Florida - Swimming, Sand Fleas and Shells

Going to theme parks is fun but there's so much more to Florida than that.

Thank goodness.

Swimming in the pool at Grandma and Grandpa Zeke's house in Florida.

Wake up, have breakfast, apply swimsuit and floaties, and have fun!

Taking a break from swimming for Lego building.

Svea - yes, we were still celebrating her birthday - in front of her beautiful red velvet birthday cake made with love (and regrettable amounts of food coloring!) by Grandma Zeke. It is not easy for a grandma to put nearly an entire bottle of food coloring into one cake. So thank you, Lois, for making Svea's red velvet dream come true! Just so you know, my birthday is in October . . . hint hint.

This seems to be a yearly tradition with Svea and birthday cakes. Last year the amount of food coloring in her hobbit cake - oof. But, it's only once a year! (Right?!)

Oh, Viggo. You're such a good-looking dude.

And they were all blown out.

Wishes came true.

Yum. So fabulous!

At the jetty.

This strange little creature is called a sand flea. I'm not really sure what it's purpose is, but Viggo collected quite a few.

 And off to another beach.

 This beach is known for shark teeth. And we found quite a few!

 My sweet gal.

I think Nate can drive to the orange grove that sells ice cream with his eyes closed. How many times did we go here?

 It can be hard work eating a giant orange ice cream cone.

 Viggo was the photographer for this photo (:

 We went back to the jetty for a walk after the ice cream. We were careful to walk very quickly under this tree loaded with pelicans. The locals sat and watched us. Maybe to see what would happen if we lingered?

 Viggo searches the rocks for critters.

 Oodles and oodles of shells.

 With Grandma at her pottery class!

 This was so fun, and we all had a fantastic time.

 Lunch at the arts center after all that hard work glazing!

 Nate took us to a park.

 Looking for gators.

 We think we spotted the tip of a snout.

 I loved all the spanish moss.

We enjoyed our little stroll off the beaten path in Florida. Nate was daydreaming about relocating there for the winter. So, stay tuned for further updates . . .