A Love For Florida~A Family Vacation

I cannot put into words how much this family enjoyed our visit to Florida. It is unbelievable what eight days away from home will do for your soul. We really enjoyed seeing everyone and spending time with family. The only regret I have is not being at see my cousin more. I understand that life happens, and I do not expect anyone to stop living because of us.  I also regret not bringing my DSLR. I would have been able to handle taking it everywhere without a problem. What is the sense of having a great camera if I don't bring it everywhere, especially if I want to be a photographer. I need to have more confidence in myself and taking my camera along. I'm just worried something will happen to it, because if that were to happen we have no room in the budget to replace or repair it. Overall, this make me extra careful with it. I do bring it along 80% of the time, just not to places I don't think it will be needed.

I wasn't sure how everyone was going to handle the heat, but to my surprise it didn't bother any of us. We truly enjoyed being in 90+ degree weather. At times, it did zap some of my energy but we all agreed that we would rather have it 90+ for a good portion of the year rather than it be below zero. This family if meant to live in a warm climate without a doubt. One day this will happen.

So I can go on and on about how much we love being in Florida but I would rather just show you the pictures of our lovely trip.

 Horrible picture quality. I truly regret not bringing my DSLR. At this point Andrew had been awake for 30 or more hours. 

 On the plane. I've aimed to get the back row four separate times and I've been successful every single time. Being in the back of the plane is ideal to me having a toddler because it is really close to the bathrooms and flight attendants. It worked out lovely for a needy family. Andrew didn't fare so well at the end of our flight to Florida because we had to circle the runway because a turtle was on the runway.  I will admit that this made me a little queasy. 

Picture with my gram.

Her hair is getting lighter

So silly

 This family loves the beach! We spent an entire day at Cocoa Beach and it was amazing. I wish we lived closer to a beach that you can actually go swimming at. Our closest beach we go to in Maine is a two hour drive away and  the water is freezing! Not even worth the trip!

 Beach bums

 More beach bums. I didn't get a picture of Damien at the beach because I could hardly get him out of the water long enough to put more sunscreen on him. 

 Beach aftermath

 The crew at Disney Hollywood Studios

 Hot and sweaty at Hollywood Studios

 Waiting for the bus to take us to Epcot.

 Iced green tea from Japan. Yes please!

 This is the answer I got after asking them if they had fun at Disney.

 Second time in a row that this kid sleeps on the Safari Ride at Animal Kingdom.

 It almost looks like she is in with the tiger. I promise she isn't, its just the way the picture came out. 

Love this picture of Amar'e 

He sure is goofy! :)

 Amar'e got the princess treatment at the bibidi bobbidi boutique A.K.A-I did her hair in my aunt's bathroom. A real princess treatment at Disney would cost more than $100...I'm sure. 

Just missing a tiny princess tiara 

 We also painted her little toes as part of her princess treatment. 

 Can this kid of ours get any cuter.....I don't thinks that's possible. 

My face during a T-storm. The thunder was so loud. It made the Sheriff sitting in his car in front of us nearly jump out of his skin. Yikes! I guess the storms down here are nothing to mess with. I've been through a few bad ones in my past...but I tend to forget what they were like. I can say that this storm was a reminder of how strong they can be.

A few confessions:

I'm officially in love with Disney World. I have been there many,many, many times in my life, but I have to say that this time I had a whole different appreciation for it. 

The Disney princesses are growing on me.  I was never really fond of them in the past. Maybe I thought they were oversexulized, but during this trip I realized that they weren't oversexulized at all. I am not entirely sure where that feeling came from, but they are surely growing on. I've even stared watching the Disney princess movies with Amar'e. I've seen most of them, but like I said, I am seeing them differently now. Princess Tiana is my favorite and I am anxious to watch the movie. (I'm a bit kid and always will be)

I want to move to Florida! 

The Verdict Is.....//// We're Off To Florida

 The Verdict is.....

Yesterday was my ultrasound appointment. I had been looking forward this for weeks. The anticipation of seeing the little life inside of me was killing me, and like I said in my 17 weeks post, I had a tiny suspicion it may be more than one. Well, now we know for sure that it's only one beautiful little baby in there. Who weights about ten ounces and looks absolutely perfect. Yes, I can't stop looking at the ultrasound pictures and watching the DVD they gave me. I'm in love! Amar'e has been a champ through all of these appointments. I bring her to every logical appointment with me and she does wonderful. Yesterday she sat through a 30 minute ultrasound and then a 45 minute prenatal visit. I am so proud of her! ♥♥♥

We're Off To Florida!

The last two weeks have been crazy! It seems like everything is happening before we take off to Florida. Last minute car repairs, every appointment you can think of, and everything in between.  I am going to be glad when we are finally on the plane, in the air, and heading to paradise! I am super excited about this trip because the whole family is going this time. The last time it was just a girls trip, but now everyone will be coming. It will be good to see everyone again, especially my grandmother. We have some rough plans of what we will be doing, and quiet frankly, I don't care what happens... I'm just overjoyed to be in Florida! Have I mentioned how much I love Florida? Anyway, we are far from being able to enjoy ourselves now, with T-minus 1 hour till we depart home, there is still a ton to take care of! We have a huge ride ahead of us. We are heading to Maine first (2 hour drive), to drop the dogs off to our good friend Brad for the week, and then its another 2+ hour drive to Manchester, NH where we will be staying the night at a hotel to catch our 6:30 am flight to Florida.

