Florida!!!!

This was the year of the big family vacation/reunion and Florida was our destination.  WOW!  I'm still shocked we went and that most of the family was able to make it also.  Of course this being a cross country trip we had to make sure it was worth it and made it a two week affair jam packed with things to do.  Leaving Washington in the 30-40 degree weather and hitting Florida with 80 degree temps was a shock, but a lovely one that we enjoyed until the thermometer rose some more and the humidity with it.  Thankfully we packed enough shorts and had our swimsuits.  We did have to buy sunscreen though.  As I was going through the pictures I saw that we had taken over 300 pictures!  Someone sure was picture happy, okay it was me.  I won't be sharing all of them, but the highlights will still be a lot.  Better get started.

We arrived on October 2nd.  Other than checking into our place and getting some food we really were too tired to do much of anything our first night in Florida.  The next day, however, was time to explore our surroundings.  We booked a stay at a resort village just south of Orlando called the Liki Tiki Resort.  Loved it!  It was beautiful, clean, friendly, and if we didn't have plans there was plenty to do there which we never really did.

This is the view off our balcony.  In this little river we saw fish, water fowl and even alligators.  Under the umbrellas there is a swimming pool area for guests.

So many lizards in Florida.  I know we were the geeky tourists chasing lizards and trying to get pictures, but the kids loved it.  Some were real tiny even smaller than this and some were a little bigger, but they were all super fast.

Peter, Evan, Ben, Chris and Lex posing with a tiki statue

Doug and I with the palm trees behind us.  

Lexie smelling the flowers.  So pretty, but they look fake don't they?  Almost like plastic.

As a guest we could borrow a surrey and ride around the property.  I didn't have the right shoes this first day (I had sandals on and you had to have closed toe shoes), so I waited while the rest of the family took it for a spin.  They weren't gone long.  I'm guessing the children didn't help pedal much.

After the ride we had a mini-golf match.  After about 2 holes some of us were done and I will include me in that statement.  We just weren't use the heat anymore and it was getting to use even in the shade.  We did stick it out though and the children enjoyed it.

We ended the day with a trip to the west side of the state to my sister's place.  Lilly's husband is stationed in Cocoa Beach with the Air Force and was the main reason Florida was the chosen spot for reunion.  As it so happened today was October 3rd and Doug's birthday.  Unbeknownst to him I planned a surprise party for him with my siblings who were going to be there.  I had my sisters get the cake for me and told him we were just meeting everyone for dinner.  Good times.

Doug and his ninja birthday cake.

Our first full day in Florida is over.  Verdict:  Hot.  Tiring.  Fun.