Down to Florida

This winter has been brutal, but last week we were lucky enough to get to go visit PopPop and Nana down in Naples. They have been going for the past few years, but this is the first time that we were able to go visit. It was also Charles' first time on an airplane, but I was not able to get any pictures as my camera was in the overhead compartment (we were in the first row, therefore no seats in front of us to stow my bag under). We arrived early Wednesday afternoon, and we were all glad to finally be in nice weather again.

The first two days we were pretty relaxed, spending time in the pool in the afternoon. We had been planning on going to the beach in the morning of our first full day, but took advantage of the boys sleeping in. Peter has warmed up to the pool, and was especially excited when he saw the Mickey Mouse "boat" that PopPop and Nana had gotten. By our second day, he was doing races up and down the pool.

On Friday, we were up early enough to head to the beach. It was Charles first trip since he became mobile (I don't think that he was even sitting up yet last summer when we went), and he showed none of his brother's fear of the ocean. Even Peter this year stepped into the waves briefly before going back to collecting shells and digging in the sand. We did get a special surprise, which I was not fast enough with my phone to catch, but Peter got to see a dolphin playing in the waves.

The next day was another lazy morning for the boys and I while Geoff participated in the CrossFit Open. In the afternoon, Geoff got into the pool for the first time with the boys.

On Sunday, we headed over the Naples Zoo, where Peter and Geoff were able to feed a giraffe. We also got a wagon for the boys to sit in, and Charles was so happy to not be in the stroller. And while Peter is a definitely veteran of the Bronx Zoo, he seemed to have a much easier time seeing the animals. I'm not sure if it is because he is just that much older, if the animals were just that much closer, or a combination of both.

Monday's weather kept us inside, but we were lucky that Tuesday cleared up quicker than expected and we were able to spend our last full morning at the beach, and our last afternoon at the pool.

Most evenings after dinner we would go for a walk, and PopPop would try to catch a fish. While we did see an alligator (or maybe two), he wasn't able to catch any fish. Wednesday morning we headed back to the airport and back into the cold (although luckily not snow). There are more pictures in our album on Picasa (you need to log in to see)