Valentine's day and Florida

Nathan and I went to Florida over Valentine's Day and his birthday (which happen to be the same day) so, we decided to celebrate both early.  We chose the 9th at random.     Things didn't really go as planned that day. I picked up Buffalo Wild Wings for supper and realized once I got home, that they had given me someone else's order.  I had ordered a cake for Nathan from the lady who made our wedding cake, and I got there too late and she wasn't there. 

So, after supper, I stuck a candle in a Little Debbie fancy cake. 

Happy Birthday Nathan... lol

Later that evening we got the real cake. :)

Nathan did good for Valentine's.  I may have hinted that Kroger had chocolate and flowers, but hey, I like them anyway.

:)

I didn't get to enjoy them very long because on Thursday, we packed up and left for Florida after work.  Three of Nathan's siblings, Steven, Josh, and Anna, came with us. The van was loaded down with blankets, pillows, luggage, books, candy, and the suchlike.   We drove through the night and made pretty good time.  We made it to Elda, Vera, and Mary's (Nathan's three aunts) house by 1:00 and spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool.

:) much needed sunshine

Steven and Josh quickly began lizard hunting.

Steven caught a green one...

supposedly they are rare...?

Feet.

The water was a little cold, so we mostly enjoyed the sun.  I pulled out my coloring book.

It's so pretty. 

planning Ticket to Ride in the evening.

Saturday was my favorite day.  We headed out to the beach early and spent most of the day there. 

blue and sand...

Siesta Key Beach

Nathan and I built a sand castle.

The back.

Notice the door leading to the keep.

The front.

Check out my awesome bridge. 

I thought it was a pretty cool castle, but I guess it impressed a lot of people.   People commented as the walked by and multiple times through the day they'd stop and take pictures of it.

Steven, Anna, and Josh dug a big hole.

 The little boy on the left showed up and helped.  Once they were done, many children enjoyed the hole the rest of the day. 

Anna's creation.

We went out to eat at Der Dutchmen for supper.  It's an Amish run buffet restaurant. They serve typical meat, potatoes, and veggies. I've been there before when I've been in Sarasota, and I'm not impressed.  But, it seems to be a favorite amongst the older crowd. 

Sunday, we went to church in Sarasota.  And got a nice picture of all of us.

Mary, Josh, Steven, Elda, Anna, Vera, Me, and Nathan

After church the aunts took us out for ice cream and gave us valentine's chocolates and sang happy birthday to Nathan.

We went to the surf and racket resort on Siesta Beach. We had met a couple in church who gave us their room number so that we could get in. 

pool and palm trees

We stayed on the beach late enough to watch the sun set.

a terrible attempt at a sunset selfie.

Monday,  we slept in, packed up and headed out to Legoland.  It was grey and threatening to rain all day so it wasn't horrible to be away from the beach. 

Nathan and his siblings

Me and Nathan

Legoland is basically a Lego themed amusement park for kids.  There were roller coasters, shops, Lego minitures, and overpriced food.  The roller coasters were geared towards kids and were much smaller and slower than some you'd find at Six Flags.  Legoland is built on what used to be Cyprus Gardens, so some of the gardens were left, which was cool. 

completely made of Lego

The world

Inside the gardens

An awesome tree

I would like to plant one of these trees in our yard.

the lady to the right is made of Legos

Flowers:)

The gardens were my favorite part.  The mini area was pretty cool though too.

Lego Washington

Lego city

San Francisco, I believe.

Golden Gate Bridge

Pirate ships and a port city

this pirate ship was awesome.

Star Wars

Darth somebody... 

We went on a few rides, but not many.  Steven was mainly there for the Lego's and Josh and Anna were a little nervous. 

I didn't get a very good picture. But, Nathan, Steven, Josh, and Anna are on this one. 

Anna and I went on a water ride.  It was near the end of the day a pretty cold, so we were the only two on our boat.  The boats wind there way, back and forth, through waterfalls and sprayers while people on the outside shoot water guns at you.  We got completely soaked. 

The water ride.

You can't really tell but we are wet from head to foot. 

They had these super cool things:

These are human sized dryers. (picture from google)

  They blow hot air and have bright lights that warm and dry you really quick.

We were still damp, despite the dryers, but we managed to survive the rest of the day. 

Anna with life size lego-ed lego girls. 

And then...the highlight of the day...for the guys that is.

Pick a brick wall.

you can fill a cup with any kind or color of lego bricks your heart desires. 

We left Legoland about 5 minutes before it closed. I was pretty ready to be done.  It was cool, but not my favorite day. 

We drove to Tampa for supper and ate at Carrabba's.  It's one of my favorite restaurants. :) 

mmm.

We left Carrabba's and headed home.  It was a short trip and, not exactly my ideal trip. but it was fun all the same.  I got to know Nathan's aunts much better and spend time with his siblings. Which, doesn't happen much with our busy lives.   The aunts are quite hilarious.  I don't even know how to begin to explain...:)  And, the weather and the beach is just so much better than here. 

We made it home by 4:30 pm on Tuesday. Complete with a bottle of lizards that Steven had captured. :) We survived but 18 hours of driving is a long time. 

In Christ

~Michelle