Disney's Animal Kingdom

We originally offered to let Lily got to Universal to see Harry Potter World, but after some examination it looked like the rides were way to scary.  So Lily opted instead for a day at Disney's Animal Kingdom.  The great part for the parents was (1) its on our way back to Delaware and a perfect stopping off point (2) Lily doesn't mind going early and leaving early to avoid the crowds and (3) Animal Kingdom was awesome - even the food!  So we all had an amazing time.

Other Random Pictures

Chris was much more camera happy than normal so I got some great pictures with my little (but tall and mighty) girl.

Sunsets

There is one thing for sure... the sunsets on the gulf in Florida are amazing.  We try as much as possible to make our way down and enjoy as many as we can.  And frankly, we are never disappointed.  Oh, and of course we had to enjoy a stop at Doc Fords for some tasty food.  Lily wouldn't have it any other way.

A new blow torch from Santa and a new bike from the parents

Santa knows Lily really well and brought her a blow torch for cooking and baking.  She tried it out immediately with some marshmallows on her hot cocoa and then we moved up to creme brulle the following day.  It was really fun watching her use it.

 

Then the parents went out and finally purchased Lily her first full sized bicycle.  She is at an in between stage right now, but the bike shop in Bonita totally fitted the full sized bike to Lily's specifications and it worked perfectly.  She is even riding on the beach now in the packed sand.  It feels like a brand new day for us parents.  

Birds birds birds

Call me silly, but we all really love the birds in Florida.  While I'm still dying to get some pictures of Roseate spponbills (beautiful pink birds), I will settle for the photos of the other wonderful specimens I spotted this trip.

Tampa and a stop at the Manatee Park

I've been wanting to do this for ages and since it was on our way home from Tampa, we stopped at the power plant and got to view more than a hundred manatees floating around in the warm waters.  We also spotted lots of Tarpons, many sharks, etc.  It was really a cool thing to see.

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day we headed to Bonita Beach.  Of course Lily had to wear one of her many new Lilly Pulitzer outfits to the beach.  Boy, did she look cute.  Everyone on the beach was complimenting her on her new digs.

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve, there was shell cleaning and polishing... a trip to mini golf for two rounds with Dad... and then a night out in Naples with our friends Tim and Aniela at a nice restaurant.  Not a rough day.

Christmas in Florida Day 2 - Lovers Key

On our second day we hit Lovers Key thinking we might find some variety in our shells.  And boy did we ever.  The beach was lined with sand dollars and the most random assortment of sea life we've seen on the beach.  In the evening, we also got to enjoy a night out at Tommy Bahama which is always a hit.

Man o' War Jelly Fish

Our first ever full sea urchin

Lily loves the tree roots available for hanging shells

 Sand dollars galore

Off to Tommy Bahama restaurant (not sure which one of these two enjoys it more)

Christmas in Florida - Yes... again and again and again

I suppose you get the point that we completely love spending Christmas in Bonita.  This year was a rare exception where we had no one joining us the entire time.  Don't let you that fool you, we still had three sets of friends to enjoy while in Florida.  On the way down we saw Isabelle and Larry in Winterhaven.  Their dog Milo is seriously attached to Lily now.  For Christmas Eve and some days after we got to spend time with our friends from England, Tim and Aniela.  Aniela is joining us on our girls trip portion of Europe this summer so it was fun to talk about all our upcoming adventures and lots of our past adventures too.  Then we got to see our PCB friends, Tammy & Jimmy, in Tampa for a day.  We are definitely lucky to enjoy so many great friends.

We also got to stop at Hilton Head on the way down and stay at an ocean front Omni hotel which was incredible and made for a really fun stop.

Before arriving in Bonita this time there was a huge storm that blew in that even shut down the pier it was so bad.  What that meant for us was some amazing shelling to be had for the couple days after the storm.  And we seriously took advantage of it.