Florida Fun: More Family & Dolphins

OK...continuing on with our Florida trip (if you missed part one, check out the previous post):

 

We had planned on driving up one day to the Orlando area to visit Uncle Shawn, Aunt Heather, Sam (around 6 months old at the time of our visit) and my Grandma Kramer (who was also visiting with Shawn & Heather at the time).  The day we were planning on leaving we stuck around the Dunedin area to get some time to hang out with Uncle Craig who was about ready to leave town.  We took the kiddos down to a local park and then got some lunch while we were out.  By the time we got done, we were in a bit of a hurry to get everything together to head towards Orlando.  And, the kids needed baths.  I got Wyatt all bathed and was getting ready to start working on Blake when Wyatt stood up and POOPED in the tub!  Of course, the kind of stuff that happens when you're in a hurry :)  So, I got the kids out, cleaned the tub, ran new water and FINALLY got Blake & Wyatt all cleaned up - BOYS!!!  By the time we hit the road, Lleyton was starting to get hungry, so Aunt Shell was singing to him to try to get him to calm down.  Wyatt evidently did NOT like Shell's singing as he covered his ears with both hands and started pleading, "PEAS" (that's Wy-Guy for "please") as if he was just begging her to stop.  It was hilarious!  We did finally make it to Uncle Shawn & Aunt Heather's house just in time to get some dinner and make a pallet on the floor to camp out with all the kiddos.  The next morning my Aunt Lynn & Uncle Keith (Brune side of the family) were able to meet us at Shawn & Heather's for a quick visit.  It was so great to get to see them, and it was especially funny to watch Uncle Keith get sucked into playing with and entertaining all the wee ones running around.  He even let Blake dress him up with some of her princess accessories.  As I mentioned before, it was really hard to get the camera out to get very many pics.  So, a special thanks to Uncle Shawn for helping capture the couple pictures that we did get - THANK YOU!!!  Here's Wyatt chilling in the rocking chair with Baby Sam by his side...they kind of look like twins ;)

And here is an amazingly good (I say that because getting my two kids to look the same direction at the same time is a near miracle) picture of Aunt Lynn, Uncle Keith, Wyatt, Lauren & Blake.  Blake and Wyatt even got to play outside with the bubbles that Lynn & Keith brought for them.  Fun, fun, fun!!!

After our visit in the Oralando area, we headed back to Aunt Shell & Uncle Craig's house for the remainder of our stay.  We got to go to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium which was nearby.  That is the aquarium that the movie Dolphin Tail was based off of.  The kids had a blast getting to see sea turtles, nurse sharks (Wyatt's favorite), otters, sting rays, pelicans, dolphins (Blake's favorite) and other sea life in the various exhibits.  We were at the aquarium really close to closing time, and Aunt Shell noticed that one of the dolphins was showing off in his tank.  We were looking into the tank from below at the time, so we headed back up to the deck to see what was going on.  One of the trainers was playing with Nicholas (a resident dolphin).  No one else was there since they were about to close, but the trainer said we could stand right by the edge and watch.  We weren't there long and Nicholas jumped up out of the water and splashed forward with his tail getting us all wet.  Blake thought it was the coolest thing ever!  In fact, she constantly asks to see all the pictures we took at the aquarium.  Here are a few...

Nicholas

 Blake & Wyatt posing by one of the sea turtle statues

If you've seen the movie, then you'll probably recognize that boat in the background.  And YES, that is a good 8-10 foot drop off straight down to the water right behind us...I was SO scared that Wyatt was going to run off the edge, so the poor guy had to deal with my death grip on him the short time we were in that area (probably why he's trying to get off my lap in the picture).

After visiting the aquarium, we headed to Frenchy's Rockaway Grill right on the beach.  We had an awesome dinner out on the patio, and we were able to catch a few cute moments with the kiddos.  Here's Blake hugging on Lleyton.

And Wy-Guy being a sweet little boy hugging on Lleyton, too

A cute shot of Aunt Shell playing the piano with Blake & Wyatt.

Aunt Kath & Uncle Mike came over that night to see us again, and we were able to get a really good picture of them with the kiddos.  Here's Blake, Aunt Kath, Uncle Mike and Wyatt.

Just another sweet picture of the boys...this time kissing!  They'll probably kill me for this one when they get older ;)

We even managed to make it out to a local splash pad while we were in Florida.  Here's a picture of Wyatt...definitely scheming...who knows what he was thinking about doing next.

Lleyton, Aunt Shell and Blake at the splash pad.  Wyatt would not stand still to save his life.  He bolted out of frame before I could take the shot.

And finally, a picture of Blake driving the cart (with some random Publix employee pushing) out of the grocery store.  I'm posting this because ever since this moment, Blake now likes to pretend like she's driving when she's in her car seat or pretty much anything that moves - funny girl!

Needless to say, we had an absolutely wonderful visit.  Thank you to everyone that shared in these moments with us!!!  It was a trip to remember for sure!