Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Evie's Florida Adventure

I have said it before, and I will say it again, we are so blessed with the Grandparents that are in our lives.  Not only for the adventures afforded to us, but simply because we are LOVED, and that is a special thing.

Every year, Grandma and Grandpa Longmire like to have the girls out to Florida, but really like to have them separately.  Last year Lily got to go for a whole week so this year it was Evie's turn and she could not wait.




Evie was especially excited because her cousin Jess was also going to spend the week with her and they LOVE each other.  With only a year between them, they get along like two peas in a pod and the excitement surrounding this trip has been BIG.  Our first stop was Disney World and we had a blast at the Animal Kingdom resort.  The girls picked up right where they left off and were off and funning!



It was especially exciting because Evie and Jess are finally big enough to ride the big Avatar Banshee ride at Disney World Animal Kingdom.  Both little girls are the next in line to go through the Flight of Passage and we have been working diligently on eating this year so that Evie GROWS!  Lordy......Lily takes after her Daddy, but Miss Bee is a peanut who only likes to eat popsicles.  BUT, she did it and was all smiles once she too got to fly like an AVATAR! Both girls got to have a special Banshee purse for their ability to Rise to the Challenge! Sivako!





Then came my favorite part!  Expedition Everest.  I showed Evie a video of the roller coaster to see if she wanted to ride it, "Oh yes Mom, that looks like fun!" So the juuuuuuust barely tall enough Evie took on the big bad backwards and forwards coaster and LOVED IT!



She got off and immediately squealed, "Again, again!" So we did.  In fact, we rode the coaster 3 times throughout the day.  This kid is fearless and I see many more coasters in our future!


We visited a bugs life.....


And rode the Dinosaur ride........



Then we took an ice cream and princess break to meet the adorable Pocahontas.


We finished our day with the Kali River Rapids and the Lion King show.  Gosh I love that thing.  We had a great late lunch and then said goodbye to the kids and headed of on our adventure......


Meanwhile, the girls had a BLAST down in Fort Myers.  The few days that we were gone was spent playing in the ocean, swimming in the pool, eating all sorts of goodies, and having a sleep over every night. 



Evie even conquered the paddleboard.  I had no doubts about her skill. She has seen me do it, and the kid has balance to rival most!


Grandma of course got them matching mermaid outfits and swimsuits, and they each had their own blow up dolphin to play with.  


The girls had a ball making memories and just doing what kids do best....playing.


They even got to go play mini golf one evening and I just love these pictures.  Grandpa worked to teach the girls the skill of aiming, and they each came back with stories to tell.





They especially loved feeding the gators that were on site!




The next day in the morning Grandma and Grandpa took the girls for a kayak tout through the mangroves.  It is busy season for alligators and so the girls weren't completely convinced they wouldn't be gator lunch so the general consensus was, "Mom, that was so scary."  You can't tell from  the photos, and again, memories were made.




We came back from all of our galavanting and met them for a few more days of fun.  We started with lunch at the Bubble Room.  A super old time restaurant that resides in an old beach house.  The nostalgia was great, and the orange crunch cake? Worth every calorie!



We spent the remainder of the afternoon on the beach playing in the water and in the sand.  We spent countless minutes burying the girls and making them mermaids only to "rescue" them and dump them back in the water.  Ah the simple joys of childhood.









The last two days were a blast.  We went jet skiing which was AMAZING!  Bob took photos, but we ended up ruining his phone in the water due to a scratched screen.....so those will just be our memories. One thing I can tell you though, is that the jet ski didn't go fast enough for Evie.  I still have bruises on my calves for holding on to her and Bob over waves and donuts.  Fearless......she's fearless.

There is nothing quite like summer vacations, and we spent our last night at Capone's pizzeria followed by ice cream at 9:30 at night.  It was one for the record books, and we took a very happy, very tired sleeping Evie home.




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