I don't think I will be doing any blogging while we are visiting....surely, it can wait until we get back. This way I can add all lovely pictures to the blog post. I bet you couldn't guess that I plan on taking a ton of pictures while we are there! I will be using a point and shoot vs. my DSLR. I truly want to bring the DSLR but it seems more like a hassle than anything to lug around. A little pocket size point and shoot seems way more logical.

And, we're off.....

Back Home

Well, I originally thought that I would do a post from Florida, but once I got there I thought it would be better to take the week off and enjoy my family. I didn't want to take any time away from my family. We are back home now and I have a lot of mixed feelings about coming home. I really missed Andrew, Damien, and the pets but I really didn't want to leave the comfort that Florida gives to me. I love everything about Florida, and I mean everything. Not even the extreme summer heat bothers me. A little history of me and Florida. I spent a lot of time during my childhood in Florida. My aunt and cousin live there, and my grandmother and I would go down during summer vacations to spend the summer. I even went to kindergarten and fourth grade in Orlando. I have always had a strong draw that pulls me there. I spend the first couple days repeating to myself, "I can't believe I am in Florida". It had been about four years since I had been there last. Amar'e LOVED it! She got to wear all of her pretty sun dresses and we went to the beach! Yes, we went to the beach in January! In my opinion, there is nothing better than that! We were able to visit a couple of the Disney parks, and best of all Amar'e was introduced to family that she had not met before. We were so lucky to be able to spend time with my grandmother, who is like my mother because she raised me. Sadly, two years ago, her health declined and my aunt moved her to Florida. Now she lives with my Aunt and Uncle and they take care of her. I've never seen such dedications and love in my life. When I first saw her, I will admit, I overwhelmed with emotion that I hid well. I was so happy to be able to see her! It was really special and even more special to have Amar'e meet the women I consider my mother.

Spending time with my cousin  and his wonderful girlfriend Crystel was awesome. I say he is my cousin because that is his true relation to me, but I consider Alex my brother. We were able to sneak away one evening and hit up downtown Orlando with an old friend of ours, Crystel (Alex's girl), and our step-sister Dee-Dee. I haven't been out like that in years, and it was really nice to be able to clear my head and just relax. Amar'e was in good hands hanging out with my aunt and grandmother, and when I returned she was sound asleep in her bed. I was totally impressed!

All in all, our little trip was a great success! I would love to live in Florida and I hope one day soon this will be a reality for my family. For now, I will not see the outdoors again until mid-April or May. It will be boots, hats, gloves, and heavy jackets for the time being. Living in Northern New Hampshire is by no means easy. Ok, I will be honest, I HATE it! :)
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Dear Florida,

Thank you showing us a great time. Thank you for the wonderful weather. Thank you for everything.  We will be back!

Love, 
Desiree
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Dear Auntie Sandra and Uncle Otis,

Thank you for making this trip to Florida for Amar'e and I possible. It's beyond wonderful to be able to spend time with you guys. I really enjoyed our talks, they were truly inspiring. One day I know we will live closer and I look forward to the day we can just drive over to visit and help out. I really love your beautiful house, and had a blast at the family gathering- we enjoyed one anothers company and good food! I can not thank you enough! Muah! We will be back!

Love,
Desiree

P.S- Amar'e is still yelling out Awwnee and looking for you!

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Dear Alex and Crystel,

Thank you for everything! I can't wait to spend more time with you guys! You guys were amazing with Amar'e, and it was really nice to have extra sets of hands around to help out. Crystel, I look forward to meeting your friend you told me about and possibly doing play dates and stuff like that. Alex, I cant wait to cook you a yummy vegan meal you will absolutely love. :)

Love,
Desiree
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 Now for the trip in pictures:

Manchester Airport. Did I mention I was terrified to fly. My heart would race every time there was a slight bit of turbulence.

We were really lucky on the flight down because the plane was only 2/3 full and we had a whole row to ourselves. Much different on the way back. They told me that there were 16 seats open so I thought for sure that we would have a whole row again. At the last minute the planed filled up. I don't know how this happened. So strange. So Amar'e ended up a lap child like she was suppose to be originally. It really wasn't too bad.

 

She loved Alex's fish.

Crystel and Amar'e

My Gram, Uncle Otis, and Mar

 ♥ Family ♥

  ♥The crew♥

 Love old pictures! Alex and I. Yup, we are pretty darn cool.

Beach baby!

 "Mar, what does the bird say?"  Mar: "Eeet eeet"

♥

Yes, it was nice enough out in the middle of January for Amar'e to be wearing just a diaper.

Slightly sweaty on the Safari ride at Animal Kingdom with Alex.

 

Who falls asleep on a Safari ride?

She does!

So many fish!

 Drinking Ginger Ale at Epcot.

 Eating rice with chopsticks at Epcot. Impressive for a not yet two year old to be using chopsticks.

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