I know, I know...

I'm slacking!

It's hard to sum up a trip and I'm not very good at narrowing down pictures, so I really wanted to digiscrap my pictures before I posted about Florida. With time changes and pregnancy, my body hasn't been accommodating my late night computer habit, so I figured I'd post what I have finished so far.

Florida was, well, fun, but also exhausting. It's HARD to fly a long way with a little one. This is Aubrey's 4th time flying, but this was by FAR the longest flight and it was the first time we've flown since she's been walking. We survived it, but not without some screaming (by her of course ;) )

Florida was really HUMID, but The Villages (where my mom lives) has a pool on about every block, so it was bearable. My mom also bought the **kids** a little pool with a slide and basketball hoop. **Unfortunately, Aubrey was the only kid who made it, but the pool was still thoroughly enjoyed. The main mode of transportation also helped us to beat the heat. We cruised around on golf carts and Aubrey was always eager to go for a "ride, mommy". Every night there is live entertainment in one of the town squares and there are thousands of old fogies (well, 55+, but you get the idea) bustin' a move. I was also really surprised by how many young visitors there were. This community was really amazing...it was like a place where "mature" adults can be teenagers again.

Anyways, enough about the retirement community. My mom had planned plenty of fun days for us and one of them included a little farm called Uncle Donald's Farm. We might have selected the hottest afternoon to go there, but despite Aubrey's sweat drenched hair, she had a blast. There was everything from peacocks and ostriches to cougars and a baby alligator. It was an animal refuge of sorts. We were the only ones there (probably because it was so stinkin' hot), so we got to do all the hands-on stuff by ourselves. I even got to MILK A GOAT! Then they put the milk in a bottle and Aubrey and I fed it to the baby goat. Even with all of the exotic animals, I still think Aubrey's favorites were the duck and the kitties. We had a blast at the farm!

We also went to Daytona Beach. Ummm....hello...I don't even know why California beaches have such a reputation. I've never been to such a warm, beautiful beach. It was warm outside, the water was PERFECT and it wasn't overcrowded. Of course, there are more sharks over there and the waves are crummy, but I'm not going out that far anyways. Aubrey LOVED playing in the sand, but wasn't fond of the waves getting her. She was little Miss Independent with the shovels though and was sure to let us know, "Aubrey do it!". Daytona Beach was beautiful! Our other days were full of visiting, eating out, visiting the fish and bottle nosed turtles in the lake, swimming, playing in the rain and enjoying the company of Grandma Nancy. We did experience some surprises while in Florida. The first surprise was FORESTS! I'm talking forests everywhere. Dense forests. It actually reminded me of where I used to live/visit in Pennsylvania. And of course with forests come BEARS. I'm driving along and not 5 minutes earlier I had asked my mom if there were bears there, when suddenly I see this black bear on the side of the road. It had been hit by a car. It made me feel like I was in Lost...well except it wasn't a polar bear. I saw a bear and water turtles, but not one alligator....surprises I tell you.

I don't think we'll be visiting again anytime soon, as it is a lot easier for my mom to come visit all of us, but I look forward to the time when Aubrey's old enough to take to Disneyworld, or better yet on a Disney cruise. We'll visit Grandma Nancy, boogie with the oldies, and try to avoid all the killer creatures such as sharks, bears and alligators.

Oh and as far as Baby B (Justin's nickname for the little one since "A"ubrey was baby "A") goes, I was a little nervous because I hadn' t had many symptoms, but the last 4 days have calmed my fears. I'm starting to feel a little queasy if I don't eat protein about every 3 hours and I'm pooped, not to mention the fact that I swear my clothes are already too small.

Here's belly shot #1.