Since baby girl #2 is giving me more time, I might as well take advantage of it and keep updating our blog! This will most likely be the longest blog post of the year since it covers our family vacation to Florida in January. I tried to narrow down the pictures as best as possible, but there were still a lot of winners!
Our trip was during the first week in January and included Al, Taylor, me, my mom, dad and sister Katrina. It was supposed to be our warm weather getaway from Minnesota (except for K who lives in Tucson now), but ended up being a lot cooler than we anticipated. Even though we were missing -15 degree weather in MN, 55 degrees in Florida did not feel too nice. Next time we'll opt for Mexico to play it safe!
The trip began a little rocky with some frozen pipes in the plane we were supposed to fly in. For those not in MN, this should normally not be an issue. We are used to sub-freezing temperatures and planes fly all the time after some defrosting. We were a bit puzzled that they hadn't begun the defrosting process a lot sooner. Of course, it was a 6am flight, so that was probably the problem. After all, other flights were able to fly out...
After sitting on the plane for awhile, they let us all get off to stretch until they found alternatives. We (the MN travelers) were supposed to have a connection in Atlanta on our way to Miami, but it was evident that we were missing that flight. We were lucky though, the plane we were on was supposed to be routed to Fort Lauderdale via Atlanta. So we just changed our tickets and got back on when the plane was ready. Always the trooper, Taylor did great with the delays and changes. She is such a great traveler!
Katrina was still arriving in Miami and waited for us there while we figured out the best way to get ourselves to Miami once we arrived in Fort Lauderdale (about 30 miles away). It all worked out and the next step was to get our rental car (in Miami) and wait for our luggage to arrive (arriving around 11pm). It was a VERY long day, but luckily didn't interfere with our travel plans since we had slotted that day for travel anyway. The next morning our vacation would truly begin as we made our way to the Keys.
On to the pictures!
Al and Taylor hung out in the hotel room while my mom and I went to get one of the cars and luggage. Since she needed to get ready for bedtime long before our luggage arrived, she got to wear daddy's t-shirt as pajamas. She thought that was pretty great. This is her practicing some ballet moves to some music on the TV.
The next morning we got going and Al, Taylor, Katrina and I made our way to Monkey Jungle while mom and dad went to grab a second rental car at the airport.
This place was really neat. The monkeys are all around you as you walk under netting and through the man-made jungle. Taylor was excited to see all the little monkeys running around.
Feeding time!
Taylor practicing her monkey face:
This part was a lot of fun. You could buy berries and nuts and put them in these metal bowls. If there was a monkey nearby, they would pull the bowl up and eat all the food and drop it back down for you to fill again. Lots of quarters spent on feeding monkeys!!
After we had our time at monkey jungle (Al could've stayed there forever, he was in heaven), we all caravaned our way to Tavernier to check into our rental house. Since this was our Christmas, we also planned on doing our family gift exchange that first evening too.
While mom, K and I went grocery shopping, Al, dad and Tay had some fun exploring the property. This is one of my favorite all time pictures. It looks fake, but this is the outside of the house near the dock at sunset. Taylor loved this new place!
Time for Christmas!
This was our make-shift Christmas tree before we did our gift exchange. :)
The following morning. All the ladies having breakfast and planning out the day:
We decided to have a low-key day and stay nearby. We ventured out to the Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key. My mom, Taylor and I decided to sign up for "touch a dolphin". I had originally wanted to swim with the dolphins but a) it was way too cold to consider getting in the water and b) you can't do it when pregnant.
Some fun before seeing some dolphins:
Some great close shots of the dolphins, Taylor was in awe. Unfortunately, when it came down to the reality of getting on the platform to touch the dolphins, she had a panic attack and was NOT ok with it. So that was $20 down the drain. ;)
Great shot of mom shaking flippers with one of the dolphins:
Taylor and Al staying warm while they watch us play with dolphins. My jeans were SOAKED afterwards. I couldn't wait to get back to the house to warm up. So glad we did it though.
Back at the ranch, Taylor amusing herself with some dominoes she found. Hmmm, a little Type A??
On the warmest day of the week (I think it reached 60), Al, Taylor, Katrina, mom and I ventured out to go on a glass-bottom boat ride.
Taylor loved this little look-out area on the front of the boat:
Picnic on the upper deck of the boat:
A family tradition, puzzles! Growing up, we always did a lot of puzzles and many times during Christmas break. Mom brought one with and Taylor got to help put in the final pieces:
One of our last days of the week, we took the long drive all the way to Key West to spend a day there. The weather was mostly sunny, but very windy and could get chilly again when that sun hid behind the clouds. We will definitely have to go back and see KW again under better weather circumstances!
Taylor getting ready for some lunch at Blue Heaven:
Had to take a family photo at the southermost point!
A photo of just Al and I! It's amazing how few of these we get nowadays. :)
Despite the cooler weather, we still saw an amazing sunset in KW:
Everyone say, "Hoodies"!
Dinner before we head back to Tavernier. Taylor chowing on a jumbo shrimp. She liked it!
One morning, Al, Taylor and dad headed to a nearby beach and park. Unfortunately, this is the only beach time Taylor had. No swimsuit!
Al caught some great shots of sunrise at the same park the next morning with mom and Katrina.
One more excursion of the week. We went to another place to see dolphins, sea turtles, sea lions, etc. It was pretty neat!
Boat ride with dolphins riding along with us. They would actually jump through the gap in the middle of the boat too.
My little funny-face girl:
During the sea lion show, Katrina was one of the handful that got to get a kiss from the star:
Some views of our beautiful rental house. We never used the pool or tiki bar hut so we definitely need to go back during warmer weather and check it out again. Beautiful place!
View from the second floor deck:
View of the back of the house. We had the top floor which was 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. The bottom level was mostly garage, laundry and a small apartment.
Al couldn't leave our place without taking advantage of the kayaks. He actually made his way out to the ocean by himself. Then he came back and took Taylor for a short ride around the marina.
She was pretty ok with it, but was fine with being done too.
Overall a great trip despite the weather and not being able to wear the shorts, t-shirts and swimsuits that we packed! It was a great location and a great house to get away. We are all agreeing that next family trip may have to be in Mexico though to get a better chance at warmer weather.
And about half of the great-grandkids! Quite the crew:
It was a great day with everyone celebrating the woman who started it all (from our perspective anyway)! We are so blessed to have had her around for this many years. Looking forward to every birthday with her!
Valentine's Day!
Taking her time decorating her cookie. Had to make it JUST right:
After the festivities, an impromptu dinner out with Olivia's family. One of our favorite places, the Convention Grill! Yum!
A fun shot of Taylor geared up for outdoor time. As I write this, it's 90 degrees in May..this seems so long ago!
Another big milestone, potty training! She was picking it back up in February and doing pretty well. Al caught her in this "big kid" pose on the pot one day. 
Another big milestone, potty training! She was picking it back up in February and doing pretty well. Al caught her in this "big kid" pose on the pot one day. 
