Our Florida Vacation

Christmas night we took off for our vacation to Bonita Springs, FL. My in-laws just got a place there so we were going to spend the week there with them along with Brad's sister Betsy, her husband Jake and daughter Lily, and Brad's other sister Kylee. We decided to do a park and fly in Detroit so we left the day before our flight took off just in case the weather was bad and so it wouldn't be such a long day of traveling for Ella. She did great on the drive there and was really excited to see Grandpa and Grandma when we arrived to the hotel. She had a ton of fun racing up and down the halls and jumping on their bed in their room. She was in such a good mood that we were not prepared for what happened next - she started barfing all over the bed and me:) She wasn't sick but I think that it had been a busy couple of days with a weird sleeping schedule and she had a little bit of ice cream at dinner - it was all a recipe for a disgusting disaster:) Of course that hotel room did not have a bath so we had to take a shower - slippery wet babies in showers are challenging:) The room stunk and our bedding was a mess and our clothes had to be soaked in the sink. We were off to a great start!

We flew out from Detroit on Saturday with Brad's siblings. Ella had never flown before but she did great! She fell asleep as the plane took off and woke up about 20 minutes before it landed in Fort Myers. Boy, was it great to land in warm weather!

We started out our vacation by spending a couple of days by the condo pool. Ella absolutly loved it! She walked right in and had no fear. This past summer she was semi scared of water but I guess she got over that. I wish I had some more pictures of her swimming because she was so happy but these are cute too. Grandpa tried to help Ella learn to swim and blow bubbles in the water but she was not having it...she just liked to watch him do it. Later in the week all she wanted to do was try to hang out with the other kids in the pool. She would literally walk into the pool all the way up to her mouth because she wanted get over to play by them. She would walk all over the shallow end and just laugh and giggle at the kids like she was somehow part of their games:) I think being in the pool was her favorite part of the week.

Uncle Jake, Ella, and LilyElla and Brad exploring the grounds around the condo - so cute

It was very odd to be in summer weather yet see Christmas decorations all around. One night we went to an outdoor mall area in Bonita Bay for dinner and this was one of the Christmas trees displayed in the courtyard area...Ella was pumped to see such a big one with so many pretty ornaments, she had to check them out - I thought this picture of her and Grandpa was sweet.On Tuesday we decided to head out to Naples Zoo! I love going to zoos and we all thought the girls would love to see the animals too so we checked it out - it was a great zoo...quite a step up from good ole John Ball:) It was so beautiful there and the exhibits were really nice with tons of animals. Ella really enjoyed it...watching all the animals and pointing at them. Grandma and Ella looking at the alligatorsThe family walking the paths around the zoo - I loved seeing all the palm trees everywhereElla got a kick out of seeing this big toucan:)Grandpa spoiling Ella by sharing his ice cream coneJake and Lily - she is such a happy little girlBrad and Ella checking out the monkeys

There was an area where there were hundreds of birds all up in the trees above us. Ella was loving it because she really likes birds, but after a bit she got a little freaked out because there were so many and they were really loud:)The family checking out the zebrasBetsy and LilyIt was a ton of fun to spend the day at the zoo! Another night we went ro Naples Pelican Bay for shopping and dinner. I just love how Naples has all these outdoor malls with such beautiful water features. I couldn't resist getting a picture of Ella with Grandma.

I thought this picture was darling of Brad just chilling with Ella in the condo - feeding her lunch and watching the fountain outside, another favorite thing of hers that week.Ella played hard on our vacation, but she also slept hard.

The highlight of the trip for me was going to the beach a mile up the road. I couldn't wait to have Ella see the ocean for the first time. I was in my glory...being at the beach and taking pictures of baby girl. She liked the water but only wanted to get her feet wet. Also, the beaches were full of shells so needless to say Ella enjoyed just sitting and picking up the shells and digging in the sand. She also loved walking the beach and playing in the sand with Grandpa and Grandma and chasing the seagulls with Aunt Kylee. I wish we could have spent more time at the beach, but I feel blessed that we got to spend the day there at all - it was just gorgeous.

New Year's Eve we went to downtown Naples for shopping and dinner. They have a really cool downtown sort of like a Holland/Saugatuck. It was fun just walking around the shops and sitting outside people-watching and watching Ella run around and be social. We had a nice dinner at a fishhouse as a family and were supposed to see fireworks on the beach but we got done with dinner too late and watched them from the streets downtown instead:)

The last day of our vacation we went to some outlets because it rained all day but it was fun just hanging out. It was a great week and we really enjoyed our time together. It was cool sharing a condo with Betsy, Jake, and Lily for the week and getting to spend mornings and evenings with them. We had a wonderful time with the Koning family and we were glad to have a week away from the norm and just chill out as family. Although I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked laying out and reading (things are different when you are a mom:), I wouldn't have changed a thing!