Fun in the Florida Sun

Happy Friday everyone! I'm trying to be better about updating this blog. I got so clogged with photos, but thanks to a lovely compositor script I found in Photoshop, I can now make collages with all my photos. No more just picking 3 or 4! What a difference my life and this blog will be! :)

Emma and I took a trip to Tampa to visit my dad (also referred to as Pache) and believe it or not, found it refreshing to be in Florida. In July. Yes, it was warm, but not as hot as it had been here. We had a great time and spent lots of time outdoors. Emma loved playing 'jewelry store' and showing us how to wear a necklace properly. We went swimming every day, as well as to the playground/swinging. I didn't take my camera to the pool, but I do have a few snaps right before, of a little goofy, gap-toothed grin showing off her new goggles :)


We also made local outings to the Lowry Park Zoo and the Florida Aquarium. They were both AWESOME! They are interactive, which is especially fun for little kids her age. At the zoo, she got to feed the goats and the budgerigars (parakeets). It's funny, because for such a fearless kid, she gets nervous around things that fly - bugs and birds. I did most of the bird feeding. She also went on her first pony ride - that was my favorite part! I grew up riding horses and I hope she will too. She acted like she knew exactly what she was doing and McCormick was very sweet to take her for such a wild ride (it was a big circle). ;)

At the aquarium, we saw lots of native sea animals. My favorites are always the seahorses, but the giant tank with turtles and eels and tropical fish was pretty cool too. She got to touch the pacific sea stars, the stingrays and the sea anemone. We missed the shark-feeding demonstration, but it was a great visit and very colorful.

I think this was Emma's 12th roundtrip airline flight and it was probably the best one we've done together. It's not exactly relaxing to travel solo with an almost-3 year old, but at this age she can finally sit relatively still in the seat coloring, playing or looking out the window and she makes friends with everyone around her. It's almost embarrasing. By the end of our first flight, she was giving everyone kisses on the cheeks and whispering secrets in their ear. Now that we're back home, she looks up at passing airplanes in the sky and asks me, "Are they going to Flordia too?" (that's how she pronouces it) I have fun with my little traveling buddy! :)