Christmas Island-style

We're back from sunny Florida and the post vacation funk has settled in. It's nice to be home, but I always feel a little sad after leaving my family and wish we lived closer. We came home to -22 degrees and mounds of snow. Although it was unseasonably cool in Florida, it was still a shock to step outside the airport once we reached Edmonton. I'm so thankful we have a warm place to visit in the winter.

For the first part of our trip, we left the kids with my parents and headed south to see my brother Josh, in St. Pete. We stayed at the Vinoy, a beautiful old hotel in downtown St. Pete, just a few blocks from his house. He lives in a really fun area with tons of shops, bars and restaurants within walking distance, right near the water and everything was beautifully decorated for Christmas. We strolled the streets, had dinner at his favorite tapas restaurant, Ceviche, bar hopped and listened to some live music. We were so proud of ourselves hanging until 1am. Josh couldn't believe the "old folks" made it that long. ha! The next day, we took in a Bucs game. They lost, but we still had fun. On our way home, we met my parents at my aunt and uncle's house to spend some time with our cousins who were visting from Seattle. We hadn't seen them in years and we had fun catching up.

Hanging out in Ybor City...

The Vinoy...

Tapas and Sangria at Ceviche. Yum!

They later agreed that a shot of Absinthe was NOT a good idea...

We had great seats at the Bucs game. The boys actually watched the game while I scoped out the cheerleaders.

 

You know which finger he'd rather be holding up...

Everyone hangs out at the pirate ship at halftime.

It was so cold, Dayven gave me his coat.

Back in Cedar Key, we had fun crusing the island in the golf cart and soaking up the fresh air. We would normally devour everything from the sea - oysters, clams, blue crab, shrimp and grouper - but Dayven and I were both down and out for a few days with a flu bug and it turned us off of seafood. We even had to pass on the Stone Crab claws on Christmas Eve. Sadly, the last thing I ate before getting sick was oysters on the halfshell (yes, RAW) and crab bisque, two of my favorites. Might be a while before I eat them again! We even had to cancel our fishing trip we had planned. We were just thankful the kids never got it and we recovered in time to enjoy the rest of our trip. The kids rode their bikes downtown, we walked along the pier, played in the park and got a couple of shopping trips in. Dayven jokes that no trip to the states is complete without at least three visits to Target!

Ride bikes in the park...

Dayven discovers he gets Blackberry service at the park and is momentarily distracted...

He did all the big slides by himself with no coaxing. Good job, Wyatt!

Hadley insists on doing everything just like her big brother. She is fearless!

Hadley "riding" her little bike.

Downtown Cedar Key. Wyatt can cover it all on his bike in less than 30 minutes.

Oh, you want bubbles? Uncle Josh will blow some for you!

Playdough is not forbidden at Nana's house! :)

Walking along the pier...

Our main mode of transportation when we're in town. No car seats required!

Playing in the "Swamp", the indoor playground at the mall in Gainesville.

I'm the King of the Castle!

All dolled up and no where to go!

 Dayven and I took Wyatt to Manatee Springs, a state park with an old fashioned "swimming hole" where my parents took us swimming when we were kids. I hadn't been there since I was a kid and it looked a lot different than I remembered (isn't that always the way it is?). It was way too cold for swimming, but we explored the park boardwalks and looked for wildlife. Unfortunately, the only manatees we spotted were on the billboard.

Nope, no manatees here...

Yes, we actually swam in this as kids and LOVED it!

This sink is called the "Catfish Hotel" and it's 90 feet deep. Can you believe I actually went scuba diving in this as part of my open water certification in high school? Dayven was horrified.

Way down upon the Suwanee River...

Although we missed Santa Clam's visit, we had our own Christmas celebrations and started a couple of new traditions this year, the Elf on the Shelf and the 1st annual Christmas lights golf cart tour, where we toured the island after dark in search of the best lights display. Dayven didn't think it really felt quite like Christmas with no snow, but palm trees decked in Christmas lights and Santa arriving by boat is all I've ever known. It was a great trip!

Christmas morning!

She did a pretty good job of opening her presents.

Every girl needs some fancy shoes!

Giddy up! The kids had a ball riding this horse.

Hadley climbed right up on her own and rode it wilder than her brother!

Don't I have a great hubby? He took the "slave seat" with the two kids, where you must endlessly supply snacks and entertainment and let me sit in the single seat across the aisle and read MY magazine!