FLORIDA

This picture was taken on day two of our 17-hour drive down to Florida. Charlotte did amazing on the 10-hour stretch the first day, but by the second day, she was sick of her car seat. Having been born in winter to a mother who hates the cold, Charlotte hasn't been exposed to nature much up to this point in her life. Fred and I stopped to eat lunch here (someplace in eastern Florida) and take some pictures and Charlotte was in awe of the wind and sun on her face. She loved everything outside.

The first day I went to do laundry the dryer didn't blow any hot air. So after hours in the dryer and still being wet, I had to spread them all over every possible surface in the room to try and air dry. It reminded me of my mission when we didn't have dryers and we had to jimmy-rig clotheslines in the house.

The first couple of weeks were pretty difficult because Charlotte forgot that nighttime was for sleeping. Since we were basically in a one-room hotel room, I had to keep her quiet at night so Fred wasn't kept up. This seriously consisted of me getting up with her every 1 1/2 to 2 hours just to let her latch on and fall back asleep. Then the only way I could get her to nap during the day was to put her in the stroller and go for LONG walks. The poor thing was so exhausted that even though everything fascinated her she'd fall asleep every time.

Learning how to roll over.

Spending time with mom.

Spending time with dad.

Charlotte broke out with these crazy spots all over her arms at the end of the first week we were there. They didn't seem to bother her and they resolved on their own after a couple of days, but Dr. Shevanin was kind enough to take a look at her to make sure it was nothing serious. Still don't know for sure what it was, but she's better.

We went to the Gulfarium and watched a dolphin and sea lion show. There were also some mini penguins and some sharks, birds, alligators, river otters, crabs, and other ocean animals I can't think of right now.

Fred was excited to have our family photo taken here at the Gulfarium. Weird that I just noticed his face is actually the nose of the shark thing, not the face.

This bird was named Charlie. Charlotte wasn't interested in him though. I think she was too busy feeling ridiculous in her hat.

For one of our date nights, we went to The Track and played miniature golf. It was actually a lot of fun. Fred beat me, even while golfing one-handed while holding Charlotte during half the rounds.

This was the night Fred and I played Bocce Ball at the beach on base. Charlotte was a little cranky after having several nights of poor sleep and the mosquitos came out quickly so we cut the game short. She wasn't real thrilled to stick her feet in the sand at first, but she got used to it.

Here is the massive plate of Greek food that Fred and I ordered. It was a variety platter. Anna taught us how to say each of the foods in Greek, but I can't remember them all now. It was all very delicious - except maybe the deep-fried spinach thing. The pasta had nutmeg in it which gave it a unique flavor that I liked and the hummus was amazing.

This is Anna from Greece. She had literally been in Florida just as long as Fred and I had been. We met her at SANTORINI, this wonderful Greek restaurant. It was basically like free babysitting. As soon as we got there she came over and asked to see Charlotte. She was very chatty with us all night and when we were leaving, she gave us a free dessert to take home.

I look pretty ridiculous in this picture, but I love Charlotte's little arm rolls. So fun.

On Sunday we popped some popcorn and went to feed the birds. I don't think that's a very popular thing to do in Florida because there were no "Don't feed the birds" signs and all the birds were scared of people. Fred literally brought this group of birds out of the sky to eat the popcorn and still they were very hesitant.

While we were there, this dumpster caught on fire. It let off lots of nasty smoke, especially as they started to put it out.

Here we are at the Destin Jetties. Fred and I went with April Honeycutt and her kids, so she watched Charlotte while Fred and I went snorkeling. April took us to a bunch of fun places and let me hang out with her and the kids back at her house while Fred was at work. Super fun family. Unfortunately, I didn't get lots of pictures of all the fun people we met down there.

April thought this was a funny picture to take. Oh, the things we mothers do to feed our kids...

Another day at the beach. Me walking with Charlotte in the wrap. She LOVED watching the waves. I could hardly get her to look away from them.

Here's Fred having fun on the bodyboard on our last day at the beaches.

This picture cracks me up because of the variety of clothing we are wearing. The weather was actually really nice even at 6:30, but you know me, I'm comfy in sweaters.

Goodbye beautiful Florida beaches...