Trip to Florida

I am inspired by my sister in law who is catching up on her blog, and thought that I'd give it a try. I have to admit, it is much easier to simply upload my pictures on facebook with a few captions and be done with it, but you can definitely give more detail on the blog. So...I'm starting with our trip to Florida.

Parker had Spring break, Camden was tracked out and Paul was slammed with work, so I decided that I was going to do a little experimental road trip. We left Friday night and drove half way to Jacksonville, and then travelled the rest of the way on Saturday. We even stopped at an air force museum in Pooler, GA, which was mainly dedicated to the Allied forces that served in England during WWII. It was very interesting, and there was even a guy who had been a lead bombadier that was in our group as we did one of the sections of the museum. It was a fun way to get up and move around during our drive.

We arrived in Jacksonville, staying at my Aunt Debi and Uncle Ron's home. They are the most fantastic hosts! We went to Hanna park, and got to check out a lake, playground and, of course, the beach! It was not supposed to be that warm, so we were not properly dressed for our beach outing, but it turned out to be a beautiful day to have a picnic and enjoy the waves!

Camden found a crab that he wanted to take home as a pet.  I told him he could name it, and suggested the name "Jack" since we found it near Jacksonville.  He instead named it, "Jeff."  He didn't want it named Jack because then his name might be strange if he went to a different beach.  Where he got the name Jeff from???  Oh, and if it was a girl, he said her name was "Elizabeth."

We cheered on Michigan State in the bball tourney (Camden has really enjoyed getting into sports and having a team to root for!)

And even got to spend some time in the hot tub.

After our visit, it was time to head to Melbourne, Florida to visit my grandparents. We had such a great time seeing them! We went to a park with a boardwalk and saw huge cypress and palm trees.

We also went to the Marina and saw a tugboat heading out.

We had fun playing Wii bowling. My grandma is the champion bowler :) We took in a few hours at the beach and just had a nice time visiting.

After Melbourne, we headed over to my in-law's home in the Villages.

We always enjoy the pools, shuffleboard, and, of course, driving around in golf carts!!!  It is really pretty there, and I had to take my picture in front of their "pretend" lake at sunset :)

We got to go on a private airboat ride out on the Withlacoochie river, which was pretty darn cool. We saw tons of alligators, and many up close! It was also beautiful and scenic.

We colored easter eggs on Saturday and on Easter morning, the easter bunny made is visit to The Villages! I was getting worried since Camden could not seem to fall asleep that night! But the bunny hid eggs in and out of the house and brought some fun treats for the boys.

We headed back to Jacksonville that night, and then home to Cary! Parker seems to get used to driving as we go, and with a few stops, we were able to make it back home in one day. We came home to a blanket of yellow pollen...ahhhh...home sweet home in the Spring!

More updates will come shortly! If blogger would make it easier to upload photos, this would go along so much better!