Fort Lauderdale

On Tuesday morning of our vacation in Orlando, we returned to Islands of Adventure for one last hurrah at Universal.  We went on several rides that we hadn't had a chance to visit on Sunday and explored Seuss Landing, which was a whimsical and adorable section of the park.  I love all-things Dr. Seuss, and this part of Islands of Adventure contained many cute rides and a large playground:

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

We also saw a great Christmas show called the "Grinchmas Who-Liday Spectacular" and were thankful for fewer people at the park on our last morning there.  After lunch, we drove our rental car to Beanie's house in Fort Lauderdale, where Luke & Leah promptly scooped up Mia and smothered her with attention for the rest of our trip!

Beanie made dinner for us and we went out for ice cream afterward at Jaxson's Ice Cream Parlor, which is a south Florida favorite!

On Wednesday, we drove to Miami for a special airboat tour at Everglades Safari Park.  This was such a unique experience, and we saw lots of incredible wildlife, including egrets, herons, and alligators:

Posing in front of an airboat.

Great Blue Heron (wingspan of over 6 feet!)

Gator beside our boat!

The airboat skimmed right over these plants and tall grasses in the water.

Can you spy the mama gator?

After our airboat tour, we saw the Gator Show and the kids had a chance to hold "Snappy", a baby alligator:

Back at Beanie's house, we also saw some interesting wildlife while we were hanging out at the pool.  Iguanas are a common sight on her roof and window sills, and blend right in with all the other lush green vegetation:

Look above the door on the roof shingles!

On Wednesday night, we went out to a great Cuban restaurant and shared several platters of authentic Cuban food.  The kids tried plaintains (which they really liked), empanadas, croquetas, & tostones, and we were proud of their adventurous attitudes.  Luke ordered a Cuban sandwich for dinner and asked if I could make this at home sometime, and we had so much fun during our special culinary experience.  

We kicked off Thanksgiving morning by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, where it was one of the coldest years on record in NYC.  It seemed surreal that we then hopped in the car and spent the morning on the beach.  How fun to be swimming in the ocean in November!     

Buried by her two favorite guys.

These two wore coordinating fall attire for Thanksgiving dinner...

...and sweet Mia tolerated LOTS of snuggles from her cousins:

Thanksgiving dinner was a delicious feast, and wonderful end to our Florida trip.  On Friday morning, we drove back to Orlando and flew home (where it was NOT warm or sunny):

Thank you, Beanie, for an awesome time!