More Florida Sunshine

Our time spent in Jacksonville was prety low key. We stayed with Dori and Ronnie and Arabella loved it. Aside from having a new yard to run around in and explore, there was also the pool! As soon as she saw it, she had to put on her bathing suit -I honestly think we were only at Dori's for 5 minutes and she was in the pool!


After some pool time, Arabella had a blast checking out all the day lilies and even helped pull the weeds from the beds. She even helped pollinate the flowers - she loved it!



Arabella had fun looking for and chasing lizards around the backyard. When she would find one, she would try and touch it, but as soon as she would get close, they would run off. I am sure next time she will get one!


And even after chasing lizards and working in the yard, Arabella wanted more pool time. She is my little water baby!

And when she wasn't in the pool, she was just lounging around outside and havng snuggle time with Auntie Dori!


We both a great time with Auntie Dori and Ronnie. I enjoyed being able to spend time with Dori and just catch up with each other. It had been way too long and I am thankful for being able to spend time with her. Thank you so much Dori and Ronnie for letting us stay with you guys. Arabella had a blast and I did too...hopefully we will be back soon!

Here Comes The Sun...Finally!

After all the cold and rain, we couldn't wait to get to the Florida sunshine! And boy did it feel good! Our first stop in the Sunshine State was Orlando - we stayed at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club Tuscany - we have stayed her before and we loved it. Once again it didn't disappoint - everything was just perfect - the pools, our suite, the play ground and the customer service!

Mom drove down and joined us at the resort. Arabella could hardly contain her excitement for Grammie's arrival. As soon as she woke up from her nap, she wouldn't sit still - Grammie couldn't get her fast enough and she was waiting to go swimming with Grammie! So as soon as Grammie arrived, we ran down as fast as we could to meet her in the parking lot!

She was so excited, she was jumping up and down in the elevator!

We unloaded the car as quick as we could and then we went straight down to the pool! Arabella loved swimming at "nighttime" (as she called it) and the pool was so warm. It was wonderful!




The next day we enjoyed more sunshine! Arabella had a blast at the splash pad and the second pool. Mom, Jay and I took turns in the pool with Arabella - which was great. We even enjoyed lunch poolside - YUM!







My Cinco de Mayo Margarita!


After dinner we decided to head to the playground and then back to the pool for the Dive-in Movie. We watched Beverly Hills Chihuahua - which is a cute movie - for a while Arabella had fun playing on the side of the pool and when she was done, she decided to snuggle with me in a lounge chair. It was so sweet. On the walk back to our room after the movie, we saw a frog jump across the side walk - it was so funny because he just froze, but Arabella wanted him to jump so she decided to give him a little boost. It was so cute to watch her telling him to jump!






We had pretty low key day on Friday - pool time again and while everyone else took a nap, I decided to go to the outlets that were right next store. I managed to score a few deals, which is always nice! That evening, we decided to go to Downtown Disney for dinner. We figured it was a way to get some Disney in without having to go to the parks - I know that sounds horrible, but we just don't think Arabella is old enough yet. Besides, it is so expensive that we really want her to be able to remember it and enjoy it! Downtown Disney was crazy - lots of people and lots going on - be we still had a great dinner at Wolfgang Puck and a fun time walking around. Arabella also broke a geode at the T-Rex store - she loved it and it is beautiful inside.







After Downtown Disney, it was time to hit the hay, but not before eating some goldfish and having a story with Grammie!

More Florida Fun

I was just going through all the pictures that I took while we were in Florida. I am always amazed by how many pictures we take when ever we go away or get together with family and friends! Arabella had fun hanging out with Macy and Rocco, lounging with Uncle Mike and dancing to Lady Gaga with Uncle Jeff! We even got to enjoy the fireplace on a chilly night while we did a puzzle together.

Making Juice

While we were in Florida, we got to enjoy fresh squeezed orange juice. There is nothing like it...especially when I was fighting a cold while we were there. We are so lucky that we got to enjoy such a healthy and fresh treat. Making juice with Grammie was one of Arabella's favorite things to do on this visit. Grammie would bring over bags of oranges and the juicer to Uncle Mike's and Arabella would get right to work. All we had to do was show her what to do once and then she was the officially juice maker. Thanks for making such good juice Arabella!

Happy New Year

It is hard to believe that 2010 has come to a close and we are now into 2011! Time sure does fly when you are having fun. We we did have a lot of fun in 2010! And we are already having tons of fun in 2011 - today we went to the beach. Yes, you read that right, it is a perfect, sunny, and warm day here in Florida so we decided to spend a few hours at the beach. Arabella loved running in the sand, building sand castles with Uncle Mike and looking for shells with Grammie. I was amazed at all the people who were at the beach, but when the temperature in is in the mid-70's on January 1st, who wouldn't want to spend some time at the beach? It did get a little windy and chilly when the tides changed, so we had to cut our visit shorter than we would have liked, but it was still worth the trip out.
I hope that everyone has a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year filled with family, friends and love!