Our 3 week vacation in Florida was full of fun and relaxation. We had a great time visiting with everyone. Most of our first days were filled with swimming my mom & dad's (grammy & papa) pool & relaxing by the water. One morning as I was enjoying a cup of coffee I watched a manatee swim by the dock which was a perfect way to start the day. Everyday we got to watch dolphins feeding and playing just a few yards away. We bought Sabrina a swim float and tried out the pool & jacuzzi. It took us about 10 minutes to convince her to get in. Her first day she enjoyed the jacuzzi more than the pool since she could stand on the bench, but eventually she got the hang of the float and had fun.
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| Sabrina, contemplating getting into the jacuzzi. |
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| Finally enjoying the water. |
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| Sabrina & "Papa" sharing a laugh |
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| Sabrina, Grammy & Papa |
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| She likes the bubbles |
On the Friday of our first week I took Sabrina to visit Ms. Travis for story-time at our old library. She now advanced to the next age level which includes stories, dance time & a craft. She had no problem jumping right in as if she never had left.
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| Enjoying dance time! |
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| Working on the Mother's Day bookmark craft |
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| Sabrina playing with the finger fun toy as I checked out some books. |
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| This was Sabrina (in purple) playing with the same toy in December 2010 |
I got to enjoy a night out with my girlfriends Friday night. It was first Friday downtown so we checked out the street band, ate a good dinner, had some fun cocktails on beach drive then danced the night away...sorry there are no pictures, just wonderful memories!!
Our first Saturday we got to celebrate my friend Katie's daughter Naomi's 2nd Birthday. It was a pool/bbq birthday and the weather was just perfect. It was also the first time I got to meet Katie's other daughters...beautiful twins!
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| Sabrina & Naomi playing with some balloons |
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| Sabrina playing with all the balloons |
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| Natalia |
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| Milan |
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| Sabrina playing with the twins |
After the party we headed to Tampa to visit with Brian's mom...
Sabrina loved seeing Grandma Terri. She was showered with a new wardrobe and had fun playing with all her toys and seeing Otis. We started the day off with some bubble fun on the golf course.
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| Sabrina chasing bubbles |
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| Pop! |
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| Sabrina's turn |
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| Enjoying a quite moment under the shade tree |
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| Cheese |
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After running around on the golf course chasing bubbles we decided to cool off in the pool...and cool it was! The afternnon shade and screened in patio made it a chilly dip for me...Sabrina didn't seem to mind to much.
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| Slowly getting in... |
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| Sabrina giving a sexy pose |
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| Yea! |
The next morning we woke up and started the day off early. It was our day to visit with Brian's best friend from childhood's wife Anne and their new daughter Julia Belle.
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| Sabrina wearing one of her new dresses and playing her cat piano before we left the house |
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| Sabrina meeting Julia Belle for the first time. |
Sabrina wasn't to fond of her momma holding baby Julia
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| Giving Grandma some love |
After visiting with Anne and Julia we took Sabrina to the Children's Museum in Tampa. She had a blast playing with all the hands on toys and exhibits. She almost gave grandma a heart attack when she climbed to the very top of one of them.
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| Here she is making her way up. The entrance is just at the bottom right corner of the picture. |
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And she made it to the top
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I loved that they had a Publix Supermarket for her to pretend shop at
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| Getting bread for daddy |
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| Basket full of goodies! |
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| Playing fireman like her Papa. |
The museum had a great little "dance" party area
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| Dancing with the other kids |
Sabrina had fun painting as well
Later that week we got to meet up with a few of our best friends that we hadn't seen since last summer. It was nice to catch up.
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| Sabrina & Elsie sharing some frozen peas |
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| The girls enjoying a beverage on the balcony |
My mom & I took Sabrina to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. It has really expanded in the past year and has become a big attraction since the filming of "Winters Tale". Luckily I had our military ID's and admission was free for all of us!!!
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| Looking at the stingrays with Grandma |
Here's Winter, the dolphin who was rescued as a baby but unfortunately lost her tail due to entanglement in a crap trap line. She swims great without it, just in her own style, and has had a prosthetic tail to help her swim in a natural fashion and gain muscular strength in her spine.
Sabrina's favorite was the otters...even though they were in the mood to nap and not play at the time we were visiting.
The Aquarium has a few turtles that they have rescued and are rehabilitating
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| Touching a turtle shell for the first time... |
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| A docent explaining the turtle shell to Sabrina |
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| Playing in a model of a fishing net used to help reduce the impact on marine life |
This turtle has an air bubble in its back and has a problem swimming down to the bottom
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| Checking out the sharks with Grandma |
Auntie Margie and Judy spent an afternoon with us. It was a beautiful day to sit outside, have lunch and enjoy a dip in the pool
Mothers Day was special this year. I got to spend it with my mom & daughter. Pirate Days we're happening at Johns Pass so we walked around for a bit to check out the festivities and then stopped at The Hut for some lunch.
We met a few of my girlfriends, Jessie and Monica, one evening for a snack and swimming at one of St Pete beaches hotels. Sabrina had fun swimming with Jessie's boy Tommy...She kept playing chase in the pool and saying "I'm gonna get you". Heres a photo of her playing in the water fountain before heading to the pool.
I got to have a mom's night out at Salt Rock with my besties. I love these moms and wish we lived closer so we could hang out more often.
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| Rachel, Melissa, Me, Benny, Mercy, Amanda, & Jessica (not pictured) |
Margie & I spent a nice night out together as well... Grille 54 for Sushi...the best in Tampa!
Our last Sunday there we headed out to Treasure Island beach for the drum circle. Sabrina had grand time playing and dancing with her friends.
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| Hula Hooping with Mercy |
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| Sharing a lollipop with Wisdom |
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| My beautiful mom enjoying the evening |
A trip to Florida wouldn't be complete without visiting my great Aunt Eva. She is a truly amazing lady, at 94 she still lives on her own and is brilliant. I hope her genes thrive in all of us.
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| Aunt Eva (my grandma's sister) & my mom |
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| Trying to get a shot with Sabrina looking was impossible |
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| Sabrina giving her great great aunt a hug |
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| Getting an owl from Eva...Sabrina plays with it daily |
That evening we played in the pool some more.
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| Twilight |
We squeezed one last play date in the day before we headed home. It was nice to see the kids playing together again.
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| Sabrina & Wisdom enjoying some yogurt |
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| Chelsea, Wisdom & Sabrina |
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| Kylie & Sabrina |
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| How many kids can you fit into this buggy? |
Well as you can see we packed our 3 weeks with fun and relaxation. It was so nice to get to spend time with everyone. Hopefully we will be back to visit sometime in the Fall when the weather cools down a bit. Thanks to all for the great time and wonderful memories.
~Melissa
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