Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Florida, Part Deux

"At the beach, life is different. Time doesn't move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides, and follow the sun." - Sandy Gingras


We made it back to Florida. My happy place.


This was Sydney's first time going on a vacation that wasn't just a short trip one state over. Jon and I recently went on a trip to Florida in April and decided that Sydney was old enough to bring with us this time. It was so exciting to see everything fresh through her eyes. Being on a family vacation with my girl, relaxing, exploring, and playing, was everything I hoped it would be.

Pure Magic.

I cannot wait to do it again with both girls next time!

Her first time on an airplane:

She did awesome! Taking off was exciting and then she was frustrated that we were "going so slow" once we were in the air. That's a tough one to try and explain. Speaking of trying to explain things...once we were above the clouds, she was a little confused and asked, "But, where's Heaven?"


Her first time at Disney World:

Oh, this place. I love it.
 
It's a small world. Her favorite. She called it the "puppet ride". Uggh, not my favorite!

Her first time meeting real princesses:

If you know my girl, you how big of a deal this is. Especially meeting Rapunzel. She was the first princess Sydney got to meet. I seriously almost cried watching it.

Prince Naveen totally has that smile nailed! Sydney was SO shy around him.
Her idol! Rapunzel!!
She could not believe that we found Rapunzel's tower!
Her first time attending Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party:

Sydney was a trooper. After a short afternoon nap we went back to the park and stayed until almost midnight. We did a little trick-or-treating, but she was more interested in doing rides than getting candy. There was also a special parade and fireworks show that were Halloween themed. 



Her first time visiting Tampa:

Tampa was great; lots of shops and restaurants and we enjoyed visiting Bush Gardens and the Lowry Park Zoo. (Sydney even got to feed a Giraffe!) We also stopped by Cigar City Brewing and spent several days over at Clearwater Beach.


That may look like the face of fear, but don't be fooled. That my friends, is the look of whiny disappointment because the ride is over! We did this particular ride 6 times in a row!

Her first time in Siesta Key:

Boston Cream mini donuts....BEST DONUTS EVER!!!


Her first time experiencing the ocean:

The sand was the first thing that grabbed her, not the water. She was in heaven in that giant sandbox! She liked swimming too, and was intrigued by the salty taste of the water, but the waves were fun at times and problematic at other times. She did NOT like getting salt water in her eyes at all. That's sometimes hard when a rogue wave catches you by surprise. One her absolute favorite things to do was to just walk up and down the beaches exploring, looking for shells and interesting creatures. On several occasions she said to me, "Wow mom, it is SO beautiful!"

Sydney, I couldn't agree more.

 
 
 

"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." — Jacques Yves Cousteau

Until we meet again Florida.


1 comment:

  1. aw, looks like she had an amazing time! And when you quoted her, almost brings tears to my eyes at how traveling to see different things can make such an impact early in their lives.

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