs. Talk about utilizing the river's adventurous advantages to the fullest!)

My sister, Brooke, had an absolute blast tubing on the river.

While we were going for a ride on the boat, we spotted over a dozen manatees in the shallows. They are such interesting creatures. Peaceful and harmless they may be, I'd still rather not get caught next to one while in the water. Although, true story, one came within a foot of my brother, Brandon, while he was strapping in getting ready to wake board. He wasn't too thrilled to get back in the water after that happened!!

We took the boat out for a ride as often as we could. I know it's one thing I really love doing on hot sunny days.

I'm pretty sure my brothers spent the majority of their time in the water fishing.

Ava and Grandda had sweet times on the dock together.

We went out to eat at Grill's Restaurant a couple times while we were there. All I can say is Yum!

And because we were there on Ava's birthday, we got her a little M&M ice cream birthday cake...well, she pronounces it nim-a-nim :)  Happy Birthday, my sweet little girl!

Once again our trip to Florida was a complete success!! We shared in many wonderful times with family, both mine and my husband's. I think that's what marriage is partly about.... bringing families together and sharing in precious times. My family has already insisted the Johnson's come up to WV for a visit to explore the wonders the north has to offer. I think they've agreed to it! Perhaps around hunting season since Mr. Johnson is an avid hunter.

So, I'll leave you with this pretty shot of a small taste of Florida and say I'm so thankful we were able to spend so much time down South.

I'm already looking forward to when we'll be able to return.