Siesta Key, Florida

On our third and last full day in Florida, we went to Siesta Key.  What a beautiful place!  I could have stayed there all day long, and I think Audrey could have, too!  This beach was so much more picturesque than Nokomis, although it was a lot further away.  I'm glad we went, though!

At first, Audrey was content to play in the sand while we unpacked.

Dying to go to the water!

Love this picture and those chubby thighs!

Audrey ran headlong into the water, caught a big wave, and got bowled over.  This happened three times right in a row before she learned her lesson and decided to be more cautious about running in.  After the last time, she shook her finger at the water and said, "No, no, no!"

Got a little wet!

Another of Audrey's favorite beach activities was chasing seagulls.

Then she wanted to be like great-grandma and read in a beach chair.  A breeze had picked up by this point, but it didn't phase Audrey.

On the way back, Audrey got a Siesta Key shirt.  It's a little big, but I can't wait for her to wear it!

And those are the highlights of our Florida mini-vacation!  Kyle and I each took a book; he finished his and I got 350 pages into mine.  We didn't think about school or snow at all while we were gone, and I suppose that's the way it should be :)

Punta Gorda, Florida

The day after we visited Nokomis Beach was really cool, windy, and a little rainy.  This was good, because it was perfect weather for shopping and eating out!  We went to Punta Gorda to meet up with Kyle's great aunt and uncle (his grandma's sister and her husband), who we haven't seen for...oh jeez...long time!  They'd never met Audrey, so it has been awhile.  They winter in Naples, I think, so it was a little further for them than us.

This was also the morning that Audrey got her Clifford doggie in the mail.  Audrey LOVES Clifford the Big Red Dog.  She watches him on Netflix and has a Clifford stuffed animal at her baby-sitter's house.  She'd taken to screaming if Vicki couldn't find Clifford for naptime or if she was playing with Clifford and we took her home, leaving him behind.  We thought to order one just before we left for Florida and had it delivered to Dot and Gerry's house as a surprise.  I don't know that she parted with him again the whole time we were there, except for when we made her give him up to go to the beach!

Doggie love!

Ray, Kathy, Gerry, Dot, Gary, Audrey, and Kyle.  I don't know what Kyle, Gary, and Audrey are doing here, but I think it's hilarious!

Some nice stranger told me I could get in!

On the way home, we visited Audrey's great-great-grandparents (Dot's parents).  Audrey wanted to pick the flowers from the vase, but in the end, we convinced her to just smell them.

I actually really love this picture.  Families can be together forever!

 After visiting the cemetery, we got some citrus-flavored ice cream!  Orange, pineapple, lime...it was delicious!  They sure do ice cream right in Florida. 

Nokomis Beach, Florida

Back in November, my father-in-law Gary invited us to go with him to visit his parents who winter in Osprey, Florida (this is close to Sarasota).  He decided to go at the beginning of February and given Indiana's track record with cold weather and snow in the winter, we decided to go for it!  There were a lot of firsts on this trip, including Audrey's first plane ride and her first trip to the beach.  She loved the warmer climate, especially since that meant she didn't have to wear socks!  

Audrey's favorites in Florida:

1) The beach 
2) Going on walks around the neighborhood and meeting doggies
3) Her great-grandma's desserts (there were ALWAYS desserts)

Here are some pictures of Audrey while we visited Nokomis Beach and the Jetty.

Sundress!  Here we are getting ready to go :)

Pretty excited to be out and about

Daddy got excited, too!

Audrey LOVED the water.  She didn't care how cold it was!  We were only planning on letting her get her feet wet, but by the end of our trip this dress and onesie were soaked and covered in sand.  Thank goodness we put a swim diaper on her!  Audrey would go be a mermaid if she could.

When a big wave would get Audrey and soak the bottom of her dress, she would yell, "Whoo!"

Loved digging in the sand, too, and being covered in it!  Look at those fat little sandy feet!

So concentrated :)

Audrey liked to see how far away she could get before anyone came after her.  It was about this far.

Audrey did like picking up some shells, too.  She would put them in her bucket, then dump her bucket, then put them back in, etc.

After we cleaned Audrey off and put her in some dry clothes, we went to a nearby park.  Audrey loved the slide and swing.

After we finished at the park, we walked along the jetty, where Audrey got to see some cool birds up close.  I'm pretty sure this one was contemplating how best to pick Audrey up and eat her.

Daddy and Grandpa with Audrey

Sure enough, she conked out on the way home.  What a tired baby!

Playing at the beach is hard work!